Glossary - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 496

Reincarnation In Hinduism, the notion that a person is re-
born into another cycle of existence depending on the Karma,
or sum of ideals, of the previous life.
Religion Set of sacred beliefs and practices.
Religious revivalism In Islam, the resurgence of religious
fundamentalism. In the early 2000s, characterized as extreme
hostility to the West and Western culture.
Remittances The transfer of funds by a foreign worker to her
home country .
Replacement fertility rate Rate at which a population is
growing in order to replace itself in the future.
Restructuring The rapid change in local, national, and inter-
national social, political, and economic systems wrought from
the dynamics of global interaction.
Rich-poor gap The difference between rich and poor between
parts of the world, but also between countries and within in-
dividual nations.
Saint Thomas

Shiftincultivation A migratory , field rotation system of
agriculture found mainly in forested regions with relatively
sparse populations.
Shiites A breakaway Islamic group with roots in Persia

(Iran).
Shinto

T Traditional animist and nature-centered religion of

Japan.
Shoguns Military leaders who ruled Japan from the medieval
period to 1868.
Sikh A follower of Sikhism.
Sikhism Belief system founded in fifteenth century by Guru
Nanak in India. Sikhs believe that all people are the children
of God. They also oppose the caste system.
Simhala Dvipa Island of the Lion T Tribe (Sri Lanka).
Sinhala Language of the Aryan, Buddhist, Sinhalese in
Sri Lanka.
Sinicize T To make Chinese.
Sinocentric A world view that places China at the central and
superior position relative to the rest of the world.
Slash-and-burn method The cutting down of all but the
largest trees in an area and the burning of the debris to clear
the land for planting.
Social construction The construction of landscapes by inter-
nal and external political, social, and economic forces.
Sodic land Land where crusts of salt or other alkalis prevent
nutrients and water from going below the surface. Reclama-
tion of sodic lands is a goal of the Indian government.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Formed to disassociate political conflicts from economic co-
operation. It includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Mal-
dives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Southward policy Taiwan' s policy of increasing investment in
Southeast Asian countries to offset investments in China.
Spatial duality The differences between the landscapes of
core and peripheral regions.
Special economic zones (SEZs) Zones set aside by China' s
government to attract foreign technology and investment.
Species diversity V ariation in plant or animal species.
Squatter settlements Makeshift settlements in and around
cities; associated with rural to urban migration.
State capitalism A system in which the government plays a
strong role in economic development such as in South Korea.
Steppe Short grasslands.
Storm surge Water pushed toward shore by the force of the
winds swirling around the storm. When combined with a tide in
an increasingly narrow channel across low , flat terrain, a storm
surge can cause an increase in water level of 15 feet or more.
Subak

Introduced Christianity to southwestern India

in 52 AD.
Sangha Monastic orders of Theravada Buddhism.
SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome, a highly contagious
pneumonia-like disease that infected thousands of people be-
tween November 2002 and July 2003. China was the source
of the disease.
Sati In early India, the practice of burning a widow alive on
her husband' s funeral pyre. Sati was outlawed by the British in
1829 but continued to exist for many years.
Sawah T Terraced rice paddies in Indonesia.
Scheduled castes and tribes Also called adivasis, original in-
habitants of India such as the Nagas and Bondas.
Sawah T Terraced rice paddies in Indonesia.
Semi-deciduous Refers to trees that lose some of their leaves
in the dry months of the monsoon.
Semi-peripheral region A region that acts like a core to a pe-
ripheral region and like a periphery to a core region.
Sepoy British-trained Indian soldier.
Serendip Arab name for Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
Sex cities Cities that are known for their prostitution, sex
clubs and sex tourism.
Sex ratio The numerical ratio between men and women in a
population.
Sex tourism National and international tours that are geared
to sexual experiences.
Sex-selective abortion The deliberate abortion of males or
females (typically females) after sex determination of the
unborn fetus.
Shadow economy Illegal economic activities, such as black
market enterprises, that are unregulated, untaxed, and unseen.
Sharia The sacred law of Islam.
Shatter-zone A region of multiple, independent cultural
groups often generated by fragmented terrain.
Sherpas Herders and traders of Nepal' s Himalayas who are
now dependent on tourism. Many serve as guides for climb-
ing expeditions.

Agricultural cooperative in Bali.

Sudras Anyone belonging to the class of serfs in India' s caste

system.
Sukarno

Indonesian nationalist who ruled from 1945 until

1965.
Sun Yat-sen Asia' s first Asian nationalist. Proclaimed a
Chinese Republic in 1912.