Pigg
Terms, Places & Peoples
Shaman/dhami-jhānkis
Modernity/”tradition”/”premodern”
Modernization
Development
Belief/(andha)bíswās
Differentiated locality
Cosmopolitanism
Objectification
Discussion Questions
- What kinds of illnesses do shaman and biomedical doctors treat? How does this differentiation symbolize relations between a local village and the cosmopolitan modern world?
- Pigg states that “it is possible [for Nepali cosmopolitans] to assert decade after decade that ‘modern medicine’ is coming to villages for the very first time.” What dynamics are at work here? Why does cosmopolitanism require “credulous believers”?
- In what ways do international development agencies conceive of the “beliefs” of villagers? How do they associate these beliefs with group identities and ethnicities?
- How do villagers find a shaman who “knows”?
- How does Pigg position herself in her work and writing? How does this compare to Scheper-Hughes’ approach?