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Why is folk culture clustered?. Develop in isolation Vary widely—even in nearby places Distinctive views emerge among neighboring groups in the Himalayas. Tibetan Buddhist—scary figures of monks, saints and divine figures Hindus—paint daily life, represent violent and climatic conditions
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Why is folk culture clustered? • Develop in isolation • Vary widely—even in nearby places • Distinctive views emerge among neighboring groups in the Himalayas
Tibetan Buddhist—scary figures of monks, saints and divine figures • Hindus—paint daily life, represent violent and climatic conditions • Muslims—regions beautiful plants and flowers • Burmese Animists—paint symbols from the religion
Influence of the Environment on Clothing, Food, and Housing • Environmental determinism/possibilism—determinists theorize that the environment causes social customs yet there are many examples of those in similar environments with different customs • However, customs such as food clothing and shelter are influenced by climate, soil and vegetation
Food and Shelter • Different cultures prefer different foods and styles of house construction
Soy Beans!!!!!People adapt food preferences to environmental conditions. • Grown widely in Asia—good source of protein • Toxic in raw form • Fuel is scarce and cooking requires lengthy time • Bean sprouts, soy sauce, steamed and bean curd
Southern Europe—quick frying • Northern Europe—slow stewing and roasting
Food Diversity in Transylvania • A century ago…. • 4 million Hungarians • 4 million Romanians • 500 to 600 thousand Saxons • 50 to 75 thousand Jews • 20 to 25 thousand Armenians • Several thousand Szeklers
Soup—the food of the poor • Hungarians—soup with smoked bacon thickened with flour and onion fried in lard • Romanians—made sour bran soups from cracked wheat, corn, brown bread and cherry tree twigs • Saxons—simmered fatty pork in water, added sauerkraut and vinegar, and often used fruits • Jews—preferred soups made from beets and sorrel (a leafy vegetables) • Armenians—soup based on churut (curdled milk) and ground vegetables • Szeklers—adopted Jewish practices, substituted pork for goose or other poultry in Hungarian recipes
Food Attractions or Taboos • Folk culture often associates foods with certain beneficial or harmful traits • Abipone Indians—Jaguars and Bulls • Mandrake—lovemaking, and a drug in parts of Africa and the Middle East
A taboo is a restriction on behavior imposed by a social custom. • Taboos are often associated with sexual practices, but are especially strong with food. • Ainus of Japan—otter—forgetful • Europeans—potato—blamed for typhoid, tuberculosis, famine, also resembles deformities associated with leprosy • MbumKpau women—avoid chicken or goat before pregnancy and antelope during • Muslims and Hebrews—pigs • Hindus—cow • Americans--insects
Folk Housing • Building materials are influenced by available resources • Social groups may share materials but have housing differences related to environment or beliefs, orientation of houses maybe important also. • In Madagascar, door is on the west • Java, front door always faces south • Laos arranges beds perpendicular to the center line of roof while center line of roof is perpendicular to path but parallel to a stream • In parts of Thailand, ridgepoles are parallel to the path but houses are not in straight lines because evil spirits move in straight lines
The fronts of Lao houses, such as those in the village of Muang Nan, Laos, face one another across a path, and the backs face each other at the rear. Their ridgepoles (the centerline of the roof) are set perpendicular to the path but parallel to a stream if one is nearby. Inside adjacent houses, people sleep in the orientation shown, so neighbors are head-to-head or feet-to-feet. (right) Houses of Yuan and Shan peoples in northern Thailand. In the village of Ban Mae Sakud, Thailand, the houses are not set in a straight line because of a belief that evil spirits move in straight lines. Ridgepoles parallel the path, and the heads of all sleeping persons point eastward.
Turpan houses have small, open courtyards for social gatherings. Turpan is situated in a deep valley with relatively little open land, because much of the space is allocated to drying raisins. Second-story patios, which would use even less land, are avoided, because the village is subject to strong winds.
Kashgar houses have second-floor open-air patios, where the residents can catch evening breezes. Poplar and fruit trees can be planted around the houses, because the village has a river that is constantly flowing rather than seasonal, as is the case in much of China's dry lands. These deciduous trees provide shade in the summer and openings for sunlight in the winter.
Yinchuan houses are built around large, open-air courtyards, which contain tall trees to provide shade. Most residents are Muslims, who regard courtyards as private spaces to be screened from outsiders. The adobe bricks are square or cubic rather than rectangular, as is the case in the other villages, though R. W. McColl found no reason for this distinctive custom.
Dunhuang houses are characterized by walled central courtyards, covered by an open-lattice grape arbor. The cover allows for the free movement of air but provides shade from the especially intense direct summer heat and light. Rather than the flat roofs characteristic of dry lands, houses in Dunhuang have sloped roofs, typical of wetter climates, so that rainfall can run off. The practice is apparently influenced by Dunhuang's relative proximity to the population centers of eastern China, where sloped roofs predominate.
