- National Museum of Denmark
Frederiksholms Kanal 12
1220 Copenhagen K
Denmark - +4541206221
- Polygamy, Polyandry, Effects of Polygamy on Women and Children, Polyamory, Gender and Sexuality, Tibetan and Himalayan societies, and 11 moreScientific Expeditions, Sigmund Freud, Natural History Dioramas, Anthropology of Hunting, Hunting (Human Animal Relations), Amulets, Viking Age Scandinavia, Material Culture of the Viking age, Viking Age Archaeology, Anthropometry, and Anthropometric historyedit
In this article, Danish amulets from the Viking Age are examined and catalogued. Special focus is on the proliferation of amulets in the 10th century, and amulets as active symbols in the Christianization of Denmark. Amulets constitute... more
In this article, Danish amulets from the Viking Age are examined and catalogued. Special focus is on the proliferation of amulets in the 10th century, and amulets as active symbols in the Christianization of Denmark. Amulets constitute very personal expressions of magical practice, offering unparalleled potential for exploring a period of religious change. Christianization in the Viking Age is here primarily understood as a socio-political rather than spiritual or theological process. A further focus is on gender and gendered use of amulets in the Viking Age.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Danish language article about the ethnographer Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark's exploration of sexual jealousy among Tibetan polyandrous families in the Himalayan town Kalimpong. Prince Peter was inspired by the ideas of Sigmund... more
Danish language article about the ethnographer Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark's exploration of sexual jealousy among Tibetan polyandrous families in the Himalayan town Kalimpong. Prince Peter was inspired by the ideas of Sigmund Freud, and hoped to investigate whether Freudian phenomena such as the Oedipus complex or castration anxiety occur crossculturally by investigating their occurrence in polyandrous societies, which differ radically in family and sexual dynamics from Western societies.
Research Interests:
The main protagonist of this paper is H.R.H. Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark (1908–1980), an old-world ethnographer and explorer who went to Kalimpong in the 1950s, first as a member and later as the leader of the Third Danish... more
The main protagonist of this paper is H.R.H. Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark (1908–1980), an old-world ethnographer and explorer who went to Kalimpong in the 1950s, first as a member and later as the leader of the Third Danish Expedition to Central Asia. The expedition’s aims were to explore and document empty spots on the map and to rescue the remnants of local cultures in Upper Asia. With the developing crisis in Tibet, however, Prince Peter was stranded in Kalimpong, waiting in vain for permission to enter Tibet. Yet unfavourable political circumstances turned into great opportunities for the expedition as the advance of the People’s Liberation Army into Tibet led to a stream of refugees into Kalimpong: “We had been denied entry into Tibet, but Tibet had come to us.” In this article, we explore Prince Peter’s seven years in Kalimpong and how he navigated this particularly intense contact zone, negotiating difficult political, personal, and professional circumstances.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In 1950 the Third Danish Expedition to Central Asia was stranded in the small mountain town of Kalimpong in the Indian Himalayas at the gateway to Tibet – the country that the expedition leader Prince Peter hoped to explore, but which was... more
In 1950 the Third Danish Expedition to Central Asia was stranded in the small mountain town of Kalimpong in the Indian Himalayas at the gateway to Tibet – the country that the expedition leader Prince Peter hoped to explore, but which was closed off by Communist China’s advance into Tibet. Instead, Tibet came to Kalimpong through an increasing flow of Tibetan refugees who supplied Prince Peter’s now-stationary Tibetan expedition with an extraordinary wealth of ethnographic information, accounts and objects as well as a very large body of physical-anthropological material. The article recounts Prince Peter’s seven years of ethnographic work documenting and rescuing Tibetan civilization from the relentless advance of modernity and the Chinese army by collecting tangible and intangible Tibetan cultural heritage. His initial ethnographic approach embodied contemporary ideas about the expedition mode’s scientific suitability for collecting knowledge about foreign cultures and remote peoples. As Prince Peter could not gain access to Tibet, but had access to the many resident Tibetans as well as traders, travellers and refugees who were flowing into Kalimpong, he changed from a mobile expedition mode to localized fieldwork, and carried out ethnographic investigations and collections among the Tibetans who were staying in the town. Prince Peter’s fantastic Tibetan collections are today part of the National Museum’s Ethnographic Collection and give us fascinating insights into the life and work of the adventurer, ethnographer and expedition leader Prince Peter. Through the accounts and objects that he collected we also encounter the many Tibetans and other people who crossed his path in Kalimpong.
Koktvedgaard Zeitzen, Miriam and Trine Brox 2016 “Strandet i Kalimpong: Prins Peters Tibet-ekspedition 1950-1957.” [Stranded in Kalimpong! Prince Peter’s Tibet-expedition 1950-1957.”] In Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark 2016: pp. 52-65.
Koktvedgaard Zeitzen, Miriam and Trine Brox 2016 “Strandet i Kalimpong: Prins Peters Tibet-ekspedition 1950-1957.” [Stranded in Kalimpong! Prince Peter’s Tibet-expedition 1950-1957.”] In Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark 2016: pp. 52-65.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The sexual relationship between husband and wife is one of the most contentious aspect of married life in Malay Muslim polygamous unions. At issue is husband sharing, a polygamous husband's equal distribution of his physical attention... more
The sexual relationship between husband and wife is one of the most contentious aspect of married life in Malay Muslim polygamous unions. At issue is husband sharing, a polygamous husband's equal distribution of his physical attention between all his wives. The article explores how what is prescribed is not always what is practiced, resulting in different experiences and perspectives for first and subsequent wives.
Research Interests:
Danish hunting expeditions in Africa
Danish expeditions to Central Asia
Danish popular expeditions and travel books
Danish expeditions to Central Asia
Danish popular expeditions and travel books
Research Interests:
Anthropologically, polygamy is defined as marriage between one person and two or more spouses simultaneously. It exists in two main forms: polygyny, where one man is married to several women, and polyandry, where one woman is married to... more
Anthropologically, polygamy is defined as marriage between one person and two or more spouses simultaneously. It exists in two main forms: polygyny, where one man is married to several women, and polyandry, where one woman is married to several men. A third form, group marriage between several men and women, is rare; same-sex polygamy is very rare. Polygyny is the most common form, including de facto forms, where a person is formally monogamous but socially polygamous, maintaining additional relationships. Contemporary anthropologists explore polygamous kinship and gender relations and the law and politics of polygamy. Focal points include managing love, emotions, and sexuality in polygamy and polygamy's impact on women's and children's health and rights. Polygamy becomes political when minorities such as fundamentalist Mormons claim the practice as a religious or cultural right in majority monogamous societies.
Research Interests:
Breast cancer is now the most common cancer among women in most Asian countries. Many lives are at stake. Even in places where state-of-the-art medical services are available, thousands of women in Asia are dying of the disease largely... more
Breast cancer is now the most common cancer among women in most Asian countries. Many lives are at stake. Even in places where state-of-the-art medical services are available, thousands of women in Asia are dying of the disease largely due to late presentation compared to women in most Western countries. While much progress has been made in Western medical science to treat breast cancer, it appears that there are significant socio-cultural considerations and contexts in Asia that limit the efficacy of Western-based health-care methods.
This volume presents conversations across Asia with breast cancer patients, their caregivers, doctors, traditional healers as well as just ordinary men and women—all on the subject of breast cancer meanings. Through the stories as told by local peoples in Asia about how they think and talk about breast cancer, as well as how they respond to the disease, insights on breast cancer meanings emerge. These offer new understandings into how local contexts shape those meanings and life courses—and hopefully will help medical practitioners devise new strategies to combat the disease.
This volume presents conversations across Asia with breast cancer patients, their caregivers, doctors, traditional healers as well as just ordinary men and women—all on the subject of breast cancer meanings. Through the stories as told by local peoples in Asia about how they think and talk about breast cancer, as well as how they respond to the disease, insights on breast cancer meanings emerge. These offer new understandings into how local contexts shape those meanings and life courses—and hopefully will help medical practitioners devise new strategies to combat the disease.
Research Interests:
Elite Malay women’s polygamy narratives are multiple and varied, and their sentiments regarding the practice are conflicted, as they are often torn between personal and religious convictions. This volume explores the ways in which this... more
Elite Malay women’s polygamy narratives are multiple and varied, and their sentiments regarding the practice are conflicted, as they are often torn between personal and religious convictions. This volume explores the ways in which this increasingly prominent practice impacts Malay gender relations. As Muslims, elite Malay women may be forced to accept polygamy, but they mostly condemn it as women and wives, as it forces them to manage their lives and loves under the “threat” of polygamy from a husband able to marry another woman without their knowledge or consent; a husband that is married but available.
Research Interests:
Forms of plural marriage, or polygamy, are practiced within most of the world's cultures and religions. The amazing variation, versatility and adaptability of polygamy underscore that it is not just an exotic non-Western practice, but... more
Forms of plural marriage, or polygamy, are practiced within most of the world's cultures and religions. The amazing variation, versatility and adaptability of polygamy underscore that it is not just an exotic non-Western practice, but also exists in modern Western societies. Polygamy: A Cross-cultural Analysis provides an examination and analysis of historical and contemporary polygamy. It outlines polygamy's place in anthropological theory and its rich sociocultural diversity in countries ranging from the USA and UK to Malaysia, India, regions of Africa and Tibet. Polygamy also addresses often difficult and controversial issues facing modern polygamists, such as prejudice, HIV/AIDS and women's emancipation. Polygamy: A Cross-cultural Analysis offers an anthropological overview of the fascinating yet often misunderstood institution of polygamy.