Culture is, according to Spradley, "the learned and shared knowledge that people use to generate behavior and interpret experience (2)."
However, culture seems to be far more than that. It is not just knowledge, but actions and thoughts that are shared. The process seems to be cyclical, passed on from one generation to the next, as well as neverending. A person continues to learn and be shaped by culture throughout his or her lifetime.
An example of a cultural event is the act of eating. In Indian, specifically Hindu culture, eating is a serious business First of all, you do not use your left hand to eat. EVER. You eat only with your right hand, and you use your left hand to serve yourself. You should eat with your hands, making sure to keep all but your fingetips clean. Usually meals are taken sitting on the floor and your feet should never be pointed towards your food or anyone else's food. Also, no one starts serving themselves or eating until either the eldest man or woman present has been served and has started eating. Once the eating has begun, the room usually is filled with conversation. After the meal, whoever it was that prepared the meal is the one that takes care of the dishes. The clean up, however, is usually assisted by the younger children.
Most of this is obviously explicit culture, however, many of these customs get carried over into tacit culture. For example, many Indians feel more comfortable sitting on the ground as opposed to using a chair or a bench. These practices are taught to children from a very young age. I have seen parents slap away the left hand of a baby, teaching the child to use his or her right hand instead. By repetitivly reminding a child to adhere to the customs described above, the customs become ingrained into the child's regular behavior well into adulthood.
There is an idea of hygiene and cleanliness behind these customs. There is also the everpresent aspect of respect towards your elders. There is a strong belief in Indian culture, that with old age comes wisdom wisdom and privilege. Thus this idea is carried over to meal times as well. There is also the idea of communal living which is apparent in the importance put upon mealtime conversations.
Hindu's believe that the presence of god is almost everywhere. This is where the idea that pointing your feet toward food is disprespectful, since the food holds blessing of god.
I don't know that there are any real cultural artifacts here. There is nothing particularly significant about the plates used, through traditionally a banana leaf was, and sometimes is, used.
Many different aspects of Hindu and Indian culture manifest themselves at meal times. Their values and beliefs control their actions and the way their view what is acceptable and what is not. This culture is imprinted on children from a young age, and the customs are passed on through the generations.
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2 comments:
body electric,
I loved your post! I felt like I just shared a meal with a Hindu family. It was refreshing to read about elders being respected and valued. I think it is so important for families to gather at meal time and treat it as a sacred time together.
metamorphosis
Yeah, I really enjoyed your post as well. Like metamorphosis, what I really liked is how you focussed your assessment almost entirely upon your example. You spelled out some of the basic concept stuff up front and then jumped right into discussing the act of eating in Hindu culture. And by doing so you were able to establish your understanding of the critical concepts that way. Nicely done!
So, you've demonstrated mastery of the Concept of Culture outcome!
Be well.
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