comparative ethonographic review Essay

For this paper I will examine Vietnamese culture according to the five essential questions all cultures must answer (according to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck). I will then take those answers and compare then to out culture here in America. I realize that some might argue that using North American culture as a starting point is an attempt to simplify this writing, but I believe that any initial examination of something new is most effectively done in comparison to what one already knows.

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.

The long-term effects of the opium trade were economically harmful to the Chinese. In “An Argument for Legalization,” senior official and advisor to Emperor Daoguang,

Opium came from opium poppy seeds, which were grown and sold under British ruling in India. The British East India Company developed a monopoly which took place in effectively growing opium and making profits and/or trading it with the Chinese in exchange for their premium good such as silk, porcelain, and tea. According to Memorials on the Legalization and Elimination of Opium by Xu Naiji and Yuan Yulin, they explained how the rise of opium prompted many debts and death around China. Opium became an addiction for many, from the poor to officials in government positions. Cutting off all access of trading opium would’ve started issues in the trading network, not just with Britain but with the Western countries as well. Instead of passing laws to completely ban opium, they reverted to only permitting the barbarian merchants to import opium to pay duty as a medication. This made it unacceptable for money to be involved with the product. According to Xu Naiji, smokers of opium were lazy, with no purpose in life and if they were caught smoking it, the only punishment was getting the opium confiscated. However, if any officer, scholar, or soldier were found smoking opium, the would be immediately dismissed from public employ. Yuan Yulin, a minister, believes that the expansion of opium is the government’s fault, being that they cannot decipher right from wrong; he thought it was unfair that prohibition of smoking opium only applied to the officers of the government, scholars, and military but not the common people. The British capitalized on the effects of opium, because many of China’s population were going to put forth their money, goods, etc. for

The East India Company hired and farmed opium out to “country farmers”, Chinese citizens who farmed Britain opium, because the ban restricted the trade. The country traders sold the opium to smugglers along the Chinese coast. In China, the company used the gold and silver it received from the country farmers to purchase goods that could be sold profitably in England. A network of opium distribution had formed throughout China, often with the connivance of corrupt officials. Levels of opium addiction grew so high that it began to affect the imperial troops and the official classes, in the early 1830’s7,8. The majority of Chinese officials responsible to enforce the prohibition of the opium network were addicted to the drug themselves. In 1835, it was assumed that close to 90 percent of the government staffed positions were filled with opium users. The drugs gave potential to allow officials to meet taxation quotas, so many officials approved of the cultivation while the central government remained ignorant. Because of this, most local magistrates did not frown on the drugs cultivation and allowed the black market of opium to become the economy. Since the central government remained blind to the actions in the countryside, the throne was unaware of the gravity of the peoples’ addiction.7

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

The marriage is one of the best things to make a happy life. Many years ago, parents had arranged marriages for their children. In Asia, as the customs of Vietnam, parents who decide and arrange the marriages of their children. Normally, parents flanked by close friends so they wanted their children to marry parent friend’s children, and gratitude between them will be even stronger together. Additionally, parents arranged for their children to marry the wealthy children to give their children full life. Also, parents choose their child partners and it is their customs. These children have no right to disobey and reject marriage. Their children married without ever knowing each other or see each other 's face. According to the book “The Immigrant Advantage,” it has a story of the Indian girl married under the marriage arranged by her parents. Until now, the Indian customs that still exist. Not only in India, in other countries, there is still customary marriages arranged by parents. Vietnam is no longer

Introduction Religion played an important role in Sassanid Empire, although the relationship between Sasanian kings and religious practice was complex and inconsistent. It is not easy to uncover the actual role of religion in the political culture in the Sassanid Empire. For instance, it is unclear whether it was theology that drove political culture or politics influenced development of theology in order to suit in the interests of rulers. In the light of evidence available in modern times, this paper seeks to investigate the nature of the role of Zoroastrianism and the Zoroastrian priesthood in Sasanian political culture. Zoroastrianism under the Sasanians (224 CE - 7th Century)

"My family puts pressure on me" Noon´s story highlights that Thai women are living within a sociocultural environment in which extended family, society, and the state continue to strongly emphasize the role of women as being primarily responsible for nurturing and maintaining a happy family. The gendered image of the "good daughter" entails obligations of respect and gratitude owed by all children to their parents, which is especially significant for women. Unlike their brothers, they cannot serve as a Buddhist monk to earn religious merit and are raised to express their gratitude and loyalty by attending to the day-to-day needs of household members (Mills 1997). Most of the women I interviewed lived alone and were not married; nonetheless, they had something to report in this area.

Established with Adam and Eve, still surviving, marriage is the oldest institution known. Often the climax of most romantic movies and stories, whether it may be ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or ‘Dil Wale Dulhaniya Ley Jaein Gey’, marriage has a universal appeal. It continues to be the most intimate social network, providing the strongest and most frequent opportunity for social and emotional support. Though, over the years, marriage appears to be tarnished with high divorce rates, discontentment and infidelity, it is still a principal source of happiness in the lives of respective partners. Although marriage is perceived as a deeply flawed institution serving more the needs of the society than those of the individuals, nevertheless, marriage is

To achieve a full understanding of the opium farming situation we have to analyze the cause, the government’s response, and the aftermath. (Transition: To begin, we have to analyze the cause of the opium

Ng, C. (2010). Symbols of Affinity: Ceremonial Costumes in a Minangkabau Village. The Heritage Journal, 5, 26-55.

As a piece of ethnography, the work is competent, but draws little attention to the classic anthropological methodology of participant observation, characterized by long-term engagement with local cultural practices. Instead the claims made are gathered through an analysis of publications and dialogues within the Thailand Buddhist community, mostly centered on a

The Regency time period was an era of great wealth. Both men and women worked vigorously to become part of the upper class. Marrying for upper class women was the only way to gain a source of income (Hall). Women would even change their way of life to be able to marry into wealth. A truth universally acknowledged, that a single main possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife, said Mrs. Bennett (Hall). In the Regency time period, wealth played a huge role in both men and women’s lives

Thailand is a country enveloped in much mystery and cultural tradition. This fact is reflected very clearly in a series of pictures taken from the article, “The Many Faces of Thailand” in the February 1996 issue of the National Geographic magazine, titled, “Into the Heart of Glaciers” I will attempt to analyze the way in which the pictures portray the richness of Thailand’s culture and people and prove this statement about the National Geographic’s photography, “They originated in a search for ways of teaching about the third world that did not objectify and were not paternalistic but that fostered both a sense of how lives around the globe are interconnected and a capacity for empathetic understanding.” (Collins, Lutz 3)