Local Culture, Popular Culture, and Cultural Landscapes

Cultural Systems What we eat, when we eat and how we eat is an example of cultural differences Some Asian cultures eat with the right hand, East Asian cultures use chopsticks, Western cultures use knife, fork and a spoon. Certain foods are considered delicacies by some cultures, unclean and unfit for consumption by others. E.g. shrimp, snails, worms, insects, etc. Voice-tone and level are very culturally specific. Body gestures-Japanese bowing, Western shaking hands, tipping of the hat Various marriage customs-intermarriage is accepted in some societies, but not others

Chapulines (grasshoppers) in the Market in Oaxaca, Mexico Fried Grasshoppers in Oaxaca, Mexico Toasted chapulines-grasshoppers fried with garlic and lime-sell for about $5 a pound Chapulines (grasshoppers) in the Market in Oaxaca, Mexico

Habit-a repetitive act by an individual. Custom-when an entire group does it. Tradition-the same as a custom-the term implies longevity. Folk culture-the enduring, traditional practices of a people. Popular culture-the rapidly changing tastes and customs of a group. Folk culture example-traditional Dutch costumes worn on festival days in Marken, Holland. Right-a young lady in Amsterdam wearing modern clothes.

Left-an Apache girl nears the end of her Sunrise Ceremony which is a coming of age ceremony for young girls reaching puberty. The sacred pollen on her face invests her with healing powers. A good example of a cultural trait. Right-festival in Tarabuco, Bolivia. The revelers wear wool hats that mimic the steel helmets that were worn by the Spanish conquistadors of the 16th century.

Folk or Local Culture: A group of people in a particular place who see themselves as a collective or a community, who share experiences, customs, and traits, and who work to preserve those traits and customs in order to claim uniqueness and to distinguish themselves from others. Folk culture is typically rural-cohesive Cossacks in Ukraine wear traditional military uniforms

Hutterite Colonies in North America The Hutterites Hutterites are the only Anabaptist group that lives communally in a colony of about 100 people. Unlike the Amish, the Hutterites readily accept technologies that help in agriculture. The Hutterites are an example of a local culture.

Why are Hutterite colonies located where they are?

Popular Culture: A wide-ranging group of heterogeneous people, who stretch across identities and across the world, and who embrace cultural traits such as music, dance, clothing, and food preference that change frequently and are ubiquitous on the cultural landscape. Madonna wearing a red string Kabbalah bracelet.

Kenya and India-November is the most popular month for weddings. Wedding day, the Maasai bride is led to her new home by her family where she is given a new name. The Indian couple have Sikh ceremony at 7 am and a Hindu wedding at 11:30 am Gifts-Kenya-cattle, India statues of Ganesha, a elephant-headed deity to bring luck

How do cultural traits diffuse? Hearth: the point of origin of a cultural trait. Contagious diffusion Hierarchical diffusion

Play Abba’s “Dancing Queen” & Bering Strait songs Employing the concept of hierarchical diffusion, describe how you first became a “knower” of your favorite kind of music – where is its hearth, and how did it reach you? Play Abba’s “Dancing Queen” & Bering Strait songs

Local cultures are sustained by maintaining customs. a practice that a group of people routinely follows. Aboriginal women baptize an infant with smoke

Material and Nonmaterial Culture The things a group of people construct, such as art, houses, clothing, sports, dance, and food. Nonmaterial Culture The beliefs, practices, aesthetics, and values of a group of people. Examples-religion, language, traditions & customs Little Sweden, USA (Lindsborg, Kansas): Is the Swedish Dala horse part of material or nonmaterial culture?

Local Cultures often have two goals: 1. keeping other cultures out to avoid assimilation. (ie. create a boundary around itself) 2. keeping their own culture in. (ie. avoid cultural appropriation-the adoption of customs by other cultures) Inuit or Eskimos fishing with harpoons-they make up only 2% of Canada’s population