1. Human Geography By James Rubenstein
Chapter 4
Key Issue 2
Why is Folk Culture Clustered?
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2. Isolation Promotes Cultural Diversity
Folk customs observed at a point in time vary widely from one place to another, even among nearby places.
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3. Examples of Distinctive Folk Art in the Himalaya
Tibetan Buddhists
Hindus in the south
Muslims in the west
Southeast Asian animists in the east
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4. Cultural Regions in the Himalaya
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5. Tibetan Buddhists in northern region
Idealized divine figures, such as monks and saints.
Some of the figures are depicted as bizarre or terrifying, perhaps reflecting in the inhospitable environment.
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8. Hindus in the southern region
Scenes from everyday life and familiar local scenes.
Paintings sometimes portray a deity in a domestic scene and frequently represent the region’s violent and extreme climatic conditions.
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9. Snakes have long been popular subjects of Hindu art.
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10. Alam Shah closing the dam at Shishan Pass
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11. Muslims in the West
Show the region’s beautiful plants and flowers, because Muslim faith prohibits displaying animate objects in art.
In contrast to the Buddhist and Hindu, Muslims do not depict harsh climatic conditions.
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12. Abstract, geometric forms that translated into the architecture of mosques.
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13. Geometric forms in the ceiling of a Mosque
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14. Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City (Christian Art)
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15. Animist from Myanmar and Southeast Asia.
Create symbols and designs that derive from their religion rather than from local environment.
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17. The distribution of artistic subjects in the Himalayas shows how folk customs are influenced by cultural institutions like religion and by environmental processes such as climate, landforms, and vegetation.
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18. Influence of the Physical Environment
Examples exist of peoples who live in similar environments but adopt different social customs.
Examples exist of peoples who live under different environmental conditions but adopt similar social customs.
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19. Examples of Environment Influence on Clothing
Residents of arctic climates wear fur lined boots to protect from the cold.
People in the tropics may wear no shoes, because heavy rainfall discourages their use.
Dutch farmers wear wooden shoes because they are waterproof.
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20. Two necessities of daily life
food and shelter
demonstrate the influence of
cultural values and the environment
on development of unique folk culture.
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21. Distinctive Food Preferences
Geographer Vidal de la Blache regards clothing and weapons more subject to modification than the dietary regime.
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22. Soybeans as Examples of Food Preference Adaptation
Excellent source of protein.
Widely grown in Asia.
Toxic and indigestible in the raw state.
Edible if cooked thoroughly.
Fuel for cooking is scarce.
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23. Soybeans as a Food Source
Bean Sprouts (germinated seeds).
Soy Sauce (fermented soybeans)
Bean Curd (steamed soybeans).
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24. In Europe
Preference for quick-frying foods in Italy resulted in part from fuel shortages.
Abundant wood supply in Northern Europe encouraged the slow stewing and roasting of foods over fires, which also provided heat for homes.
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25. Food Diversity
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26. Although food customs are inevitably affected by the availability of products, food consumed in neighboring cultural groups often reflect distinctive traditions.
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27. Ethnicity of Transylvania Before WWII
4 million Hungarians
4 million Romanians
500, ,000 Saxons
50,000-75,000 Jews
20,000-25,000 Armenians
Thousands of Szeklers
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28. Soups Consumed by the Poor In Transylvania
Romanians ate sour bran soups from cracked wheat, corn, brown bread, and cherry tree twigs.
Saxons simmered fatty pork in water, added sauerkraut or vinegar, and used fruits.
Jews preferred soups of beets and sorrel.
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29. Soups Consumed by the Poor In Transylvania continued
Armenians made soup out of curdled milk and ground vegetables.
Hungarians added smoked bacon and thickened the soup with flour and onion fried in lard.
Szeklers substituted smoked goose, or other poultry for the bacon of the Hungarian recipes.
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30. Food Attractions and Taboos
People may desire or avoid certain foods in response to perceived beneficial or harmful natural traits.
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31. A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom.
Taboo
A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom.
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32. Examples of Food Taboos
Abipone Indians of Paraguay eat jaguars and bulls to make themselves strong.
The mandrake was thought to enhance lovemaking in Mediterranean climates.
The Ainus in Japan thought that otters would make one forgetful.
Europeans first thought potatoes caused typhoid and tuberculosis.
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33. Environmental factors to the Prohibition against Hogs
To the Hebrew, pigs were unsuited to pastoral nomadism, and the meat spoiled quickly in hot climates.
To Muslims in Arabia, pigs competed with humans for food and water, without offering compensating benefits like wool, or milk.
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34. Annual Hog Production
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35. Environmental Reasons for the Hindu’s prohibition against Beef
A large supply of oxen are needed to pull plows.
Religious sanctions have insured an increasing population of cattle.
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38. Insects as Food
Americans avoid eating insects, despite their nutritional value.
In Thailand, giant water bugs are deep fried as snack foods.
Americans consume insects in canned mushrooms and tomato paste.
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40. Trays of tasty insects at the night market, Hat Yai, Thailand
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41. Folk Housing
The house is a product of both cultural tradition and natural conditions.
A reflection of cultural heritage, current fashion, functional needs, and the impact of the environment.
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42. Distinctive Building Materials
Wood when forest are available.
Bricks of dried wet mud, when trees are in limited supply.
Also used are resources such as stone, grass, sod, and skins.
Drywall for interior wall is used to save money.
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43. Distinctive House Form
Form often reflect religious values.
- East wall is sacred in Fiji
- Northwest wall in China is sacred
- Walls and corners are also noted in parts of the Middle East, India, and Africa
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44. Houses in Madagascar
The main door is in the west (the most important direction).
Northeast corner is most sacred.
North wall for honoring ancestors.
Important guest enter room from the north and sit against the north wall.
The bed is placed against the east wall, with the head facing north.
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45. In the south-central part of Java, the front door always faces south, in the direction of the South Sea Goddess, who holds the key to Earth.
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46. Houses in Laos
Beds are arranged perpendicular to the center ridgepole of the house.
People sleep with their heads opposite their neighbors.
A child, living next door, sleeps with his or her head toward the parent’s feet.
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47. Housing in Laos
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48. Houses of the Yuan and Shan of Thailand
All sleep with their heads toward the east.
Staircases must not face west (the direction of death and evil sprits).
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49. Housing in Thailand
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50. Housing and Environment
Pitched roofs in wet and snowy climates to facilitate runoff.
Windows face south in temperate climates to take advantage of the Sun’s heat and light.
In hot climates, window opening may be small to protect the interior from the heat of the sun.
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51. Housing In China Kashgar have second floor open-air patios.
Small open courts in Turpan.
Large private courtyards in Yinchuan.
Sloped roofs in Dunhuang.
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52. House types of Western China
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53. U.S. Folk House Forms
Pioneer homes reflected the style in the place from which they migrated.
Homes built in the past half century display popular culture influences.
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54. Major hearths of folk house forms in U.S.
New England
Middle Atlantic
Lower Chesapeake
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55. Source areas of U.S. house types
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56. Major house types in New England
Saltbox
Two-Chimney
Cape Cod
Front Gable & Wing
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57. Diffusion of New England house types
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58. Major house types in Middle Atlantic
The “I” house resembled the letter “I”, because it was one room deep, two rooms wide, two stories high.
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59. Lower Chesapeake or Tidewater
One story, with steep roof, chimneys at either end, and typically one room deep.
In wet areas house was raised on piers or brick foundations.
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60. Today’s Houses in U.S.
Distinctions are relatively difficult to observe.
Most houses are mass produced by construction company.
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