In Myanmar, most parents of disabled children are left critically unprepared while confronting their offspring’s and their own needs. These parents cannot rely on the support from any government agencies, as the country lacks a special educational program for disabled children, as well as a national prenatal screening program. Moreover, in a context where social representations are shaped and influenced by strong religious beliefs (mostly derived from Theravada Buddhism), and by correlated ritual practices such as spirit cults (nats), parents discovering the disability of their newborn children are forced to drastically reconfigure their daily life practices, along with their intimate and social family narratives. As a result of a karmic assumption according to which disability is conceived as “fate” (a punishment for a guilt committed in a past life), or as a preternatural condition related to the taik dimension (world of the spirits), many parents are stigmatized and forced to rehash their family and social relationships. The research is based on an extensive over-one-year-long ethnography in Yangon, which included a series of around 50 interviews with parents of children affected by physical or intellectual impairments. As as result, the thesis examines the parents’ perspectives on disability, as they are influenced by their personal and religious beliefs, and by social expectations and constraints. The dissertation highlights how parents strategically adopt creative practices and discourses in order to cope with different social expectations, within a cultural environment where the defective body is conceived as something to be ashamed of, something that has to be hidden from the public sphere. The ethnographic fieldwork took place mainly at the Eden Centre for Disabled Children (ECDC), and the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf Children, two private schools specifically dedicated to disabled children, who are often unable to attend government schools because of the lack of special educational programs. Both institutions are charities and are located in Yangon, the colonial capital city of former British-ruled colony of Burma, now Myanmar. Besides participant observation and fieldnotes taking, the methodology included open-ended interviews. The single most important gatekeeper for the author to gain access to the fieldwork was an Italian association named Italy-Burma Friendship Association (Associazione per l’Amicizia Italia-Birmania), based in the Northern Italian city of Parma, which the author became a member prior to starting the ethnographic fieldwork in Yangon.

In Myanmar, gran parte dei genitori di bambini disabili sono abbandonati a loro stessi nel fronteggiare i bisogni propri dei loro piccoli e dell’intera famiglia. Tali genitori non possono fare affidamento su alcun sostegno da parte di enti governativi, dal momento che nel paese mancano sia un programma educativo speciale per i bambini disabili, sia una campagna nazionale di diagnosi prenatale. Inoltre, in un contesto dove le rappresentazioni sociali sono plasmate e influenzate da forti credenze religiose (per lo più derivate dal buddhismo theravada), nonché da pratiche rituali ad esse correlate, quali i culti degli spiriti (nats), i genitori che si trovano di fronte alla disabilità dei figli neonati sono costretti a stravolgere le proprie pratiche di vita quotidiana, così come le narrative familiari, tanto nell’intimità quanto in ambito sociale. In ragione di un presupposto karmico secondo il quale la disabilità è concepita come “destino” (la punizione da scontare per una colpa commessa in una vita precedente), oppure come una condizione sovrannaturale riconducibile alla dimensione dei taik (mondo degli spiriti), molti genitori sono fatti oggetto di stigma e si trovano costretti a rimettere in discussione le proprie relazioni familiari e sociali. La presente ricerca è basata su una dettagliata etnografia che ha avuto luogo a Yangon nel corso di più di un anno, e che include una serie di circa 50 interviste con genitori di bambini affetti da invalidità fisiche o intellettive. Su questa base, la tesi prende in esame le idee sulla disabilità dalla prospettiva dei genitori, nel loro essere influenzati da credenze personali e religiose, nonché da aspettative e costrizioni sociali. Il lavoro mette in evidenza come gli stessi genitori facciano ricorso, strategicamente e creativamente, a pratiche e discorsi che permettono loro di far fronte a differenti aspettative sociali, all’interno di un ambiente culturale in cui il corpo imperfetto è concepito come qualcosa per cui provare vergogna, qualcosa che deve essere tenuto nascosto dalla sfera pubblica. Il campo etnografico ha avuto luogo principalmente presso l’Eden Centre for Disabled Children (ECDC) e la Mary Chapman School for the Deaf Children, due scuole private specificamente rivolte a bambini disabili, i quali spesso sono impossibilitati a frequentare le scuole statali a causa della mancanza di programmi educativi speciali. Entrambi gli istituti sono organizzazioni benefiche e hanno sede a Yangon, la capitale coloniale della passata colonia britannica di Birmania, oggi Myanmar. Oltre all’osservazione partecipante e alla scrittura di note di campo, la metodologia adottata ha previsto il ricorso ad interviste semi-aperte. Il tramite di accesso più importante al campo etnografico è stata l’Associazione per l’Amicizia Italia-Birmania, con sede a Parma, alla quale l’autrice si è iscritta come socia prima di intraprendere il lavoro di ricerca a Yangon.

(2021). Disabilità e trascendenza nel Myanmar buddhista. Etnografia di due scuole speciali a Yangon. (Tesi di dottorato, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2021).

Disabilità e trascendenza nel Myanmar buddhista. Etnografia di due scuole speciali a Yangon

SCIARIADA, CATERINA
2021

Abstract

In Myanmar, most parents of disabled children are left critically unprepared while confronting their offspring’s and their own needs. These parents cannot rely on the support from any government agencies, as the country lacks a special educational program for disabled children, as well as a national prenatal screening program. Moreover, in a context where social representations are shaped and influenced by strong religious beliefs (mostly derived from Theravada Buddhism), and by correlated ritual practices such as spirit cults (nats), parents discovering the disability of their newborn children are forced to drastically reconfigure their daily life practices, along with their intimate and social family narratives. As a result of a karmic assumption according to which disability is conceived as “fate” (a punishment for a guilt committed in a past life), or as a preternatural condition related to the taik dimension (world of the spirits), many parents are stigmatized and forced to rehash their family and social relationships. The research is based on an extensive over-one-year-long ethnography in Yangon, which included a series of around 50 interviews with parents of children affected by physical or intellectual impairments. As as result, the thesis examines the parents’ perspectives on disability, as they are influenced by their personal and religious beliefs, and by social expectations and constraints. The dissertation highlights how parents strategically adopt creative practices and discourses in order to cope with different social expectations, within a cultural environment where the defective body is conceived as something to be ashamed of, something that has to be hidden from the public sphere. The ethnographic fieldwork took place mainly at the Eden Centre for Disabled Children (ECDC), and the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf Children, two private schools specifically dedicated to disabled children, who are often unable to attend government schools because of the lack of special educational programs. Both institutions are charities and are located in Yangon, the colonial capital city of former British-ruled colony of Burma, now Myanmar. Besides participant observation and fieldnotes taking, the methodology included open-ended interviews. The single most important gatekeeper for the author to gain access to the fieldwork was an Italian association named Italy-Burma Friendship Association (Associazione per l’Amicizia Italia-Birmania), based in the Northern Italian city of Parma, which the author became a member prior to starting the ethnographic fieldwork in Yangon.
VIGNATO, SILVIA
Myanmar; disabilità; antropologia medica; corpo; religione
Myanmar; disability; medical anthropology; body; religione
M-DEA/01 - DISCIPLINE DEMOETNOANTROPOLOGICHE
Italian
29-apr-2021
ANTROPOLOGIA CULTURALE E SOCIALE
32
2019/2020
open
(2021). Disabilità e trascendenza nel Myanmar buddhista. Etnografia di due scuole speciali a Yangon. (Tesi di dottorato, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2021).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/315498
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