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Papers by Daniel Ceeline Ramonal

Kritika Kultura, 2023

This paper focuses on the critical role that field reflections played in establishing the overlap... more This paper focuses on the critical role that field reflections played in establishing the overlapping engagement of dance movement notation and the sociocultural relevance of embodied techniques in funeral ceremonies to the chain of transmission of the Ebola virus disease in Sierra Leone. Expanding from the research paper entitled "Ebola and Moving People: Understanding the Role of Embodied Techniques in Funeral Ceremonies to the Chain of Transmission of the Ebola Virus in Sierra Leone Through Movement Analysis, " this paper narrates personal field experiences and realizations on the dynamics happening in the social field that clarified how funeral ceremonies were equally responsible in impeding and spreading the Ebola virus. On this note, this paper emphasizes the significance of field reflections in demonstrating the methodological and analytical principles of dance anthropology which helped people realize that cultural practices like funeral ceremonies were not causes, but were mere conduits of mobility for the Ebola virus. Field reflections then provide an understanding of the "human factor" that makes Ebola's chain of transmission in the eyes of the local communities easier to understand. This realization abetted the "stop" of this transmission when state protocols were re-evaluated to accommodate cultural findings in the latter part of the humanitarian assistance. This paper uses ethnographic inquiry in sharing the experiences and realizations in the fieldwork sites of Freetown, Port Loko, and Koinadugu in Sierra Leone. The reflections were extracted from observation sessions, interviews, informal dialogues, and focus group discussions in the field.

The Saharan Journal - National Institute of African Studies, Exploring the Nexus between Culture and Development in Africa , 2020

The paper focuses on exploring the potential of documenting the embodied techniques observed in t... more The paper focuses on exploring the potential of documenting the embodied techniques observed in the funeral ceremonies of Sierra Leone and identifying their socio-cultural relevance through movement study. Largely unknown until it was hurled into the limelight during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the funeral ceremonies were announced to have contributed to the spread of the Ebola virus. There was a failure from humanitarian and state actors to realise that understanding and archiving cultural practices, like funerals, can also contribute to stop the chain of infections. The lack of acknowledgement for anthropological engagement during the onset of the humanitarian assistance resulted in two findings. Firstly, the delay in stopping the aggressive transmission of the virus, and secondly, the realisation that available knowledge about Sierra Leone's funeral ceremonies was quite restricted and mostly constrained within the Ebola outbreak setting. Ethnographic inquiry was extensively utilised in collecting data in Freetown, Port Loko, and Koinadugu. The methods used included observation sessions, secondary data collection, key informant interviews, informal dialogues, and focus group discussions (FGD). The findings revealed that selected ethnic groups: Fulla, Krio, Kuranko, Limba, Madingo, Mende, and Temne shared comparable funeral practices that essentially utilise voluminous physical contact. The movement analysis demonstrated that embodied techniques were not only symbolical and functional but also fatal in the spread of the Ebola virus. This paper investigates their regular and collective performance in funeral ceremonies, explicated beliefs and negotiation dexterities during critical events such as the Ebola outbreak.

Books by Daniel Ceeline Ramonal

Across Borders and Thresholds: Performing in Zones of Contact and Friction, The Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at Abdelmalek Esaadi University – Tetouan & International Centre for Performance Studies – Tangier, Morocco, 2020

The article examines the nature of dance choreographies. Extracting from a self-reflexive perform... more The article examines the nature of dance choreographies. Extracting from a self-reflexive performance piece entitled Finding the Mindanao Body, it explores reflections about the narratives of the indigenous and Muslim communities in Mindanao, Philippines, and their intangible cultural heritage. The reflections highlight the folk dance artist’s embodiment of learning conflicts between that of the ‘tradition bearers’ of the communities and that of professional dance teachers of the modern stage. It also dives into the process of traditional dance transmission and re-creation in an expanding field of theatrical applications. Such applications contrasted in each new context that the artist found herself in, differing in perspectives, tools, props, performance space, and audience. Confronting conventional understandings of the performance of ritual dances and their narratives outside their original context, it articulates many folk dance artists’ struggles and fears about the overlapping complexities of performing arts, choreographic practices, and cultural identity.

Kritika Kultura, 2023

This paper focuses on the critical role that field reflections played in establishing the overlap... more This paper focuses on the critical role that field reflections played in establishing the overlapping engagement of dance movement notation and the sociocultural relevance of embodied techniques in funeral ceremonies to the chain of transmission of the Ebola virus disease in Sierra Leone. Expanding from the research paper entitled "Ebola and Moving People: Understanding the Role of Embodied Techniques in Funeral Ceremonies to the Chain of Transmission of the Ebola Virus in Sierra Leone Through Movement Analysis, " this paper narrates personal field experiences and realizations on the dynamics happening in the social field that clarified how funeral ceremonies were equally responsible in impeding and spreading the Ebola virus. On this note, this paper emphasizes the significance of field reflections in demonstrating the methodological and analytical principles of dance anthropology which helped people realize that cultural practices like funeral ceremonies were not causes, but were mere conduits of mobility for the Ebola virus. Field reflections then provide an understanding of the "human factor" that makes Ebola's chain of transmission in the eyes of the local communities easier to understand. This realization abetted the "stop" of this transmission when state protocols were re-evaluated to accommodate cultural findings in the latter part of the humanitarian assistance. This paper uses ethnographic inquiry in sharing the experiences and realizations in the fieldwork sites of Freetown, Port Loko, and Koinadugu in Sierra Leone. The reflections were extracted from observation sessions, interviews, informal dialogues, and focus group discussions in the field.

The Saharan Journal - National Institute of African Studies, Exploring the Nexus between Culture and Development in Africa , 2020

The paper focuses on exploring the potential of documenting the embodied techniques observed in t... more The paper focuses on exploring the potential of documenting the embodied techniques observed in the funeral ceremonies of Sierra Leone and identifying their socio-cultural relevance through movement study. Largely unknown until it was hurled into the limelight during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the funeral ceremonies were announced to have contributed to the spread of the Ebola virus. There was a failure from humanitarian and state actors to realise that understanding and archiving cultural practices, like funerals, can also contribute to stop the chain of infections. The lack of acknowledgement for anthropological engagement during the onset of the humanitarian assistance resulted in two findings. Firstly, the delay in stopping the aggressive transmission of the virus, and secondly, the realisation that available knowledge about Sierra Leone's funeral ceremonies was quite restricted and mostly constrained within the Ebola outbreak setting. Ethnographic inquiry was extensively utilised in collecting data in Freetown, Port Loko, and Koinadugu. The methods used included observation sessions, secondary data collection, key informant interviews, informal dialogues, and focus group discussions (FGD). The findings revealed that selected ethnic groups: Fulla, Krio, Kuranko, Limba, Madingo, Mende, and Temne shared comparable funeral practices that essentially utilise voluminous physical contact. The movement analysis demonstrated that embodied techniques were not only symbolical and functional but also fatal in the spread of the Ebola virus. This paper investigates their regular and collective performance in funeral ceremonies, explicated beliefs and negotiation dexterities during critical events such as the Ebola outbreak.

Across Borders and Thresholds: Performing in Zones of Contact and Friction, The Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at Abdelmalek Esaadi University – Tetouan & International Centre for Performance Studies – Tangier, Morocco, 2020

The article examines the nature of dance choreographies. Extracting from a self-reflexive perform... more The article examines the nature of dance choreographies. Extracting from a self-reflexive performance piece entitled Finding the Mindanao Body, it explores reflections about the narratives of the indigenous and Muslim communities in Mindanao, Philippines, and their intangible cultural heritage. The reflections highlight the folk dance artist’s embodiment of learning conflicts between that of the ‘tradition bearers’ of the communities and that of professional dance teachers of the modern stage. It also dives into the process of traditional dance transmission and re-creation in an expanding field of theatrical applications. Such applications contrasted in each new context that the artist found herself in, differing in perspectives, tools, props, performance space, and audience. Confronting conventional understandings of the performance of ritual dances and their narratives outside their original context, it articulates many folk dance artists’ struggles and fears about the overlapping complexities of performing arts, choreographic practices, and cultural identity.