English 101-McElroy
Compare and Contrast- Rough Draft
March 22, 2011
Maasai Culture v. American Culture
In the tribal villages of eastern Africa the Maasai marriages are arranged by the elders without ever first consulting the bride or the mother of the bride to be. Unlike, that of my own culture in the United States of America, where I am free as a citizen to choose whomever I may choose to marry and when and if I may marry. Polygyny is that of which is practiced in the Maasai culture, as an ideal that is achieved only by that of the elder men of the tribe. Unfortunately, as a result ofthemen being much older at the time of marriage, most women become widows, knowing that it is understood that they should never remarry again.
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In the Maasai community and as in mine, marriage is considered very important. However, when two people are brought together to become a husband and wife in the Maasai community, the newlyweds are expected to live with each other forever; divorce is not an option.Once the Maasai man has chosen and paid for his wife he is then allowed to bring gifts to the woman's family. By first giving the presents as he sees fit, to a final point where it will become clear to those in the community that he has taken an interest in the well-being of the girl's family and that she is not to be readily available. These gifts the Maasai man has given to the girl will create the bride-to-be’s dowry, the purpose of which is not to create wealth for the bride's family, but rather to legalize the marriage. By the man putting his mark on that family, he is making itso that if anyone else tries to approach the family and offer a bride price, it will have been made clear that the girl has already been given away to another family and is spoken for. Like that of an engagement ring or wedding band worn by both the men and women in my community, as it is displaying to everyone that they are spoken for and are not available to others in the community.
As the wedding day begins in Maasai culture the groom brings the bride price, including three cows, of which two are female and one is male and all are black, and two
I think it would be an understatement to say that there are many differences between the American and Hmong birthing process's. Chapter one describes in explicit detail the common process of how a baby is born into the Hmong culture. Specifically following the life of a woman named Foua. Myself being more familiar with the American way of childbirth, I found this woman's story fascinating. The process's and beliefs that the Hmong have toward childbirth are vastly different than American's. The Hmong seem to be more superstitious about the whole thing, and don't believe in modern medicine. While on the American side, we use every medical precaution, to the point that every minute of the babies development and birth is planned to a tee.
Marriage practices vary across cultures. Every culture has its own way of conducting marriage according to their traditions and customs. Most cultures share common customs and practices, while some cultures have unique practices. Marriage refers to a social union agreed upon by the couples to unit as spouses. The union of couples implies sexual relations, permanence in union, and procreation. This research paper focuses on comparing marriage practices in American and Indian culture. There is significant difference between the two cultures in marriage practices.
A traditional ceremony consists of feeding friends and visitors attending, the wedding ceremony would take place in the hogan with the groom and his father or uncle sitting on the west side followed by the bride and her father or uncle. Sitting beside the boy on his right side they would be positioned towards the east which was facing the door. Starting with the girl she would pour water onto the boy’s hands and he would wash them, then he would do the same to her washing her hands, this symbolized purity and cleansing. A medicine man would then pray quietly while arranging a corn meal mush decorated with pollen, they would then take turns eating the mush starting with the boy followed by the girl. Usually they were instructed to eat it all, but if it was not all eaten it would be passed to each of the boys family members so they could have a bite. Once the mush was eaten the mother of the boy would keep the basket where the mush had been and preserve it at all times, this was important to a successful marriage. Traditional weddings were held at night, but modern traditions allow them to be held in the daytime, and because of this some believe it is the reason for divorce and family problems. Once the wedding ceremony was over the couple would stay in the hogan while family and friends went home. Traditional Navajo
As a comparison between tribal and western communities, a brief story is shown about a marriage in Canada. This marriage is the man’s second but the woman’s first, although she already has two children. This part of the film shows the man and woman getting ready for their wedding and talking of how they knew it was the right time to get married. Their wedding marks a right of passage separating them from the dating world and bringing them into the married world. Like the Nyinba tribe, a gift is given in the wedding ceremony to show this but instead of coins they exchange rings.
Weddings are one of the important circumstance around of the world. Every county has their owns ways of wedding ceremonies. Although, in past the wedding ceremonies were just simply, but as time pass by weddings were improved. However, In Afghanistan, wedding ceremonies are the same as it was in the older generation. Wedding culture is passed from old generation to the new generation while nothing is being changed. Meanwhile in America, wedding ceremonies are being changed and getting more futuristic. As a result, there are three differences between Afghan and American wedding ceremonies such as their Cloths, Culture, and food.
One of the best forms of family structures is polygyny which has been eroded through modernity and changes in culture. A unique culture, polygyny, particularly practiced in the Sub-Saharan Africa. According to Grey (2008), “Of the twenty-nine nations in the world classified as having high rates of polygyny, twenty-seven are located in sub-Saharan Africa, where the incidence of co-wives is ten times that found in other polygynous
Marriage is a fundamental practice that influences village dynamics and political processes in many societies in past and present human cultures. Not only is marriage a process that supports human kinship systems, it allows for alliances and reciprocity systems between groups that create variation in human social organization (Walker et al. 2011). This paper explores the sources of variation in marriage and mating systems in two very different societies, the !Kung San and the Yanomamo, in terms of the vastly different environments each of them inhabit. The !Kung San, a traditional nomadic hunter-gatherer society, reside in the Dobe area on the edge of the Kalahari desert of Botswana (Shostak 1981, p.7). Due to the demanding environment of
In Millennium: Strange Relations, presented by David Maybury Lewis examines the concept of marriage by focusing on three different groups the Nyimba of Nepal, Wodaabe of Niger, finally a Canada (Western European viewpoint). Lewis also examines the concepts of monogamy, fraternal polyandry, and polygyny with the respective case studies.
The procedure for this particular tribe marriage is initiated once a young girl reaches the age of adolescence (hits puberty), if and when she decides to marry a boy/man, she gives him an invitation and a certain type of bread (loaf of Gomi). If he accepts the invitation for marriage, then he said to leave a bundle of fine clothes and white buckskin moccasins at the entrance of her door. The young man will have to option to either deny or accept the proposal which is a great thing. After leaving the fine clothes and buckskin in front of the door now the girl is said to have an option to accept or deny his acceptance. After the couple decides to
“Sometimes it is impossible to know where you are headed without reflecting on where you came from. Understanding your heritage, your roots and your ancestry is an important part of carving out your adventure.” When reading from Close Range and A Radiant Curve the reader gets the feeling that both of these women have strong ties to their heritage, their roots. It is evident in Luci Tapahonso’s poem “The warp is even: taut vertical loops”. Tapahonso wants the reader to feel close to her family as she feels. “Suddenly I miss my father to. How he savored such mornings (Tapahonso 3).”
The bridal price of an ancient Jewish bride not only compensated a young woman's family, but the amount also indicated the love that a young man had for the woman in terms of what he was willing to pay. The ancient Hebrew word for a bridal payment is called mohar. Mohar was paid by the groom to a bride's father, and it was an obligation under ancient Jewish law. Mattan, however, was a gift given directly to an ancient Jewish bride, and it was considered to have been an expression of love from the bridegroom. The ancient Jewish custom of mohar was the financial side of marriage, but mattan was the romantic side, much like today when a young man presents an engagement ring, as protocol for the request of a hand in marriage.
apparently originated when a bride's parents gave her presents and sometimes, the groom's family paid for the bride, often
Like the Gisaro, the Kaluli people partake in many other traditional ceremonies that show the reciprocity of food, labour, and duties. In marriage there is an abundance of gift-giving and labour sharing which involves both the groom and the bride’s family. When a bride is chosen, the groom must compensate the bride’s family with brides-wealth, and both sides begin to part-take in many ceremonies. (Schieffelin, p.26) One side will bring the other many fruits and meat, and then the other side will return the favour by doing the same, creating an on-going cycle of food-giving. (Schieffelin, pg. 26) Food is continuously exchanged and prepared by both in-laws because it is one of the best methods the Kaluli use to form and maintain social relations with their in-laws and family. “Food as gift or
Marriage is a significant social event in contemporary society. It is a means of building new bonds between two individuals and their subsequent families. The foundations of memorable weddings are built on those that bring often-distant family and friends together for the occasion, while dressed in their most sophisticated attire, surrounded by elegant flowers, a night of dancing, captured through the lens of an exceptional photographer. Although Hinduism and Islam are two extremely distinctive religions, their matrimonial customs do share some comparable elements, like most other cultural wedding ceremonies. In both religions, they are devotedly obedient concerning religious and cultural practices in their marital ceremonies.