The San of south Africa, as a result of their permanent settlement and geographic region, requires the males (because of their physical attributes) to travel and hunt for game, a rare source of nutrition which is normally eaten on special occasions. Women hold a more important role within a band as they are responsible for gathering food, such as fruits, nuts and berries that supply the daily diet. In contrast, the division of sex labour within the Batek of Malaysia is not so evident since the Malaysian forest is rich in food sources which are found under every rock and tree.
Thus, both men and women can easily gather or hunt for enough food in the immediate surrounding area as opposed to their other counterparts in south Africa. Nevada, the driest state in the United States, largely consists of desert and semiarid. In spite of these harsh environmental conditions, it is home to the Shoshoni, a mobile hunter gathering tribe who’s small families travel in dispersed groups in pursue of food where weather is favourable. When abundant resources are available, small families would coordinate to meet up and live together.
It is because of this that their social structure has been defined by “Steward (1955) as a “family level of sociocultural integration. ” (Keesing 1998: 86).
The definition explains that marriage is conducted between two families in order to exploit the possibilities of coordination between them, by keeping marriage lineages between the two. Moreover the contemporary settled hunter gatherers adopted a patrilocal band by which the men would remain and hunt in their born territory whilst the women would enter another band through marriage.
The Term Paper on Birth Rate Family Children Marriage
I. Introduction The economy of Singapore is increasing rapidly yet it is also facing the threat of declining birth rate which causes the aging population. This fact is cited in two articles of Wendy Tan and Grace Chua from The Strait Times Interactive Website which are attached in this report. It can be argued that Singapore is not alone among developed nations in having a declining birth rate, ...
In the case of the San, territory is shared within the band and if one leaves he/she still has the right to a share of the land. This “shared” concept translates into equality between male and female hunter gatherers. Although different tribes of hunter gatherers are widely dispersed throughout the world they share a common belief. Since they depend on the earth, animals and weather to sustain their lives they have become one and mystified with nature. The tropical rain-forests that horticulturalists inhabit are tough environments for cultivation due to the uproar of trees and little sunshine penetrating them.
Horticulturalists have adapted to this ecological restraint buy deforesting, cultivating the land, burning it, leaving it to fallow then move onto a new piece of land this is known as swidden cultivation. Unlike their hunter gather cousins, horticulturalist families must own more land than needed to be able to cultivate one garden and harvest another. Owning more land means being able to own more surplus of wild pigs, as with the Maring case, which reflects a man’s capital. Having more than one wife and children contributes to the labour of the gardens and is therefore beneficial to the man. reflecting gender inequality).
The Maring, even though they are divided into subgroups, share ideas and common beliefs during and after warfare. When one side is victorious, the defeated group’s territory is destroyed along with it’s surpluses, but the territory will not be occupied by the triumphant side because they believe that the ancestors of the defeated group are laid to rest there. If a group has not been pushed out of it’s territory, it plants a ritual shrub called rumbin, whereby all the adult pigs are slaughtered and shared amongst allies.
This ritual keeps on going till the shrub can be uprooted and a festival called kaiko (pig festival) can be initiated. This is a case in point of how ecology of the Maring facilitate their cultural beliefs. Marriage in the Iban would normally only take place within a tribe because of their constant migration from one territory to another. Unlike the Maring, the Iban cultivate land, use it for two years, and then move on to new grounds. Their thirst for virgin forest runs in their veins, casting out any group who oppose their way.
The Term Paper on Examine the Ways in Which Laws and Social Policy Affect Family Life
Examine the ways in which laws and social policy affect family life. Social policies consider the actions that the government take to make changes in society. Social policies are developed to help tackle social issues. There are some different views on policies, for example, from the New Right or New Labour. They have different views and during different times in society, views change. Some ...
The “need” for land drives them to be culturally aggressive towards opposing groups. Pastoral nomads, have adjusted to their environment by migrating seasonally (transhumance) through the land in search of water or grazing grounds for their herd. This life has helped nomads to escape a life of poverty. The social organisation within the Basseri nomads of northern Iran starts with family groups being the main units of production. These are represented by the male house ruler who controls the family groups to migrate and move on.
The Basseri at higher social levels are divided into larger families with the male being the headman. Getting into one of these higher level social statuses is decided by the decent in the male line. Here we can see how the ecology has shaped the Basseri into regulating their social & political structure. By owning more cattle and having means to better grazing grounds one could climb the ladder. For the Karimojong, cattle is the symbol of wealth and social status and is also valued as bride’s wealth.
Unlike the Basseri only the men herd the cattle, the women stay in a settled camp and provide cultivation. Women play an important role in gathering daily food supplies similar to the San of south Africa. As one can see through the tribal world, it is indisputably evident how the ecological setting of these tribes in question has effected their cultural ways and social outcome. Reference: R. Keesing (1998), Cultural Anthropology,Ch. 2: 16, 23-24; Ch. 6: 80-102; Ch. 7: 107-111 Word Count: 986
