Language Barriers:

I have to begin by saying this was truly an interesting experiment. I decided to use two different people for each experiment. My friend Ashley only spoke English, and my friend Anna spoke to me in Armenian.  I wanted to see if there was any difference in either experiment when the language was different. For the first part of the experiment the other participants were able to use language, whereas I was only allowed to use body language and non-verbal vocalizations. I began with Ashley. She spoke to me for fifteen minutes. Although I could not respond to her with words, I was able to keep her talking with just the hand gestures, smiles, and nods. Neither of us found this exercise to be difficult. I tried the same experiment with Anna in Armenian. We also had a lengthy conversation with each other. I didn’t find it hard to engage in the conversation, however I could tell there was times she was looking for me to react (with words) and I couldn’t. This made me think of my grandparents. They came to this country about thirteen years ago. I remember they felt so stupid because they couldn’t speak English. They had gotten lost one time by getting on the wrong bus, and they said they had a very difficult time getting home. They couldn’t communicate with anybody, and all they got were blank stares when they asked for directions. It did however encourage them to learn English at a much faster pace than all their friends.

In the second part of the experiment again my friends Ashley and Anna were the participants. In this part of the project I was able to speak to my participants, however I was not allowed any hand or face gestures or head movements of any kind. This was particularly interesting and difficult. Although the conversation should be easier with two people actually using their voices to communicate, it was not. Ashley had a much easier time speaking to me in English. She said my single tone was annoying. She didn’t like that I didn’t smile at her happy news. All in all it was not that bad. Now the conversation in Armenian was a whole other story. Anna was so frustrated with me for being monotone. She kept saying “say something”, what she didn’t realize was that I was saying a lot. I just couldn’t use my facial expressions and hand gestures as I normally would in our conversations. I actually found this to be amusing.

In order for me to understand Anna’s frustration she made me go through another conversation where she spoke to me in monotone and with no gestures. I have to say, it was pretty annoying. From this experiment I learned just how important language is to communicate. I was surprised to learn how much I depend on gestures and facial expressions during conversations.   

The Zulu are the largest South African ethnic group. They are estimated to be between ten and eleven million people that live in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Their military exploits led to the rise of a great kingdom. They were feared for a long time in the African continent. KwaZulu-Natal is semi-fertile with a flat coastal plain. The climate is subtropical and therefore there is lots of sunshine and some intense rain showers.

Ancestral spirits are important in Zulu religious life.In order to appeal to the spirit world, a diviner called the sangoma invokes the ancestors through a divination processes to determine the problem. Then the herbalist called the inyanga makes a mixture that is consumed in order to appeal to the ancestors.  The diviners and herbalists play an important part in the daily lives of the Zulu people and in particular their culture.

As for a physical adaptation, the clothing of choice is very much to do with the climate of South Africa where they live.  Traditional male clothing is usually light and has a two-part apron that covers the genitals and buttocks. There is a front piece called the umutsha. The rear piece called the ibheshu and is made of cattle hide. The lenght symbolizes age and social position.

As mentioned before the Zulu are the largest South African ethnic group The Zulu are the descendents of the Nguni speaking people. They have written history dating back to the 14th century. The Andean Indians are considered to be “any indigenous inhabitant of the Andes range in South America, stretching from Ecuador to Peru to Chile, and including both the coast and the highlands”. The environment can vary based on latitude and altitude. They typically have rainy and warm weather. Culturally the Andean Indians had a different concept about the meaning of slavery. During battles women that were taken kept as low status wives their children not being slaves.  They also believed in religious sacrifices, such as the captive men that were sacrificed and used as human trophies or for cannibalism. The earliest pan-Andean civilization was the Chavin. They were around 1200–300 BC At first the regions were dominated by the Tiahuanaco when the Inca started to expand. They then made the Quechua the official language. Now over ten million people speak the language. These two cultures are very different from one another. Both had beliefs and customs that are nontraditional in the western world, yet are very relevant to the daily lives of the people within the populations. The physical and cultural beliefs of these people come from the environment in which they live as well as the history of the people. I think both the adapting to the environment and the outward appearances reflect on the people of these cultures. I think that anthropologists can use all the data in their research. http://nethelper.com/article/Zulu http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102247/Central-American-and-northern-Andean-Indian

The Nacerima/Part I

 

The Nacerima

Private: I find that the  Nacerima are private in certain aspects of life, such as when it comes to parturition. The parturition is done without friends or relatives to around.

Superstitious: The Nacerima are also very superstitious. They have what is called the "listener." This is a  witch-doctor that “has the power to exorcise the devils that lodge in the heads of people who have been bewitched”. The Nacirema also believe that parents and particularly moms, bewitch their own children while teaching them the secret body rituals.

Iinteresting: I find that the Nacerima are very interesting. They believe that a few women are afflicted with almost inhuman hypermammary development. These women are idolized  and in fact they make a good living by going from village to village and collecting money from the natives just for looking at them.

UNIQUE: One of the unique things about the Nacerima is the ritual fasts that are done to make fat people thin. Then there are ceremonial feasts to make thin people fat. Also another unique fact about them is that they consider intercourse taboo and therefore they schedule it as an act.

Ritualistic: The Nacerima have many rituals and ceremonies. An example is the rites of the holy-mouth-men. This involves a lot of discomfort and torture. The latipso ceremonies are also rituals followed by the Nacerima. It is harsh and therefore a lot of the really sick natives who enter the temple never recover.