Journal | Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
Journal issue | 58 | 2022
Research Article | Fields of Life and Death: Cholangiocarcinoma, Food Consumption, and Masculinity in Buddhist Rural Thailand
Fields of Life and Death: Cholangiocarcinoma, Food Consumption, and Masculinity in Buddhist Rural Thailand
- Edoardo Siani - Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia - email
Abstract
The Mekong region presents a record incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer). Scientists identify correlations between the development of this aggressive disease and the consumption of raw fish in local dishes. While made aware of these correlations by comprehensive health campaigns, some villagers in Thailand’s notoriously neglected Northeast refuse to cook the fish before consumption: a phenomenon that puzzles medical experts and policy makers. Based on ethnographic data, this paper suggests that practices surrounding the consumption of raw food in the area have become taboo. Rather than disappearing, they now play a key role in bonding rituals where rural masculinities are expressed via spectacles of risk taking that transgress normative ideals of manhood as epitomised by urban men and Buddhist monks.
Submitted: April 5, 2022 | Accepted: May 17, 2022 | Published June 30, 2022 | Language: en
Keywords Isan • Thailand • Masculinity • Buddhism • Cholangiocarcinoma • Food consumption
Copyright © 2022 Edoardo Siani. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2022/01/017
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| DC Field | Value |
|---|---|
|
dc.identifier |
ECF_article_8737 |
|
dc.title |
Fields of Life and Death: Cholangiocarcinoma, Food Consumption, and Masculinity in Buddhist Rural Thailand |
|
dc.contributor.author |
Siani Edoardo |
|
dc.publisher |
Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Venice University Press, Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari |
|
dc.type |
Research Article |
|
dc.language.iso |
en |
|
dc.identifier.uri |
http://edizionicafoscari.it/en/edizioni4/riviste/annali-di-ca-foscari-serie-orientale/2022/1/fields-of-life-and-death-cholangiocarcinoma-food-c/ |
|
dc.description.abstract |
The Mekong region presents a record incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer). Scientists identify correlations between the development of this aggressive disease and the consumption of raw fish in local dishes. While made aware of these correlations by comprehensive health campaigns, some villagers in Thailand’s notoriously neglected Northeast refuse to cook the fish before consumption: a phenomenon that puzzles medical experts and policy makers. Based on ethnographic data, this paper suggests that practices surrounding the consumption of raw food in the area have become taboo. Rather than disappearing, they now play a key role in bonding rituals where rural masculinities are expressed via spectacles of risk taking that transgress normative ideals of manhood as epitomised by urban men and Buddhist monks. |
|
dc.relation.ispartof |
Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale |
|
dc.relation.ispartof |
Vol. 58 | June 2022 |
|
dc.issued |
2022-06-30 |
|
dc.dateAccepted |
2022-05-17 |
|
dc.dateSubmitted |
2022-04-05 |
|
dc.identifier.issn |
|
|
dc.identifier.eissn |
2385-3042 |
|
dc.rights |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License |
|
dc.rights.uri |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
|
dc.identifier.doi |
10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2022/01/017 |
|
dc.peer-review |
yes |
|
dc.subject |
Buddhism |
|
dc.subject |
Cholangiocarcinoma |
|
dc.subject |
Food consumption |
|
dc.subject |
Isan |
|
dc.subject |
Masculinity |
|
dc.subject |
Thailand |
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