Kinship

Within different cultures across the world, poetry, song, stories and films that people use to express themselves can always help us understand the social and cultural context. In Lila Abu-Lughod’s book Veiled Sentiments, the author studies the poetry of the tribes of Bedouin in northern Egypt known as the Awlad Ali from October 1978 to May 1980. The author recognizes two contradictory discourses: “an ideology of honor in ordinary conversation and everyday behavior” on the one hand and “oral…

February is a month dedicated to shedding light upon the discrimination, oppression and dehumanization of black people troughout history. It is usually referred to as ”Black History Month”. The main goal with the intiative is to inform, educate and encourage people (preferrably those with more privilegies and power in the hierarchy of society) to understand and use their voice to make a change. Some would argue that ”Black History Month” is a product of Civil Right Movements that started in the…

Descent and Kinship in Hmong and Minangkabau Culture Kinship and Descent patterns within a society provide a strong base from which other aspects of a culture can branch. How a family is run, whether it be matrilineal, patrilineal, or neither can provide insight to a societies basic political processes and social norms. These factors decide the familial roles within a community, and determine who holds power within the family, tribe, and nation. As far as matriliny goes, the Minangkabau are a…

The Aboriginals faced numerous issues after the white colony dominated Australia. The predominant issues they faced were the Protection and Assimilation policies. The Protection policy detached Aboriginal people from families and traditional land the Christian missionaries and government reserves believed were unsuitable for them. The aim was to isolate by disputing them into homes, reserves or missionaries until their Aboriginal beliefs, culture and spiritualties start to diminish. The distant…

is rare for one of the most oppressed groups in the world, adolescent black females, to be looked at from an anthropological perspective. Molly Crocker Dougherty’s book “Becoming a Woman in Rural Black Culture” discovers the impact of community, kinship, and the rite of passage for adolescent women and the affects it has on the their future as women in society. Located in North Central Florida is a…

like to be known for achieving something great in their lives. Many others believe that being true to others are the most valued. Some think that their kinship is what really matters. Many characters in the story Beowulf by Seamus Heaney emphasize qualities of being “great” in their time of being: the importance of material wealth, loyalty, and kinship. Material wealth is obviously not the most important thing in life to us, but in the time of the Anglo-saxons material wealth was so…

Of the many ceremonies of the Pueblo the birth, death, and religious ceremonies and rituals are common. Many of the Pueblo people practice the same rituals during their ceremonies today as they did hundreds of years ago. The Pueblo tribe are a very talented and proud tribe resulting in ceremonies celebrating their culture on a regular basis (indians.org). One native american ceremony that the Pueblo celebrate is the event of death. First, the body is laid out on a fancy robe on the ground. The…

Bhaca uses kinship to address family members in a politeful manner. There is always a close interrelationship between kinship and behavior in the Bhaca community. Evidently, a man treats his father’s brother as if he was his father, but in a modified way because there is still a social distance between the son and uncle…

everyone had a splendid time. When we moved to Canada, life wasn’t the same, we had no family relatives in Canada, and my mom, for the first time, was working fulltime as well. But she never lost her kinship values. In the text “The female world of cards and holidays: Women, families, and the work of kinship”, the author explains about kin work and how it is deeply embedded with the females of our cultures. First of all, the author describes kin work as a reference to how the woman in the…

holding candle light services with prayer, passing down the passed family members sentimental possessions, and a family meal after the funeral. Several of my traditions and customs are connected with my religion, tradition, geography, and family/kinship. Burying my passed loved ones falls into the category of religion because our savior Jesus Crist was buried. Holding a candle light service with prayer also falls…