Glossary — S

Glossary terms beginning with S.

sabra (pl., sabras): From Hebrew word meaning ""a prickly pear,"" but adapted to mean a native-born Israeli Jew.; Source: Library of Congress
SADR: Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The governing arm of the Polisario (q.v.).
Sahel: The subarid climatological zone located south of the Sahara Desert that stretches from east to west across Africa. In Chad the Sahel, also called the sahelian zone, forms roughly the central third of the country and supports subsistence farming and livestock raising.
Sahelian: Pertains to the region south of the Sahara encompassing Cape Verde, Mauritania, southern Mali, Burkina Faso, southern Niger, and northern Nigeria. Literally, ""coastal,"" in which the Sahara is figuratively considered to be a sea.
Salagama: Sinhalese lower, minority caste (cinnamon peelers).
samizdat: Literally, self publication. Russian word for the printing and circulating of materials not permitted by the government.
samuha: Interest group within a pancha (q.v.). The term is derogatory when used by someone who does not belong to a pancha.; Source: Library of Congress
San José Accord: An agreement between Mexico and Venezuela--signed in 1980 in San José, Costa Rica, whereby the two oil producers committed themselves to supply crude oil on concessionary terms to ten Central American and Caribbean nations.
Sandinista: Originally a member of the Marxist group in Nicaragua attempting to overthrow the Nicaraguan government in the 1960s and 1970s. The group took its name from Augusto César Sandino, who led a guerrilla struggle against United States occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930s. The political arm of the group, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional--FSLN), was the national government of Nicaragua from July 1979 to April 1990. After the late 1970s, the term Sandinista is used for a member or supporter of the FSLN or as the adjectival form of the FSLN.
sangha: Ascetic community within which a man can improve his karma; brotherhood of Buddhist monks; the Theravada Buddhist clergy.
santri: Orthodox Muslims. In the Javanese context, the santri are also sometimes referred to as putihan (white ones), an allusion to their purity, especially as contrasted to abangan (q.v.) Javanese.
satyagraha: Method employed by Mahatma Gandhi and his followers to secure sociopolitical reform by nonviolent, passive resistance and noncooperation; the individual following the method is called a satyagrahi.
Scheduled Areas: Article 244 of the Indian constitution allows the government to compile a schedule (list) of areas of the country occupied by Scheduled Tribes (q.v.). The Sixth and Ninth Schedules of the constitution list the Scheduled Areas.
Scheduled Castes: Article 341 of the Indian constitution allows thegovernment to compile a schedule (list) of castes, races, or tribes or parts of groups within castes, races, or tribes that are economically and socially disadvantaged and are therefore entitled to protection and specified benefits under the constitution. Untouchables, also known as Harijans (q.v.) or Dalits (q.v.), constitute the bulk of Scheduled Castes. See also Scheduled Tribes (q.v.). The 1991 census tabulated 138 million Scheduled Caste members throughout India, representing about 16 percent of the total population. The largest numbers were in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The schedule in the constitution does not list the Scheduled Castes by name.
Scheduled Languages: Article 351 of the Indian constitution allows the government to compile a schedule (list) of languages recognized by the government for use in state legislatures. The Eighth Schedule, written in 1950, lists Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Sindhi was added to the schedule in 1967, and Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were added in 1992. Article 343 of the constitution designates Hindi written in Devanagari (q.v.) as the official language of India. Even though it was supposed to be phased out by 1965, English continues as India’s other official language for use in Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the high courts unless otherwise authorized by the president.
Scheduled Tribes: Article 342 of the Indian constitution includes a schedule (list) of tribes or tribal communities that are economically and socially disadvantaged and are entitled to specified benefits. The tribes are listed in the Fifth Schedule. The 1991 census tabulated 67.8 million members of Scheduled Tribes throughout India, representing about 8 percent of the total population. The largest numbers are in Maharashtra, Orissa, and West Bengal. See also Scheduled Castes (q.v.).
schilling (S): National currency. Consists of 100 groschen. In relation to the United States dollar, the annual average exchange rate was S13.2 in 1989, S11.4 in 1990, S11.7 in 1991, S11.0 in 1992, and S11.4 in 1993.; Source: Library of Congress
search and destroy missions: Offensive military operations undertaken by United States combat units in Vietnam to find and neutralize the enemy, especially when the enemy’s strength and disposition had not been fixed precisely. The capture and holding of territory during such operations was not a priority.
Second Indochina War (1954-75): Armed conflict that pitted Viet Cong insurgents native to southern Vietnam and regular PAVN (q.v.) units with Chinese and Soviet logistical and materiel support on one side against ARVN (q.v.), United States, and smaller forces from the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Australia, Thailand and New Zealand on the other. Most of the ground fighting occurred in southern Vietnam. However, part of the conflict also involved an intensive air war over North Vietnam and Laos from 1965-73 and combat between competing indigenous forces in Laos and Cambodia.
secondary recovery: An artificial means of forcing oil out of rock by repressurizing older oil reservoirs with injections of gas or water.
Securitate: Popular term for the Departmentul Secevit#atii Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police. On a per capita basis, Romania has the largest such service in Eastern Europe.
Sephardim (sing., Sephardi; adj., Sephardic): Basically Jews whose families were of Spanish or Portuguese origin, wherever resident; historically, they tended to speak Ladino (q.v.) or Arabic. The term is often applied to those Jews who are not Ashkenazim. Since the 1960s, Sephard have often been called Oriental Jews.; Source: Library of Congress
seppuku: either voluntary (to expiate serious failure) or obligatory suicide (instead of execution) to regain one’s honor in death. A privilege reserved for the samurai class. Commonly referred to as hara-kiri.
serf: Peasant legally bound to the land. Serfs were emancipated by Tsar Alexander II in 1861.
Seychelles rupee (SRe): 1 Seychelles rupee = 100 cents; in August 1995 US$1.00 = SRe4.25.
Shabbat: Sabbath, observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
shahadah: Literally, ""testimony."" Islamic profession of faith: ""There is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is His Prophet.""
sharia: Traditional code of Islamic law, both civil and criminal, based in part on the Quran (q.v.). Also drawn from the hadith (q.v.); the consensus of Islamic belief (ijma; i.e., concensus of the authorities on a legal question); and analogy (qiyas; i.e., an elaboration of the intent of law).
shariat (sharia in Arabic): Islamic canon law. Among Shias (q.v.) the shariat includes the Quran and the authenticated sayings of the Prophet (hadith) and the Twelve Imams (q.v.).
sharif (Arabic pl., ashraf): Specifically, one who has descent from Muhammad through his daughter Fatima. Literally, noble, exalted, having descent from illustrious ancestors. Frequently used as an honorific.
shaykh: Leader or chief. Word used to mean either a political leader or a learned religious leader. Also used as an honorific. Frequently spelled sheikh or sheik.
Shia (also Shiite, from Shiat Ali, the Party of Ali): A member of the smaller of the two great divisions of Islam. Shias supported the claims of Ali and his line to presumptive right to the caliphate and leadership of the Muslim community, and on this issue they divided from the Sunnis (q.v.) in the first great schism within Islam. Later schisms have produced further divisions among the Shias over the identity and number of Imams (q.v.). Shias revere Twelve Imams, the last of whom is believed to be in hiding.
Shiite: See Shia.; Source: Library of Congress
shurfa (sing., sharif): In strict usage, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter, Fatima; broadly, persons or groups having noble status. Also transliterated as ashraf. Singular form is used as a title.
Singapore dollar (S$): Singapore’s monetary unit, which in late 1989 had an exchange rate of US$1 to S$1.94.
Sinhala: An Indo-European langauge of the Indo-Iranian group. It was derived from a Prakrit, or dialectical, form of Sanskrit. Majority language of Sri Lanka.
Sinhalese: The largest ethnic group, distinguished primarily by their language. As of 1981, Sinhalese constituted approximately 74 percent of the population; over 90 percent of them are Theravada Buddhists. Their ancestors probably migrated from northern India around 500 B.C.
Sipsong Panna: Region in southern Yunnan Province, China, from which migrated many groups that now inhabit Laos.
slash-and-burn agriculture: Method of cultivation whereby areas of the forest are burned and cleared for planting, the ash providing some fertilization. Area is cultivated for several years and then left fallow for a decade or longer. These practices by subsistence farmers could destroy almost half of world’s remaining 2.08 billion hectares of tropical forests, according to a study released by Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in August 1996.; Source: Library of Congress
Slavophiles: Members of the Russian intelligentsia in the mid-nineteenth century who advocated the preservation of Slavic, and specifically Russian, culture rather than opening Russian society and institutions to the influences of West European culture. Philosophically opposed to Westernizers (q.v.).
socialism (adj., socialist): In Marxist theory a stage of historical development transitional between capitalism and communism. Romania claimed to have attained socialism by 1965.
socialism/socialist: According to Marxism-Leninism (q.v.), the first phase of communism (q.v.). A transition from capitalism in which the means of production are state owned and whose guiding principle is ""from each according to his abilities, to each according to his work."" Soviet socialism bore scant resemblance to the democratic socialism that some West European countries adopted in the twentieth century.
Socialist Education Movement: Inaugurated in September 1962 at the Tenth Plenum of the Eighth National Party Congress Central Committee as a mass ideological campaign for both party cadre and the general population. The movement was patterned along the lines of the Yan’an rectification campaign of 1942-45 and was intended to increase ideological ""correctness"" and consciousness, especially in regard to reversing ""capitalist"" and ""revisionist"" tendencies perceived in social and economic life. The Socialist Education Movement, which continued at least until 1965, is considered a precursor of the Cultural Revolution (q.v.).
soft loan: A loan bearing either no rate of interest, or an interest rate below the true cost of the capital lent. The International Development Association, an affiliate of the International Bank for Reconstruction (see World Bank, q.v.), grants soft loans to developing countries for long-term capital projects.; Source: Library of Congress
sol (S/): Peru’s unit of currency, technically the nuevo sol (new sol), consisting of 100 céntimos, established officially as Peru’s monetary unit on January 4, 1991. In late 1992, the exchange rate for the new sol was S/1.63=US$1. In the late 1800s, a silver sol was the country’s currency until its metallic content exceeded its monetary value and it was exported instead of circulating. Before the 1860s, Bolivian coins circulated in Peru. The sol was established by law in 1931 as an unminted gold coin; bank notes were issued in terms of gold soles. It replaced the Peruvian gold pound created in 1900. The Peruvian pound was equivalent in value to the British pound, and both circulated as legal tender. Beginning in 1975, the value of the sol declined continuously as officials attempted to adjust the exchange rate to the rate of inflation. By mid-1985 the sol had deteriorated to more than S/11,900 per US$1, when a new unit of currency, the inti (equivalent to S/1,000), was introduced. By 1990 US$1 equaled about 188,000 intis. Consequently, President Fujimori adopted the new sol, equivalent to 1 million inti, in July 1991. The free exchange rate in Peruvian currency in February 1993 was 2,100 new soles to the dollar.
Solidarity: An independent trade union founded in 1980 in communist Poland. For its defiance of the communist system, the union attained great political power through the loyalty of a large part of the Polish population. It eventually formed the basis of the first postwar noncommunist Polish government, under the leadership of Lech Walesa.; Source: Library of Congress
som: Beginning in 1993, currency of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. In 1996 average exchange rate of Uzbekistani som was thirty-five to US$1; of Kyrgyzstani som, eleven to US$1.
Somali shilling (Sh): Currency of Somalia since national independence in 1960; divided into 100 Somali cents (centesimi). Exchange rates have varied considerably; average rates for the years 1987-89 as follows: US$1 equaled Sh105.18 (1987); Sh107.45 (1988); Sh490.68 (1989); Sh1,299 (May 31, 1990). From 1960 to 1971, US$1 equaled 7.143 shillings. The shilling began to fluctuate in the 1970s but remained around 6 to 7 shillings per US dollar. Beginning in 1981, a two-tier system was introduced, with the official rate following the market rate.
somon: Third-level administrative unit, subdivision of an aymag. The term, the root of which means arrow, derives from a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) hereditary military unit of about 100 families.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC): Comprises the seven nations of South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; headquartered in Kathmandu. Founded as South Asia Regional Cooperation (SARC) at a meeting for foreign ministers in New Delhi on August 1-2, 1983; the group was renamed when the 1983 agreement was ratified at the inaugural summit meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 7-8, 1985. SAARC’s goal is to effect economic, technical, and cultural cooperation, and to provide a forum for discussions of South Asia’s political problems.