Part one
The first part of the assignment was slightly difficult. Not being able to talk and express myself through my voice. I have no idea how animals communicate with others by only body language and sounds because my partner was getting pretty frustrated with me after about 5 minutes of her talking and me just nodding my head and looking interested in the conversation. I also got a little annoyed with me not being able to communicate back. By me being human and having the intelligence to communicate orally it was very hard for me to try and talk without actually talking.
I beleive that the symbolic culture has a better advantage in communicating only because they were taught how to communicate without speaking and most cultures can understand body lanugage. With a speaking culture not all other cultures may speak the same language as them so it then becomes difficult to communicate with one another if both are speaking different languages.
Part two
We were able to last the 15 minutes but it was very hard for me to not make facial expressions. I caught myself raising my eyebrows a few times during the conversation. My partner I believe lost interest in the conversation because it becaome quite boring. With me not being able to move my hands or make facial expressions I couldnt express myself and I also was very monotone.
The use of signs are very important in our language in my opinon. I believe this because with being able to use hand signs and body language we can go more into how we feel or express our conversations.
Part three
If I was permitted to use written language in part one, it would had been much easier to complete. I say this because with written language you can write down exactly how you feel or say what you want and it be understood as long as the other person can read. Written language helps lots of cultures especially for people who cant physically or verbally express themselves to others.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
zulu/andean
The Zulu
The 9 million Zulu-speaking people live mainly in KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Some are also scattered throughout the other provinces. KwaZulu-Natal borders on Mozambique in the north, Eastern Cape in the south, the Indian Ocean in the east, and Lesotho in the west. The capital city is Pietermaritzburg. KwaZulu-Natal is semi-fertile with a flat coastal plain, highlands to the west, and numerous rivers and streams. The subtropical climate brings lots of sunshine and brief, intense rain shower.
Even though the area which the Zulu live is subtropical when its not the rainy season the land can become very dry and hot this is where the skin of the Zulu people has adapted to accommodate the heat. The darkness of there skin acts like shade in which it helps the body stay cool from the sunlight. Another physical adaption from the Zulu is their hair which is coarse and and oily which helps them to also stay cool and protect their head from direct sunlight.
The Zulu also adapted culturally,. Because of the climate in which they live there is no need for excessive clothing men and women have their own seperate wardrobe in which it is proper for them to wear.
Today, the everyday clothing of a Zulu is no different from that of any modern urbanite. Traditional clothing, however, is very colorful. Men, women, and children wear beads as accessories. Men wear amabheshu , made of goat or cattle skin, which looks like a waist apron, worn at the back. They decorate their heads with feathers and fur. Men also wear frilly goatskin bands on their arms and legs. Women wear isidwaba , a traditional Zulu black skirt made of goat or cattle skin. If a woman is not married, she may wear only strings of beads to cover the top part of the body. If she is married, she will wear a T-shirt. Zulu only wear their traditional clothes on special occasions, such as Shaka's Day and cultural gatherings.
The 9 million Zulu-speaking people live mainly in KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Some are also scattered throughout the other provinces. KwaZulu-Natal borders on Mozambique in the north, Eastern Cape in the south, the Indian Ocean in the east, and Lesotho in the west. The capital city is Pietermaritzburg. KwaZulu-Natal is semi-fertile with a flat coastal plain, highlands to the west, and numerous rivers and streams. The subtropical climate brings lots of sunshine and brief, intense rain shower.
Even though the area which the Zulu live is subtropical when its not the rainy season the land can become very dry and hot this is where the skin of the Zulu people has adapted to accommodate the heat. The darkness of there skin acts like shade in which it helps the body stay cool from the sunlight. Another physical adaption from the Zulu is their hair which is coarse and and oily which helps them to also stay cool and protect their head from direct sunlight.
The Zulu also adapted culturally,. Because of the climate in which they live there is no need for excessive clothing men and women have their own seperate wardrobe in which it is proper for them to wear.
Today, the everyday clothing of a Zulu is no different from that of any modern urbanite. Traditional clothing, however, is very colorful. Men, women, and children wear beads as accessories. Men wear amabheshu , made of goat or cattle skin, which looks like a waist apron, worn at the back. They decorate their heads with feathers and fur. Men also wear frilly goatskin bands on their arms and legs. Women wear isidwaba , a traditional Zulu black skirt made of goat or cattle skin. If a woman is not married, she may wear only strings of beads to cover the top part of the body. If she is married, she will wear a T-shirt. Zulu only wear their traditional clothes on special occasions, such as Shaka's Day and cultural gatherings.
With the Zulu people I already took on the assumption of them being African/Black mostly because of my heritage and having an understanding why they are of the darker complection and by knowing what area they live in.
In anthropolgy I do not believe that physical or culture adaption is more informative then the other. I think that they both have their own reasoning for being in the study of anthropology and both can help determine where a person is from or their heritage.
Andean Indians
The area in which the Andean Indians live in is situated entirely within the tropics, and the seasons are marked more by differences in precipitation than in temperature. Lowlands tend to be hot, but elevation tempers the climate on some of the islands and along the mountain ranges that run through Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela. Areas of heavy rainfall support dense forest, whereas a few dry regions support little more than sparse grass.
The Andean Indians have addapted physically by, having been born and raised at altitude appears to confer a substantial advantage in highaltitude performance compared with having been born and raised at sea level. A number of characteristics have been postulated to contribute to a high-altitude Andean phenotype; however, the relative contributions of developmental adaptation (within the individual) and genetic adaptation (within the population of which the individual is part) to the acquisition of this phenotype have yet to be resolved. A complex trait is influenced by multiple genetic and environmental factors and, in humans, it is inherently very difficult to determine what proportion of the trait is dictated by an individual’s genetic heritage and what proportion develops in response to the environment in which the person is born and raised. Looking for changes in putative adaptations in vertically migrant populations, determining the heritability of putative adaptive traits and genetic association analyses have all been used to evaluate the relative contributions of nurture and nature to theAndean phenotype.
The Andean Indians adapted through culture by domesticating the Alpaca for its hide to use for clothes and blankets to stay warm especially on the frost bitten nights. They also grew maize (corn) which is a very sturdy crop that can grow in almost any climate.
When considering a race for the Andean Indians you would automatically just say indina because of their back ground with the Incas and simply because they are calle Andean "Indians". But just through their skin complection and hair texture I would stick with Indian as their race.
In anthropolgy I do not believe that physical or culture adaption is more informative then the other. I think that they both have their own reasoning for being in the study of anthropology and both can help determine where a person is from or their heritage.
work cited
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Cultural descriptions
mislead- I feel the people of the Nacerima were mislead because of how they were to believe the medicine men were actual healers. The people were led to believe that if they didnt do their mouth rituals that there teeth would fall out, friends and family would leave them, and their gums would bleed.
greed- the holy mouth men had a temple where the extremely ill would come to be healed. Before they would be allowed in the temple for treatment they first had to present the holy men with a gift. Also after they received treatment and were ready to be released they had to give another gift just to be able to leave the temple.
abuse- the Nacerima were very hard on themselves when it came to their rituals with lacerations to the face and severe healing procedures where most of the people who went into the temples dont make it out alive. To put yourself and your family through such horror and pain for a belief is disturbing.
dedicated- to be able to put yourself through so much pain and to be able to put trust in a medicine man knowing that others that have rarely make it out of the temple is dedication to ones religion and beliefs. knowing the mouth is a major part of the nacerima and that the whole community belives in the holy mouth men but see that others teeth are still decaying takes real trust that eventually things will get back on track.
crazy- to base your life on your mouth to keep friends and family and go through painful acts to keep with a belief to me is crazy. to have to give a gift to receive treatment where you know your most likely not gonna make it and if you do to have to give another gift just to leave the temple all in all is insane in my opinon
1) as an American I feel that my choice of descriptive words are very judgemental of how another country or tribe lives.
2)
3) I think my main word of choice that should be changed or taken away all together is "crazy" it was a wrong choice of words looking back at it because there are cultures in the world that might think the same about me and what I belive and I shouldn't judge others that way.
4) It is important to avoid judgement because everyone has their own beliefs and even though you may not agree with others ways of life they cant help how they live or what they believe in especially if that is how they were brought up in the world.
It is hard to avoid personal cultural bias but I think it is possible to avoid it by having an understanding that everyone is differnt and has different beliefs and upbringing.
greed- the holy mouth men had a temple where the extremely ill would come to be healed. Before they would be allowed in the temple for treatment they first had to present the holy men with a gift. Also after they received treatment and were ready to be released they had to give another gift just to be able to leave the temple.
abuse- the Nacerima were very hard on themselves when it came to their rituals with lacerations to the face and severe healing procedures where most of the people who went into the temples dont make it out alive. To put yourself and your family through such horror and pain for a belief is disturbing.
dedicated- to be able to put yourself through so much pain and to be able to put trust in a medicine man knowing that others that have rarely make it out of the temple is dedication to ones religion and beliefs. knowing the mouth is a major part of the nacerima and that the whole community belives in the holy mouth men but see that others teeth are still decaying takes real trust that eventually things will get back on track.
crazy- to base your life on your mouth to keep friends and family and go through painful acts to keep with a belief to me is crazy. to have to give a gift to receive treatment where you know your most likely not gonna make it and if you do to have to give another gift just to leave the temple all in all is insane in my opinon
1) as an American I feel that my choice of descriptive words are very judgemental of how another country or tribe lives.
2)
3) I think my main word of choice that should be changed or taken away all together is "crazy" it was a wrong choice of words looking back at it because there are cultures in the world that might think the same about me and what I belive and I shouldn't judge others that way.
4) It is important to avoid judgement because everyone has their own beliefs and even though you may not agree with others ways of life they cant help how they live or what they believe in especially if that is how they were brought up in the world.
It is hard to avoid personal cultural bias but I think it is possible to avoid it by having an understanding that everyone is differnt and has different beliefs and upbringing.
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