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The Barber and his Customers. Diversified Uses of Cultural Codes and Permanence in Rural India In many societies, individuals manage to use several cultural codes and shift from one to the other during migrations. Characteristic of India is a simultaneous cultural multiplicity, which makes it possible to switch from one cultural code to another instantaneously and everywhere. Thus, both traditional and contemporary « cosmopolitan » culture can coexist in society. This analysis of the behaviour of a barber's customers in a southern Indian village sheds light on a cultural diversity that, internalized by the individual, may account for the country's relative stability.

Sericulture in Karnataka. Between a Rural Craft and Agribusiness Sericulture in southern India is a flourishing, cash-earning craft production that employs many people in rural areas. It occupies from 30 to 70 % of the labor force in villages where, on the average, nonagricultural employment does not represent more than 10 %. The reasons for this dynamism lies in : the government's active, long-term support ; the economic attraction exerted by the town of Kollegal, a pole of growth ; and, especially, the ability of private actors to adjust to a fluctuating market.

The Coir Industry in Kerala. Traditional Economy and Social Change Coir has been produced for centuries in Kerala and even today this traditional industry provides employment to many people, especially women. However it is currently experiencing severe economic hardship due to a drop in demand on international markets and to increased competition. The recovery plan put forward by the government, which involves adopting more modern techniques, reflects the changes occuring in Kerala society. Indeed massive emigration toward the Golf countries has accelerated the transformations already underway, and consequent improvements in living standards have contributed to a growing disdain for hard manual labour, such as that required in the coir industry.

Constructing Naturalistic Knowledge. An Anthropological Approach to an Atlas The anthropology of how scientific knowledge is constructed turns out to be useful for comparing various sorts of knowledge. Through this empirical approach to science in the making, specifically to work on the Atlas de répartition des amphibiens et reptiles de France, we see that science relies on a social network for collecting data. Scientific work proceeds by making successive adjustments. Controlling the collected data entails a chain of actions for, gradually but ultimately, consolidating knowledge. The ethnological observation of this atlas enables us to take a different look at scientific knowledge - one which opens interesting perspectives for studying the coexistence of different forms of knowledge.

Equal Shares. Val de Saône in the 18th and 19th Centuries The devolution of real estate in rural societies based on equal sharing mainly depends on changes in the relation between the population and resources. Given demographic trends, peasant communities in the Val de Saône, France, modified, as of the 18th century, devolution based on joint ownership. Concern for respecting the principle of equality but the ever later access to ownership by heirs made it more difficult to face the critical moment of devolution. Disturbances during the French Revolution upset this fine balance more than did the Civil Code, since the potential claim to a share of inheritance by a single family member already represented a permanent menace to the family community's unity.