TOPIC 1. CULTURE
CULTURE
Aspects and Elements of Culture
Meaning of Aspects and Elements of Culture
Explain
the meaning aspects and elements of culture
Culture
can be defined as all the behaviours, 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 ofan 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 theywere
adopting themselves to their environment and struggled to sustaintheir
livelihoods. As human beings started to struggle for basic needs in
theirenvironment, theyused different tools, ranging from stone to iron tools
such asaxes, 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.
Elements of culture manifest themselves in physical and
practical ways.
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 highimportance in complex urban societies. Women usually change their
dressing styles from time to time, to stay up-to-datewith 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
symbolicasthey connote different behavioural norms. In Kiswahili for instance,
we regard the brother of our father as our father, and thesister 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 whichfrom the Bantu family. After independence, the
government recognized that this poseda threat tonational 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 spreadits 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
producingSwahili 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, agreat 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 weretold 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' . 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
asociety. 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 forthat 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 ofmusicians coming
up with songs calling for change in national institutions, whereas some defend,
support and praise national institutions.
Art
reflects the type of problems encountered by a given society. These problems
can be social, political or economic. The drawings in the Kondoa caves
typically reflect the economic occupation of the people in that area in the
past.
Art is
one of the most effective communicative systems in traditional societies that
tend to beilliterate. Art is used to convey, store and preserve important
events and phenomena in a society. Important memories in life can only be
artistically expressed to appraise events. Art also preserves records of those
successes in different forms.
(d)
Rules: In their collective form, rules or patterns form another indicator of
culture for behaviour, known asNorms. These rules are those that members of a
group, community or society agree to follow. The rules determine what is right
or wrong in a given society. Norms are connected with ranks as well as
situationsandare recognized into roles. The pattern of behaviour expected of
people differs fromranks, such as husbands, fathers, citizens, employees, and
children.
It is
also a norm for our children to start greeting and vacating seats for elders in
certain situations. Norms include the most important things in the society.
Consider things like taboos, legacy, history, rituals, treatment of diseases,
respect, obedience and laws concerning marriage, births, inheritance and burial
ceremonies to mention only a few.
(e)
Recreation: Another important element of culture is recreation. The word
recreation means relaxing and amusement. In any society where work is done,
recreation is quite necessary. Work tires the body and mind so it is vital to
rest and experienceentertainment. Good entertainment is that which refreshes a
person e.g. voluntary hobbies, sports, games, music and even dancing.
(f)
Ideology: Ideology combines the beliefs of peopleandis this element of culture
that lays down principles and conditions to be followed by a given society.
Ideology formsthe foundation forall other elements of culture. The mode of
production is one which explains the way people own property and how they share
what they produce.
The
fact that the ideologies shared by a society is a product of how people own
property, it is clear that the type of ideology prevailing in a society will be
a true reflection of the type of the organization of the economy in general.
For instance, in asociety where the dominant type of ownership is private, the
beliefs of the people in that particular society is competive and
individualistic.
(g)
Laws: Laws form another indicator of culture; there is no culture without laws.
We can define laws as deliberately formulated rules of behaviour that are
enforced by a special authority. Laws serve several purposes; they enforce the
mores accepted by the dominant cultural group in the society, regulate new
situations not covered by customs and bring about the real cultural and ideal
patterns of a society. The enforcement of norms by law in Tanzania is the
responsibility of the society and community as a whole. For instance, it is the
responsibility of every individual, family and community as a whole to make
sure children go to school. Failure to implement this obligation may result in
the forces being applied to enforce this law.
(h)
Cooperation: this implies interacting with others in the community. It helps
not only the members in getting insight into what goes on in the community but
also gives a chance tomembers to learn and benefit from the community. It is
very important for each organization to stabilize personal relationshipsbetween
members of society. This is essential to primary or secondary groups. Primary
groups in this context include the family, schools, organized clubs, or
villages where members know each other. Secondary groups include large
societies and nations.
Man is
a social being because he likes to live and work in groups. These groups are
normally organized for short or long periods of time. In all societies of the
world today, people live and work together with the objective of assisting one
another in producing commodities for their consumption. These include the
production of food requirements, the provision of social services like building
houses, harvesting, attending funerals, and holding ritual ceremonies. These
activities were some of the social values of cooperation during the communal
period of lifeandwere carried on up to the time when foreigners came to Africa.
The same practices are still maintained in some societies though, with some
modification. Thespiritof cooperation has beenand still is an important social
value formaintainingnational unity. Without this cultural value, individual
members would not have been bound together to form an integrated nation.
(i)
Tradition: These are experiences of the past that are inherited by a society
and are unchangeable. They include marriage, food, local brews, funeral
ceremonies, family care and home economics. Other aspects includeinitiation,
worshiping system, sports and games. Every society has its own tradition.
(j)
Crafts and tools: Tools are instruments of labour used by people forproduction
and theydifferfrom one society to another depending on the nature and level of
technology of the society. For example, tools used in the Stone Age were poor
compared to the tools used during the Iron Age. These tools includediron hoes,
axes and pangas. Crafts are technological creations by man thatexpress man's
culture. Examples of crafts are decorations and carved materials. These differ
in form according to the culture of the society. People utilize, and in some
cases exploit their environment to make crafts.
The
Importance of the Cultural Elements: The values of culture help future
generationsto know how to escape from bad practices and evils in the society
such as drug and child abuse, stealing and any other kind of bad behaviour
which is not proper in society. Ethics are passed by adults to young ones
through informal education.
Language
is used to convey messages andis also part of theidentity of a nation. For
example Kiswahili in Tanzania distinguishesthe nation of Tanzania fromother
nations in the world who use different languages such as English, French and
German. Language can be used to unite, educate and inculcate asense of
awareness to youth.
Sports
and games promote unity, cooperation and friendship among social members. This
is because sport and games collect people together toshare different ideas and
build a better society.
Crafts
in particular, provide households with necessary materials such as furniture,
pots and baskets which are used daily. Some of them can be sold toprovide money
forpeople, hence a source of income.
Traditions
are also worthwhile. For example, initiation ceremonies prepare young boys and
girls fortheir responsibilities to society as adults. They promote people from
childhood to adulthood. Some traditions and customs such as marriage and burial
ceremonies bring peopletogether at times of problems and/or pleasure.
Customs
help societies adopt certain cultural values like dressing style, eating
habits, hairstyles etc. which are sometimes worthwhile for acceptable in
certain occasions - e.g. in wedding ceremonies.
Art
helps us express our feelings, attitudes and events in a very enjoyable way –
e.g. through songs, drama and pictures.
Recreation
refreshes a person after hard work. Ithelps peoplerelax and gather energy
before they engage in production again. Hence, recreation is important to man.
Ideology is another important cultural element because it lays down principles
and conditions to be followed by a given society. Thus, it provides a guideline
to how people should live in a given place and time.
Like
ideology, rules and laws are very crucial cultural elements asthey defend
social norms and determine what is right or wrong in the society. Thus, they
shape the behaviour of people.
Co-operation
is the next crucial element of culture, asit promotes interaction of people in
a given society. Through interaction, people are able to perform collective and
important activities like burials or pastoral activities which a single person
cannot do.
Disadvantages of Culture Elements
1. Traditional
ceremonies, such as "ngoma” contribute a lotto the spread of STIs
(Sexually Transmitted Infections) and diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Initiation
ceremonies which involve circumcision of birth female and male can also cause
problems such as the transmission of HIV/AIDS, especially when they are not
done properly. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) can cause high bleeding and
difficulties during childbirth.
2. Through
visual arts such as video and television, indigenous culture can be destructed
by imposition of foreign culture. Foreign culture is imposed through the media
such as radio, printand television. People learn different practices such as
inappropriate dress styles, and other things like gay lifestyles.
3. Social
institutions and religious beliefs can transmit negative attitudes to the
people about the culture of a certain society. For example, colonial education
and religion imparted ideas of despising Africa culture and glorifying western
culture. Christian missionaries said Africa culture was “barbaric”.
There are some traditional ways of life which prohibit certain
groups of people fromeating certainkinds of food which arenutritious. For
example, there are taboos in some societies thatprohibit women from eating eggs
when they are pregnant. Additionally,some discourage family planning.
Polygamist tradition may also be a cause of poverty and the spread of HIV
/AIDS. Patriarchy system as cultural practices limit women rights and hence
retards development ofthe society.
Importance of Each Element of Culture
Illustrate
the importance of each element of culture
Culture helps make young people familiarize themselves
withsocial values notably language, beliefs and taboos.
·
It gives knowledge to people (young ones) on social
transformation of different societies.
·
It helps people to know their past social settings and laws that
have been governing nature in different societies.
·
It exposes youngsters to tasks that are similar to those of
elders.
·
It is a medium for bringing up youth in order to cope
inasociety.
·
It enables people to transmit their skills, knowledge and wisdom
from one generation to another.
·
It equips learners with insightful knowledge on bad and good
cultural practices and therefore chooses the positive ones.
The
values of culture help the future generations to know how to escape from bad
practices and evils in the societies such as drug abuse, child abuse, stealing
and any other kind of bad behaviour which is not proper to society. Ethics are
passed by adult to young ones through informal education.
Language
is used in a particular society to convey message. Language is also an identity
of a nation. For example Kiswahili in Tanzania identifies the nation of
Tanzania among other nations in the world who use different languages such as
English, French and German. Language can be used to unite, educate and
inculcate the sense of awareness to youth.
Sports
and games promote unity, cooperation and friendship among the social members.
This is because sport and games collect people together for sharing different
ideas to build a better society.
Crafts
in particular, provide the household with necessary materials such as
furniture, pots and baskets which are used daily. Some of them can be sold and
provide money to people, hence a source of income.
Traditions
are also worthwhile for example; Initiation ceremonies prepare the young boys
and girls to make part their responsibility in the society as adults. They
promote people from childhood to adulthood. Some traditions and customs are
worth –for example marriage and burial ceremonies because they collect and bind
together at times of problems and pleasure and share different ideas.
Customs
help societies to adopt briefly certain cultural values like dressing style,
eating habits, hairstyles etc. which are sometimes worthwhile for acceptable in
certain occasions - e.g. in wedding ceremonies.
Art
helps us to express our feelings, attitude and events in a very enjoyable way –
e.g. through songs, drama and pictures.
Recreations
bring refreshment to a person after hard work. They help persons to relax and
gather energy before they engage in production again. Hence recreations are
important to man.Ideology is another important cultural element because it lays
down the principles and conditions to be followed by a given society. Thus, it
provides a guideline to how people should live in a given place and time.
Like
ideology, rules and laws are very crucial as cultural elements because they
defend social norms and determine what is right or wrong in the society. Thus,
they shape the behaviour of people.
Co-operation
is the next crucial element of culture, because it promotes interaction of
people in a given society. Through interaction, people are able to perform collective
and important activities like burials or pastoral activities which a single
person cannot do.
Positive and Negative
Aspects of our Cultural Values
Disadvantages of Culture Elements
·
There are some traditional ways of life which prohibit certain groups
of people to eat some kind of food which is nutritious. For example, there are
taboos in some societies which prohibit women from eating eggs when they are
pregnant. Again some discourage family planning.
·
Polygamist tradition may also be a cause of poverty and spread
of HIV /AIDS. Patriarchy system as cultural practices limits women rights and
hence retards development in the society.
·
Traditional ceremonies, such as „ngoma” contribute much to the
spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections).
Initiation ceremonies which involve circumcision of birth female and male can
also cause problems such as transmission of HIV/AIDS especially when they are
unsafely done. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) can cause high bleeding and
difficulties during childbirth.Through visual arts such as video and television
indigenous culture can be destructed by imposition of foreign culture. Foreign
culture. Foreign culture is imposed through the media such as the radio, video
and television. People learn different practices such as bad wearing styles,
and other things like gay marriages.
·
Social institutions and religious beliefs can transmit negative
attitudes to the people about the culture of a certain society. For example,
colonial education and religion imparted ideas of despising Africa culture and
glorifying western culture. Christian missionaries said Africa culture was
“barbaric”.
Products of Culture
·
Beside the elements of culture, we also have products of
culture. Culture is now a commodity to be sold in the form of made products,
clothes, accessories, leisure opportunities, sportswear and other consumer
goods. Products of culture should be understood in its past-present forms.
·
All cultures must produce both economic and social types of products.
The nature of these products and their use depend on the cultural level of a
given society.
Positive and Negative Aspects of our Cultural Values
Identify
positive and negative aspects of our cultural values
(i)
Positive aspects of cultural values
·
Among the most outstanding aspects of our cultural values are:
·
Respect among members of a given societies.18Here, children are
taught how to respect their parents and elders. Every person in the society has
the right to be treated with respect.
·
Respect for the law is another positive cultural value, because
t helps to maintain order and discipline in that given society. In a society
with peace and order no one is above the law.
·
Care for the old, sick and disabled is a positive cultural
value. It is the responsibility of the society to take care of them, since they
are a product of the society. The old, for instance, were once strong people
who gave birth to off springs who are now the strong able bodied people of the
society.
·
The communal self help is a crucial culture value as it promotes
performance of collective work in the society for the betterment of the people
of the people themselves.Care for the young is a very vital cultural value and
it is done not only by parents but all members of the community. In traditional
societies, each adult person was a teacher and care taker to the young.
·
Community co-operation as a cultural value and it is done not
only by parents but all members of the community. In traditional societies,
each adult person was a teacher and care taker to the young.Community
co-operation as a cultural value is important in that it is promoting
interaction among members of the society. Such co-operation brings unity and
increases the ability of the community in carrying out various communal
activities.Proper or descent dressing according to local or national norms is
another positive cultural value because it preserves ones good personality. It
makes the wearer look descent and acceptable in different situations depending
on the nature of one‟s occupation, occasion and time for the dressing and the
place in question.
·
Participation in civil activities is a positive cultural value
since it brings people together towards performing different constructive
activities for the betterment of all the people e.g. constructing roads,
building schools for our children or even building dispensaries and clinics in
places where there is that demand.
·
Hard work is another positive cultural value certainly because
through hard work a person is able to produce more and better goods and service
for the betterment of oneself, the community and the nation.19Being informed is
an important cultural value because; it makes an individual knowledgeable about
one‟s duties, responsibilities and rights in his/her society.
·
Accountability and transparency: The society is supposed to
perform its functions and duties with openness so that people know what the
society understands of their society. Once this is done, peoples‟ expectations
and wishes can be fulfilled. Transparency is very necessary for the development
of people and the society at large.
(ii) Negative aspects of cultural values
These are many but among the most outstanding are;
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)This is
a collective name which describes procedures or practices that involve partial
or total removal of the clitoris in the female genitalia or other parts of the
female genital organ whether for cultural or other non-medical reasons. The
female genital mutilation is a violation of basic human rights. Areas affected
with this practice in Tanzania are Kilimanjaro, Dodoma, Arusha, Manyara, and
Morogoro regions. In Dodoma, for example, 12, 613 out of 16, 789 (75%) of the
women who went for delivery between 1988 – 2000 were mutilated.
Reasons which force people to engage in (FGM)
There are several reasons which force some of the societies to
adopt FGM. Most reasons are based on the nature of the society. Among these are
as follows:
·
- To control women‟s sexuality. Societies which adopt this
practice (FGM) know that biologically there are some parts of the body which
are very sensitive during sexual intercourse. One of them is the clitoris. So
to prevent a girl from developing interest in sexuality and become loose they
mutilate it.
·
- It is propounded that FGM goes with initiation ceremonies that
promote young girls to women hood. Thus it is considered by some prestige
traditional societies as a prestige and a sign of maturity among girls.
Effects of Female Genital Mutilation
·
Marital conflicts due to sexual dissatisfaction. This situation
can result from two reasons. Some men dislike women who are mutilated. On the
hand, circumcised women don‟t enjoy the sexual activity. Thus, they lack
satisfaction in sexuality and may dislike sexuality altogether.
·
Women who are mutilated develop a feeling of anxiety and
depression. This can be a result of the pain they feel during circumcision or
due to the deformation of their pain they feel during circumcision or due to the
deformation of their genitalia. This can cause psychological disturbance.
·
The practice can lead to the loss of one‟s life. Some girls and
women loss of blood from the cut part.
·
The last effect is possibility of getting the HIV/AIDS infection
as this practice is done under unsafe conditions. Sometimes a single knife is
used to circumcise several girls/women without being sterilized. For this case,
those who are mutilated have the risk of being infected with HIV/ and may also
get other diseases.
Effects
1. Wife inheritance :Wife inheritance is the
process of taking one‟s wife after the death of her husband. Inheritance of
wives can also be termed as inheritance of widows.This has been a major problem
to the societies which practice this system of life these days. This is because
those who tend to inherit widows can die due to the effects of HIV/AIDS because
widows may be victims of HIV/AIDS and a person who inherits them will be
infected. This endangers one‟s life. Inheritance of widows should be
discouraged in the society in order to avoid the rate of transmission of
different diseases such as HIV and AIDS. Also inheritance of widows seems to be
a violation of human rights because it has turned women into objects of leisure
form men. Widows appear to be there to be inherited to satisfy men who inherit
them. Inheritance of widows should be discouraged strongly in the nation.
2. Early marriage; This is
the process/situation whereby a person gets married before his/her right age.
Normally the suggested right age for marriage is 18 years and above. Nowadays
marriages among people under the right age have been common. This has been
happening especially to young girls who21are married while they are still in
tender age. These types of marriages are sometimes accompanied by forced
marriages.
3. Forced marriage; Sometimes
young girls have been forced to get married to men whom they do not want.
Parents or guardian propound this situation perhaps for the aim of reducing the
burden of children at home. Young girls are thus forced to be married rather
than being forced to attend school.The reason is, some parents depend on the
dowry or bride price they get as capital for production. This situation leads
to forced marriages. These are some of the driving forces for early marriage because
some societies think that bride price and dowry can help them to run different
social and economic activities.
Customs which Lead to Gender Discrimination
Illustrate
customs which lead to gender discrimination
These customs can best be analyzed by different institutions
which perpetuate them. Such institutions are:
1. The family: The
family-level, it is a belief that boys will continue the lineage and support
the family, while girls will get married. Thus most families prefer to educate
boys or spend more money on them at the expenses of girls, when a choice has to
be made between the two.
2. Traditional institutions: Initiation
ceremonies play a major role in perpetuating bias. Girls who have undergone
initiation ceremonies become passive in school. Traditional counselors and
elders initiate, girls with emphasis on submissiveness to men. Because of that,
women do not take part in decision making at home.
3. Learning Institutions: In
these institutions it is a common practice that boys are offered science
subjects and mathematics, while girls are made to study the traditional girls
subjects29such as home economics and typing. More often there is also
discrimination from some teachers, who expect boys to be more intelligent than
girls. Girls are not encouraged to work hard.
4. Religious institutions: Church
or Mosque leaders make references to the Bible or Quran on the submissive
nature of women. Women are denied opportunities to hold positions of leadership
and decision making in those institutions. In some mosques land churches,
decisions made usually discriminate women.
5. Work place: The
socialization process in the community has effects on the community has effects
on the gender division of labour for boys and girls. Girls are marginalized
from participating in education and decision making activities.
Major
effects of gender discrimination
The values and attitudes that society holds for boys and girls
have adverse effects on women. Generally gender discrimination in national
development has serious implications as follows:
a. With
reference to sex there is unequal distribution of powers in all spheres of
social life as in politics, economics, military and social sector.
b. Women
continue to be left out in areas of development.
c.
Women continue to face violence and aggression as they do not
have any economic power base to support themselves.
d. Girls
lack the spirit of competition in class, leading to poor performance in school
work.
e.
There are very few women at the managerial and decision –making
levels.
CULTURE
AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
There
are relationship between culture and reproductive health of the given society.
The cultural systems of life can be used to relate how far a society upholds reproductive
health as a vital term or issue to every society. This is because people are
naturally engaged in production. So reproduction needs a great care and
attention so as to make it go smoothly. Reproductive health can be boosted or
undermined by a society depending on the nature of culture. There are some
cultural practices which are always degrading provision of social health
services which are30professional such as the local medicines which are not
professional such as the local medicines which are not professionally proved.
Reproduction
means the process of giving out a newly born-off spring which resembles their
parents. Reproductive health ensures people satisfactory and safe sexual life
with capability of reproducing deciding when, how, why and also the ability to
decide how many children to be obtained and the ability to be free from sexual
transmitted disease like gonorrhea, HIV, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PIV)
which damages the reproductive system.
The definition of reproductive health includes:
1. Knowledge
of reproductive system, its functions and processes.
2. Men and
Women are informed of and have access to safe effective, affordable and
acceptable methods of regulating fertility.
3. People
have access to health care services which include prevention and treatment of
infertility reproductive tract infection and sexually transmitted infections
and sexually transmitted infections.
4. Promotion
of mutual, respectful and fair gender relations.
5. People
are free to practice family planning.
Necessary reproductive health services
The following are some of the reproductive health services
necessary to the individual in the family and community:
·
Maternal clinics, child vaccinations and immunization.
·
Birth control by using contraceptive methods such as drugs devices
and operations.Lack of reproductive health services can lead to severe
consequences. For example, many children could die due to lack of immunity
against curable diseases. Moreover, many women could die during pregnancy or
soon after giving birth. Tanzania is one of those countries in the world whose
birth rates are very high. It is currently estimated to be growing at the rate
of 2 -8 percent. A high birth rate affects the development of31the country
negatively. Non-proportional increase of people to the rate of economic growth
hinders meaningful development.
This is
because there will be more months to feed than what is produced. Similarly,
there will be more children to take to school.
Advantages
of Reproductive health education
Reproductive health is very essential to everyone in the
society. The following are some advantages of reproductive health education:
1. Prevention
of sexually transmitted infections (STI‟s) including
2. Prevention
of HIV/AIDS. Unwanted pregnancies.
3. Promotion
of gender rights and equality.
4. Improvement
of women‟s safety during pregnancy and childbirth.
5. Regulation
of one‟s fertility.
6. Prevention
of major child diseases.
7. Strengthening
the management of infertility.
8. Identification
of reproductive tract infection and seeking their appropriate treatment.
9. It
ensures healthy motherhood, steady ad controlled population growth.
Initiation
ceremonies
Initiation
ceremonies include “Jando and Unyago” female genital mutilation and initiation
ceremonies. These have been hindering reproductive health due to the fact that
they are carried unsafely; like using one knife for circumcising the entire
population. For the case of female genital mutilation several disasters can
arise, such as lose of much blood and development of scars which may lead to
severe pains during delivery.
Cultural
values that encourage bearing many children
Family
planning in most societies is not observed due to some cultural norms like
belief system which is based on religion and prestige. For the case of religion
some societies believe that each child is born with its luck, and that is the
blessings from God. Also they stand on the notion that32God commanded people to
bear children and fill the world. Thus, family planning is seen as the sin
against God and the one who does so is sinning. Other societies believed that
to have many children is the sign of great abilities in reproduction and are
more fit in reproducing. Due to that case reproductive health is limited and
obstacle and the society concerned.
Female
genital mutilation: this causes prolonged bleeding during and after the
mutilation. It also disturbs the natural vaginal elasticity during delivery due
to the scar left after mutilation. It also reduces sexual pleasure during
mating.
Cultural
practices affecting women and reproductive health
We made
some explanation on how women have been treated in our societies. Women have
been at a disadvantage almost in all societies in the past. Many developing
countries in Africa and Tanzania in particular have been affected negatively by
had cultural practices. These include those habits of marriage, foods eating,
and the practice of women mutilation, dowry payment, inheritance and excluding
women from the consumption of certain foods.
We made a detected account of these practices in Book One and
Book Three of this series. We need not say much about them in this book.
However, we can touch some of them briefly in this text.
a. Habits
of marriage: In most African societies, there has been the practice of getting
married to a woman by first fulfilling the condition of paying what is called
bride- price. This price has stood as a payment paid for buying a commodity.
Bride price paying has therefore acted as an enslaving factor for women. Two
examples can help us to get a good picture of this cultural practice. A Sukuma
woman married to a man with dowry of say twenty cattle, when she gives birth to
a baby she compensates for the cattle given as bride price from her husband. If
it is a baby girl the amount of cattle as compensation is a bit higher than a
baby boy. Usually it was at the ratio of 5:4 until the amount of cattle paid is
exhausted then the woman is counted liberated. If she wants to divorce for
unbearable causes, she would be needed to repay the cattle in spite of her time
spent with the husband and her labour in producing whatever agricultural
products or any other material gains that she has contributed to the wellbeing of
her family.33In other tribes particularly pastoral communities they have no
regard to whatever the wife has contributed to the wellbeing of her family. If
she is divorced, she will have to repay whatever amount of cattle was given to
her father.Habit of food eating: In some tribes women are forbidden to eat
certain types of food. The Wakerewe tribe in Mwanza puts a taboo forbidding
woman to eat goat meat, eggs and dogfish. Such cultural customs were
contributing to the poor health of women especially during pregnancy or nursing
a baby.
b. Decision
Making: There has always been the cultural practice of excluding women in
decision making in important domestic, economic and political issues. Women
have been regarded as being unable to give good ideas on certain socioeconomic
issues like marriage, education and the domestic budget.
The
government of Tanzania in realizing the social status of women and on the basis
of the Declaration of the Human Rights Charter together with the Beijing
Declaration of 1955 has made some attempts to improve the status of women.
Parliament has enacted laws to give women right to own property in land. It is
now possible for women to own land during marriage or inherit land after her
husband‟s death.
In addition, to the above explanations, the following are the
problems facing women in Tanzania.
1. Poor
health. This is due to the focus of the society that women should bear many
children something that tends to weaken their health.
2. Poor
diet and little food.
3. Lack of
education.
4. Too much
work. Women work harder and for many hours than men.
5. Maltreatment
from their husbands. Some societies administer punishment over women. This
cause physical injuries and psychological hopelessness.
Customs that Lead to the HIV/AIDS and STIs
Point out customs
that lead to the HIV/AIDS and STIs
HIV
stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and AIDS stands for Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome. Getting HIV infection leads to a weakened immune system.
This makes a person with HIV to a group of illnesses that a healthy person
without a virus would be unlikely34to be affected by opportunistic infections
HIV/AIDS is a killer disease which has no cure or vaccine.
The following are cultural practices that lead to the spread of
HIV/AIDS and STI‟s.
·
Female genital mutilation (women circumcision) can lead to the
spread of HIV because the instruments used are nit sterilized and are used by
the whole group being circumcised. Most of the instruments used are knives,
razor blades, and pairs of scissors or any other sharp tools.
·
Some tribes cut tribal marks on parts of the body of their kids
claiming that they want to shed off the dirty blood. Also the instruments used
are not changed so they can spread HIV to the kids.
·
Inherited widows may contact or spread HIV from to men who
inherit them.
·
Certain traditional dances are accompanied by alcohol drinking
which can draw men and women into sexual intercourse. Such practices may cause
the spread of HIV.
·
Local traditional midwives who are not well trained may spread
HIV/AIDS to both mother and the newly born baby due to using unsterilized
instruments.
·
Polygamy may also be a potential cause of HIV/AIDS. Once one of
the wives get HIV/AIDS all of them will also get it.
·
Forced marriage can also create problems where someone is forced
to be married to certain man or woman who may have unfortunately been infected
with one of HIV/AIDS.
Impact of the Negative Aspects of our Customs
Analyse
the impact of the negative aspects of our customs
(i) Female genital mutilation (women Circumcision) can lead to:
1. Prolonged
breeding during and after the mutilation.
2. Disturbance
of the natural vaginal elasticity during delivery due to the scar left after
the mutilation.
3. Reduction
of sexual pleasure during sexual intercourse.
4. Spread
of sexual transmitted infections (STI‟s) because the instruments used are not
sterilized and are used by the whole group being circumcised.
5. Death
because of excessive bleeding and STI‟s such as HIV/AIDS.
(ii) Gender biases can lead to:
1. Unequal
distribution of powers in a community.
2. Women
being left out in areas of development.
3. Lack of
sprint of competition hence poor performance.
4. Few
women in managerial and decision making levels.
5. Violence
and aggression.
(iii)Beliefs and practice of witchcrafts can lead.
1. Transmission
of STI‟s especially when male witchdoctors demand to hold sexual intercourse
with their clients their clients as a cure for some diseases.
2. Despise
modern health services and rely on local herbs some of which do not cure.
3. Family
conflict.
4. Unnecessary
deaths, etc.
(iv) Polygamy can lead to:
1. Rapid
population increase.
2. Transmission
of STI‟s.
3. Increase
of street children.
(v) Inheritance of wives (widow) can lead to:
1. Contact
of STI‟s including the HIV/AIDS.
2. Conflicts
between the inherited wife and the former/original wife of the husband.
(vi) Early manages can lead to:
1. Long
difficult labour because of immaturity of the reproductive organs.
2. Sometimes
babies are born too early (premature).
3. Blocked
births which may damage the uterus and rapture the bladder and can even cause death
to the victim.
(vii) Forced marriages may lead to:
1. Family
conflicts
2. Contact
of sexually transmitted Infections (STIs).
(viii) Bride price can lead to:
1. Violation
of human rights to women who are sometimes treated as bought objects.
2. Forced
marriages conducted by parents after receiving dowry from the man intending to
marry their daughter.
3. Crimes,
like beating of the bride when she refuses to obey.
Ways and Actions to be Taken against Negative Aspects of our
Socio-Cultural Values
Propose
ways and actions to be taken against negative aspects of our socio-cultural
values
(i) Female genital
mutilation (women Circumcision) can lead to:
1. Prolonged
breeding during and after the mutilation.
2. Disturbance
of the natural vaginal elasticity during delivery due to the scar left after
the mutilation.
3. Reduction
of sexual pleasure during sexual intercourse.
4. Spread
of sexual transmitted infections (STI‟s) because the instruments used are not
sterilized and are used by the whole group being circumcised.
5. Death
because of excessive bleeding and STI‟s such as HIV/AIDS.
(ii) Gender biases can
lead to:
1. Unequal
distribution of powers in a community.
2. Women
being left out in areas of development.
3. Lack of
sprint of competition hence poor performance.
4. Few
women in managerial and decision making levels.
5. Violence
and aggression.
(iii) Beliefs and
practice of witch crafts can lead.
1. Transmission
of STI‟s especially when male witchdoctors demand to hold sexual intercourse
with their clients their clients as a cure for some diseases.
2. Despise
modern health services and rely on local herbs some of which do not cure.
3. Family
conflict.
4. Unnecessary
deaths, etc.
(iv) Polygamy can lead
to:
1. Rapid
population increase.
2. Transmission
of STI‟s.
3. Increase
of street children.
(v) Inheritance of wives (widow)
can lead to:
1. Contact
of STI‟s including the HIV/AIDS.
2. Conflicts
between the inherited wife and the former/original wife of the husband.
(vi) Early manages can
lead to:
1. Long
difficult labour because of immaturity of the reproductive organs.
2. Sometimes
babies are born too early (premature).
3. Blocked
births which may damage the uterus and rapture the bladder and can even cause
death to the victim.
(vii) Forced marriages
may lead to:
1. Family
conflicts
2. Contact
of sexually transmitted Infections (STIs).
(viii) Bride price can
lead to:
1. Violation
of human rights to women who are sometimes treated as bought objects.
2. Forced
marriages conducted by parents after receiving dowry from the man intending to
marry their daughter.
3. Crimes,
like beating of the bride when she refuses to obey.
WAYS
AND ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN AGAINST NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF CULTURAL VALUES.
These
ways and actions can be discussed all two levels namely, strategies to liberate
the whole society.
(a) Strategies to
liberate women in Tanzania
1. The
formation of women‟s social organizations. This will help them to have a
collective bargaining power for their deprived rights. Through these
organizations, women can ask for assistance from the government or donors in
order to enable them to open various projects. Women‟s social organizations in
Tanzania are like; WAMA (Wanawake na Maendeleo), TAWLA, TAMWA, etc.
2. The
governments have to ensure that women receive equal opportunities as men in all
social, political and economic issues.
3. The
government should commit itself to the prohibition of all cultural practices
and customs that oppress women like the female genital mutilation, polygamy,
forced and early marriage etc.
4. Educating
men to put off the idea that they are created superior to women.
5. To
establish special programs for improving life standards of women especially in
the rural areas.
6. Improve
the rural technology. To provide women with modern working facilities ploughs,
milling machines.37
7. To
inculcate a sense of awareness to all members of society that, women are able
people and can do everything like men. Therefore, they have capabilities of
thinking and performing like men. This will stop old perceptions of looking
women as enabled people.
8. To
improve and increase the education opportunities to women. If education
opportunities will be improved to women, the development of the country will
increase. Also the whole society will be almost educated if we refer to the
slogan that says “When you educate women, you educated the whole society” To
date, education opportunities to all in Tanzania is positively implementation ,
since the government has increased the chances for girls and women in education
sector. For example there is a programme of enrolling more women students at
the University of Dar es salaam who have been learning science subject when
they were at secondary school (Advanced level).
9. To
improves access to the resources such as land, the situation which is still
difficult to some societies in which women have no right to inherit resources
such as land? However some societies have managed to reduce this problem. For
example, in many tribes of Tanzania women have now rights to own property and
equal access to natural resources.
10. To
participation in political matters and other economic activities. To justify
this, the government has added more than 15% special seats in parliament for
women in order to bring about gender balance and equal control of resources.
11. To make
people aware with all things which cause gender inequality? In general, the
world is still emphasizing much on women empowerment through different forums
and organization which try to defend the rights of people such as human rights.
(b) Strategies to
liberate the entire society
1. The
entire society should be enlightened on the bad impacts of the negative aspects
of our socio-cultural values.
2. The
government should enact strict laws against those who entertain the negative
cultural values like the practice of witchcraft, the killing of twins, the
handicapped and albinos.38
3. The
government should promote and encourage good leadership especially at the
village government level, where problem related to the socio-cultural values
are mostly experienced.
Promotion and
Preservation of our Worthy Cultural Values
IntroductionAfter their independence,
African countries took steps to promote and preserve their culture at national
level. Efforts were taken by African governments, churches and communities to
reach this goal. Why national culture? This has been so because a national
culture is a symbol or identity of a nation. It comprises things such as
language, art, science, technology, education, economy, politics, beliefs and
values. The values are expressed in songs, dances and ceremonies.
In addition, culture s dynamic. That is, it changes with time t
suit the current social, political and economic situation of a nation. No two
nations can have an identical culture. In order to promote the Tanzanian
national culture soon after getting independence the Ministry of National
Culture and youth was established in 1962. Over the years, it changed names and
departments although its basic objectives remained unchanged. Its major
departments are:
·
The National Kiswahili Council
·
The National Sports Council.
·
The National Festivals and State Celebrations Councils;
·
The National Department of Museums, Antiquities and national
Archives;
·
The National Film Censorship Board and;
·
The Department of Arts and Crafts.
Promotion and preservation of national culture is a combination
of efforts made by people under their government to enhance growth and
existence of the culture which has to be practiced in the nation. Efforts
towards the Promotion and preservation of culture have been going on in
Tanzania since 1962. In 1962 the Ministry of National Culture and Youth was formed.
The objectives remained unchanged. Cultural promotion has resulted into the
following:
·
Kiswahili to become the national language.39
·
In 1967 the government introduced Education for Self-reliance
policy which used education to transmit African values.
·
Local/ national styles of dressing were officially adopted.
Importance of Promoting and Preserving our Worthy Cultural
Values
Explain
the importance of promoting and preserving our worthy cultural values
Importance of promoting and Preserving our national Culture
1. To
maintain our national identity.
2. To
provide a foundation for stable governance.
3. To
maintain our useful value and systems of life.
4. To
protect our country from cultural colonization through cultural globalization.
5. To
maintain our cultural heritage.
6. To
create a sense of nation hood and promote cohesion in the daily life of
Tanzanians.
The Roles of Different Groups and Institutions in Promoting and
Preserving our Cultural Values
Assess the
roles of different groups and institutions in promoting and preserving our
cultural values
The
National Kiswahili Council
The National Kiswahili Council was established on August 9,
1967. The council has many roles; for example it;
a. Promotes
and develops Kiswahili as a national language. The Council enables Kiswahili to
be sued for all national communication. Today, Kiswahili is spoken and
understood by almost all Tanzanians. The First President of Tanzania Mwalimu
Julius Kambarage Nyerere used Kiswahili to unite the whole of Tanzania as a
nation.
b. Coins
new words from local languages as well as foreign languages to make Kiswahili
keep pace with the changes, which keep occurring, in the Tanzanian society.
c.
Encourages educated Africans to participate in Kiswahili
literature and writing to remove the major weaknesses of colonial education.
The latter emphasized foreign languages such as English and French but despised
or downplayed Kiswahili and other local languages.
d. Works
with other bodies in the country that are devoted to the promotion and
preservation of Kiswahili.
e.
Encourages high standards of Kiswahili and establishes standard
Kiswahili for educational and technical purposes.
The
National Sports Council
The
National Sports Council was established in 1967. The roles of this council are:
To
develop, promote and control all amateur sports in the country. The Council
does this in co-operation with voluntary amateur sports organizations. Amateur
sports are sports played for enjoyment, not for monetary gains.
In order to carry out
this, the National Sports Council does the following:
1. Provides
training to staff members.
2. Grants
or gives aid to national sports associations or organizations.
3. Provides
play fields and other sports facilities.
4. Provides
sports equipment and other sports items necessary for international sports
competitions and festivals. In so doing, national sportsmen and sportswomen
gain experience. The council through sports stimulates and fosters friendly
relations with other nations. The Council stimulates interest in all sports at
all levels in the nation. And finally, the council plans general policy for the
promotion of sports.
5. Provides
medals, diplomas, certificates, or any other rewards to competent people who
deserve them.
6. Provides
scholarship for the training of coaches and sports administrators.Advises the
responsible minister on all matters related to ports.
The National Festival and State Celebrations Council
The
Council facilities celebration of important national occasions. The council
ensures that the nation does not engage in meaningless and unending
celebrations. The council deals with national public holidays. These national
occasions are celebrated with demonstrations, speeches, songs, dances, feasts,
sports and games. There are religious holidays as well, which are public
holidays but are not under this Council. The holidays include Christmas for the
Christians and Idd for the Muslins. Prayers, sports, games, dance and feasts
mark these religious holidays.
Department of Museum, Antiquities and National Achieves
These departments preserve the national heritage in the form of
cultural treasures and writings. Hence, they strongly stimulate cultural
enthusiasm among the people.
1. Museums; There are national as
well as regional museums in Tanzania. They provide a safe and permanent place
for preserving national traditions, customs and works of art. They serve as
cultural and recreational centres for the people of the United Republic of
Tanzania. They are also important as attractions for visitors or tourists. They
serve as educational institutions for current and future generations. The
national museums are supposed to be research centres. Information from such
centres can be used for educational purposes and in publishing books and
pamphlets.
2. AntiquitiesAntiquities are
important objects that have existed for a very long time. They include remains
of ancient buildings such as mosques, churches, place and tombs. Tanzania is
very rich in antiquities, for example, the ruins of old buildings found at
Kaole (near Bagamoyo), Kilwa and Mtwara – Mikindani. The ancient bomas found in
Dar es Salaam and some district and regional headquarters. The department was
formed to preserve these objects, which are called antiquities.
3. The national Archives; This
organ has one main role that is, to censor films before they are shown. To
censor a film means to examine it and decide whether it is not effective. This
has been very difficult with the introduction of TV stations and videos. Hence
the Tanzanian society at large and every person should have moral obligation of
seeing that scandalous films are not shown. Films are required to promote
national culture, education and development. Therefore this organ and every
Tanzanian is supposed to ban films, videos, or pornographic pictures, which
promote bad behaviour such as murder, violence, robbery, gangsterism,
prostitution, drug-abuse and racial segregation.42
4. The Council of Arts and CraftsAfrican countries through their government and communities encourage
creativity in art and crafts. Each country identifies its cultural needs. Then,
art and crafts are applied to serve those needs. The main purpose is to make
art and crafts servants of man. They are supposed to be tools to help. Africans
understand and shape their societies according to their collective needs. That
is the meaning of creativity.
Educational institutions
Role of education in
Cultural Transmission.After independence,
African governments, church and African communities improved the educational
system, inherited from colonial masters, to suit African national culture.
There were various reasons why the education system African culture. There were
various reasons why the education system inherited at independence needed
improvement. These are:
1. The
aims and content of the colonial education promoted the values and intersects
of the colonizers.
2. The
colonial education system was intended only to train the Africans for clerical
and junior distractive posts.
3. T
education system emphasized theoretical leaning. It ignored practical learning
hence African students lacked skills and creativity. Therefore, African
governments, churches and African communities took various steps to improve
education such as:
the following;
1. To
integrate existing educational facilities;
2. To
expand education at primary, secondary, college and university level;
3. To
adopt African and Euro-African national languages as the languages of
instruction in schools, colleges, and universities. In primary schools and
Teachers Colleges , while English is the medium of instruction in the English
medium primary schools, all secondary schools ,colleges and universities;
4. To
reshape the content of the curriculum to make it more relevant to the needs of
the growing African nations. Educational policies were established in most of
the African countries so as to:
5. Enable
Africans understand their responsibilities in Africa societies;43
6. Design
and implement suitable educational programmes , that is, Africans should be
able to identify their problems and solve them intelligently;
7. Train
Africans to get and preserve knowledge, wisdom and experiences;
8. Get the
Africans to pass on the knowledge, wisdom and experiences to future
generations.
9. Get and
teach the best from other educational systems which influence African lives;
these are the traditional African systems and the foreign ones;
10. Merge
orcombine theoretical and practical knowledge; in Tanzania, for example, the
policy of socialism and self-reliance was introduced by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere
and to make it practicable, education for self-reliance was introduced in
schools.
11. This is
the way to maximize the impact of knowledge on the present and future societies
of Africa.
Mass
Media
African
countries use the radio as a way of transmitting their culture. To date in
Tanzania, there are a good number of radio stations which presents programmes
with cultural matters.
Problems Facing the Promotion of our Cultural Values
Illustrate
problems facing the promotion of our cultural values
Despite all attempts made by the government to build/promote and
preserve national culture, still there are some problems which act as
hindrance. These which act as hindrances these factors include the following:
1. Colonial legacy: Because
of colonial legacy many Tanzanians are not confident in creating things. They
are still having the mental attitude of assimilation and association together
with the administrative and the education systems. Through all these colonial
systems, Africans were forced to inferior.
2. Low level of science and technology: The capacity of production material and morally is doomed in
Tanzania because much of technology is brought from abroad i.e. Science and
technology dependence.
3. Ignorance: A great
number of people do not know how to read and write. Thus the people are limited
to their environment. They can hardly effectively control their
environment.44Hence, they are trapped by the environment which hinders the
promotion of their culture and civilization.
4. Bad leadership: Most
colonialism hence they have a low standard of leadership. They cannot establish
concrete police to promote our cultural values. And even for those who can do
so fail to make follow - - ups. In this policies remain on shelves.
5. Lack of enough funds.This issue hinders proper
and adequate facilitation to leaders and other people who decided to do
research or engage in promoting national culture.
6. Globalization: The
growing of social interaction among people of different culture history, the
growing of social interaction among people of different culture history ,
origin and different beliefs has contributed much on hindering the promotion of
national culture. An example can be experienced on Tanzania traditional songs
and ceremonies like the wedding song burial songs, the mode of these ceremonies
the nature of the religions belief system and the like.
Solution to Problems Arising in the Process of Promoting and
Preserving our Cultural Values
Propose
solution to problems arising in the process of promoting and preserving our
cultural values
Tanzania since independence has been struggling to her level
best to promote and preserve the national culture. The following are some of
proposed solutions to problems arising in the process of promoting and
preserving our cultural values.
1. Reduce
excessive dependency on foreign science and technology and instead implement
the local technology available.
2. Observing
national festivals.
3. To
provide educated on the importance of importance of culture.
4. Allocate
sufficient funds in research development for national culture.
5. Forming
youth /peer social sporting and civic groups and organizations to promote our
culture.
6. Integrate
culture with work.
7. Formulating
good policies that promote culture.
8. Impose
strict laws, rules and regulation for those who despise our culture45
9. Formulating
good policies that that promotes culture.
10. Impose
strict laws, rules and regulation for those who despise our culture
11. Electing
good leaders with cultural sense.
Culture of Preventive Care and Maintenance of Personal and
Public Property
It is
important to keep the environment and buildings very clean and in good order.
In this last part we shall see the progress and importance of up keeping of
environment.
Meaning and Importance of Culture of Preventive Care and
Maintenance of Personal and Public Property
Explain
the meaning and the importance of culture of preventive care and maintenance of
personal and public property
Preventive
Maintenance
Preventive
maintenance can be defined as a system of planning maintenance and monitoring
social cultural settings in a community, which involves inspection, followed by
maintenance and modification which is necessary to make items and properties to
use for a longer period.
Causes of Deterioration
The following are the main causes;
1. Lack of
knowledge,
2. People‟s
attitudes,
3. Habits,
4. Disregard
of public property,
5. Lack of
use of common sense
6. Laser
faire attitude
The
Procedure for Preventive care and Maintenance
People should be aware of their surroundings. Preventive care
should be considered under the following:
·
Cleanliness.
·
The frequency of checkup and inspection.
·
Regional maintenance that minimizes the costs of up
·
keeping of buildings, furniture and mixtures.46
·
Regular maintenance that creates a conductive environment to
users.
·
Institutions or public places should have a time table to ensure
preventive care because people need it.
·
Regular care maintenance of existing buildings and facilities,
so as to ensure and prolong the life span of buildings and equipment.
Factors for promotion and
preservation of National Culture Matters which can promote the growth and
existence of culture are:
·
National language that should be spoken by the people and used
for instruction in schools.
·
Protection of handcrafts industries against foreign goods
competition such as importation of unnecessary goods.
·
African artists like singers, dancers, poets should be assisted
in composing and recording.
·
Popularization of local culture in mass media using-radio,
television, videos, etc. The Tanzania media is doing a good job to promote our
culture.
·
Commitment of leadership to promotion of national culture i.e.
leaders should encourage people to practice the national cultural ways of life.
Exercise 1
Consequences of Neglecting Timely Repair and Maintenance
Analyse
the consequences of neglecting timely repair and maintenance
Refer the following consequences;
1. Man-made
objectives like building, roads, railways and property like books and domestic
items need to be repaired immediately when damage occurs or when they wear out.
Otherwise they will cost much if they are neglected.
2. Environmental
degradation is mostly caused by deforestation, soil erosion, and water and air
pollution. Land degradation caused by man should be avoided in order to
conserve our environment.
3. Rampant
destruction of private and public properties should not be encouraged officials
should maintain them from time to time.
Promotion of Life
Skills
Life
skills refers to ways in which an individual applies mental ability to control
or deal with oneself environment. It involves things like thinking, planning
and implementation in order to solve life problems such as social, political,
economic and cultural.
In
dealing with cultural values and its associated problems, various life skills
are highly needed for promoting and preserving culture. Examples of those
skills are the skills of knowing and living with oneself, skills of knowing and
living with others, and skills of making effective decisions. Social skills
like relationship and friendship skills are very important in shaping an
individual‟s
behaviour and make one accepted in the community. These skills help an individual
to relate well with others and become a responsible citizen.
Any
society has establi8sh a foundation for its members to acquire various life
skills which would lead them to. This is only possible if culture is integrated
with education system, and work in the country. The big role players for
promotion and preservation of national cultural values are the government,
parents, schools, religion and NGOs.
Life skills education
Education
is necessary is order to improve the quality of labour force. Though education,
knowledge and skills are obtained to enable one produce more and better quality
products. In agriculture for instance, one can produce more and better crop by
using knowledge and skills obtained in agricultural lesson. Such knowledge and
skills include proper use of fertilize irrigation methods, pest control
condition methods, pest control, condition necessary for the growth of crops
and weeding.
Education
also offers life skills related to employment and income opportunities
Technical or vocational training is provided so as to offer such knowledge and
skills. People with such knowledge and skills can start their own businesses
and in this way gain income.
Through
health skills, one learns the different types of diseases and how to prevent
them; one learns children care and family management, nutrition health and
hygiene. This will improve the health of the learner and the society as a
whole. Mother‟s
knowledge on reproductive health and literacy in general has
effects on fertility, infant and child mortality.
In short, life
skills education can change an individual and the community to meet personal
and national needs. This is because life skills education increases the
individual‟s ability to be
more productive.
Problem Solving
Life
skills constitute a knowledge and aptitude that are necessary with maximum
efficiency and accuracy. One of the categories of life skills is critical
thinking it uses skills such as reasoning inquiry, analysis, processing,
flexibility and evaluation.
In problem solving, it
is crucial to adhere problem solving techniques because are helpful as follows:
1. They
help to tackle problems which seem to be complex.
2. They
minimize conflicts, frustration and misunderstandings.
3. They
help people to overcome limitations in human mental machinery for perception
memory and inference.
4. They
overcome constraints and inhibitions that limit the range of ones thinking.
5. They
help analysts achieve their full potential.Problems vary from
potential.Problems can be those concerns with adolescents, reproductive health,
family life issues socio-economic issues or environmental issue steps in
production solving process.
The process of problem
components subjected to the type of problem in place. Steps for problem solving
process include:
1. Definition
of problem.
2. Problem
analysis endevour
3. Generating
possible solutions
4. Analyzation
of the solutions and;
5. Selecting
the best solution
How to Use Different Life Skills
Demonstrate
how to use different life skills
In any
society there are leaders who lead other people in a given community. These
leaders can be measured on how confident and self-worth are they confidence and
self-worth may help a leader build good relationship with other community
members that result to team work spirit successful leadership trustfulness
amongest members in community hence development.
Exercise 2
1. Briefly explain the meaning of the following terms.
1. Life
skills
2. Material
culture
3. Tradition
4. Custom
5. Culture
6. Outline
four factors of the importance of culture
7. Identify
the importance of promotion and prevention of our culture values
- Name three customs and taboos which the health of women during and before delivery
- Discuss how culture and gender relations in society undermine women
- Discuss the strength and weakness of culture change
- Describe why Tanzanian people as in other countries worship in religious
- How political, economic and education referred to as roots of culture?
- Briefly discuss the methods and techniques used by Europeans to establish colonial culture I n Tanzania mainland
- It is argued that there is no culture without laws. In the light of this statement, take one indicator of culture and discuss in relation to its implementation being enforced by law.
- What would be the measures for promotion and preservation of national culture?
- Give two examples for both hidden and open behaviour patterns.