Comparison of the Changes Between the Kaluli and Azande Cultures. Paper Sample

Cultural components normally change due to globalization and ethnocide (Adger, Barnett, Brown, Marshall & O'brien, 2013). Cultural diversity may determine the level of industrial globalization in the world because the interaction of people is affected by cultural practices and beliefs. Industrial changes contributed to globalization since the interior occupied by the indigenous communities are opened up. The technology ensures that remote areas are accessed; therefore, enabling globalization and subsequent cultural changes in the world. Cultural changes depend on social, political, and economic development because people's knowledge and skills determine their perceptions. Globalization supports economic and political growth; therefore, ensuring a global village (Poe, Norman, & Levin, 2014). Globalization provides a tangible undercurrent and paradoxical dichotomy because it has both positive and negative impacts on different cultures (Bekasi & Harkouss, 2018). The concept of ethnocide gathers for the needs of all cultures due to the recognition of cultural diversity in the world.

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Different communities living in separate or similar places on the earth have varying cultural practice. Other differences may also arise due to the difference in population density and climatic conditions. A typical example of the culture disparity is succinctly described by Peters-Golden. The similarities and differences provided between the Kaluli and Azande communities provide a clear indication that globalization and ethnocide lead to cultural changes in the world (Peters-Golden, 2002). the two communities live in the same geographical region around Papua, New Guinea. The Azande, a known community for their crude cultural beliefs consist of about one million people. The Azande live in three West African countries while the Kaluli occupy New Guinea only because it consists of about two thousand people.

The Azande belief in the power of witchcraft (Orr, 2009). on the other hand, the Kaluli community is known for its unique linguistic in Africa. Despite the differences, the two communities have similar aspects like reverence to their environment, practices of homosexuality, and belief in witchcraft. The ability to understand the differences and similarities between these two communities requires a critical analysis of the customs and cultural beliefs that determine the livelihood of the indigenous communities in their natural settings.

The Azande engage in various social and economic activities for their livelihood. The staple food of the Azande includes maize, millet, pumpkins, beans, sim, and groundnuts. Weather patterns determine the production of these food crops but in some cases like dry seasons, water from a stream may be used to irrigate the crops (Orlove, Crane & Roncoli, 2016). Azande also practices fishing along River Zaire and other small streams. Globalization has resulted in various impacts on the social and economic practices of the community; therefore, changing the culture of Azande. Globalization results in industrialization in most parts of the world since investors struggle to utilize the unexploited resources in their natural setting. Industrialization leads to climate change; therefore, affecting the agricultural activities of the Azande (Van Ede, 2009). the Kaluli engage in subsistent farming due to their horticultural practices. the Kaluli occupy the tropical rainforest places of West Africa. The climatic conditions in the plateau regions of Papua ensure that the community receive abundant food from their horticultural activities. Both Azande and the Kaluli hunt small animals like crustaceans, insects, lizards and small rodents to supplement their surplus agricultural produce (Peters-Golden, 2002).

Another similarity between the Kaluli and the Azande is their belief on the land they own. In this case, the Azande value the streams for they use for fishing while the Kaluli empathise on the importance of places they have worked, lived, gardened and travelled together. The value of natural resources has changed due to the impacts of ethnocide on the cultures of communities living in West and Central Africa (Ocheni & Nwankwo, 2012). The concept of globalization resulted in European colonization and civilization of the indigenous communities in the African continent. The colonial masters arrived in Africa and alienated the African communities from their land and other natural resources (Rapport, 2014). The exploitation of the economic resources resulted in cultural change because the indigenous communities were no longer connected to their valued land and streams; therefore, interfering with the social and economic practices of their people. Civilization came after the colonization and introduction of western education.

Civilization resulted in the adoption of new cultures and language. the Azande community have adopted different languages depending on the country they currently inhabit, for example, the group that live in Sudan currently speak in English while those in West and Central Africa use the French language because France colonized most of the countries in these regions. The indigenous language of the Azande has been lost due to ethnocide and globalization (Peters-Golden, 2002). The unique linguistic of the Kaluli also changed due to ethnocide and globalization. The indigenous community has adopted the language introduced due to colonization and western education.

Globalization has many positive impacts on the indigenous cultures as compared to the negative effects (Miller, 2011). Civilization results were due to the effective and considerate globalization process. civilization involved the introduction of Christianity. Christian beliefs oppose traditional practices like the belief in the power of witchcraft in the communities. In this case, globalization led to the loss of the witchcraft practices among the Azande. Currently, the number of witch doctors decreases among the Azande and Kaluli communities as a result of civilization brought by globalization. Holly Peters-Golden described that before colonization, the Azande and the Kaluli were organized into small political systems consisting of clans' heads and kings. After the colonization, the communities also lost their political systems.

Environmental Factors and their Effects in shaping the cultural Practices of the Tiwi and Yanomami

Environmental factors contribute to cultural changes among various communities in the world. Tiwi and Yanomami live in different geographical places. The differences in the geographical areas of residence results to the changes in the cultural practice of the two communities in their natural settings. Australian population comprises of several groups of indigenous communities, including the Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and the Tiwi communities. The Tiwi occupy the Islands of Melville and Bathurst. The Yanomami live in Venezuela and Brazil. The Yanomami occupy the Amazon rainforest.

Being the Islanders, the Tiwi community of Australia construct small canoes for transportation of their commodities from one geographical region to another. The canoes are made from simple structures like bamboos and other light tree trunks. Changes in the environmental condition like the emergence of winter force the Tiwi people to construct unique houses to prevent adverse climatic conditions (Leeson, 2014). on the other hand, the Yanomami use donkeys and other animals for transportation because the forested areas cannot be accessed through the use of modern means of transport.

The Yanomami construct unique houses that fit the forest life. The Amazon rainforest has varying climatic conditions depending on the amounts of rains received in the region. In most case, the Amazon region experiences long rainy season accompanied by heavy storms. Enough rains receive in the area favors most of the agricultural practices like growing of sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, and palm fruits. During the summer season, the climatic conditions in the Amazon rainforest favor the cultural practices of the Yanomami because at this time the people can wear their traditional attire (Jokic, 2015). The traditional dressing modes include the small skins tied on men's waists. Women cover their breasts and the reproductive organs. During cold seasons, the Yanomami people wear heavy clothing made from animal's skins.

Tiwi food includes Bush potatoes, Cocky Apple, and Water Chestnut (Campbell, 2013). The environmental conditions in the Tiwi Islanders favor the growth of these crops; therefore, they normally grow naturally in the Islands (Harvey, 2002). The summer season usually supports some cultural practices like rituals, music and arts. The Tiwi men normally wrestle in in the rains. The wrestlers decorate their bodies using clay soil. During cold seasons, the Tawi people gather together under big trees. After the gathering, some selected people put on a fire to keep them warm. The art of storytelling is perfected during the gathering, especially at night. The Tiwi people majorly use their indigenous language in communication and music activities (Campbell, 2013). Tiwi music praises the environmental condition for providing them with natural crops for food. Through the raising of the environment, the people give thanks to their creator for providing favorable environmental factors in the Island.

Tawi and Yanomami communities engage in similar cultural practices like hunting and gathering due to the environmental factors in their places (Jackson, Tan, Mooney, Hoverman & White, 2012). the two communities hunt small animals like snakes, lizards, small rodents and other game animals. fishing is another cultural practice similar to the Tiwi and Yanomami communities. the difference arises from the religious beliefs of the two indigenous communities because Tiwi has different beliefs as compared to those of the Yanomami. For example, the Tiwi believed in life after death while the Yanomami believed does not hold any belief relating to death and next life. Roles of women and men also form another difference between the two communities. According to the Tiwi community, women should perform simple tasks like the gathering of fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs from their natural settings while men engage in heavy duties like hunting, cultivation, construction of the houses, and the making of canoes. In the Yanomami community, women were also involved in cultural activities like house construction and crop production (Nilsson & Fearnside, 2011).

The environmental factors shaped the cultures of the Tiwi and the Yanomami because most of the economic and social practice depend on the ecological conditions in places of residence. Environmental factors may contribute to the differences in the cultures of the different communities. Tiwi Island has different environmental factors from those experienced in the Amazon rainforest. Environmental factors have influences on the housing structures constructed by the indigenous communities to ensure that effects of the adverse climatic conditions do not affect the health status of the people (Cicourel, 2012). religious beliefs of the indigenous communities relate to the environmental factors especially during crop growing and harvesting moments because religious leaders pray for favorable climatic conditions from their gods.

Conclusion

Indigenous communities occupy most part of remote and inaccessible places in the world. The ecological conditions of the places inhabited by the indigenous communities determine social, economic and political developments of the communities living the rural areas.