Buraku People Essay

The City of Boroondara acknowledges the people of the Kulin Nation as Traditional Owners of the land of Boroondara. Today, two community organisations represent the interests of Indigenous people in Boroondara and the Eastern Metropolitan Region. They are the Wurundjeri Land Tribe and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council Inc. (Wurundjeri Council) and the Inner East Local Indigenous Network (LIN). The Wurundjeri people are recognised as the Traditional Owners of land in the northern area of Boroondara. The Wurundjeri Council represents the Wurundjeri people and is the key contact for activities occurring in the northern area that can only be performed by Traditional Owners. The Inner East LIN is an Indigenous community organisation representing the interests of Indigenous people in Boroondara and the Eastern Metropolitan Region.

The caste system initially served to maintain strict social boundaries between the invaders and the previous inhabitants. Through the generations, the origins of the caste system were forgotten and it became the general rule of a single society (University of Wyoming, 1997).

The Mesopotamian society existed in 3500 B.C., in what is today modern Iraq. This society created the first legal codes in human history; these codes created laws, but also were filled with inequality and social division. For example, the fine for rape in the Code of Ur-Nammu was only a mere five shekels. This small fine is insulting to women and would be unacceptable today. An example for inter-social class fairness, however is in Hammurabi’s Code. Law 200 states that if a man knocked out the tooth of another man of the same social standing, he should have his tooth knocked out as well. This legal code also had difficulties with proving crimes occurred, law number one in Hammurabi’s code is a prime example, it states that if one were to accuse a crime, had no evidence, he shall be put to death. The Mesopotamians added a lot to human history, but were discriminable against women, had an abundance of social class fairness, and had dilemmas prosecuting crimes.

54-56). Many of the laws specifically include different punishments for people of different classes. For example, if an awilu blinds another awilu he will in turn be blinded, but if an awilu blinds a commoner he will have to pay the commoner 60 shekels of silver (p.56). The upper class seems to have been held to high standards and were more valuable to society. Within the stratification of this society, elders were also viewed to be more valuable and respecting them was important. Many of the laws deal with personal property and damages that could be done to them, giving the impression that personal property was important in Babylonian society. Having personal property leads to social stratification because people who own houses or land are more powerful than people who do not, meaning they would be placed in a higher class. Although property was valued, it was clear that laws involving property were created only for men because women did not own

Discrimination in the novel is mostly obvious from Joseph Strorm, who is ironically the father of a deviant, David Strorm. He is the strictest devout of his religion in Waknuk and being the heir of Waknuk, he bears the responsibility to keep the society deviation-free. He does so by discriminating against deviants, like the society, and punishing them for being born ‘wrong’. His devotion to God and the ‘Definition of Man’ can be seen when he hit his son, David for wishing he had a third hand by mistake. He is sensitive to any form of deviation and punishes them harshly but he does admit that God is merciful, as seen from ‘God, in His mercy, may yet grant you (forgiveness)’. This is ironic as Joseph, being a devout, should be following God’s footsteps and be merciful in his actions too but he is willing to kill and punish people instead, contradicting his religion. His intolerance of deviations led him to discriminate against them, as can be seen from how he refused to help Aunt Harriet and humiliated her instead when she came begging for help to save her innocent deviant child. Joseph had also discriminated against the great horses unsuccessfully as the government had approved of them and there

Around the time of 1792 to 1750 B.C.E., a man by the name of Hammurabi was the ambitious ruler of Babylon. During his reign, he established a compilation of laws that assigned penalties based on retribution, thus creating a list of socially structured regulations centered around the idea that a person who commits a crime must be punished proportionally. Hammurabi’s code is proof of the division amongst the nobles, commoners and slaves in the time period, as well as evidence of the power that the men had over the women.

The code that Hammurabi wrote was extremely rigid and had marked a clear division among classes. A person’s status or class in society decided their fate in the courts which was terribly harsh. You had special laws for commoners, aristocrats, slaves, and legally free people. The majority of the population of Babylon were slaves so of course they were treated very poorly.

People of mixed Jewish and Aryan races were referred to as Mischlinge, and even those who had married Jews were counted fully as Jews and accused of race defilement (75). These Germans were treated as such, including all laws and punishments. As for children, it became increasingly difficult to be in school. The next chapter goes into great detail on how it was very difficult for Jewish children to attend school.

The governing legal, moral and religious codes of ancient civilizations were written and enforced by a minority that exercised power and authority over the majority. This minority consisted of priests, rulers and elites with established power and influence in society. In these codes of early civilizations, there was an overarching emphasis on maintenance of structure and order in society. Simply put, while these codes reflect the conditions, needs and values of the times in which they were formulated, they also unveil the authors’ agendas to preserve their power by maintaining the status quo. Therefore, these codes acknowledge and uphold the prevailing social, gender and racial inequalities as natural conditions of human existence and reveal the manifold biases present in early civilizations.

During the Spanish conquest of the Incan Empire the role of the Kuraka was crucial in gaining control over the Andean society. The role of the Kuraka could be thought of as “provincial nobility”[1] whose main job was to control the labor and tribute made and delivered from the natives to the state. In order to do this job the Kurakas had to maintain respect from the natives while maintaining good relations with the colonial state. This could be difficult considering that too much affiliation with the state could lead to a loss of status to the natives, and a loss of respect from the natives would make one useless to the state. “The Indian who broke entirely with his own culture

Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today

5. What tangible cultural evidence might support the social disadvantages of the lived experience of being in the majority group? And the minority group?

Today a lot of society feels that there is a set example of what is socially acceptable. Recently many people have started embracing others and themselves for their individuality. However only a short time ago, people were treated much more harshly for who they were. Throughout history, society has gone through several significant instances of discrimination. Anyone who was flawed and did not fit into the ideal categories set up by the world were considered inferior. Anne Frank was personally affected by a large amount of discrimination and exile, which brought her and the ones she loved a lot of anguish.

One such example is the use of salt for purification after a funeral which is said to cleanse the shi-e that accumulates when gazing at a dead person. In addition, the consummation of animal meat, which is said to contain shi-e, is frowned upon up till a mourning period of forty-nine days. This revulsion against shi-e is further evidenced in the abjection and discrimination against the Burakumin community, who are a class of people that dealt with the removal and disposal of corpses and animal carcasses, as well as the butchering and skinning of animals for leather making. Due to their exposure to shi-e, the Burakumin were labelled as untouchables and considered filthy. Ranked amongst even the lowest of class, despised and excluded, their discrimination was most audacious during the Edo period. Various regulations were put in place to ensure their blatant segregation from common folk. They were ordered to hang pieces of animal fur around their necks and on the doors of their houses for easy identification. They were also banned from marrying people outside of the Burakumin community and from entering sacred areas. Even today, prejudice against descendants of the Burakumin exist and they inevitably face discrimination from schools, companies and marriage prospects. It is thus evident that shi-e creates a profound influence on the psychology

If anyone in Equality’s society were to disobey the Council, they would be punished. “We have seen one of such men burned alive in the square of the City. And it was a sight which has stayed with us through the years, and it haunts us, and follows us, and it gives us no rest. We were a child then, ten years old. And we stood in the great square with all the children and all the men of the City, sent to behold the burning. They brought the Transgressor out into the square and they led them to the pyre. They had torn out the tongue of the Transgressor, so that they could speak no longer” (Rand 50). The Council had shown the community the burning of the Transgressor as a threatening bribe so that the community would know not to disobey The Council, because if they did they would be punished. The threat of punishment was an indirect form of bribery placed by that society’s government on its daily life. Bribery is one of the negative side effects that result from the corruption of government actions.