Sociology and Other Cultures free essay sample

Sociology Essay Sociology and Other Cultures Culture is a group of people who share beliefs and is a shared way of life. The Kgatla tribe of South Africa, The Tchambuli tribe of New Guinea and Body Ritual among the Nacirema have some similarities as well as differences to the British culture. Gender roles, religion and family are presented in different ways among these tribes and their culture. The culture and norms of the Kgatla tribe of South Africa are very different to the British culture; here gender roles have swapped â€Å"The women and girls till the fields build and repair walls. whereas in the British culture the men are seen to do the manual labour while the women are left to the domestic roles within the household. â€Å"Men on the other hand have no regular daily work in the villages†, this would be seen as a deviant act in the British Culture due to that men were seen to do the work that the women are doing. We will write a custom essay sample on Sociology and Other Cultures or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However the boys of the Kgatla tribe are doing manual jobs which is the same as the British culture, were boys would be doing jobs with their hands which our culture thinks would prepare them for later life. Women in the Kgatla tribe are seen as the manual labourers as well as being domesticated and looking after the family, were as in the British culture women are seen as nothing but nurtures and domesticated. Men still have the status and are the dominated sex in the Kgatla tribe as well in the British culture even though the women do the work. The Tchambuli tribe of the New Guinea have their similarities and differences to the British cultures were the conjugal roles for men and women are not permitted for the opposite sex to do. The gender roles in this culture are different to that of the British culture â€Å"adult males in Tchambuli interested in art in theatre† to some extent the men in the British culture are interested in fine arts but it would mainly be seen as a female thing. Whereas â€Å"the women go with shaven head, unadorned† unlike the women in the British Culture appearance is key and women in the British Culture are more like the men of The Tchambuli tribe. The men of the Tchambuli tribe â€Å"wear the ornaments, they do the shopping† this would be seen as a very deviant act due to the fact that it is not masculine and it s seen as a domesticated act for only women. The male in the Tchambuli tribe are the dominated sex as they are responsible for everything in their community and household, as well as the British Culture were the male are dominated but they are not in control of the progress in their household. Body Ritual among the Nacirema have many similarities to the British Culture there norms and values are shown differently to our society and culture; the Body Ritual among the Nacirema value religion and family. The norms of the Nacirema are there rituals and their ceremonies with the family which is similar to the British culture were family is seen as a key aspect of life. â€Å"Adults never discuss the ritual, and children are only told as much as they need† children in Nacirema do not talk with their about their religion unlike in my culture children are told of the religion in more depth from a young age and it is discussed within the family and it is the norm. Status in Nacirema is â€Å"measured in terms of how many such ritual centres it possesses† which is similar to the British culture were your wealth is judged by how much possession you have. The â€Å"medicine men† of Nacirema are the people that the community go to when they have problems were as in my culture we would go to priests and doctors who would advice us and treat us with physical and emotional problems. The Nacirema traditions are similar to the British Culture norms â€Å"to exercise the evils of the mouth, by looking for holes and filling them with some magical material† which in the British culture it is going to the dentist which is a regular norm of the British society. On the other hand for the Nacirema society â€Å"bathing and excretory acts are performed in the secrecy of the household shrine† the British society do excrete in the privacy of their home because it is seen as a personal thing. The Nacirema tradition â€Å"each day, twice a day every member of the family enters and bows his head before the charm box† unlike the British culture once they go to church and worship that would be it unless they have private prayers with their family. Women of Nacirema â€Å"simply go from village to village and permitting the natives to stare at them for a fee† unlike the British culture women show off their assets and men stare at them but they do not show off their assets to be stared at they do it because it’s our norm to look good and decent when going round.