The Minangkabau culture is very distinct, in that they are commonly known for having the “largest and most stable matrilineal society in the world”. (Golden, 151). The Minangkabau have more than four million people who reside in West Sumatra (Stark, 1) area and have a well-established trading system with other parts of Indonesia. They are a great contributor to the trading system and have been able to influence others with their culture. Even with having a matrilineal system, it is the males who take the chief role in the society. The male’s role is another reason why the commercial industry is so successful. In the end it is adat that governs the Minangkabau culture. The social structure of the Minangkabau is their matrilineal society. Matrilineal means that the individuals belong to the family of the mother. All property and wealth is associated through the female’s line, yet property cannot be sold without the clan’s consent. The way family is structured is when a woman is ready to marry; the woman pays a groom price to the prospective husband’s family, which is to be given to the mother. In many cultures the husband pays the family of the woman he wants to wed a gift, but it being a matrilineal society the woman pays the groom price for the marriage to be done. Once married, it can be seen as a “visiting arrangement” (Golden 151) because the husband comes over at night to be with his wife, but once morning comes he goes back to where he lives, which is his sister’s house, to finish their work. He is more like a guest in his wives house because he only goes to visit his children or for meals. Although a husband may have children, it is not his responsibility for caring for them. The man ‘s responsibility is caring for his sist... ... middle of paper ... ...nt characteristic of their matrilineal system. Most art pieces are reflecting Minangkabau culture and values. In their performances there is a lot of openness to high esteem, which is why there is a lot of interaction between the audience and the performers. The performers want to be open with the audience and establish a connection with them. That is the reason why they always have a circular shape when a performance is done. The circular pattern and communication interaction of their performing arts reflects the social and value system of the Minangkabau culture. (Utama) The Minangkabau are very good at protecting their culture. Adat is their way of keeping to what they believe and do not let outside interference change their way of life. They are unique in that women are the ones that have control over property. In cultures that I have seen it is the man who do.
In John Barker’s Ancestral Lines, the author analyzes the Maisin people and their culture centered around customs passed from previous generations, as well as global issues that impact their way of living. As a result of Barker’s research, readers are able to understand how third world people can exist in an rapid increasing integrated system of globalization and relate it not only to their own society, but others like the Maisin; how a small group of indigenous people, who are accustomed to a modest regimen of labor, social exceptions, and traditions, can stand up to a hegemonic power and the changes that the world brings. During his time with these people the author was able to document many culture practices, while utilizing a variety of
In the rough and tropical island of Papua New Guinea, lived an exceptional aggregation of individuals called, The Gebusi. In the 1980's, The Gebusi tribe was anything besides up to date and acculturated. The Gebusi had their own particular singular and special customs and conventions that they rehearsed and accompanied. The Gebusi tribe took part in custom homosexuality, divination or witchcraft was exceedingly respected and polished, and they partook in particular sister-trade relational unions. By 1998-99, The Gebusi tribe had made another lifestyle. The Gebusi had gotten accustomed with new social convictions, modernization due to “western ways” that had changed their lives until the end of time especially changing their ways and view on gender roles and sexuality.
In her book, The House of Lim, author Margery Wolf observes the Lims, a large Chinese family living in a small village in Taiwan in the early 1960s (Wolf iv). She utilizes her book to portray the Lim family through multiple generations. She provides audiences with a firsthand account of the family life and structure within this specific region and offers information on various customs that the Lims and other families participate in. She particularly mentions and explains the marriage customs that are the norm within the society. Through Wolf’s ethnography it can be argued that parents should not dec5pide whom their children marry. This argument is obvious through the decline in marriage to simpua, or little girls taken in and raised as future daughter-in-laws, and the influence parents have over their children (Freedman xi).
The social and political organization of the Basseri and the Nuer are very much different. The Basseri’s social organization is based upon that of nuclear families; they are also neolocal, meaning that upon marriage a couple starts their own nuclear family in a new tent. After marriage, in order for the couple to begin a new household, the husband usually receives part of his father’s herd and at times, if not given any animals, the husband can work and receive animals as a payment. During the spring, the nomadic tribes can be supported in large numbers in a single camp; while during the winter, camps are setup in smaller groups. The Basseri reckon descent patrilineally where inheritance is usually from father to son. A woman bestows membership rights to her own tribe or her offspring. The Basseri consider themselves one unified tribe because they are all subsumed under the authority of a single leader, the chief of all the Basseri.
Dadi is a group of people in northern India, the village consist of five hundred families, people who are related by ties of marriage, blood, or social/ legal affirmation. These families live with an established residence of patrilocal, meaning the household consist of the husband’s parents, brothers and their brother’s wives and children. Dadi’s families have post-marital patterns and pros and cons for each of the family members. Mosuo on the other hand is an ethnic group from southwestern China who also live in a patrilocal community but have matrilineal ties meaning they help each others family but live with their own. In this society the women have different positions than in the Dadi society.
“The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality, and Change in Papua New Guinea” is a book written by Gilbert Herdt. It is based on a case study Herdt did during the 1970’s of the culture of the Sambia people. His study took place in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. He didn’t know much about their language, however through out his time there he was able to learn their language and customs. As he settled into their village, he mostly slept in the clubhouse with the other Nilangu villagers; however, eventually they built a house for him to stay at. Herdt had a great interest in gaining new knowledge about the Sambia culture.
Unlike most cultures which are patrilineal, the Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea are matrilineal. In the book, The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea by Annette Weiner, the kinship of these people is matrilineal. In our culture we have a patrilineal system. The father is the one that has a say about the children, the land, and when the father marries they move into the father’s house. However, with the Trobrianders it is quite different. The mother and her children are all part of the same kinship or matrilineage, the father of these children belongs to his own matrilineage, that of his mother.
Uluru has cultural meaning to the Anangu people. These people are from the oldest culture known to man as they have dated back 60,000 years. Their main belief is that their culture has always been known to be around in Central Australia and that Uluru was created during the beginning of time by great ancestral beings. Due to the cultural significance Uluru holds, the site has now been used for traditional ceremonies and rituals for over 10,000 years. The Anangu people continue
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
The Americas and the Pacific Islands was home to several ancient civilizations such whose remnants are still visible today. The Olmecs of Mexico represented the first major civilization of Mesoamerica. Next, the Caral-Supe of Peru is arguably the oldest civilization in the Americas. Lastly, the Lapita Culture in the Pacific Islands represented a dominant culture among the newly inhabited islands of the Pacific. Each of these civilizations are share similarities, albeit the distance between them.
As long as the husband lived with his wife, the wife and children were fed and clothed off the husband's labor. Men and women had specific roles in the Hopi tribe. While men were in charge of politics, war, and agriculture, the women did the nurturing, storytelling, music, and some of the artwork. The house, fields, and orchards belonged to the wife since the husband moves in with the wife after marriage, but the husband owns his tools and animals. At about age four the children were threatened if they did not begin to do small tasks. Boys were treated more harshly than girls. Several years ago, sending children to school was a big conflict between families, while today education is valuable to the Hopi. Livestock was usually passed onto the children of both sexes from the parents, but most commonly given to the sons, while the daughters inherited the houses. Each family belongs to one of the 34 clans in the Hopi tribe. Hopi clans are matrilineal, meaning they trace their family through the mother. Each clan has special duties they perform and ceremonies they hold. You are not allowed to marry someone within your clan since you are considered a “family.” When a mother has her child, it is the father’s clan that takes care of the mother and child and names the child (Hopi- Marriage and
In India, people learn the essential themes of cultural life within the bosom of a family. In most of the country, the basic units of society are the patrilineal family unit and wider kinship groupings. The most widely desired residential unit is the joint family, ideally consisting of three or four patrilineally related generations, all living under one roof, working, eating, worshiping, and cooperating together in mutually beneficial social and economic activities. Patrilineal joint families include men related through the male line, along with their wives and children. Most young women expect to live with their husband's relatives after marriage, but they retain important
When the two families communicate they set a time and place to meet to discuss dowry, time, and location of the wedding. The soon to be newlyweds first meet is attended by both families. During that time the males of the families huddle in the center of the room, while the couple sits at the periphery of the room and exchange glances. If th...
Australia did not always want to grant Papua New Guinea (PNG) its independence. Starting from the end of World War II and into the1950s, the Australian colony of Papua and the United Nations (UN) Trust Territory of New Guinea, merged in 1949, and appeared to lie securely with Australia. The Minister for Territories, Paul Hasluck, in 1951, thought that self-government in PNG was still about a century off. The Australian public, had little concern for PNG. But there were many security concerns for Australia about perceived communist expansion, in the political future of Papua New Guinea. These security concerns contributed to changing the Australian government attitudes to the region in the early 1960s. There was also concern with international criticism of Australia's 'procrastination' in Papua New Guinea; this criticism came from Africa, Asia, Britain, Canada and the U.S. The Prime Minister of Australia, at the time, Robert Menzies thought that granting independence in Papua New Guinea, should be exercised sooner than later. However, this awakening to the need for change in Papua New Guinea was accompanied by little constitutional development. In 1960 there were some alterations to the territory's Legislative Council, but of the 37 members of the Council, only 6 were indigenous to PNG yet they were representing 98 percent of the population. The majority of power lied with the public service, which was largely independent of the legislature; it was only effectively controlled by the Australian Department of External Territories. Australians were still uncertain what to do with the colony. An example of this uncertainty can be shown in the proposal for making Papua New Guinea a seventh Australian state. This pr...
Edward B. Tyler defined culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society”. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines development as “the gradual growth of something so that it becomes more advanced and stronger”. There is a nexus between culture and development. That is one way or the other; they are dependent on each other. Nevertheless, there are some aspects of culture which tries to hinder and halt development and these aspects of culture are called cultural barriers. They get in a way of a country’s development but it does not inevitably mean that countries with such flaws cannot develop. There have been series of researches which have dealt into this matter to bring to light countries with these negative aspects of culture but have been able to develop. The main motive of this work therefore is to make known such cultural barriers and how they can be overcome to ensure progressive development.