Paper
The Contested Relationship of Household and Community in the Dynamic Environmental Context Among the Loba of trans-Himalaya, Mustang, Nepal
presenters
Man Bahadur Khattri
Nationality: Nepal
Residence: Nepal
Central Department of Anthropology, Tribbhuvan University
Presence:Face to Face/ On Site
Anthropological literature informs that traditional societies are bonded based on community relationships. Households are key agencies that bridge interrelation and interdependence among individuals to fulfill their basic socioeconomic, cultural, and psychological needs. The Loba are indigenous to a trans-Himalayan environment characterized as arid and semi-desert. This paper aims to present how Loba bonds at the household level and maintains community-level relationships to foster a highly prosperous civilization. Furthermore, this environmental condition has become more vulnerable to the livelihood of the Loba due to changes in temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns. This ethnographic field research collected qualitative information by applying observation and interview methods. Qualitative information was coded, thematically analyzed, and presented, and they were visualized in the text, table, and figures. The findings reveal that the environmental changes impacted several dimensions of Loba's life and livelihood. At the same time, the influence of the liberal world economy is observed in migration patterns, education, and health systems. Migration from their homeland has become one of the major strategies of adaptation. Loba individuals support their family members and relatives with their different dimensions of assets. Following community rules and customs indicates their expression of love, affection, and belongingness in community relationships. Traditional bonds between households and communities were specialized by their specific services that have shifted as changes in their occupation and adoption of modern political-economic systems. The new political order has weakened the traditional Loba leadership based on turn by household. Community responsibility has become a burden to the household. Family planning has impacted religious/spiritual institutions and community responsibility. This paper concludes that the traditional role of the household towards the community has changed significantly due to changes in the environment, global political order, the government, and NGO intervention in a new environmental condition.
Keywords:
climate change, community, Loba households, spiritual institutions, trans-Himalaya