Halwa And East African Culture

The East African Swahili city-states were autonomous and did not have to report to a central power. However, they were three things that linked the city-states that made them a common culture:

In the play Ola Nā Iwi, by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, the importance of bones to Hawaiians is revealed through a riveting journey, following bones stolen from a museum, smuggled into Hawaii, switched between multiple people, almost being taken by Pua and finally ending at a resting place. Throughout the story characters use masks and deception to hide anything from their ethnicity, to their true intentions. Masking is used by Pua when she claims to be one hundred percent Hawaiian, when she hides her true intentions behind helping recover the bones, and when she claims to be doing everything for the greater good of Hawaiian people and it makes her less worthy of a human being.

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

Culture is the characteristics of a group of people defined by language, cuisine, religion social habits music and art. There are many different types of culture including western culture, eastern culture, African culture and many more. Culture is influenced by the groups of people that make up the country (Zimmermann, 2012). The term culture was first used by an English Anthropologist named Edward B. Tyler. It was first mentioned in 1871 in his book named ‘Primitive Culture’. He stated that culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”. Since then culture is the main focus of anthropology.

Dance has always been the focal point in which Africans are able to let free through movements of emotion. In this essay I will discuss the history of African Dance and its importance to the African Culture. Also will be discussing the general information of African dance, the different types of African dance and the ones that I like the most. Dance in the African culture is something that cannot be taken advantage of in the African Culture because it holds such a strong meaningful moment at the time of any occasion.

From the 1500s to the 1700s, African blacks, mainly from the area of West Africa (today's Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Dahomey, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon) were shipped as slaves to North America, Brazil, and the West Indies. For them, local and tribal differences, and even varying cultural backgrounds, soon melded into one common concern for the suffering they all endured. Music, songs, and dances as well as remembered traditional food, helped not only to uplift them but also quite unintentionally added immeasurably to the culture around them. In the approximately 300 years that blacks have made their homes in North America, the West Indies, and Brazil, their highly honed art

Language and space greatly affect ones perception of society and culture. What we are surrounded with on a daily basis can influence how we may see the world. The Ogimaa Mikana Project seeks to challenge the way the dominant, and marginalized communities within Canada view the way in which Aboriginal culture and heritage are represented. Beginning in Toronto in January of 2013 and expanding for the next several years, the Ogimaa Mikana Project uses Aboriginal language throughout spaces in Ontario to reflect the impact of language and colonization on societies perceptions of the place of aboriginal peoples. The project begs the question so few confront, how does the way language and the space we occupy affect those around us.

In 1998, a Na’Na’Kila Institute was established that helps protect and the development of the Haisla culture, including language. The Na’Na’Kila helped bring back the Haisla totem pole (Gyp’sgolox) that was removed in 1929 and was missing for more than 60 years. In 1991, it was discovered in the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm. On July 1,2006, the totem pole

In 1976, an archaeology class was digging up remains on land owned by the University of California when they excavated two skeletons (termed the “La Jolla remains”) that are almost 10,000 years old, which made them some of the oldest known human remains in North America. NAGPRA was passed in 1990, and the University of California gave the Kumeyaay nation – consisting of thirteen federally-recognized Native American tribes – legal custody of the human remains. In 2006, the Kumeyaay Cultural Repatriation Committee claimed the remains. In 2007, the Native American Heritage Commission, which is the organization that identifies and catalogs Native American artifacts, stated that the Kumeyaay Cultural Repatriation Committee as the likely descendants

Art originally in earlier cultures had a different purpose. Currently people create art for an aesthetic purpose for others to view in galleries, theaters, or museums creating distance for the audience. Initially art was created for purposes other than aesthetics, and people participated and interacted with the art and artist. This intertwined relationship between humans and art is especially seen in the Dineh and Wilbiri cultures. These two groups created drypaintings. People in both these groups directly interacted with the paintings instead of viewing them from a distance. Currently, there is a sense of distance instead of interaction. In these groups, humans participated directly with the artist and the art itself. In both

The rave culture enjoys immense popularity among today’s youth, the whole concept is to promote peace and living and along with this, the concept has also seen the introduction of the special Kandi bracelets and other types of clothing and accessories.

Ainu are the oldest inhabitants of Japan, also the minority in Japan, they live in the Hokkaido region of Japan, has a long history and rich cultural background. The content will describe the Ainu language and their culture. By understanding the language and culture of Ainu, will help us better to understand the cultural diversity of modern Japanese society.

The Kandi fashion is indeed one of the most popular among today’s generation, the art of just tying beads to their belongings has now taken a radical term with the introduction of specialized Kandi gear to take things up to a whole new level.

In this course we have learned about all of the different cultures and their musical traditions. My favorite so far has had to be the west African music culture. They have a variety of different music, instruments, and dances to contribute to the reasons I liked this music culture so much. So, I have taken it upon myself to further my research on this particular musical group. I will compare and contrast a variety of different videos from the west African music culture and I will analyze how they connect to this culture.

     Before one starts to outline the traditional religion in Africa, one must first explain the way Africa is as a whole. Without the knowledge of the past combined with knowledge of culture, one would have a very vague, if any, understanding of traditional religion.