Co-producing representations of summer rainfall in Bangladesh

This paper reports on research of the symbolic representations of summer rainfall in the cultural repertoires guiding diverse institutionalised fields of activity in Sylhet Division. The research conducted interviews and co-created 'cognitive maps' with communities, to critically reflect on their changing seasonal symbols.

The study revealed a common stock of summer symbols in Sylhet communities, which individuals reconfigure for strategizing and justifying particular practices. Symbols are stable but not static. As people's uses of knowledge systems change-moving toward scientific representations-so too does their use of symbols.