Eating Christmas in the Kalahari In Richard Lee’s Article, “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari,” describes his experience living with the !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert in south central Africa, but it does more than just recount a three year stint with a native African tribe. Lee’s work with the Kalahari Bushmen also showed the distinct differences of how different societies of people conducted themselves and what customs were considered social norms. When two different groups of people live among themselves misunderstanding is often a common ground. Richard Lee as an anthropologist found that living among an unfamiliar group of people often lead to misunderstandings being common due to cultural barriers. In the story the main focus is when Richard Lee wants to thank the Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari for their cooperation for the last year, and since this would also be Lee’s last year in the field. Lee plans to celebrate Christmas with the Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari by purchasing the biggest most enormous ox he find. In this is where Lee’s views of gratitude get construed with the social customs and norms of the Kalahari Bushmen. In the United States, when people do a deed that they deem as an act of kindness, a simple “thank you” is seen as how someone thanks someone …show more content…
In American culture, I am used to being polite when a gift is given to me and making sure to thank those who have given me the gift as a sign of appreciation. Seeing how other cultures interact and what is considered social norms is always astounding to see and this article just shows the differences of the Kalahari Bushmen and the norms Lee is used to in the United Sates. Lee’s Article about the Kalahari Bushmen shows the distinct differences of how different societies of people conducted themselves and what customs are considered social
“Rifles, Blankets, and Beads” delivers an entertaining perspective on the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross. This book is an outstanding resource for anthropologists, students, and educators. In reviewing this book, the author brings a descriptive writing style when analyzing the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross culture and history with a focus on the potlatch giving us insight details how the potlatch celebrated among the Tanacross people. The author, William E. Simeone, is a great source for the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross because he lived there among the people. In addition to living there he also attended ceremonies in both Tanacross and surrounding villages, and participated in potlatches within the villages.
“Rifles, Blankets, and Beads” delivers an entertaining perspective on the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross. This book is an outstanding resource to anthropologists, students, and educators. In reviewing this book, the author brings a descriptive writing style when analyzing the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross culture and history with a focus on the potlatch giving us insight details how the potlatch is seen and celebrated among the Tanacross people. The author, William E. Simeone, is a great source on the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross because he lived there among the people. In addition to living there he also attended ceremonies in both Tanacross and surrounding villages, and participated in potlatches within
Have you ever realized the importance of manners, morals or even customs? There was once a time where it mattered to many people. In July of 2001 the realization came about that it does not mean as much in present times. In the essay by Judge Till it explains the importance of manners, morals, and customs through the perspective of Southern people. The organization techniques Till uses in his essay clarifies the relevance and effectiveness of his overalls points within the essay.
Throughout Bruce Knauft’s book, The Gebusi, there are four distinct periods that showed the change that the people went through. In his work, Knauft describes each of these cultural changes in great detail. Knauft lived and studied with that Gebusi in the time periods of 1980-1982, 1998, 2008, and 2013. Knauft’s first visit in the early 80’s was marked by the Gebusi’s relative isolation and distinct and unique cultural attributes. The Gebusi people dressed in traditional clothing, often times very minimal.
Subsequently, the Flats culture methods of survival differ from the other cultures, for they are essential for an urbanized life style. Their culture is revolved around methods of survival as poor Black families working hard to have shelter and safety for their families. Alas, all three cultures survival strategies vary based off their geological regions. Moving forward, all three tribes differ in methods of survival because of the different geological regions. In Lee’s book, the San people of Africa have a survival strategy of foraging on mongongo nuts; a bundle is gathered up in truckloads by the men and women of the village.
The San and Chumash Comparison The San and the Chumash, as described in the textbook, Ways of the World, by R.W. Strayer are examples of hunter-gather cultures, both of which continue to exist today. The San originated in southern Africa in an area spanning modern day Botswana, the Kalahari Desert and Namibia (25). The Chumash originated on the other side of the globe in Sothern California in an area spanning around modern day city Santa Barbara and the islands right off the cost (29). Now why do I bring your attention to these two cultures? Both of which are great examples of the trials and tribulations that faced humanity throughout the ages and if studied correctly can help guide anthropologist on how and why societies change.
It's a gift" (Golding,1962). The boys do this when they hunt down a pig and put its head in a stick. They believe that by giving an offering it will not try to kill them. The same actions were done in the Lewis and Clark expedition when they offered the Indians clothing, pipe tomahawks, beads, jewelry, flannel, and many different types of knives (UV, 2007). In return for all the gifts, the Indians offered the Americans food, medication, and shelter from the harsh
Could you ever imagine having to uproot your family’s entire way of life to travel across the ocean to a foreign country that would not fully commit to your belief of Christianity? In Barbara Kingsolver’s intriguing novel, The Poisonwood Bible, she tells the story of a typical all American family from Bethlehem, Georgia. The readers’ are able to visualize the family’s lives being completely revised by the chain of events that takes place through their God led journey to the Congo. The Price family is very familiar to the certain lifestyle the United States offers, where we take advantage of having our everyday necessities on hand, even down to our Betty Crocker cake mixes, access to fresh drinking water, protection from an abundance of diseases, and much more. They quickly begin to understand that if they want to survive all in one piece, they must adapt to this new way of life.
However, it was also a telling of Native Americans customs from a Christian point of view. In most stories, sharing was a constant among natives sometimes including the captives, but this makes one ponder: are there any differences in the word sharing between Natives and Christians? the way Christians despise the reckless tendencies of Natives to share all they have with others while Natives consider sharing an honorific custom may be attributed to a cultural difference.
Traditional practices in Anishnaabe culture include learning to hunt with family which helps to understand the land as their ancestors once did. Evan had just returned from hunting and he was thinking about what would happen if they ran out of meat for the winter and had to purchase more. “Evan ate southern meats when he had to, but he felt detached from that food”(6). Eating food you hunted and worked hard to put on the table has a different meaning and feeling attached to it. Whereas when you buy it from the store it does not take as long to collect and no work was put into gathering said meal.
Horace Miner, a American Anthropologist wrote an academic essay titled “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.” In this article Miner described some of the bizarre rituals and practices of the “Nacirema” which the reader comes to find out that he is talking about North Americans. The way Miner goes into detail about how these people live makes them seem foreign. Thus making the norm for an American lifestyle seem odd because the certain type of lingo Miner uses to make this “tribe” more exotic then the actually are. His point in doing this is to show the reader how obnoxious anthropologist can be when they are explain a different culture.
In the mid-nineteenth century, a girl named Ni-bo-wi-se-gwe (Oona) was born in pitch darkness in the middle of the day when the sun and moon crossed paths. The book Night Flying Woman by Ignatia Broker is the biography of Broker’s great-great-grandmother, Oona. It describes Oona’s life through what Broker has learned from her grandparents when they passed down the stories. In the book, one of the main themes is passing traditions on. I chose this theme because, in the book, passing traditions on is a major part of the characters’ culture.
A person’s culture is their way of life. From a young age, we learn to act within the norms of our culture and to be truly ethnocentric. What if one day someone came into your life and told you everything you were doing your entire life was wrong and stupid? Brian Moore’s Black Robe, tells the story of Laforgue, a Jesuit priest from 17th Century Québec who travels to an unfamiliar land called New France. Laforgue’s goal is to convert Algonquin Native Americans into God fearing Christians. Laforgue faces many cultural misunderstandings with the Natives along his journey; he finds the most difficulties understanding the native’s concept of death, why they value dreams, and overcoming ethnocentrism.
Across the world, traditions are carried throughout many communities, and when others try to change these said traditions, there is typically backfire and disagreement. In the short story “Dead Man’s Path” by Chinua Achebe, the same background is used to fuel the story’s plot. Although it is believed that keeping certain traditions alive will prevent people from changing with the times, these traditions must still be respected and appreciated for keeping past generations alive. The plot of the story follows a new headmaster of a school named Obi who has plans of implementing changes to the school.
Have you ever read a novel about African cultures and traditions from African point of view? The novel Things Fall Apart, a tragedy by Chinua Achebe, centers on one tragic hero in Igbo village of Umuofia in Nigeria and the effects of European arrival on his life and Igbo clan. Throughout the novel, Achebe introduces Igbo customs to the reader by creating several occurrences and how they react on them to claim that the Igbo is civilized before the Europeans arrive. The significant difference between Igbo and Western cultures is the way wisdom is passed on: Igbo oral traditions transmit values and knowledge orally by allegorical tales, while Western literary traditions educate people through generations by written texts, just like the novel itself.