TOPIC 1: CULTURE
Aspects and Elements of Culture
Culture can be defined as all the behaviors, ways of life, arts, beliefs and
institutions of a population that are passed from generation to generation. Culture
has been called “the way of life of an entire society”. As such, it includes codes
of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behaviour - as law and
morality - and systems of beliefs, as well as the arts.
The Origin of Culture: As stated before, culture is the totality of people's way of
life, so it is compatible with human life. It is argued historically that, culture
started simultaneously with the creation of man and the formation of communities of
people, as they were adopting themselves to their environment and struggled to
sustain they used different tools, ranging from stone to iron tools such as axes,
arrows pots and knives.
At the beginning culture was also determined by wearing style. Previously man made
clothes using animal‟s skins, grasses and trees. Language was used in communication
especially when man established permanent settlements. Language united people
during working, such as cultivating and hunting; through language man was able to
construct songs and poems, which were used as a part of refreshments particularly
when issues arose such as traditional rites. Although culture went hand in hand
with human life, it varied according to the needs of the society, and the influence
of environment.
Culture has two aspects, namely:
1. Material culture; This is the extent of materials or wealth produced or used in
a society. It includes the achievements to which one has mastered; level of
instrument and technical skills, the scientific organization of labour, the
availability of individual material and everyday needs. Instruments of labour are
the tools individuals use to carry out material production. Their quality depends
on the level of science and technology ofa given society in that particular time in
history. The level of material culture is expressed in skills and know-how applied
in material production. It is also seen in other material elements of the society's
life. For example, in the objects one uses, such as clothes, furniture and
utensils, scientific, academic and medical equipment, as well as transport
facilities.
2. Intellectual culture; Thisis societal knowledge, skill and technical ability to
organize and produce things as well as how one relates with others. This includes
the achievements reached in science, education, ethics, literature and art. It is
also reflected in the political ideas, civic education, legal relations, language,
speech and behaviour.
Culture is traditionally considered as kind of civilization and is very complex. It
includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, traditions, customs and other
capabilities and habits acquired by an individual as a member of society. Culture
consists of patterns of behaviour which are acquired and transmitted by symbols.
Essentially, culture consists of traditional ideas.
Essentially, culture consists of traditional ideas, particularly their
associatedvalues. These include standards of behaviour and ideology which justifies
certain ways of behaviour. Culture is rooted in the facts we know abouthuman
nature. There is an interplay between man, his environment and society. As a result
of this interplay, man behaves in certain ways.
Man shapes the environment and he is also shaped by his environment. Thus, while it
is true to say that man makes society, it is equally true to say that society makes
man. Hence, culture refers to thetotal way of life shared in the society. Culture
,therefore, consists of behaviour patterns that are either open or hidden.
Open or explicit behaviour patterns are those whose meanings are easily understood
either by an individual or outside observers. Examples could be like patterns of
modesty and hospitality. This does not mean that an open pattern of behaviour is
universal and is practiced in the same way in all cultures. In fact, there can be
many variationsin its expression from one culture to another.
In hidden or implicit behaviours patterns, the meaning of these patterns is not
easily understood because it depends on other factors which are hidden in the
cultural system. The inner aspect is not openandis either deliberately concealed or
pertains to the unconscious life of the group. There are many concealed social
practices in all parts of the world, especially common social fears; fear of the
evil eye, fear of witchcraft , fear of speaking openly about sexual matters,
taboos, fear of the luck on certain days or after certain occurrences like split
salt. Although the practice of these things may be open and public, their meanings
remain concealed. In most parts of Tanzania, salt is not asked for or bought at
night by mentioning the word "salt,‟ instead people say "dawa ya jiko,‟ literally
translated as "kitchen medicine.‟
Man needs culture in order to survive, but in order to be cultured he must
participate in the cultural life of his humanenvironment. He must get line with the
norms of his human environement. Therefore, in this sense man lives by his culture.
It follows therefore that, culture is the common way of living.
The Maasai culture of jumping high
Elements of Culture manifest themselves in Physical and Practical way:
a) Customs and Norms
Customs refer to short-lived patterns of behaviour shared by members of a
groupandcan be directly observed. For instance, people who know each other greet by
shaking hands whenever they meet while others hug each other. However, customs
differ from one society to another. The set of customs form one of the indicators
of culture.
Norms are accumulated experiences proven to be acceptable and appropriate ina given
society, and they have atendency to exist forlong periods before they change or
disappear. This forms the main difference between norms and customsas
normshaveatendencyto exist forlong periods before they change or disappear. Whereas
customs on the other hand are passing and vulnerable to change. Take for instance,
the wearing of clothes, shoes or hats in a certain fashion usually changes with
time.
Norms can be classified in different ways. All groups are called folkways and
theyare further subdivided into mores. There are special folkways that a society
regards as essential for its welfare. Mores are enforced with great vigor and
intensity. Folkways are practices that govern most of our daily routine and
ordinary contact with other people. They often define what is socially correct and
are informally enforced. However, the violation of folkways is not considered as a
threat to the group at large. Folkways can include the daily practice of things
such as languageandeating habits. Take for example, someone may not be allowed to
use his left hand to eat or to adhere to the proper way of greeting elders.
Folkways define proper etiquette in various roles. For example. they distinguish
children's roles from men's roles. They govern our general style of life in types
,of housing, dressing, food and feeding habits. Other behaviour patterns include
education, marriage, recreational activities, youth initiation, science and
technology. Furthermore, death and burial procedures, forms of governance, respect
to status and mode of communication to people of different ranks are essential to
the folkways of a given society.
On the other hand, mores are norms that are considered vital to the welfare of a
society. They are not only proper but also obligatory. They are supported by the
dominant values or principles of the culture. Mores define right and wrong, moral
and immoral actions, thoughts and feelings. They may be expressed in a command way
such as“You must not!” in which way they are referred to as taboos.
Fashions are highly passing patterns of behaviour. Fashions allow many changes in
norm. Things like art, dress or furnishings can change so fast. Fashions appear to
be of high importance in complex urban societies. Women usually change their
dressing styles from time to time, to stay up-to-date with the changing fashions.
b) Language
This is another important element or indicator of culture. Language is a learned,
shared and arbitrary system of vocals and symbols through which human beings
communicate. It is a system of convectional symbols that covey meaning and is a
useful instrument in all economic, social, political, psychological and ideological
aspects of society. Language is not only a communicative instrument but also is a
product of work. In their effort to produce goods and services, people develop
words and therefore, language is further developed.
Each language shapes and shows the culture, behaviour patterns and understanding of
the group that speaks it. It presents to the learning child a ready–made and
distinctive way of looking at the world. It also guides him/her to not only observe
the world in a certain way, but also to express him/herself and react in a certain
way. Every language has an effect upon what the people use, see and feel, as well
as what they talk about.
The names given, for example, to various relatives in different cultures are often
symbolic as they connote different behavioral norms. In Kiswahili for instance, we
regard the brother of our father as our father, and the sister of our mother as our
mother. This helps indicate how close these relatives are to you and therefore, the
kind of behaviour you should express towards them.
Language is an instrument that enables communication among people in their customs,
norms, philosophy and ideology of a given society. Over 100 languages are spoken in
Tanzania, most of which from the Bantu family. After independence, the government
recognized that this posed threat to national unity and as a result introduced the
Swahili language (Kiswahili) as the only official language. The government
introduced it as the teaching language in all primary schools help encourage and
spread its use.
Given the conditions of the material time, it was not possible to introduce the
language in the entire educational system as the scale of the task of producing
Swahili textbooks for primary schools was already considerable. As a result,
English (which has been considered the colonial language since the end of the First
World War) is still used in high schools and universities. However, a great
majority of Tanzanians have accepted Swahili, thus English is generally not well
known. As a result of this linguistic situation, many pupils who finish primary
education cannot express themselves well in English. Although many tribal languages
are actively practiced and used, they do not enjoy the same linguistic rights as
Swahili. However, little by little they are disappearing. To date, none of them has
, entirely vanished, but it is clear that unless the linguistics policy is changed,
many of them will soon cease to exist.
Kiswahili as the national language in Tanzania has the function of developing,
enhancing and maintaining the nation's culture. How then does Kiswahili as a
national language promote national culture? Kiswahili like any other language has
symbols that are spoken or written. And these symbols have specific and arbitrary
meanings in society. Before we can answer the question above on how Kiswahili can
promote national culture, we should first discussthe possibilities.
First, language caries people's experience beyond an immediate time and place. That
is, when these symbols (words) are spoken and/or written, the meanings conveyed
stay for a longer time and they also go to distant places beyond where these words
were spoken or written. Let us look at the experience we have from words spoken by
our ancestors and words written by other people who lived far from where we live.
Every one of us has a list of traditional stories that were told to him or her by
one of his/her grandparents. This story could be about bravery, praise, sorrow or
happiness. Whatever meaning the story had, it created some feelings that had an
impact on your attitude. The result of this impact is the change of your behaviour
in the community.
We have songs and other written literature about our nation, leaders and people as
a whole. All these have helped create feelings towards the love of and for our
country. There are feelings that can lead to the defense of someone's nation. Songs
like “Mungu Ibariki Tanzania” (God Bless Tanzania) and “Tanzania, Tanzania”
inculcate patriotism to Tanzanians.
Certain words in these songs have apsychological impact on Tanzanians. Patriotic
phraseslike “Jina lako ni tamu sana” (Your name is very delicious) imply a strong
love forone'scountry. Such words create and promote national culture in that they
are learned and shared with others and therefore, socially transmitted. This makes
the whole society have acommon belief and attitude that the song relatesto them,
known aspatriotism.
A common language binds people together. To speak the same language is to have a
strong bond. And this strong bond enables a person a person to work together, which
is one of the most favourable cultural values.
c) Art
This is an element or indicator of culture. Art as part of culture is an expression
which reflects the feelings, attitudes and level of development of a society. Arts
denote man made things displayed to be enjoyed. For instance dramatizing and
singing. Any art which originates from a given society has roles to perform for
that society. For example, it reflectively shows what people have done in their
struggle for survival. The carvings, the painting, the songs, and drama represent
certain actual struggles or practical life these people have experienced before.
Forms of Art
1. Using sound such as in singing or pronouncing a speech.
2. When someone combines language and instruments like when doing some things like
singing, drumming and dramatizing.
3. Visual aids like pictures, maps, paints and cinema.
4. Demonstration of cultural troupes, sport, and games.
Art reflects the feelings of patriotism in the struggle for the development of a
national economy. This situation drives people to the extent of musicians coming up
Aspects and Elements of Culture
Culture can be defined as all the behaviors, ways of life, arts, beliefs and
institutions of a population that are passed from generation to generation. Culture
has been called “the way of life of an entire society”. As such, it includes codes
of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behaviour - as law and
morality - and systems of beliefs, as well as the arts.
The Origin of Culture: As stated before, culture is the totality of people's way of
life, so it is compatible with human life. It is argued historically that, culture
started simultaneously with the creation of man and the formation of communities of
people, as they were adopting themselves to their environment and struggled to
sustain they used different tools, ranging from stone to iron tools such as axes,
arrows pots and knives.
At the beginning culture was also determined by wearing style. Previously man made
clothes using animal‟s skins, grasses and trees. Language was used in communication
especially when man established permanent settlements. Language united people
during working, such as cultivating and hunting; through language man was able to
construct songs and poems, which were used as a part of refreshments particularly
when issues arose such as traditional rites. Although culture went hand in hand
with human life, it varied according to the needs of the society, and the influence
of environment.
Culture has two aspects, namely:
1. Material culture; This is the extent of materials or wealth produced or used in
a society. It includes the achievements to which one has mastered; level of
instrument and technical skills, the scientific organization of labour, the
availability of individual material and everyday needs. Instruments of labour are
the tools individuals use to carry out material production. Their quality depends
on the level of science and technology ofa given society in that particular time in
history. The level of material culture is expressed in skills and know-how applied
in material production. It is also seen in other material elements of the society's
life. For example, in the objects one uses, such as clothes, furniture and
utensils, scientific, academic and medical equipment, as well as transport
facilities.
2. Intellectual culture; Thisis societal knowledge, skill and technical ability to
organize and produce things as well as how one relates with others. This includes
the achievements reached in science, education, ethics, literature and art. It is
also reflected in the political ideas, civic education, legal relations, language,
speech and behaviour.
Culture is traditionally considered as kind of civilization and is very complex. It
includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, traditions, customs and other
capabilities and habits acquired by an individual as a member of society. Culture
consists of patterns of behaviour which are acquired and transmitted by symbols.
Essentially, culture consists of traditional ideas.
Essentially, culture consists of traditional ideas, particularly their
associatedvalues. These include standards of behaviour and ideology which justifies
certain ways of behaviour. Culture is rooted in the facts we know abouthuman
nature. There is an interplay between man, his environment and society. As a result
of this interplay, man behaves in certain ways.
Man shapes the environment and he is also shaped by his environment. Thus, while it
is true to say that man makes society, it is equally true to say that society makes
man. Hence, culture refers to thetotal way of life shared in the society. Culture
,therefore, consists of behaviour patterns that are either open or hidden.
Open or explicit behaviour patterns are those whose meanings are easily understood
either by an individual or outside observers. Examples could be like patterns of
modesty and hospitality. This does not mean that an open pattern of behaviour is
universal and is practiced in the same way in all cultures. In fact, there can be
many variationsin its expression from one culture to another.
In hidden or implicit behaviours patterns, the meaning of these patterns is not
easily understood because it depends on other factors which are hidden in the
cultural system. The inner aspect is not openandis either deliberately concealed or
pertains to the unconscious life of the group. There are many concealed social
practices in all parts of the world, especially common social fears; fear of the
evil eye, fear of witchcraft , fear of speaking openly about sexual matters,
taboos, fear of the luck on certain days or after certain occurrences like split
salt. Although the practice of these things may be open and public, their meanings
remain concealed. In most parts of Tanzania, salt is not asked for or bought at
night by mentioning the word "salt,‟ instead people say "dawa ya jiko,‟ literally
translated as "kitchen medicine.‟
Man needs culture in order to survive, but in order to be cultured he must
participate in the cultural life of his humanenvironment. He must get line with the
norms of his human environement. Therefore, in this sense man lives by his culture.
It follows therefore that, culture is the common way of living.
The Maasai culture of jumping high
Elements of Culture manifest themselves in Physical and Practical way:
a) Customs and Norms
Customs refer to short-lived patterns of behaviour shared by members of a
groupandcan be directly observed. For instance, people who know each other greet by
shaking hands whenever they meet while others hug each other. However, customs
differ from one society to another. The set of customs form one of the indicators
of culture.
Norms are accumulated experiences proven to be acceptable and appropriate ina given
society, and they have atendency to exist forlong periods before they change or
disappear. This forms the main difference between norms and customsas
normshaveatendencyto exist forlong periods before they change or disappear. Whereas
customs on the other hand are passing and vulnerable to change. Take for instance,
the wearing of clothes, shoes or hats in a certain fashion usually changes with
time.
Norms can be classified in different ways. All groups are called folkways and
theyare further subdivided into mores. There are special folkways that a society
regards as essential for its welfare. Mores are enforced with great vigor and
intensity. Folkways are practices that govern most of our daily routine and
ordinary contact with other people. They often define what is socially correct and
are informally enforced. However, the violation of folkways is not considered as a
threat to the group at large. Folkways can include the daily practice of things
such as languageandeating habits. Take for example, someone may not be allowed to
use his left hand to eat or to adhere to the proper way of greeting elders.
Folkways define proper etiquette in various roles. For example. they distinguish
children's roles from men's roles. They govern our general style of life in types
,of housing, dressing, food and feeding habits. Other behaviour patterns include
education, marriage, recreational activities, youth initiation, science and
technology. Furthermore, death and burial procedures, forms of governance, respect
to status and mode of communication to people of different ranks are essential to
the folkways of a given society.
On the other hand, mores are norms that are considered vital to the welfare of a
society. They are not only proper but also obligatory. They are supported by the
dominant values or principles of the culture. Mores define right and wrong, moral
and immoral actions, thoughts and feelings. They may be expressed in a command way
such as“You must not!” in which way they are referred to as taboos.
Fashions are highly passing patterns of behaviour. Fashions allow many changes in
norm. Things like art, dress or furnishings can change so fast. Fashions appear to
be of high importance in complex urban societies. Women usually change their
dressing styles from time to time, to stay up-to-date with the changing fashions.
b) Language
This is another important element or indicator of culture. Language is a learned,
shared and arbitrary system of vocals and symbols through which human beings
communicate. It is a system of convectional symbols that covey meaning and is a
useful instrument in all economic, social, political, psychological and ideological
aspects of society. Language is not only a communicative instrument but also is a
product of work. In their effort to produce goods and services, people develop
words and therefore, language is further developed.
Each language shapes and shows the culture, behaviour patterns and understanding of
the group that speaks it. It presents to the learning child a ready–made and
distinctive way of looking at the world. It also guides him/her to not only observe
the world in a certain way, but also to express him/herself and react in a certain
way. Every language has an effect upon what the people use, see and feel, as well
as what they talk about.
The names given, for example, to various relatives in different cultures are often
symbolic as they connote different behavioral norms. In Kiswahili for instance, we
regard the brother of our father as our father, and the sister of our mother as our
mother. This helps indicate how close these relatives are to you and therefore, the
kind of behaviour you should express towards them.
Language is an instrument that enables communication among people in their customs,
norms, philosophy and ideology of a given society. Over 100 languages are spoken in
Tanzania, most of which from the Bantu family. After independence, the government
recognized that this posed threat to national unity and as a result introduced the
Swahili language (Kiswahili) as the only official language. The government
introduced it as the teaching language in all primary schools help encourage and
spread its use.
Given the conditions of the material time, it was not possible to introduce the
language in the entire educational system as the scale of the task of producing
Swahili textbooks for primary schools was already considerable. As a result,
English (which has been considered the colonial language since the end of the First
World War) is still used in high schools and universities. However, a great
majority of Tanzanians have accepted Swahili, thus English is generally not well
known. As a result of this linguistic situation, many pupils who finish primary
education cannot express themselves well in English. Although many tribal languages
are actively practiced and used, they do not enjoy the same linguistic rights as
Swahili. However, little by little they are disappearing. To date, none of them has
, entirely vanished, but it is clear that unless the linguistics policy is changed,
many of them will soon cease to exist.
Kiswahili as the national language in Tanzania has the function of developing,
enhancing and maintaining the nation's culture. How then does Kiswahili as a
national language promote national culture? Kiswahili like any other language has
symbols that are spoken or written. And these symbols have specific and arbitrary
meanings in society. Before we can answer the question above on how Kiswahili can
promote national culture, we should first discussthe possibilities.
First, language caries people's experience beyond an immediate time and place. That
is, when these symbols (words) are spoken and/or written, the meanings conveyed
stay for a longer time and they also go to distant places beyond where these words
were spoken or written. Let us look at the experience we have from words spoken by
our ancestors and words written by other people who lived far from where we live.
Every one of us has a list of traditional stories that were told to him or her by
one of his/her grandparents. This story could be about bravery, praise, sorrow or
happiness. Whatever meaning the story had, it created some feelings that had an
impact on your attitude. The result of this impact is the change of your behaviour
in the community.
We have songs and other written literature about our nation, leaders and people as
a whole. All these have helped create feelings towards the love of and for our
country. There are feelings that can lead to the defense of someone's nation. Songs
like “Mungu Ibariki Tanzania” (God Bless Tanzania) and “Tanzania, Tanzania”
inculcate patriotism to Tanzanians.
Certain words in these songs have apsychological impact on Tanzanians. Patriotic
phraseslike “Jina lako ni tamu sana” (Your name is very delicious) imply a strong
love forone'scountry. Such words create and promote national culture in that they
are learned and shared with others and therefore, socially transmitted. This makes
the whole society have acommon belief and attitude that the song relatesto them,
known aspatriotism.
A common language binds people together. To speak the same language is to have a
strong bond. And this strong bond enables a person a person to work together, which
is one of the most favourable cultural values.
c) Art
This is an element or indicator of culture. Art as part of culture is an expression
which reflects the feelings, attitudes and level of development of a society. Arts
denote man made things displayed to be enjoyed. For instance dramatizing and
singing. Any art which originates from a given society has roles to perform for
that society. For example, it reflectively shows what people have done in their
struggle for survival. The carvings, the painting, the songs, and drama represent
certain actual struggles or practical life these people have experienced before.
Forms of Art
1. Using sound such as in singing or pronouncing a speech.
2. When someone combines language and instruments like when doing some things like
singing, drumming and dramatizing.
3. Visual aids like pictures, maps, paints and cinema.
4. Demonstration of cultural troupes, sport, and games.
Art reflects the feelings of patriotism in the struggle for the development of a
national economy. This situation drives people to the extent of musicians coming up
