The Amish in America

Environment and Human Adaptation

The group of people that I picked for my Enthography project were the Amish. The Amish movement was founded in Europe during 1693. High taxes, high rents, inflation, wars and rumors of wars, the military draft, and religious persecution encouraged believers to leave Europe. In 1681, William Penn, an English Quaker received ownership of the land that would eventually become the state of Pennsylvania. He decided to try a "Holy Experiment:" to establish a colony that would allow religious toleration. This was a relatively novel concept at the time. Amish, Quakers, Mennonites, Moravians, Schwenkfelders and others in Europe responded to the opportunity by moving to the area. The Amish settled primarily in three locations in Pennslayvania, Eight settlements in what are now Berks, Chester, Lancaster and Lebanon counties to the west of Philadelphia, One settlement in Mifflin County in the center of Pennsylvania, and Three settlements in Somerset County in south-west Pennsylvania. A large part of the Amish community in our modern era resides in Lancaster, PA. Lancaster climate fluctuates with the four seasons. They receive an annual rainfall of 38 inches and also have a snowfall of 7.5 inches, in where the temperature during the winter ranges from 19 degrees to 50 degrees F. In the summer seasons the temperature can range from 54 to 85 degrees. The fall being 25 to 65 degrees and the spring can range from 39 to 81 degrees. Lancaster has a population of 56,348 people, 51.2 % female and 48,8 % male. Most of the Amish live within the rural areas of the city; usually the population is made up of the Amish themselves. The Amish refuse any modern luxuries and rarely see doctors. They have higher incidences of genetic disorders, like dwarfism (Ellis-van Creveld syndrome) and metabolic disorders. However, recent medical studies have shown, because of their "clean" living, they are 70 % less likely to have cancer than any other group in their state. This is attributed to a life style of no tobacco and alcohol.

Language and Gender Roles

  The vast majority of Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonites across North America speak two languages fluently, Pennsylvania German (popularly known as Pennsylvania Dutch) and English. A small minority known as the Swiss Amish, who live mainly in southern Indiana, speak a form of Bernese Swiss German instead of Pennsylvania German. The Amish speak Pennsylvania German among one another and it is the language of sermons in church. English is used mainly with non-Amish relatives and friends, but it is also the dominant medium of literacy. While most Amish have a good reading knowledge of the standard German of the Bible and other religious texts, they read and write mainly in English. English is the medium of instruction in Amish parochial school. Although the Amish originally comprised only a small minority of the Pennsylvania German-speaking population, they and the Old Order Mennonites are the last groups to use the language actively and pass it on to their children. Maintenance of both Pennsylvania German and standard German has become an important symbol of Amish identity and a tangible connection with their spiritual heritage.

  The gender roles in an Amish family are clearly set, with the male being the dominant within their society. However, there are many incidents when different households might take the role of the wife or husband, depending on the need of the situation. Amish men are not above helping with the children when necessary or allowing their wife's business to be the primary source of income. Men will help in the garden when necessary and when asked, and women will help in the barn or the shop when necessary, regardless of their other household or financial responsibilities. Much like in the modern world, as time continues, women are taking larger roles in providing household income, especially if they are without young children to care for. The gender roles within the entire Amish society are well defined, but within each household it might be different. Within the religious platforms of the Amish society, men are the established Church leaders, they are the only ones allowed to obtain leadership positions within the Church. The women are allowed to vote on church matters but are forbidden to take any leadership role. The women are the primary educators of their society. In their community schools, the teachers are all women and the responsibility of the school teacher is to make sure that the children have a proper education until the eight grades. The children at an early age are taught their place in society. Even the youngest members of the family are taught the discipline of work according to their sex. Boys that become strong enough to handle a certain work load are expected to help their father in whatever business they are in. If the father is a carpenter, the young boy is expected to help his father by cleaning the shop, getting tools ready, and listening without question to what his father says. Young girls begin learning through household chores; their mothers usually will start assigning tasks around the house. It could either start by asking a young girl to start sweeping, or if they are older to help sew clothes for the family. Children are taught gender roles through the work they are assigned. The protagonist in the story of "The Blessed Curse", would have not been accepted well within the Amish. The Amish are heavily influenced by Judeo-Christian values and hold the Bible as the complete literature that has the authority of their lives. They would have probably outcast the child at birth or if the family wanted to keep the child they would outcast the entire family.

Substience and Economy

   Farming is the occupation desired by most Amish. All family members are integrated into an agricultural way of life. It begins at an early age, the youngest member help in the farm and household chores.  The Amish keep their farms small enough to be handled by the family unit. Family-size farms have consistently been productive, serving to meet the needs of the community rather than to earn large profits. Sweet corn, celery, beets, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, and a wide variety of other vegetables are grown in the typical Amish garden. The Amish diet consists of a lot of carbohydrates, this is because they are physically working all day and need the energy. Some of the Amish also hunt, mainly deer if it is in season. Amish have a wide variety of modern food sources available to them. Their meals can consist of steak and eggs, poultry and vegetables, or they will go to the local restaurant. Most of their food sources are readily available to them all year long. The division of labor between men and women in an Amish agriculture environment is based heavily on the family construct. The men will plow and plant the seeds and do all of the physically demanding aspects of the farm. However, women also take part in physically demanding work on the family farm. Women are responsible for maintaining certain aspects of the farm and also to pick the daily rations. Unfortunately, even with the access to all modern foods, the Amish do not have a very nutritional diet. Their food are considered "filling" foods, basically they are more inclined to eat foods that have a lot of fat content then a nutritional one. Especially the men of the Amish feel that because they are doing physically demanding work, it is better to have a full stomach. The Amish have had regularly available food and goods since their entry into the United States. The Amish through agriculture often do find themselves in surplus of goods. The farms that the Amish have are usually small and made that way because it is easier for one family to use the land/ The Amish believe in having enough to survive, therefore do not believe in large lands and hiring employment. They feel that will result in a economical hierarchy, so if a family does get a larger than usual crop, it goes back to the community. The Amish are on large community, they do not believe in excess or waste. Their members are all taken care of, if there is a surplus it is distributed, based on need, back to the community. The Amish are expert farmers, what keeps the Amish not as advance in their respective fields is that Amish do not embrace new technology. They are great carpenters, builders, and craftsman; however they are readily only needed within their own community. Very seldom an Amish will be employed by a non Amish resident. The Amish as describes above do practice redistribution of goods, it is a very communal society. There is no wealthy and there should not be any poor within their community. However, there isn't a central power that forcefully takes any goods to redistribute. Each individual is expected to share if they have extra. It is engrained within the Amish from a young age, if any Amish wishes to have more of a modern material existence, then they are encouraged to leave their group and enter the modern world. the Amish currency is the same currency the United States has in use. The Amish will deal with U.S. currency with outsiders and even within themselves. There are cases in smaller communities that goods or services are exchanged. The negative effect of currency on the Amish is evident. The Amish can not function without trade with the outside world, so that has intruded on their way of life. They can not just stay in their communities anymore, now they are forced to interact with the outside world.

Marriage and Kinship

   The Amish practice a monogamous type of marriage. The Amish, unlike average Americans marry relatively young. The age range is usually in the early-twenties, and on the average males are about one year older than their female partners. There is a social practice that all Amish practice when they become sixteen years old. The practice is called the "Rumspringa", the root words mean the "Running Around". Every member must participate, but there are differences on how they participate. Some of the teenagers practice by staying close to the community and organizing Bible groups. There are however some that completely go against the Amish belief. The behaviors of these teens does not alienate them from the community, it is accepted that some will go this route. There is an equal amount of leniency granted to both sexes. There is complete gender equality at this time. The teenagers are permitted to go out and participate in all of the things the world has to offer. After, this time if the teen feels they want to stay in the Amish lifestyle he or she can become baptized and now are eligible for marriage within the community. The Amish believe in individual decisions about life and therefore do not pressure children into any marriage; in fact they have little or nothing to do with it. Young men and women are allowed to pick whoever they seem as a proper mate for marriage. When the man and the women choose each other and set a wedding date, the wedding dowry starts to be prepared. The Amish pride themselves on minimal living so the bride's dowry is usually practical things that the bride's mother has collected. The items can include dishware, kerosene lamps, linens, clocks, canned foods, and farming tools. The bride's parents are responsible for providing the major furnishings that will be used in the newlywed's new home. Although the women have fewer rights to leadership roles among the Amish, they are however very respected once a wedding date is set. Both the man and the women are thought of as equals within the relationship, the women s considered the strength that makes the man go out and earn a living. With marriage Amish parents do not usually get involved with their children’s choices; however there are exceptions when it comes to inter-family marriage. The Amish do not allow first cousins to marry, they will however allow third and farther down the line cousins to marry. After the young couple is married they usually will stay in the bride's family home until spring where they would seek out their own home. The Amish stay within a very close community, they do not live far away from there close relatives. The Amish have a very passive attitude when it comes to individual family homes and how they are run. They do draw the line when it comes to homosexuality. This is a taboo to the Amish people and would not tolerate it within their communities. If someone comes out as homosexual, the Amish will excommunicate the individual and the family that harbors that person.

   The Amish are a very close community and one way or another they are all related either through birth or marriage. The family is a very close unit, but the Amish do consider their entire community as brothers and sisters. There is the obvious closeness that is given between the core family units; however the Amish do not deviate from the idea that the entire community is a family. In the families within the community and the community as a whole the majority of the authority is given to the eldest fathers. The father in the household is considered the head and authority. The descent lines are clear; regarding inheritance, the father of a family will leave all his inheritance to his eldest son. There are exceptions when a father will spread the inheritance between multiple sons. The women do not receive a share of the inheritance, they are supposed to be taken care of by their husbands, or if they are not married, their brothers must provide for them. The naming patterns within the Amish are the same as what modern era Americans use. They have separate names for parents, uncles and aunts.

Social and Political Organization

The Amish are primarily an egalitarian society; however complete equal rights are not given to every citizen. The men within the community are allowed to obtain leadership positions, the women only are allowed to play a supportive role to the leadership. The Amish do not believe in social status, all families are equal and should not seek notoriety. To even take pictures within the Amish is considered vanity.

  Modern day Amish in the United States must adhere to the laws and rules of the land. They are not allowed to police themselves or even govern themselves past Church and religious leadership. They do however have a counsel of elders that unofficially enforce and govern within the community. The differences between the Amish and the rest of America are that the Amish are not held to pay certain taxes and adhere to certain educational perquisites. The Amish do not pay Social Security and only send their children to school until the eight grades. The government does not force them to pay into these systems. The Amish do not participate in any sort of politics, hey do not vote or actively seek out any public office. The Amish in early dates had been the source of great controversy regarding state laws. They have fought long to secure their rights and that is regarded as the only time the Amish were ever involved in politics. The Amish are also a source of great controversy regarding their lifestyle. Many political commentators have stated that the Amish were able to make Socialism work in America. Conservative commentators claim that the Amish are the first to make a complete religious authority society work in America.

   The Church and its elders are the sole authority for the Amish. The Church leaders are made up of solely married males that are voted in. In Church elections everyone who has been baptized within the Amish are allowed to vote. This is one of the rare times where men and women are completely equal in the Amish. The leadership position is held either until death or the member has become to old to continue, then they would have another election. The Church is the authority and the usual way the punish offenders is by ex communicating the offender. If any other crime is committed the Amish are expected to inform the police and they are subjected to the punishment of the state. In this portion of the Amish I tried to remain unbiased but it is very hard when it comes to violence. The Amish practice what i believe to be one of the greatest ways of dealing with violence inflicted on a group of people. The Amish are extreme pacifists, they do not believe in violence in any sense. On October 6, 2006 an insane gunmen, Charles Carl Roberts went into a Amish schoolhouse and opened fire, killing 5 children and wounding another 5 children. When the police were called a finally made it into the classroom, the police stated that there wasn't any part of that classroom that did not have blood on it. The country was outraged at the murder of these innocent children. Days later, the grandfather of one slain little girl went to the wife of the gunmen and extended a hand of forgiveness. The act of forgiving such a heinous act just speaks of how the dedication to peace the Amish are. There were many controversies about that but there are only a few moments in our modern lives where we will see a group of people actually practice what they preach. Later on the Amish community found out that the gunmen's family did not have money to bury him, so the Amish gathered money to pay for his funeral. The Amish act of forgiveness has resonated with me until today and was one of the reasons I wanted to do this project on them.

Religion and Art

      The Amish religion is based on the tenets of early Christianity. They believe the Bible is the Word of God and the Church is the body of Christ. The Amish religion grew out of the Anabaptist reformers. The Anabaptists believed that formal theological training was not necessary and that the lay man was able to lead Church services. The Amish believe the use of religious icons are a form of idolatry and that formal rituals are merely a distraction from true worship. The Amish take the statement from the Bible that Christians must separate themselves to the literal word. They do not believe in any modern technology and believe the use of it is against the will of God. The Amish practice a monotheistic Christian religion. They believe in complete salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Anabaptists, that became the Amish, believed that the Protestant and Catholic religions had become corrupt. They believed that because of the corruption of the two institutions took away from the true worship of God. When they were able to migrate to America they could finally be in control of the society they thought was the correct one. The most unique part of the Amish is there complete isolation from the outside world. The Amish do not believe in any modern form of technology and even in this modern era they make few compromises when it comes to technology. If they need to travel from one place to another, they use a horse and buggy. The Amish also do not believe in infant Baptisms, they believe that the only real way for belonging to the body of Christ is to accept it at an age that you can make that choice. The Amish funeral is exactly like Amish weddings described earlier, they are simple and held at the deceased home. There are no flowers and there isn't a eulogy for the departed. The Christian religion is the complete foundation of the Amish people. Without the religion the Amish would cease to exist. Their whole life and everything that surrounds it is based on their Christian faith.

     

The Amish and the world of art is a tricky relationship. The Amish emphasize that art being done for art's sake is a sin of vanity. The Amish however create beautiful quilt, rugs and handcrafted furniture. This could be labeled as their art form. Their craftsmanship within these forms has given them a unique culture identity in art. The Amish quilts are expressive in color and design. This is because the Amish are celebrated their love for nature. The Amish use this medium as there only expressive art form. They are not allowed to dance, or express themselves in that manner. The Amish are not allowed to have any type of performance arts; they believe that performance art in any form is a source of vanity. The only other form of art that is allowed is singing in Unisom religious hymns.

Cultural Change

 The Amish have been affected by other cultures. However, they have been able to maintain a lot of control of their society. The main influence other cultures have on the Amish is trade. When the Amish sells or buys products this is where they come in contact with other cultures. Also, during their traditional Rumspringa, the young are allowed to set outside the Amish world. During this time many youth decide not to come back and join the Amish. They felt as though the world and another life had more to offer them.

I believe the Amish are still thriving and not really in danger of being lost. There is however been a drop in membership after the Rumspringa. Many youth are taking the time they are allowed to leave the Amish community as a chance to obtain a new life. The number of youth coming back to the Amish community are still generally high, there is however a trend not to come back until a couple of years.

The Amish community in my opinion does not serve as an influence to modern society. The Amish themselves do not vote or participate in any type of politics. They stay within themselves and chose to try to govern only the actions within their community. There influence on modern America is very weak.

Sources:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm

http://www.cityoflancasterpa.com/lancastercity/cwp/view.asp?A=3&QUESTION_ID=564385

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/3348

http://claritaslux.com/blog/peculiar-language-amish/

http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Amish-Economy.html

http://www.welcome-to-lancaster-county.com/amish-barn.html

http://www.amishmennonitequilts.com/giving.html

http://www.amishnews.com/amisharticles/religioustraditions.htm

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson53.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish_school_shooting

http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pennsylvania/a/amish_3.htm

http://www.welcome-to-lancaster-county.com/amish-art.html

Also there is a great documentary called "Devil's Playground", it follows Amish teens during Rumspringa, it details there interactions with the outside world and their Amish Community.

The Culture of Art

      I think that early cave drawings displayed early human way of life and communication. Early artists used these paintings to display what animals were in a certain region and how they were able to survive. Without formal writing, cave art became an essential tool of communication. It was a way to leave your mark in a certain location and to let others who would pass by, to know what animals either are or were there. Early cave drawings portrayed more animals than humans, I think it was mainly due to animals were their existence. After going through the virtual cave I got sense that this early group was more in tuned with nature and animals. I realized that early humans were more understanding of what was their life source. They respected the animals that they hunted and immortalized them through their paintings. These paintings give us great insight into the lives of cave dwellers. It showed how our early ancestors were able to depict life through art and feeling. It’s very important to see all aspects of cave dwelling societies, because so much has been portrayed as comical satire, we have come to think of our early ancestors as mindless brutes that ran around and hit their potential mates on the head with a club and drag them off. The paintings give us a look at how they were starting to form ideas about life, art, and spiritual matters. The hardest problem these early artists would face in painting these walls would be actually obtaining the material to paint. They had a limited amount of material and had to make do with what they had available. The lack of light would have also been problematic for the early artists, especially when the caves would be deep and had no contact with natural light. The three functions of this art, in my opinion, would have been for communication, spiritual, and to memorialize a kill.

     The commonalities of early art and modern art regarding function are not far apart. Most modern art is created in order to display feelings, emotions, or an ideal thought. It is still, like early art, used as the medium of communication. Art is able to communicate beyond languages, just as the early art did. The medium has become the function for expressing thought through different cultures regarding politics, social issues, and wide various world topics.

   

      One of my favorite art forms is literature and Jack Kerouac's book “On the Road” is one of my favorite books. Jack Kerouac is from the "Beat" literary movement along with Allen Ginsberg. Jack Kerouac introduced the phase "Beat Generation" to describe post World War 2 writers of the 1950's. The artists that participated in this movement were trying to break from traditional views on life, sex, and material wealth. There was a non conforming attitude that was being spread through “Beat” literature and it pushed the envelope on most obscenity laws of the time. There was a whole culture surrounding the "Beat generation", the clothes, and the way they talked and acted. Men were primarily reflecting the young artist's look of France, with tight cotton shirts, berets and scarves. Turtlenecks or horizontal striped shirts emerged as a stereotypical piece of clothing, plain sweaters with no design and big dark sunglasses. The women went counterculture to the era's frilly skirts and fancy hair seen in the mainstream culture. Black was a favored color for women, especially black Capri pants, stirrup slacks or pencil skirts. Women's tops might be sweatshirts, turtlenecks, and knit shirts, thin sweaters with cowl necks or black leotards. Jewelry was minimalistic, often reflecting Eastern religious symbols.

     This movement was very affective in helping a generation that felt lost, find its voice. Many authors at this time were able to set precedents that allowed later generations without censorship be able to express their views. Unfortunately, like any movement there are good points and bad points. Many from the "Beat Generation" were involved with drugs and a lot of young adults got lost within the chaos of their addiction. The "Beat Generation" promoted freedom from old restraints, however the culture was soaked with drugs and eventually their message was drowned out by this image.

Blood Revenge and Kinship

The Yanomamo rules regarding killing are very complicated. It does differ from western culture but only in general. The Yanomamo regard killing as a more political act than anything. For example, it mirrors  the western culture thought of a deterrent system of capitol punishment. Where it differs is when the killings that the Yanomamo commit raise their stature of the individual within the community. In western culture being known for killing someone does not usually raise the stature of the individual. In the Yanomamo, being Unokais, is someone who is very respected and with that respect they are able to have their choice of mates.

   The Yanomamo are very spiritual and ceremonial in the act of revenge killings. When a headman had been killed by a raiding party, the body was made into ashes and stored in tiny gourds. The ashes would be consumed by the women in the village and this was done in a ceremony to build their men into frenzy. The raiding party of the Yanomamo is small and is made up of all men. The raiding parties target village is always about a four day walk from their village. The eve of the attack, the men make an effigy of the warrior they want to kill. However, the men usually end up killing whoever they see first. Whatever warrior takes part in the killing must go back and take part in a ritual cleansing (Unokaimou).

    The main benefits of becoming Unokais in the Yanomamo are increasing your stature within the community. The Unokais are less likely to have other villagers solicit their wives. In a kinship of Unokais they are less likely to be a victim of abuse, or to be looked down upon. The non-Unokais do not have the same privileges as the Unokais of the village. Although they do not participate in violence, they are however subjected to have their wives or women in the family have unwanted advances by Unokais. Being non-unokais sometimes will bring mockery and belittlement from other tribesman.

 To participate in revenge killings shows other members of the tribe that the individual is willing to fight for his kinsman and for his rights. This person is elevated within the society as a person who must be respected. A tribe that is known for revenge killings will less likely have any other tribe try to attack them. They are able to hold order through there reputations of killings. The Yanomamo is a transient community, their membership changes because of migration, emigration, and fissioning. Unokais who were once tribal members could find themselves in opposing villages. Yanomama revenge raids can be seen as prominent men inciting killing raids for their own personal benefit rather than an act of kinship honor. The kinship dynamic in Yanomamo villages contain paternal decent groups. There are male and female of all ages that are all related through their father’s line. These members must find marriage partners through other paternal line, mainly in their own village. The most prominent men in the tribe know as "Pata" (Big Ones), usually have polygynous marriage. They can have a half a dozen wives and many children.

   We need rules and laws in any society for it to function. Any given society can have its own laws that govern them, depending on their certain situation. There however, should be laws that help those that can't protect themselves or are forced to participate in actions which they do not find moral to just protect themselves and their family. In the article, Jacoby's study it mentions an interesting point. The article says, “even in societies with law and formal judicial systems and that justice everywhere has an undeniable element of retribution". With that, the Yanomamo's reaction to revenge does not seem too far away from our system; the only difference is that members of the community are responsible for carrying out justice. The laws that we have in place today help us govern ourselves without individual action of justice. Laws are very important in any society to establish order, if justice is sought out by individuals, like the Yanomamo, it will be a never ending cycle of individuals seeking revenge.

Hunter and Gathering, Agriculture

 Identify the benefits of Hunter and Gather and Agriculture subsistence patterns   

   The hunter and gather life pattern had many benefits. The obvious advantage that hunter gather tribes had was that their food supply was richer with the nourishments that the human body needed. This in turn made hunter and gather tribes physically strong, less likely to become sick and because of hunting wild animals their senses were heightened. Until recently it was thought that hunter and gathering tribes were tirelessly looking for food and all their time was being spent in this. Now many studies prove that there was more leisure to their lifestyle. This allowed them much more time to pursue their cultural recreations.

       The benefits of an agricultural society laid the tracks to modern civilization. This type of society finally gave humans a chance to stay in one location. It allowed for a centralized food source, which if done right meant always having food. The population was given a chance to grow and multiply considerably. With this expansion it gave way for groups of people to better organize and to begin constructing the fundamental ideals that would give birth to civilizations. It allowed individuals to pursue other cultural endeavors that would benefit societies greatly.

 Identify the costs (or disadvantages) of both subsistence patterns

    The hunter gather life pattern however did have its draw backs. With the aggressive nature of acquiring food it led to many conflicts with other tribes who were also looking for the best game. They were not able to lay down roots in one location, because there food source relied heavily on migrating animals, they were forced to travel to find there food supply. This in turn did not allow them to grow in population and the constant moving made survival much more difficult.

 Like the hunter gather tribes an agriculture way of life also had its drawbacks. Because of the population increase with an agriculture society there was also a larger demand on food. With soil problems and some periods of droughts a whole centralized population would go into famine. Also, as this type of society progressed a need of personal ownership became more relevant to its cultural standard, and this seemed to individualize a once communal society.

   Which subsistence pattern provides a healthier diet?

  I think the healthier diet in the long run was more agriculture. I understand that hunter gathers had access to more complex nutrients through meat consumption but in the over all progress for society’s health, I think an agriculture way of life is much healthier. With the hunter gather life style, although physically more fit, the life style would be primitive. With a new society of agriculture it allowed for a more developing society that would late become healthier.

   Discuss why you think some human populations made the transition into agriculture?

  I believe the main reason why populations began to adopt a more agriculture way of life was that it finally gave people a general consistency that they never had. It allowed for groups to stop wandering and being at the will of their environment. It finally gave the people a chance to dictate their own futures and be able lay roots in one place. This would later lead to a growth in population and much later a better quality of life.

 There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade.

   The availability of surplus directly attaches its self to trade. Whenever in any society there is a surplus of anything it allows that society to exchange, barter, or sells that particular item for something they need. Surplus of a society will directly affect the cost of certain trade.

   Identify and describe two (2) social benefits of trade

Trade is not only beneficial for monetary purposes but also gives any social structure the ability to sustain itself and establish a progressive society. With trade, societies would not be at the will of any supporting government. In this they are allowed to keep their own customs and belief system. Also, with emerging markets it allows for new innovations, that otherwise would not have flourished.

  Identify and describe two (2) negative social results of the development of trade

Unfortunately, with any developing trade society came its drawbacks. The society becomes very competitive and the goals of the individual starts to out weigh the goals of the entire group. It also places people, who are not able to contribute to this trade, as useless.

    Given your answer in the question #1, explain the relationship between the development of agriculture and the development of trade.

The development of an agriculture society gave birth to an emerging trade market. Because of the consistency of an agriculture society, it made it much easier to establish a quantity of food that would be needed and a quantity that could be used in trade to obtain other necessities that a particular society could no produce. Through this initial trade, it developed into a wider market, where individuals were able to obtain luxuries that they weren't available to them before. It eventually spread to a worldwide market.

Language Blog

      In the part of the experiment that I was supposed to engage without verbal communication, I found it very difficult. I actually tried this part of the experiment with two different cultures. In the first fifteen minutes I had my partner engage with me in English and I found it extremely hard with just hand gestures to make a point, the conversation pretty much ended as soon as it began. The second part I actually had my friend speak another language and I found that languages from the Middle East were much easier to communicate with hand gestures. My friend spoke to me in Farsi and it was easier for me to keep the conversation going. I never realized that when I speak a different language, how much hand gestures I used. My partner’s reaction in the whole process was that of boredom and frustration. He was bored because I was making him help me, and frustrated because through the process it was hard to keep the conversation going. If I was put into a culture that had no verbal communication, I think that puts that individual into a disadvantage. I noticed without any verbal communication that you can only express basic communication functions. Complex ideas would be extremely difficult to express in a situation where verbal communication was not an option. I started thinking about all the people that come to the United States and can not speak the language. Usually these people have a much more difficult time trying to adjust to a new culture. For example, when someone who speaks English to another person who doesn't, and they see that the next person is not understanding, they usually speak in a higher volume, as to assume that the volume of the words would some how make the next person understand. It generally puts the next person in a category of an invalid.

       The second part of this experiment was the opposite of the first one. I found that when I spoke in English without hand gestures it was much easier than speaking in Persian. In English I was able to go the complete fifteen minutes but in Farsi I was getting frustrated that I could not use hand gestures. My partner did not mind in the English speaking part of the experiment but he seemed visually frustrated at the second part of the experiment. I feel that hand gestures and body language is an important part of communicating with another person. Without certain body languages, certain words can be misrepresented in your speech. I believe there are a lot of people that can't read body language. Also it depends heavily on the culture on how body language is interpreted. For example, In the United States when you are angry and want to physically show your anger, you would generally extend your middle finger. In the opposite if you wanted to show someone they did a good job, you would give a thumb up. People from Iran, that did not know the language, would understand the thumbs up as exactly the middle finger. I think to understand body language in communication is very important and helps to express exactly what you want.

      If I was allowed to communicate in writing in the first experiment, I think it would have been much easier. I would have been able to write down exactly what I was showing with my body language. Even if one word answers were allowed to be written the conversation would have been much more interesting. The main advantage for writing, in any culture, is expression. With writing any culture can save their ideology, belief system, and anything that concerns a certain group of people. The impact of writing has been greatly influential on globalization. The ideas that have been saved through writings and translated through different cultures have been the greatest tool for spreading different ideas. The Bible is the biggest proof of that, throughout the years it has been translated to every known language. It has helped to progress to Judea-Christian belief to different nations.

Zulu and Andean Indians

The Zulu

1)     The Zulu Nation of South Africa primarily lives in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, which is between the Indian Ocean and the Drankensberg Mountain range. It is an agriculture fertile region with the summer season being it’s most productive. The summer season lasts from October to April and the winter season is from June to August. The capital of KwaZulut-Natal is Durban and it is hailed as being sunny 320 days out of the year. The temperature between the summer months stays within 73.4 degrees F. (23 degrees C.) and 91.4 degrees F. (33 degrees C.). January within the region is considered the hottest month. The annual rainfall reaches 1,000 mm in KwaZulu-Natal. The province is a subtropical climate, where water temperature usually maintains at 62.6 degrees F. (17 degrees C.).

 2)     While looking into the Zulu of South Africa, I was unable to find any information on this exact group of people or their physical adaptations. However, with further research I was able to find information about certain regions of Africa and the physical adaptations of people living within those warm climate regions. The people, who live within a region that will see a lot of Sun and harmful U.V rays, generally tend to be darker in skin, to protect against harsh light. Also, long linear body builds seem to correlate with hot climates. A group constantly exposed to the Sun would lose a lot of water through sweating, but in warmer climates the inhabitants do not urinate as often as people in colder climates. Their bodies seem to be reserving the water. This would be the physical adaptation the human body would go through being exposed to sun 320 days a year.

3)      The iQukwane (Zulu Huts) is a great example of cultural adaption. The constant severe heat has given birth to its architecture. Traditional iQukwane are made of grasses (Hyparrhania hirta and Black Wattle Acacia) that are used for the walls, it is wrapped together using Natal Fig Ficus Natalensis. Rock Alder Canthium Mundanium tree trunks are used to create the center pole that is placed in the middle which supports the entire structure. The floors are made with a mixture of cow dung and termite mounds. All these materials, especially the cow dung floors help to maintain a cool temperature throughout hot days.

4)  If I were to categorize the Zulu people of Africa, and had to put them in a certain group. It would be as Africans and that is even stretching the category. Africa is large continent and inhabits many different people, to label one group that lives on the continent and to think the physical and cultural adaptations would be similar, would be wrong.

Andean Indian

1)    Andean Indians live high on top of the Andes Mountains. The climate in the Andes Mountain is very interesting; it drastically changes throughout the regions. It encompasses tropical rain forests to very snowy regions. In the highest peak is in Argentina which is 22,834 ft. The region that Andean Indians inhabit the winter temperatures reach 52 degrees F and the summer averages 68 degrees F. The high altitudes keep the temperatures constantly cool and humidity fairly dry.

2)    The Andean Indians physically adapted to the high altitude by developing an ability to carry more oxygen in each red blood cell. They breathe at the same rate as people who live at sea level; Andeans have the ability to deliver oxygen throughout their bodies more effectively than people at sea level do.

3)     Coca leaves have been used by Andean Indians for years. The Andean Indian chew the Coca leaves to help combat altitude sickness and stomach aches. Coca leaves are used to make cocaine and hold much controversy for the people of the Andes. Recently there has been political pressure for these countries to make it illegal.

4)       To classify them as race would be very hard. If you were to loosely make any category for Andean Indians, it would be South American. It would be an extremely loose category.

 5)       To summarize both groups of people, The Zulu of South Africa and The Andean Indians. I think the more useful way to explain any population would be their adaptations. To categorize any group by their outward appearance would not work. You can have one group of people that look like each other but come from different places of the world. It would be impossible to categorize one and then apply it to the other. I think for Anthropologist it is much more effective to try to understand cultures through adaptations of environment. The method of visual categorization to classify a group of people seems to me that it would be an outdated practice and would not represent the pure research of any modern Anthropologist.

Sources: 

Zulu
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Zulu.aspx,
http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-234690,
http://www.southafrica.com/kwazulu-natal/climate/,

Andean Indians
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_climate.htmttp://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_climate.htm

Body Ritual of the Nacerima

                        

      Sadomasochism, Tradition, Devotion, Mysterious, and Superstitious describe the article "Body Ritual of the Nacerima", by Horace Miner.

   

          Sadomasochism with a broad brush basically represents someone who receives pleasure from acts of pain or humiliation. The Nacerima as a people completely reflect that thought to me. Within the article there are so many references of pain and humiliation and they are all interpreted to Nacremia as rituals for purity. It seemed as though the people as a whole have given all authority to medicine men, holy-mouth-men, and listeners, as the dominant partner to their submissive in rituals that reflect an S&M relationship. The author even makes this distinction when talking about The Nacerima going to see the holy-mouth-men twice a year. He states, “One has to watch the gleam in the eye of a holy-mouth-man, as he jabs an awl into an exposed nerve, to suspect that a certain amount of sadism is involves".

        Devotion is basically best described as profound dedication. The Nacermia throughout the whole article display extraordinary dedication. Even though the practices might not seem normal to us, it can never be said that the people are not dedicated. The people have a profound connection with their rituals. Every morning they have a daily body ritual and in that ritual they have a mouth rite. That is when they insert a small bundle of hog hairs, with some magical powders, into their mouths and start to move it around in highly formalized gestures.

       Tradition is apparently very important to The Nacerima. It takes great amount of duty to tradition to keep such rituals alive in our modern era. It appears that unlike all our modern religions the Nacerima have not diluted it with modern philosophies or sciences. The tradition of carrying out these rituals even though as stated in the article does not help anybody it does not seem to bother them in any way. The act of the ritual, regardless of result, is more important because it retains a certain identity for the people.

      Mysterious is the best way to describe The Nacerima. Even though there is a lot of information in this article about their rituals regarding the body and the mouth, the author makes it a point to state that there still a need for more research. Just within the general drive of a people in modern times to adhere to such rituals is a mystery. This was actually the first thing I had thought of when I read the article. Their rituals made me want to find out more about the people and there everyday duties.

      Superstition seems to be the ultimate driving force for The Nacerima. Everything mentioned in the article, from their waking moment until they go to sleep is based upon this. The people will endure such painful rituals, as with the holy-mouth-men, but yet continue to adhere to their leaders. The children fearing their temple is exactly the emotion any human would have if not fully raised within the culture. Yet even these fears take a back seat to superstition, the fear of offending some deity and having that deity punish you is more horrible than the physical pain of the rituals. After reading this article I realized that every culture has some type of superstition, from a lucky rabbit's foot to a lucky penny, but the level in which The Nacerima process borderlines obsession

Part B

As an American, I realized that my choice of words might sound very harsh when taking out the name "Nacirema" and replacing it with "America". I still think that my words would still be relevant to the description provided. What ever the name might be, I think what I wrote about a certain group of people was very accurate. It actually made me think that maybe this is how other people around the world might view Americans. I don't think my words surprised me. I think I was just surprised that how easily transferable to myself it was. My views definitely exhibited ethnocentrism. Initially when I was reading the description I couldn't help to imagine some far off indigenous place, and by doing so I automatically started comparing a certain way of life that I had imagined to my life in the United States. Reading my blog again I realized that my words are biased and certain words I used completely reflects that. I used terms like sadomasochism and superstitious, that looking back now is not the most unbiased view. I assumed that when I was writing I was talking about some culture that had not yet been civilized. If maybe I had taken the word superstitious out and had put "religiously observant" it would have been a better way to describe a group of people. This was a great experience for me. I did not realize how much unintentional biased I had to what seemed as though a different culture. It is very important to remain free of personal judgment when viewing another culture. Especially in the field of Anthropology, it is crucial to remain free of personal judgment. The positions that Anthropologist take on any culture will be read and studied by many people, it is very important to remain free of judgment. I don't think that its completely possible to eliminate your personal views on anything. It is however, easier when you are able to understand that you do have personal opinions on the things you witness and are able to distinguish between your views and unbiased research.