Variations in Interpretation of Culture - Book Report/Review Example

Variations in Interpretation of Culture Introduction Anthropology and culture are two concepts that are inseparable in both application and mention. Anthropology is largely dependent on culture, and culture informs anthropology. In the study of anthropology, scholars have always encountered multiple ways through which people try to understand, thus interpret culture. Findings have sufficiently proven that the entire globe has undergone massive changes in the current century, and that different parts of the world have unique ways of defining their cultures. It is in the view of the contemporary anthropologists, in pursuit of the deeper understanding of ethnographies, who have discovered that the acceptability or denial of some contexts in human life are dependent not on genetics or human nature, but on the cultural creation of perceptions or understanding. In this study text, reviews of two anthropology literatures; The Tapestry of Culture and Made in Madagascar: Sapphires, Ecotourism, and the Global Bazaar support that different people from various parts of the world interpret culture in different ways due to the existence of different worldviews. Rosman, Rubel and Weisgrau (2) refer to culture as the way of life of certain people. They further state that culture is the one unique quality of humans, which makes them totally different from other members of all fauna.The difference arises in that while animal life is determined by their genetic composure, human life is more adventurous and relies on cultural rules or values. This becomes more complicated because humans further divide themselves into smaller tiers according to their cultures; with each new formation possessing unique qualities of its own. Ethnographical studies strive to understand cultures, and of all their findings, the most dominant fact is that when a member of a particular culture tries to view the world from a perspective different from their own, the world seems strange, and sometimes unacceptable. The above definition of culture by Rosman, Rubel and Weisgrau coincides with the Walsh’s perspective of understanding culture in the new world. He brings in a real-life situation to elaborate on his point. To him, Ankarana, or “the place of rocks” in Madagascar is a perfect example of just how different people’s perspectives can be upon viewing the world from unaccustomed perspectives. Ankarana is one of the most popular ecotourism sites owing to its nature of the formation. It contains Jurassic limestone estimated to be about 150 million years old, and has underground rivers and caves. The dense vegetation in the area plus its rugged relief defines its ability to shun off human interference thus giving it the ecotourism nature (Cyclopedia). The locals perceive of the area as a sacred place which is home and part of their heritage and pride, and because of that, they protect it. However, the tourists who learn about the place from distant lands develop much excitement and curiosity to visit the place of rocks. They perceive it as a natural wonder owing to its retention of original nature. The third perspective is offered by miners who are deeply interested in studying the place because it has rich deposits of natural resources such as sapphires under and around it. To them, it is a place of great opportunity (Walsh 4). Culture defines the way through which biological drives are portrayed, and this is done by the use of cultural rules. Cultural rules are simply guidelines of how members of a particular cultural grouping are expected to conduct themselves. These rules are what give rise to the difference in expressions from one culture to another. The rules of culture are passed down generations as early as from infancy, so by the time an individual is able to reason on his/her own, the cultures are usually deeply cultivated in them. This in turn makes the individual part and parcel of the cultures they are born within, and in addition to that, they become active participants towards implementing and defending their cultures. Rosman, Rubel and Weisgrau (13) support this using the peoples of Lesu, New Guinea. They allowed sexual intercourse before marriage, but the sharing of meals between two people of the opposite sex was outlawed, being a reserve of the married only. Comparing this to other cultures such as most Muslims, sexual intercourse between the unmarried is punishable, but the sharing of meals between them is allowed. The same concept applies in ecotourism, and particularly at Ankarana. One shared perception between the locals, tourists and scholars towards the nature reserve is that it should be protected by all means possible. However, cultural differences play a key role when it comes to the reasons offered as to why it should be preserved. According to Walsh (6), the place of the rocks, Ankarana is perceived of by the locals as a sacred conservation. This perception is far-fetched as it is revealed that Ankarana has been important to them for centuries and centuries ago, before there were no calls for alarm with regard to nature conservation. There were even people who had been associated with the place, called “people of the rocks” or the “Antakarana”. The Antakarana believed the place was sacred because that is the place where in some of their mythology, its soldiers took refuge during fierce battles. Again, it was a home of the gods and they would visit the place in search of blessings. This is one of the cultural rules which lead to the local people’s calls to protect and preserve Ankarana, a place of heritage and dignity. The second cultural explanation of the calls to its preservation is more contemporary. The learned society of today discovered that the world has become too modernized and industrialized that the natural environment is vanishing fast. Due to this, they devised the strategies to keep the areas from human interference so that the existing natural environment can survive a little longer, and that the world does not run out of resources such as water. The reasoning between the local Madagascar people and the learned ones represents two cultures defined by varying cultural rules, but addressing the same issue. As Rosman, Rubel and Weisgrau (24) state, neo-Marxism concepts of culture “reject the essentialist definition of culture, turning culture into an ideology that is a consequence of economic and political forces”. In elaboration, neo-Marxism is more of a globalized perspective of defining [modern] culture. In it, there two cultures in which the world can group itself upon the execution of any particular cultural rule; that is losers and gainers. As is the case with the wider Marxist theory, there is the call for “selfishness” so that one gains from every act that they indulge in, irrespective of the effects that this may have on others, or cultures in this context (Williams, 32). In this case, the anthropological observation is that in the event that the two cultures interact, one is bound to gain more than the other. In support of the above, Walsh brings in the sapphire issue in Ankarana. The place is rich in sapphire deposits, and this has transformed it into an attractive place for local and international peoples [cultures]. This has resulted in the formation of a relationship between these two partitions. There is one culture called the business people, and then there are the locals who are painted as “sellers”. Walsh refers to mining in the Madagascar region as “risky” owing to the new rules of culture that define the two contexts involved in the mining business. In this, he assumes that some of conservatism calls are not genuine, but are mere tricks by mostly outsiders to invade the sapphire fields and turn them into business mines. “Tour operators do not view ecotourism in the way that planners who celebrate this industry’s promise do” (Walsh 54). In this, one can condense the notion that most foreign visitors masquerade behind “ecotourism” while in real sense, and beyond the locals’ knowledge, their aim is to make a business out of Ankarana. The Marxist understanding of culture applies in that, the locals might gain from the sale or excavation of sapphires or invasion of their caves, exploration of fauna and all other claims of ecotourism, but in the end, they lose their fortune to the visitors. Concisely, the returns from the sapphire business will extinguish with time, but the sapphires will benefit the visiting cultures more than they money does the locals. Conclusion The evidence from the two literatures sufficiently defines the different perspectives available in the understanding and interpretation of culture. Generally, culture is the human context which defines the expressions that create worldviews. From these worldviews, people are able to do things while adhering to the set guidelines and that encloses them under a particular culture. Additionally, and with regards to background, geographical location, or self-drive, people find themselves grouped into different unique cultures. As such, there are multiple cultures on the globe. This makes people different from animals since they are shaped by cultural rules; not genetic factors as is the case with animals. Further into the study, it is revealed that there may exist different worldviews created by cultures, but which may pinpoint at the same conclusion. This is explained by ecotourism concerns between the Ankarana locals and tourists. In a nutshell, culture can be one’s life because it determines how they live. Works Cited Cyclopedia.net. Ankarana Massif. Cyclopedia.info, 2014. Web. 21 Jun. 2014. Rosman, Abraham, Paula G. Rubel, and Maxine K. Weisgrau. The Tapestry of Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 2009. Print. Walsh, Andrew. Made in Madagascar: Sapphires, Ecotourism, and the Global Bazaar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012. Print. Williams, Raymond. Culture and Materialism: Selected Essays. Verso Press, 2005. Print. Read More