I think most of us will agree that 2017 has been a bit of a crazy year. It has been the year of Trump and his Twitter wars on everything from North Korea to Meryl Streep to his own White House staff. There has been […]
All posts filed under: Middle East
Capturing the moment: An intimate scene in an al-Na’im Bedouin camp
Although ethnographic artefacts form the backbone of ethnographic collections, there is much more material qualifying as ‘ethnographic material’. Ethnographic photos are often used in exhibitions as a sort of supplement to what is considered the really significant material: the artefacts. In this and the following […]
The importance of representation: Ghanaian doll
When I was a girl, I wasn’t much into dolls. I was the kind of kid who fell asleep with my box of books next to me in my bed (along with about a 75 stuffed animals). When I, at the age of two, had […]
The Sound of Battle: A Viking Moot Special
How many of us really know how it sounds when two armies, fighting with shields, spears, and swords, collide? We have seen it in the movies, when Roman soldiers in shiny helmets slaughter their Pictish enemies, when the warriors of Rohan collide with ranks of […]
In Other Shoes: Turkish Harem Shoes
Previously, ethnographica.net has showcased shoes from the wonderful shoe collection made by Søren L. Tuxen, zoologist and shoe enthusiast. You can read about him in our previous post here: https://ethnographica.net/2015/04/14/tuxen/ In his collection of almost 250 pairs are shoes and other footwear from all over […]
A portable life: Bedouin cradle
Imagine not having a permanent home. Or, try to imagine being at home wherever you are. It can be quite a hard exercise for many of us, who live in our houses and apartments, surrounded by our stuff, travelling the same paths to work, to […]
Protective measures: Bullet proof vest from Northern Thailand
Sometimes, we just need that bit of extra protection. To ward off evil spirits, protect us from accidents and jealousy, and to shield us from harm when we throw ourselves into perilous situations… For thousands of years, we humans have carried amulets and sacred objects, […]
Santa Lucia special: Syrian oil lamp
Yesterday it was Saint Lucy’s Day or, as it is known in Denmark Santa Lucia. All over the country, children dressed up in white robes and sang as they walked the halls of schools, kindergartens, after-school centres, and hospitals, candles in hand. At the head […]
In Other Shoes – Turkish Slippers
Modern and yet traditional – check out these Turkish Slippers! “Turkish slippers. Given to me on February 8th 1958 by M.E. Hovmand Hansen, who had acquired them in 1934 from a group of Greek sailors on board a steamboat called Pirdus. The slippers are modern. […]
Chest – Afghanistan
Check out this beautiful Afghan chest! It was collected by botanist Lennart Edelberg in 1948 who participated in the third Central Asian expedition, in which a group of Danish scientists travelled to a number of different Central Asian countries to gather information on the nomadic […]
Crocheted Hat – Bahrain
Here’s a little something from the highest nobility of a very small country! Back in the 1950’s, Ole Brande-Lavridsen was endowed with a full Bahraini outfit, given to him by the ruler himself – Sheik Sulman bin Hamed al Khalifa, whose descendants are still leading […]
Pillar – Afghanistan
Pillar with carvings of the goddess Sülmech riding on a ram. The pillar belongs to the Kafir period from before the Emir of Kabul forced the eastern part of Afghanistan to convert to Islam, which means that it is at least 100 years old, the […]
