Revealing Mien Culture Through Artifacts Essay

While his coworkers constructed his designs, what hobby did Bernini pursue? Answer Selected Answer: Correct Answer: Writing plays and designing stage sets Writing plays and designing stage sets

In this documentary, The Split Horn Life of a Hmong Shaman in America focuses on the religious containment of the Hmong people. Their rich history goes back to the time in a village in North East Asia where they believed that the Shaman were the great healers for the sick. The Hmong were living a peaceful life until the Vietnam war broke out and destroyed their village. Many of the Hmong villagers fled their beloved homeland in order to seek refuge form the war. Many were fortunate enough to find shelter in Thailand where they stayed for the majority of the conflict. Some were even lucky enough to get a sponsorship to America. As they slowly came to America the Hmong were worried that they might lose their religious roots to the American customs.

Human beings, desire to maintain a connection with the past is achieved through the languages spoken, the various cultures practiced, and sadly through acquiring of cultural property by the means of grave robbing. Native Americans wanted justice for these past mistreatments and control over their history. According to Chip Colwell, campaigning, repatriation of indigenous artifacts began in the 1960s by indigenous activism. Finally, on November 16, 1990, The United States Government passed The Native American Graves Protection and Reparation Act. NAGPRA summarizes that museums must conduct an inventory of all native American cultural artifacts and remains. (Native) In addition, Museums send the inventories to federally recognized tribes, in

The San were greatly influenced by their long-term connection with an ancient past. The San’s society can be characterized by “mobility, sharing, and equality.” Their economic life was mostly controlled by their desire to continue their long-standing customs and very old traditions. Unlike the Chumash’ much larger camps of thousands of peoples, the

1. Ben Franklin, pointing to the sun carved on the back of the presiding officer's chair, remarked; "Throughout the days we have been laboring here, I have observed that sun, and wondered whether it was a rising sun or a setting sun. Now I know it was a rising sun."1 Throughout our lives we have been told of how our country was formed. I am here to tell you about the things the history books and teachers don’t tell you about the freemasons and there shaping of the United States of America. We will start with freemasons an agency that has been shaping history since the building of King Solomon’s temple.

The Chimariko was a small group that is now part of list of extinct tribes in America. According to Kroeber (1976,109) they are a descendent of the Hokan, it is noted that they maintained their original language better than other groups such as Shasta and Pomo. (109) The Chimariko were estimated to be at 250 people in 1849, six people in 1903, and according to Kroeber “In 1906 there remained a toothless old woman and a crazy old man.” (1976,109)

Souls, spirits, and their purpose regarding humans and life influences different Hmong cultural traditions, such as the Seed Ceremony, the String-Tying ritual, and a Hmong funeral (PBS:1). Each tradition involves souls and their connections to the human body, which establishes the importance of souls in the Hmong culture as they are a continuing theme and belief in many traditions and rituals (PBS:1). The Hmong and this connections to the soul is an example of habitus, unconscious actions and activities individuals in a group do often. The people are believing in spirits and their connection to souls. It is an unconscious and unquestionable belief shared by the Hmong people; therefore, categorizing the active thought and belief in spirits as habitus. Considering the Hmong’s viewpoint on souls in traditional rituals as habitus is critical to understand because it establishes that these views are common and important to the Hmong, thus establishing this view as an ordinary detail of their life. Spirits and their healing powers have a much greater value in Hmong culture over other healing methods, such as western medicine. Due to their large faith and belief in healing with spirits, other practices are not taken as seriously, as evident by Lia’s parents and not following the medication’s directions. There was a language and cultural barrier that also influenced their

Unfortunately, time-honored Hmong traditions are challenged by American culture. For example, there is conflict between Hmong Christians and Hmong Animists. Animists sacrifice animals to worship spirits; they believe “that all living things have spirits” (Brittan, 1997). Hmong Christians worship God and condemn animal sacrifice. As a result, Christianity altered traditional Hmong rituals and ceremonies. For instance, Christianity eliminated the payment of a bride price

The Japanese American National Museum is located in the heart of Little Tokyo, surrounded by many ramen diners, mini malls, and japanese boutiques. The museum opens up chronologically, starting off by displaying the migration of the Japanese with their aspirations to start a new life in America. After many displays of progress and struggles, the bombing of Pearl Harbor resulted in Japanese evacuation and eventually the internment of the Japanese as the United States entered World War Two. After many emotional and disheartening displays of life in the internment camps came the reparations and apologies from the American Government. In the last gallery there was pictures and displays of the modern era Japanese arts and culture.

The author’s purpose in writing this article was not to show the “Nacirema” as an example of how extreme human behavior can become, but how an outside perspective can affect your perception of an alien culture. If one were to look at the “Nacirema’s” cultural behaviors regarding physical appearance and health without any insight or knowledge of the specific beliefs or values of that culture, they might seem bizarre and even incomprehensible. By showing behaviors and “rituals” performed by this unknown tribe, Miner allowed others to see that the way studies were representing distinctive cultures was narrowminded and defective. Without the proper comprehension of the basis of any society, huge cultural misunderstandings could occur. Of

The main religion of the Hmong people is animist which is the belief in the spirit world and the interconnection between all living things. It revolves around an important figure in each hmong village called the Txiv Neeb or shaman which is a master of spirits, this shaman can be a man or woman and they have the power to access the spirit world. When someone gets ill or suffers misfortune the Hmong believe it is the evil spirits called dabs who have scared off or kidnapped the person’s soul. When this occurs it is the job of the shaman to perform rituals in order to ward of the dabs and bring back the soul thus restoring health and harmony to the person’s

The Olmec are believed to be the first great Mesoamerican civilization. The city known as San Lorenzo existed around 1200BC and declined in 400 B.C. It is considered to be the first major city in ancient Mexico.

In the Congo, of Africa, lives a tribe known as the Mbuti. They are pygmies (dwarf like people) living in a luscious rain forest known as the Ituri. The Ituri Forest existed prior to the last ice age. The universe of the rainforest is one of purged sunlight below a lofty, expansive cloak of trees, where abysmal peace exists with the punctuating cries of the numerous birds and animals that share the forest with the Mbuti. A consistent, peacefully affable warmth, ample rainfall, damp air, and rich earth nurture the abundance of vegetation that grows. The abundance of vegetation benefits animals, birds, and insects that are soon to become a nutrimental source of the Mbuti diet. The culture of the Mbuti derived from their dependents on the

The Mbuti people are known as foragers because their main source of survival lies on hunting and gathering as they move from one place to another. They originated from a region in Africa called Congo. The Mbuti people even with their fairly decent population prefer to be grouped into smaller groups or bands which are mostly made up of close relatives. They live in the rainforests of central Africa, where they have lived popularly for more than 6000 years now.