The Mosuo Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Mosuo Culture - Essay Example First of all, it is necessary to find out, whether Mosuo represent separate culture According to Triandis (1995) culture as a notion must have certain attributes and Mosuo can be called to be culture for having these attributes -place, separate geographical location and historical background. Therefore, the main aspects of Mosuo culture are norms, attitudes, rules, shared beliefs and behaviors - for this reason Mosuo is also supposed to be subjective culture. What is more important is that all the elements of such culture are transferred from generation to generation. (Triandis 1995) The Chinese government considers the Mosuo to be the members of the Naxi minority. It is possible to say, that Mosuo possess the common territory with the Naxi, but they have different language, cultural aspects and economic situation and rules. The reason for such conjunction of Mosuo and Naxi is due to the deep gap in knowledge about Mosuo. Only recently the historians and authors have come to understanding that Mosuo are absolutely different from Naxi - through their culture, religion and language. The cultures of Naxi and Mosuo may be compared only in terms of them occupying common territory for residence and for better understanding the differences between these two minorities - looking for similarities between the two nationalities make become time wasting. Certain theories state, that Mosuo native language is "eastern dialect" or "dongbu fangyan". The Mosuo culture is thoroughly described by the scholar Lamu Gatusa. (Mackerras 2003) From Triandis (1995) it becomes clear, that Mosuo belong to collectivist economy, because Mosuo society consists of individuals (residents) considering themselves a as part of a big collective i.e. family; the links between separate individuals are very strong, which makes it possible to assume that there is hardly any tint of individualism in Mosuo culture. Mosuo are absolutely motivated by imposed duties and norms. They consider collective priority to be more important, than personal goals and achievements. Mosuo strongly emphasize connections with other community members (I guess it is better to use the word community, than the word 'tribe', as still Mosuo appear to live in an organized manner with strong traditions and values). Although their collectivism is considered vertical for the reason of men having lower status in society, nobody feels oppression; Mosuo culture tends to collectivism in its fundamental conviction that people are bounded into tied groups through common interests and goals. (Triandis 1995) Mosuo cul ture consists of in-groups and out-groups. In-groups are the representatives of a certain family, characterized by similarities and ability to cooperate without demanding equal returns and without leaving family as it may lead to anxiety among other members. However, friends and collective may be also included into the in-group. Each member of Mosuo in-groups can simply be excluded for mistreatment of someone, insult or similar acts. It is necessary also to note, that Mosuo culture sees itself as "links in a long chain" consisting of descendants and ancestors. (Triandis 1995) As it is seen, the word 'link' is the core aspect of the Mosuo life; they value any kind of links - either those

Find everything related to food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Find everything related to food - Essay Example The continental army who were stationed at Valley Forge tried to obtain food from the local farms during the encampment in winter.2 These farmers sold their farm produce meaning that they could not just give away their produce for free. Washington would dispatch procurement parties to pay for the needed supplies. On the other hand, farmers did not want to sell to the army because they paid using continental money or promised them money. The British soldiers paid in gold, and the farmers took advantage since they were loyalists, not patriots. Other farmers did not believe in war due to their religious affiliations. Herbert Hoover was the 31st United States president; he was born in West Branch Iowa in 1874, 10th August. His family was affiliated with the Quakers religion together with the community as a whole; this created a tight religious identity. His parents passed away when he was ten years old and later went to live with his uncle in Oregon. During his stay, he attended Quakers schools where he obtained a firm belief in the common good and a sense of belonging. At seventeen years, he went to Stanford University where he earned a degree in geology. He started working as a mining engineer in many parts around the world. He was able to make full use of his knowledge in the Chinese Boxer Rebellion and the Australian Gold Rush. After the eruption of the First World War, Hoover was in England. 3He was able to organize, direct procurement, distribution of food and delivery to Belgian people who were controlled by the Germans. Society Hill was named after a society of free traders that is now obsolete. In this society, William Penn saw virgin land and vast woodlands were stretching towards Schuylkill to the west. The area acted as a settlement of the Swedes and Dutch, and they had a glasshouse, sawmill and tannery. Two years later, the society did not have any money, and their properties were handed to trustees in order to