Why is Folk Culture Clustered?

Why is Folk culture clustered? 1. Isolation promotes cultural diversity Himalayan Art (Buddhists/Hindus/Muslims/Animists) 2. Influence of the physical environment People who live in similar environments often adopt similar social customs (limited technology) Climate as an important factor clothing/footwear (fur boots, snowshoes, barefoot, wooden clogs) Housing Food

Food Preferences  Derived from environment  “The surest way to identify a family’s ethnic origin is to look in it’s kitchen”  Certain foods perceived to enhance certain qualities or considered to be taboos ○ Ex. Jaguars/Bulls in Paraguay, Otters in Japan, mandrake in Med. Balut This Filipino delicacy is a fertilized egg that is incubated until a duckling develops, and then soft- boiled and eaten.

Taboo – a restriction on behavior imposed by social custom. Food Taboos: Jews (biblical roots) – can’t eat pork; can’t mix meat and milk, or eat fish lacking fins or scales; Muslims – no pork; Hindus – no cows (used for oxen during monsoon) Papua New Guinea: Eating together vs. premarital sex Chad: Chicken & Goat vs. childbirth/ antelopes vs. deformities North Americans & insects Washing Cow in Ganges

Hog Production and Food Cultures Fig. 4-6: Annual hog production is influenced by religious taboos against pork consumption in Islam and other religions. The highest production is in China, which is largely Buddhist.

Thai Superstitions about Food and Eating * Don't eat a double banana because if you are a woman you will give birth to twins. * Don't eat before your elders because in your next life you will be born as a dog. * Don't eat salt under a tree because it will make the tree die. * Don't eat other people's food without permission because it will make your throat swollen. * Don't eat the leftovers from your child because it will make the kid naughty. * Don't eat corn when you have the flu because it will give you a higher fever. * Don't eat cold rice with hot rice because you will lose your way easily the next time you go out. * Don't eat egg when you have cut yourself because it will make it worse. * Don't eat chicken feet because it will give you bad handwriting. * Don't eat chili sauce in the mortar bowl because if you are a woman you will give birth to a child with big lips. * Don't eat turtles because it will make you walk slowly.

Folk Housing  Combination of cultural heritage, fashion, functionality, & env. Impact  Vernacular architecture  Building materials ○ Brick & Wood most common

 Orientation ○ Sacred walls/corners ○ Direction with meaning (front door, sleeping position, staircases)  Physical construction & environmental influence ○ Pitched roof = rainy ○ small windows = hot

FOLK ARCHITECTURE

Effects on Landscape: usually of limited scale and scope. Dwellings: historically created from local materials: wood, brick, stone, skins; often uniquely and traditionally arranged; always functionally tied to physical environment.

Folk Housing in the USA  3 principal housing types 1. New England – “Saltbox” house 2. Mid-Atlantic – “I”-house 3. Lower Chesapeake – “Tidewater” house