Glossary - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 493

Intermediate technology T Technology that lies between the
most primitive and the most modern.
Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) The equatorial low-
pressure trough that dominates the central area of the Indian
Ocean.
JABOTABEK The fastest growing area in Indonesia. Com-
prises the metropolitan regions of Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang,
and Bekasi.
Jainism A religion focusing on non violence against any life
form. Founded in the sixth century by Mahavira.
Jajmani system Punjabi custom for Harijan laborers to work
for their Jat landlords in exchange for grain and fodder. The
system is both an economic system and a social contract
rooted in caste relationships.
Jarkhand Name for a new independent state in the Jamshed-
pur industrial region in India. Jarkhand came into existence
in 2000.
Jati

Kharif In South Asia, crops (such as rice) sown after the
onset of the wet monsoon. Kharif crops are harvested in autumn.
King Harsha Controlled an empire from Punjab to the Nar-
mada River during the 600s AD. The last north Indian ruler to
encroach south of the Narmada for 600 years.
Koran The holy book of Islam; from the Arabic word qur'an,
meaning “recitation.”
Korean Wave III Korean popular culture.
Koryo A Korean kingdom that emerged in 918 AD in the
central region of the peninsula. Origin of the name “Korea.”
Kotadesasi From the Indonesian words kota (town) and desa
(village) meaning the coincidence of urban and rural activity
in the same spatial territory .
Kshatriyas Members of the warrior class in India' s caste system.
Kublai Khan Grandson of the Mongol warrior Genghis Khan.
Kublai Khan dominated all of China, Korea, and northern
Vietnam. The Mongols ruled China as the Y uan Dynasty ,
1279-1368.
Lan Xang A Laotian word meaning “a million elephants.” The
first kingdom of Laos that emerged in 1353.
Landscape The world that we see and experience.
Lao Loum Laotian term meaning “Laotians of the valley .” Lao
Loum make up one-half the population of Laos.
Lao Sung Laotian term meaning “Laotians of the mountain
tops.” Lao Sung are among the most recent migrants to Laos.
Lao Theung Laotian term meaning “Laotians of the mountain
slopes.” Lao Theung make up about a quarter of the popula-
tion of Laos.
Laozi In Chinese, “the old one.” Laozi was a contemporary of
Confucius. The philosopher most closely associated with
Daoism, the study and contemplation of the way the universe
works.
Laterite Rock-like, lower layer of tropical soils formed by the
presence of aluminum and iron oxides.
Lianas Woody climbers or vines found in the middle level of
the rain forest canopy .
Life expectancy How long one can expect to live from birth.
Link-language A language used to allow communication be-
tween speakers of other languages. English is a link-language
in Sri Lanka.
Literacy rate Percentage of males and females who can read
and write at least at an elementary level.
Loess Fine, windblown soil lacking horizontal stratification.
Loess can stand in vertical cliffs.
Long March The name given to the 6,000-mile-long trek
(9,660 km) by the Communist Army in 1934 and 1935, as it
fled the forces of the Nationalists. The Long March was led by
Mao Zedong and took the communists from southern China
to Y enan in the loess hills of Shensi Province.
Madrassas Islamic religious schools.
Maharaja A word meaning “great ruler.” Maharajas ruled var-
ious states in India following the breakdown of the Mughal
empire.
Mahavira

A subdivision of varna defined by and named by

occupation.
Jawaharlal Nehru Leader of the Congress Party and the first
prime minister of India.
Jesus Christ Believed by Christians to be the Son of God and
the manifestation of God on Earth.
Juche philosophy Kim II Song' s ideas of self-reliance and self-
sufficiency for the people of North Korea.
Jungle Dense vegetation of the tropics that occurs where light
penetrates the rain forest canopy .
Jute fiber crop used to make sacking, twine, ropes, carpet,
car interiors, lining for asphalt roads, and many other prod-
ucts. One of the major crops in Bangladesh.
Kamikaze Japanese term meaning “the divine wind.” A
typhoon was responsible for the defeat of Kublai Khan in his
attack on Japan in 1281.
Kampuchea Cambodia' s name under the Communist Khmer
Rouge and Pol Pot.
Kampung A village in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Kanji The Japanese writing system that was borrowed from
the Chinese character system.
Kansai Science City Research and development center focus-
ing on Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara in Japan.
Karez Underground irrigation systems consisting of hand-
dug, gravity-flow tunnels. Karez are found in northwest
China and in southwest Asia. The tunnels carry water from
aquifers to surface channels and ponds.
Karma In Hinduism, the accumulation of all of a person' s
deeds in a lifetime.
Karst topography Pitted and lumpy limestone formations
caused by chemical weathering.
Katchi abadis Squatter settlements on the periphery of
Karachi, Pakistan.
Keiretsu Japan' s modern industrial conglomerates. A hierarchi-
cal organization of companies.
Khalistan Name for the independent state desired by many
Sikhs in Punjab. Founder of Jainism.