Elements of Culture
Culture was defined earlier as the symbols, language,
beliefs, values, and artifacts that are part of any society. Elements of Culture As this definition
suggests, there are two basic components of culture: ideas and symbols on the
one hand and artifacts (material objects) on the other. The first type, called
nonmaterial culture also known as symbolic culture, includes the values, beliefs,
symbols, and language that define a society. Elements of Culture The second type, called material
culture, includes all the society’s physical objects, such as its tools and
technology, clothing, eating utensils, and means of transportation. These
elements of culture are discussed next.
Symbols
Every culture is filled with symbols, or things that stand
for something else and that often evoke various reactions and emotions. Elements of Culture Some
symbols are actually types of nonverbal communication, while other symbols are
in fact material objects. As the symbolic interactionist perspective discussed
in Chapter 1 “Sociology and the Sociological Perspective” (Links to an external
site.) emphasizes, shared symbols make social interaction possible. Let’s look
at nonverbal symbols first. Elements of Culture Elements of Culture A common one is shaking hands, which is done in
some societies but not in others. It commonly conveys friendship and is used as
a sign of both greeting and departure.
Probably all societies have nonverbal symbols we call
gestures, movements of the hands, arms, or other parts of the body that are
meant to convey certain ideas or emotions. However, the same gesture can mean
one thing in one society and something quite different in another society
(Axtell, 1998). In the United States, for example, if we nod our head up and
down, we mean yes, and if we shake it back and forth, we mean no. Elements of Culture In Bulgaria,
however, nodding means no, while shaking our head back and forth means yes! In
the United States, if we make an “O” by putting our thumb and forefinger
together, we mean “OK,” but the same gesture in certain parts of Europe
signifies an obscenity. “Thumbs up” in the United States means “great” or
“wonderful,” but in Australia it means the same thing as extending the middle
finger in the United States. Elements of Culture Certain parts of the Middle East and Asia would be
offended if they saw you using your left hand to eat, because they use their
left hand for bathroom hygiene.
As these examples indicate, shared symbols, both nonverbal
communication and tangible objects, are an important part of any culture but
also can lead to misunderstandings and even hostility. These problems
underscore the significance of symbols for social interaction and meaning.
Language
Perhaps our most important set of symbols is language. In
English, the word chair means something we sit on. In Spanish, the word silla
means the same thing. As long as we agree how to interpret these words, a
shared language and thus society are possible. By the same token, differences
in languages can make it quite difficult to communicate. Elements of Culture For example, imagine
you are in a foreign country where you do not know the language and the
country’s citizens do not know yours. Worse yet, you forgot to bring your
dictionary that translates their language into yours, and vice versa, and your
iPhone battery has died. You become lost. How will you get help? What will you
do? Is there any way to communicate your plight? Elements of Culture As this scenario suggests,
language is crucial to communication and thus to any society’s culture.
Children learn language from their culture just as they learn about shaking
hands, about gestures, and about the significance of the flag and other
symbols. Humans have a capacity for language that no other animal species
possesses. Our capacity for language in turn helps make our complex culture
possible.
To what extent does language influence how we think and how
we perceive the social and physical worlds? Elements of Culture The famous but controversial Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis, named after two linguistic anthropologists, Edward Sapir and
Benjamin Lee Whorf, argues that people cannot easily understand concepts and
objects unless their language contains words for these items (Whorf, 1956). Elements of Culture They explained that language structures thought. Language thus influences how
we understand the world around us. For example, people in a country such as the
United States that has many terms for different types of kisses (e.g. buss,
peck, smack, smooch, and soul) are better able to appreciate these different
types than people in a country such as Japan, which, as we saw earlier, only
fairly recently developed the word kissu for kiss.
Norms
Cultures differ widely in their norms, or standards and
expectations for behaving. Elements of Culture We already saw that the nature of drunken behavior
depends on society’s expectations of how people should behave when drunk. Norms
of drunken behavior influence how we behave when we drink too much.
Norms are often divided into two types, formal norms and
informal norms. Formal norms, also called mores (MOOR-ayz) and laws, refer to
the standards of behavior considered the most important in any society.
Examples in the United States include traffic laws, criminal codes, and, in a
college context, student behavior codes addressing such things as cheating and
hate speech. Informal norms, also called folkways and customs,refer to
standards of behavior that are considered less important but still influence
how we behave. Elements of Culture Table manners are a common example of informal norms, as are
such everyday behaviors as how we interact with a cashier and how we ride in an
elevator. Many norms differ dramatically from one culture to the next. Some of
the best evidence for cultural variation in norms comes from the study of
sexual behavior (Edgerton, 1976).
Among the Pokot of East Africa, for example, women are
expected to enjoy sex, while among the Gusii a few hundred miles away, women
who enjoy sex are considered deviant. In Inis Beag, a small island off the
coast of Ireland, sex is considered embarrassing and even disgusting; men feel
that intercourse drains their strength, while women consider it a burden. Even
nudity is considered terrible, and people on Inis Beag keep their clothes on
while they bathe. Elements of Culture The situation is quite different in Mangaia, a small island
in the South Pacific. Here sex is considered very enjoyable, and it is the
major subject of songs and stories. While many societies frown on
homosexuality, others accept it. Among the Azande of East Africa, for example,
young warriors live with each other and are not allowed to marry. Elements of Culture During this
time, they often have sex with younger boys, and this homosexuality is approved
by their culture. Among the Sambia of New Guinea, young males live separately
from females and engage in homosexual behavior for at least a decade. It is
felt that the boys would be less masculine if they continued to live with their
mothers and that the semen of older males helps young boys become strong and
fierce (Edgerton, 1976).
Rituals
Different cultures also have different rituals, or
established procedures and ceremonies that often mark transitions in the life
course. As such, rituals both reflect and transmit a culture’s norms and other
elements from one generation to the next. Graduation ceremonies in colleges and
universities are familiar examples of time-honored rituals. In many societies,
rituals help signify one’s gender identity. Elements of Culture For example, girls around the world
undergo various types of initiation ceremonies to mark their transition to
adulthood. Among the Bemba of Zambia, girls undergo a month-long initiation
ceremony called the chisungu, in which girls learn songs, dances, and secret
terms that only women know (Maybury-Lewis, 1998). In some cultures, special
ceremonies also mark a girl’s first menstrual period. Elements of Culture Such ceremonies are
largely absent in the United States, where a girl’s first period is a private
matter. But in other cultures the first period is a cause for celebration
involving gifts, music, and food (Hathaway, 1997).
Are rituals more common in traditional societies than in
industrial ones such as the United States? Consider the Nacirema, studied by
anthropologist Horace Miner more than 50 years ago (Miner, 1956). In this
society, many rituals have been developed to deal with the culture’s
fundamental belief that the human body is ugly and in danger of suffering many
diseases. Elements of Culture Reflecting this belief, every household has at least one shrine in
which various rituals are performed to cleanse the body. Elements of Culture Often these shrines
contain magic potions acquired from medicine men. The Nacirema are especially
concerned about diseases of the mouth. Miner writes, “Were it not for the
rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums
bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject
them” (p. 505). Many Nacirema engage in “mouth-rites” and see a
“holy-mouth-man” once or twice yearly.
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