Download
1 / 27
270 likes | 284 Vues
Explore how rites of passage, including ceremonies and rituals, mark transitions in life and shape individuals' cultural and personal identities. Learn about the three-stage process of segregation, transition, and incorporation, as well as the importance of body modification and body art. Examine the reasons for rites of passage and their impact on individuals and communities.
E N D
Key terms: p.132 Culture and Identity • How Does Culture Shape Identity? • Read pages 136 – 137. Answer 1-3. • Rites of Passage p.138 - 145 • Rites of passage: a ceremony, ritual, or event that marks an individual’s passage from one stage of life to another. • Rituals: prescribed behaviour in which there is no real connection between the action and the desired outcome.
The Three Stage Process: 1. Segregation • Person undergoing the rite of passage is removed from society. • Could include geographical changes, or changes to physical appearance (body paint, clothing) 2. Transition • Liminal stage: the second stage where the initiate is in a state of transition between the old and the new. • Often there is learning, guidance or instruction from a mentor • Sometimes the person is expected to be alone in the wilderness. Ex, Aboriginals of Australia • The Kikuyu of Kenya have all the initiates live together in a special dwelling for a year, where they receive instruction from elders and perform specific duties. • Amish cultures practice rumspringabefore being considered an adult member. Amish youth go out on their own to the outside world (movies, taking driving lessons, going to parties, even having sex.) It ends when they come to be baptized in the church. 3. Incorporation and Reintegration • Individual is reintegrated into society in their new role. • Sometimes they have new tattoos, scars, body paint or clothing. • They may have to give up something to symbolically show the end of one stage to another.
Read and discuss Male Rites of Passage p.140 Answer question at bottom of page. Read and discuss Female Rites of Passage p.141 Answer question highlighted in green. Read Body Modification and Body Art p.142 – 145 Questions 1, 2a-d
Reasons for Rites • Social scientists study rites of passage to see where they originated and why they are still prominent today. • For individuals going through changes in life, rites of passage relive stress and help them understand growth. • May help communities stay unified and create stability for dealing with inevitable hardships • Rites may also be entertaining, are the source of celebration, and passing alongtraditions and moral or religious values.
Coming of Age Ceremonies • Coming of age ceremonies mark the transition into adulthood through puberty. • All societies mark it in some way, whether publicly or privately. • Anthropologists study these initiations in every society. They mark the transition of the child becoming a functioning member of society, be given more responsibility, and are sexually mature enough to reproduce. • Shaving could be considered a rite of passage in becoming an adult. What other adolescent activities can you think of?
Initiations • Anthropologists found some common features in puberty rites around the world: Mutilation: some rites involve scarring, piercing of body parts, tattooing. Endurance: beating, rigorous fasting, trials of pain, seclusion • Example: a group in the Bantu nations of Africa keep young women apart from the rest of the population for a full year to reflect on her new position in society! • Gender and Culture Read p146 – 151 • -female, masculinity, alternate-gender identity • Reflect and Respond Q 1-4
How We Communicate How Language Developed • Language is a very sophisticated communication system that includes vocabulary and rules of grammar • Physical attributes allow us to speak • To have language, your brain must be organized in a way that allows for abstract thought (Broca’s area is the part of the brain that controls speech.) • If this part of the brain is damaged = Broca’s Aphasia – when you are unable to understand or make complex sentences. • Ex. Would use one word to express a thought rather than a sentence – sleepy….
Man had this area of the brain 1.8 million years ago but the other requirements for speech may not have been developed • Early language started with body gestures (non-verbal) • Body language: the means of communicating information and attitudes in a non-verbal manner.
Human language is open and discrete, it evolves as we develop new words for new ideas and inventions (email). • Words are arbitrarily assigned to objects or ideas that have no connection to the word ex. Book: sound has no connection to the object it names • Slang sometimes contributes to the evolution of language but slang tends to change rapidly. • Slang is meaningful to a particular group and can be used to create group cohesion and solidarity. • Example: beatniks, greasers, 70s and 80s lingo…
Theories of Oral Language Origin The Origin of Language • How did human beings first learn to use language to speak? • What was the form of early languages? • Languages today are very ancient • Earliest language and how they came about have left no trace
Theories: • Two theories suggest that language began as an attempt to imitate. • "bow-wow": suggest that language began as an attempt to imitate animal cries. • "ding-dong" that language began as an attempt to imitate natural sounds. • early human beings heard the animals howl and the thunder crash and tried to imitate these sounds. • One theory suggests that language grew out of cries or grunts of pain, surprise, or strong effort. • This has been called the "yo-he-ho" theory. • Ex. The sound you make when you stub your toe or try to lift something heavy. According to this theory, language sprang from sounds like these.
Another theory is that language arose form singing, humming or chanting. This has been called the "tarara-boom-de-ay" theory. • Early humans developed speech as they hummed to themselves around the fire or chanted in triumph over a kill. • All theories are speculation and do not explain how complex, modern languages came about. • How, for example, did certain words come to represent certain objects?
Most words are symbols of objects, not sounds that remind us of sounds the objects make. • Ex. Neither the word "horse" in English nor the word " cheval" in French has any logical connection with the animal. • In fact, it is the symbolic aspect of language that makes it so powerful. • Like a chimp learns that a button = food, small children learn symbolic nature of words. Once they catch on to symbols, language comes quickly. • These theories do not explain the symbolic nature of language.
Another theory points to the purposes for which language would have been needed in early human societies. In hunting, in defending themselves against predators, in doing any number of tasks, early human realized that cooperation was essential to survival. • Clearly, people needed to communicate with each other in order to cooperate effectively. Language developed because of a need for improved communication. Improved communication made cooperation easier, and allowed people to cooperate in a more organized and complex activities.
Better cooperation = increased chances of survival and improved lifestyle. • In early stages, primitive noises would have been enough. Over time, such noises developed into language, a useful human tool. • Which theories are most helpful in understanding the early development of language? Which are the least helpful?
Read p.156 – 157 Language and Culture. • What does the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis say about perception? • How does the use of euphemisms reveal ideologies within a culture? • Non-Verbal Communication: Body Language • Read p.158 Body Language. Answer Q 2.
People often say that what we say is less important than how we say it. • While this is an overstatement, there is no question that we communicate not only with words, but in many other, often subtle and unconscious ways. • Anthropologists must quickly learn what people in different cultures mean when they shake their heads, nod or wave their hands in a particular way. • Must understand ideas and emotions or can have serious consequences. • If they fail to learn it, they may offend people they are studying or even have their lives at stake (spy). • Many people assume that sign language and facial expressions of emotion are universal. If spoken language is different, then body language is the same everywhere = not true.
Culture as Agent of Socialization: Kinship Systems p.166 – 174 • Anthropologists recognize different patterns of descent, or how people trace their ancestry. Ancestry often determines inheritance, loyalty, obligations, who you can marry, and kinship groups. • Matrilineal: a kinship system in which people trace their ancestry through their mothers. • Example: the Minangs of West Sumatra, Indonesia. Property is inherited through female lineage.
Patrilineal: a kinship system in which people trace their ancestry through their fathers. • Bilineal: a kinship system in which people trace their ancestry through both their mothers and fathers. • Define lineage and clan in your notes. • Read p.167 Patrilineal Case Study: The Bhil in India as a class. • Read p.168 Bilineal Case Study: The Dobe Ju/’hoansi Three Systems of Kinship • Read Marriage, a Cultural Universal p.169 – 170. • Read In Focus: Indo-Canadian Arranged Marriage p. 171. Q 1-3.
Types of Marriage Monogamy: A relationship where an individual has one partner.
Polygamy: A form of marriage that involves multiple partners
Polygyny: A form of marriage between one husband and multiple wives
Polyandry: A form of marriage with one wife and multiple husbands.
Read In Focus: Canada’s Polygamous Community: Bountiful British Columbia p.173 Q 1, 2 • Read section on Polyandry p. 174 and answer Q1,2
