Swaziland Essay, Research Paper

WHICH CULTURE IS FOR YOU?

Anthropology is the study of humankind everywhere, throughout time, seeks to produce reliable knowledge about people and their behavior, both about what makes them different and what they all share in common.

The next few pages will share with you some simple facts about two cultures that are very much different, and are seperated by a span of ocean water. These two groups of people are the Yanomamo people of Brazil and the Swazi of South Africa.

INTRODUCTION

There is a large tribe of Tropical Forest Indians on the border between Venezuela and Brazil. They are distributed in about 125 small distant villages. The are gardeners and they have lived until recently isolation for our kind culture. The interesting thing about the group is tat they have managed to retain their native pattern of warfare and political integrity without interference from the outside world. This is due to their isolation in a remote corner of the Amazon. They have remained sovereign and in complete control of their own destiny up until a few years ago.

The Swazi people live in a small land locked country border on three sides by South Africa. They have a wide range of ecological zones; rainforest in the north, west mountainous regions, the center is level land and the east scrubby lowveld. It mostly rains in the summer, which is strangely from December to April. The people are hard workers are originating from the Nguni clan of North Africa. Because of their location many European hunters, traders, farmers, and missionaries came to their area bringing the skills and trades with them. This caused the Nguni people to become what is now known as the Swazi people with a new and mixed culture.

By comparing, the two cultures I will try to show how being isolated and exposed can change a culture. This will show each culture s destiny was decided by each group geographical location.

SUBSISTENCE

Yanomamo people lived by a combination of horticulture, fishing, and foraging. Horticulturist who raises plantains and bananas, the Yanomamo diet consists of things hunted and gathering of palm fruit. Only about three to four hours in a day were spent working on the food supply. This allows time to enjoy the day by relaxing and having fun. This somewhat likes a civilized society. Because of the tropical region where the live it allows for year round cultivation and gathering of crops. So there is a fair amount of food to allow for this time of play.

The Swazi people are farmers and herders. A great deal of their day is placed on cultivating and tending livestock. They do not rely on the self made fruit of the land, for a constant food supply. However, their region allows for seasonal rotation of crops. Production a food is necessary, to this clan. Gathering is not a big part of their substance planning. The land on which they live is a haven for crop raising and cattle rearing.

It is very clear that these two societies devote some part of their day to take care of their fist basic need. One society has Mother Nature on their side to help with food supplies. Clearly, the other has to place effort forward in order to survive. The amount of time placed on food, I believe has a lot to do with the amount availability of it. A banana dangling from a tree is more readily available the planting the banana tree first.

ECONOMIC

Economic development in Swaziland is rapidly growing. Swaziland enjoys well-developed road links to South Africa. It also has railroads running in and out of the area. One of the older railroads Goba Line makes it possible to export goods from Swaziland. The chief commercial crops are sugar, cotton, tobacco, soygrum and citrus fruit. Livestock includes cattle, goats, and sheep. Mining is increasing in importance producing diamonds, gold, coal, and kaolin. Forestry is also important. Light manufacturing industries are being developed and tourism is a growing industry. Although seventy percent of the Swazi live in rural areas, nearly every house has a wage earner. Clearly, the country has had several years of strong economic growth it has not been able to create jobs at rate of new job seekers.

The Yanomamo engage in trade to receive what the now feel to be essential items; matches, machetes, knives, steel axes, fish hooks and nylon fishing lines. They take up river for trade some of their handmade crafts, basket, clay pots etc.

As you can clearly see, one group collects to maintain life. Only what is needed is brought in the village anymore would be waste. The others trade for a small profit, not only for necessity but also for want. Somewhat selfish because it serves no specific purpose. The group looking for a profit has a desire to grow and seek change. While the other is happy with the way things are, not growing but taking only what is needed.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Yanomamo social process is predominantly concerned with the formation of groups and the regulation of intergroup and regulation through alliance and warfare. These states are both depended on a single concern; the exchange of women among the group involved.

A Yanomamo village is the basic sociopolitical unit and is occupied by several extended families composed of nuclear family households. The founding nucleus of such a village consists of tow intermarried pairs of brothers their sisters and their descendants. The two resulting lineages exchange their women, thus creating a number of affiance alliances. As additional lineage group join the village community and intermarry with members of the original lineage, political pressures and internal factionalism frequently lead to the splitting apart of the village and the establishment of a completely new community.

Swaziland is composed of a homogeneous population who shares language culture and loyalty to their king and country. Culture traditions are carefully guarded and colorful ceremonies frequently take place to mark special occasions, on specifically is the courtship ceremony.

Traditionally Swazi people are a polygamous society and men take several wives as payment of a dowry, known as lohoola, which normally entails giving cattle to the brides parents. However, monogamous marriages are performed in the western custom have become more common as Swazi adapt to the Western lifestyle.

Two groups are very similar in this subject matter. It seems as though the ability to produce is affected by the number of wives one man has. Women in these cultures are not valued as an equal but only as a bargaining chip. This seems to be done only for economical stability.

POLITICAL

According to the Swazi, people law and custom the monarch hods supreme, executive, legislative and judicial power. The monarch power is delegated through a dualistic system; modern statutory roles like the cabinet and less formal traditional government structures. The parliament consists of a 50 member House of Assembly and 20 member Senate. The King must approve legislation passed by the parliament. A royally appointed Prime Minister and cabinet exercise executive authority. Parallel to these statutory government structures a traditional system consisting of the King and his traditional advisers.

Headman or pata is usually more influential than others are considered the Chief. The position of Chief and headman is not really inherited, but is dependent on the chief having many living agrantic relatives and the ability to assert him among them. There is some indication that the office was once inherited patrilineally from father to so or from elder brother to younger brother. During times of war a man with experience in combat was often chosen to act as war chief an office which was not hereditary and which became inactive when hostilities ceased.

Although it seems that the state of each of these cultures are placed in the hands of one person. It is not the Swazi people allow a coup of other people to be in on the decision making process for their nation.

RELIGION

Christianity is Swaziland is sometime mixed with traditional beliefs and practices. Most Swazi ascribe a special spiritual role to the monarch.

The Yanomamo have a rich and complex set of theological concepts, myths, and legends. They conceive of the external world as having origin boundaries, supernatural beings, and a specific nature. They believe that people have several souls. One is the buheil which at death turns into the boredo and travels to where the souls of the dead dwell. In addition, each person has a noreshiel, a spirit of portion of the soul and an animal in the jungle to which this spirit corresponds. The shaman establishes contact with spirits with hallucienogenius drugs. Any man can become a shaman if he wants, with training from an older shaman.

WARFARE

Chronic warfare among the Yanomamo is common. About thirty percent of adult make deaths are directly attributable to warfare or personal combat. Inter village raiding is endemic one village be raided about 25 times in a little over a year. Yanomamo raiding cannot be written off as a sport or ritual; raiders are out to kill warriors. They also capture women, any taken being raped by all the men in the raiding party and afterwards passed on to the others who stayed home.

Traditional leaders handle civil matters among Swazi. The continuity of the monarch contributes to the country s stability and peaceful climate while ensuring that the cultural heritage is safeguarded as Swaziland develops.

One group use words to settle a difference and the others choose a Fierce Axe.

CONCLUSION

It is apparent how what people call necessity others call, modern convinces of life. The introduction of Christianity, education, farming, and reasoning has placed a positive affect on a group of people who origins were to be nomadic. By allowing themselves, the use of books and new tools has allowed them to grow. This has also given them a hunger for improved things. Not only will they seek the basics of life, but some things that are for pleasure also. The other group has opted to continue to live the same. They have allowed people from outside their world to come in and introduce them to some new things. These things that are not just good for them but thing started to eliminate their very existence. The culture should have help maintain their survival.