Over periods of time cultures continually shift and change. There are different political levels of culture that categorize people groups by their stratification, kinship, and economic stature “When culture first began on Earth, all societies were organized at the band level as foraging societies. Over time, various cultures became increasingly more complex while others remained bands” (“Cultural Anthropology Lecture 2, 2016: p1). Each of these cultural levels has positive and negative social aspects. Some cultures, such as that of the Tiwi people, prefer to live in a simple band level, which primarily focuses on foraging and collecting food. Others choose to live in a more complicated culture with higher infrastructure and stratification.
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Instead of working together to provide for everyone, there is much independence and stratification amongst people. This seems to create poverty, broken families from divorce, and depression in society. In Tiwi culture one focuses on the relationships with people and their spirits rather than personal gain “The Tiwi emphasize relationships between people far more than those between people and the supernatural” (Peters-Golden, 2011: p241). Since Tiwi focuses on personal relationships within our family the whole group is accountable for providing substance and growing into a strong trustworthy unit. Modern culture seems to emphasize self and what would benefit an individual, rather than look at what is best for everyone. They have access to many resources and people and feel like they can trade or purchase anything. This mentality leads to people thinking they can create better families than their current ones, or that they can afford things outside their means with a credit card. From a Tiwi perspective this only causes pain and separation. As a Tiwi, it is important to follow the pukamani rules in order to lead a healthy lifestyle. “One’s prestige surely suffered when the explanation given for perpetual misfortune was breaking pukamani restrictions” (Peters-Golden, 2011: p243). Following these principles keeps the Tiwi functioning as a strong society
Instead of working together to provide for everyone, there is much independence and stratification amongst people. This seems to create poverty, broken families from divorce, and depression in society. In Tiwi culture one focuses on the relationships with people and their spirits rather than personal gain “The Tiwi emphasize relationships between people far more than those between people and the supernatural” (Peters-Golden, 2011: p241). Since Tiwi focuses on personal relationships within our family the whole group is accountable for providing substance and growing into a strong trustworthy unit. Modern culture seems to emphasize self and what would benefit an individual, rather than look at what is best for everyone. They have access to many resources and people and feel like they can trade or purchase anything. This mentality leads to people thinking they can create better families than their current ones, or that they can afford things outside their means with a credit card. From a Tiwi perspective this only causes pain and separation. As a Tiwi, it is important to follow the pukamani rules in order to lead a healthy lifestyle. “One’s prestige surely suffered when the explanation given for perpetual misfortune was breaking pukamani restrictions” (Peters-Golden, 2011: p243). Following these principles keeps the Tiwi functioning as a strong society