Before diving into a certain culture of the world. You must ask yourself first: What is culture ? According to the Sociology textbook culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society's shared values, and contribute to society.(Sociology). Furthermore, There are four main elements to every culture in the world. They are symbols, language, Norms, values and beliefs. In Order for any culture to be a culture these four elements must be present. The great civilization of Ethiopia existence can be dated back to 930 BC. Since 930 BC, the culture of Ethiopia had prospered and has become the way …show more content…
A symbol is anything that is used to stand for something else. Within the culture of Ethiopia there are thousands of symbols for basic things such as animals or money. For instance, one symbol for Ethiopia is Teff. “Teff is species of lovegrass, which can be found in the northern Ethiopian Highlands of northeastern Africa. It contains dietary fiber, iron, protein and calcium.”(Walia Ibex Expedition). Teff is a symbol of Ethiopia because Teff is used to make the national bread “Injera”. Furthermore, when it comes to Ethiopian symbols they are quite culturally diverse mainly due to the fact that they have symbols that they share with other cultures. For example, the Ethiopian culture has the same symbol of religion “the cross”(Christianity) as the United States does. However, in Ethiopia the cross symbolizes the strength and reliance of the monarchy on the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the dominant religion for the last sixteen hundred years. In addition, one of the most well known symbols of Ethiopia is “The Lion of Judah”. (The Dread Library). The term is used to represent all the nation rulers and kings of Ethiopia. In fact, The Lion of Judah is quite similar to the national flag and emblem. After the abolition of the monarchy a provisional emblem occurs, consisting of the uncrowned Ethiopian lion. The colors on the national emblem are in fact, the colors on the …show more content…
Norms are guidelines we use to determine how we should behave in any given situation and what would be considered as appropriate behavior.(Sociology). Within the element of norms there are two types of norms known as mores and folkways. Mores can be understood as norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance. Folkways are quite different mainly since folkways are norms for routine or casual interactions. Meaning folkways are less serious than mores. In Ethiopia the norms are quite hospitable. For instance, a common norm in Ethiopia can be how Ethiopians will not take a seat before their guests. Things like this should not be interpreted as anything other than a sign of respect.(Commisceo-Global). This type of norm would be considered a folkway mainly due to the fact that this norm is for constituting appropriate behavior. Moreover, another norms would be giving gifts with two hands, or only the right hand never just left, and removing shoes at the door of a home and not refusing a cup of coffee when offered. These are more examples of folkways. In addition, some examples of more in Ethiopia would be having sexual relations before being married. This action is seen with the utmost disapproval because this conveys that the person having sexual relations is considered
Folkway can be described as community customs. Folkways can also refer to the standards of behavior that are socially accepted, however, not morally significant. They are considered the norms for everyday behavior that the community is expected to follow for the purpose of tradition and convenience. Norms on the other hand can be described as particular cultural expectations that govern the behavior of people in a society. Breaking a folkway is not a serious offence and does not lead to a sanction. Examples of folkways include cultural forms of food habits and dress.
How does one define what culture is? Culture is defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with, their world and with one another - transmitted from generation through learning. This is particularly meaning a pattern of behavior shared by a society or group of people; with many things making up a society’s ‘way of life’ such as language, foods etc. Culture is something that molds people into who they are today. It influences how people handle a variety of situations, process information and how they interact with others. However, there are events when one’s own culture does not play a significant role in the decisions that they make or how they see the world. Despite
Many people moved from their country to another to have a better life, moreover; they would adopt another culture and shifted to new culture. when I first come to the United States, it is hard for me to interact with culture because American culture is different from Ethiopian culture. For some Ethiopian people is easy, they actually adopt American culture. today, it is going to be hard to leave and to come in the United States as immigrant because of the new president of The United States, Donald Trump. There are two differences between Ethiopian and American culture such as, have a right to speak and how they are respect the elders.
When considering what the African diaspora is, there is one period of time that people commonly refer to. This period of time is the Atlantic Slave Trade. While not the only diaspora of the African people in history, the Atlantic Slave Trade is most commonly thought of due to the scale at which Africans were being emigrated, with around 10-15 million Africans being brought over to the Americas, as well as the effect it has on us today. When looking at the experiences of Africans, they greatly differed dependent on where they landed. These experiences affected later generations of Africans, forcing them to adopt their own culture based on their surroundings and what they were accustomed to from Africa.
The African empires, kingdoms, and cities had many achievements before the arrival of the Europeans. Some of these achievements had influences many other places in the world. Three major achievements were the trading systems, their military forces and strengths of its people, and the wealth and success.
What is culture? Many people ask themselves this question every day. The more you think about it the more confusing it is. Sometimes you start leaning to a culture and then people tell you you’re wrong
Culture is a difficult concept to put into words. “Traditionally anthropologists have used the term culture to refer to a way of life - traditions and customs - transmitted through learning” (Kottak, et al. 2008: p.11). Children inherit their culture, as well as social norms and ethics, through a process called enculturation. Enculturation, in essence, determines who a person will become, because culture defines who a person is. More specifically, “Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities or habits acquired by man as a member of society” (Taylor, 1971/1951: p. 1). In modern society, our traditions and customs come from a variety of different sources. Television,
What is culture, one might ask? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, culture is the “customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group or the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time” (Culture). Five major characteristics that define a culture include culture is learned, culture is shared, culture is symbolic, culture is all-encompassing, and culture is integrated. Culture depends on the human capacity for cultural learning that encompasses shared rules for conduct and that are dependent upon symbols. Cultures can be integrated by using “social and economic forces, core values, and key symbols” (Mirror for Humanity, 2002). This essay will elaborate on the physical geography and military history of Sub-Saharan Africa, an analysis of its weather, and an overview of the ASCOPE acronym.
Lets start by understanding that cultures are a melting pot of people’s beliefs, language, behaviors, values, material objects, and norms. Norms are written and non-written “expectations of behavior” that govern a certain location, place, or culture (26). These norms also vary from culture to culture meaning what is a norm in the U.S may not be a norm in India. For example, a norm in America would be tipping a waiter after a meal. Another would be acknowledging someone as you walk past him or her, typically done at work or in a public place. In all, norms are folkways, mores, taboos, and written laws that are an established standard of one’s behavior.
Culture can be defined as “A pattern of basic assumptions invented, discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore to be taught to the new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems”. Schein (1988)
Norms are a part of everyday life. Without norms the world would be in total chaos. Norms by definition are rules of behavior shared by members of a society and rooted in the value system. ( ) Norms are held at a high standard in a society and are valued by its members. Norms vary from society to society. What is considered normal in one society may not be acceptable in another society. Norms are a societies way of living if a member of society breaks that norm they may be looked at as strange or even penalized depending on what kind of norm is broken. Norms are broken into three categories which are folkways, mores, and laws. Folkways are customs or desirable behaviors that are not strictly enforced. Violating a folkway is not criminal, but violating a folkway may have you looked at as weird. Mores are the strongest form of norms they have great moral significance in a society. Violating a more is considered immoral or borderline criminal. The strongest form of mores are taboos which are unthinkable action within a society. Laws are the third category of norms that a...
Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people…Culture in its broadest sense of cultivated behavior; a totality of a person’s learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning (http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/choudhury/culture.html).
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.
Apartheid is a word that means ‘separation’ in Afrikaans which is a spoken language in southern Africa. Apartheid was used in the twentieth century for racial segregation and political and economic discrimination in the late 1940’s . This is the separation between the blacks, coloured, and white South Africans. The apartheid in South Africa displays racial inequalities by having the twenty percent of whites rule over the majority of blacks and coloured. All whites wanted the blacks to have a whole other separate society. The African National Congress (ANC) which began as a nonviolent civil rights group tried to get rid of apartheid which was not successful until Nelson Mendela became the president and restored the South Africans natural rights.
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.