This paper raises the dualism of Mao Zedong in the Sanlao Shrine and examines the process and mechanism of the defication of Mao Zedong among the people in Shanbei by focusing on the formation process of three Sanlao Shrine sacred to Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De, which appeared in northern Shanxi during the 1990s. The author visited Hengshan County, Jingbian County and Yulin City between December 11 and 16, 2003, interviewed the organizers and managers of the three shrines, officers of the local movement concerning these issues and the local folklore scholar, and also conducted on the spot fact-finding. The Sanlao Shrine, sacred to revolutionary leaders, is a new type of shrine having the three functions of memorial, prayer and education, functions previously shared between a shrine and a memorial. The Mao Zedong enshrined at Sanlao has the dual nature of man and supernatural being. The ways in which Mao is remembered by ordinary people, shrine managers, most of whom are party members, and local and provincial government officials are subtly different. How the formation of this new type of shrine accompanied competition between government and public is another point of concern in the paper. The auther analyses the reasons for the formation of the Sanlao Shrines by relating the historic memories of the basis of the revolutionary regime in Shanbei, the animism that has been the ground of Chinese religion, a Confucian ethic and faith called Shen zhong zhui yuan, which means “showing genuine grief at a parent’s death and continuing to offer sacrifices to them as time goes by,” and the new social problems which appeared after the reform. Finally she indicates the possibility of anthropological studies on the deification of Mao Zedong.

Key Words: memorial, Sanlao Shrine, deification of Mao Zedong, dualism, animism, base of revolutionary regime in Shanbei, shen zhong zhui yuan (showing genuine grief at a parent’s death and continuing to offer sacrifices to them as time goes by)

This study focuses on the social relations of Indian Muslims, the Khatri, who were a caste-like community in Kutch District, Gujarat State. I criticize previous studies on India Muslims, in whish the inter-relations between castes have been mainly studies rather than the intra-relations of castes.
The Khatri were recognized as dyers among local people, and they produced dyed fabrics both for local demand and for regional merchants outside Kutch in such places as Bombay.
Although the Khatri had a well-established jamaat (caste-like Muslim community in Gujarat) organization, this did not actually function as a trade association. Rather the workship owners depended on their own networks of kindship and affinity for their dyeing work.

Key Words: Indian Muslims, dyeing work, social relations, jamaat, caste

The cultivated taro (Colocasia esculenta) is likely to have originated as a natural species in Southeast Asia, where most of its nearest wild relatives are distributed. Previous authers have noted wildtype taros in Southeast Asia, but little has been said about their habitat range, geographical distribution, and uses. Here we report results from an ethnobotanical survey of wildtype taros in central and lower Myanmar.
Wildtype taros in Myanmar are abundant and widespread, and the acrid leaves are very commonly cooked with broken rice as a fodder for domestic pigs. Less commonly, the leaves, inflorescences and stolons are eaten by people, after preparation in ways that remove most acridity. Although local residents almost always state that wildtype taros are never planted, the plants appear to be most abudant in the vicinity of human settlement.
The present close association between people, wildtype taros, and pigs may be significant for discussions of the domestication of taro and pig, and the history of agriculture in Southeast Asia.

* National Museum of Ethnology, Center for Research Development
**Vegetable and Fruit Research Development Centre, MOAI, Yangon

Key Words: Colocasia, taro, pig, wildtype, domestication, ethnobotany, Myanmar

Key Words: Russia, Khabarovsk, regional museum

Key Words: Russia, Khabarovsk, regional museum, Russian Imperial Geographical Association