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Hi everyone - I'm Raya, originally from Mauritius but now at university in Canada studying Anthropology. I was referred here by my friend Keesa *waves at her* and would be pleased to no end if I could become successful at this writing business...

I'm also looking forward to being involved in the community here - it's nice to know that one can be a freelancer without the solitude, and I'm always up for making new friends. So, pleased to meet you all!

:waves: Hi, Raya! I'm so glad you came. Jump in, start writing, and sell stuff!

Hehe... yes, eventually I will actually submit something. Eventually. Every time I set off to do that I find a new problem, and end up back here at the forums for clarification! (Can you tell I'm nervous? )

Love anthropology--what's your particular area?

I tell most people that I'm a semiotician, although perhaps that defines my approach more than anything else. (Semiotics, if you are unfamiliar, is the study of meaning and the things it attaches itself to. Linguistics is a subset of it, but while I've done a fair amount of work with linguistics, I am more interested in non-linguistic semiotic systems.)

I fancy myself an art anthropologist. You'll find me interested in the visual and performing arts of pretty much any society, ancient or modern, although my greatest interests lie with cultures of the Arab world and the Indian subcontinent. Looking at the arts in light of colonial encounters is a theme of particular concern.

Lately I've been delving a great deal into ethnochoreology (the study of ethnic dance). I took two wonderful courses with my university's Indigenous Studies department: one concerned with powwow dances, the other with Native American masked dance/storytelling traditions. I also study raqs sharqi (so called 'bellydance'), both as a dancer and as an academic, and someday I hope to work on Indian classical dance.

I hope that answers your question without rambling too much or being too pedantic! How about yourself - what areas of anthropology are you into?

I'm afraid it's more like "was" into. I minored in Anthropology--a long time ago--and would have double-majored had they offered it. At the time, I focused heavily on Native American rites, but I find myself most interested in ancient history--anything from the Sumerians to the Huns and I'm reading more archaeological-based materials than anything which I guess is close.

Anyway, your studies sound fascinating. You should write up some articles for the site. You seem to have a built-in knowledge base. Good luck!
--JA

Thanks for the well-wishing!

So, if you're into the archaeological stuff... have you ever heard of Catal Hoyuk? It's an amazing site in Turkey that some consider to be the world's oldest city (those who disagree are generally those who have different ideas of what counts as a city). What's really cool is that the dig has an official website where, among other things, they publicly post all the latest excavation reports. Do enjoy!