Cultural Description of Brazil and Russia - Assignment Example

Country Analysis Culture of Brazil The cultural following of Brazil is influenced by the culture of Portuguese because of their close association with the empire of Portuguese. Other regions that have impacted the culture of Brazil include European nation and African nations. Brazilian culture is even influenced due to immigrants from several nations such as Germany, Arabia and Italy. The music that is practiced in the region of Brazil comprises of elements integrated from the music of European and African nations. The African elements that can be witnessed in Brazilian music include certain dances as well as rhythms which helped in development of Brazilian folk as well as popular music. Huge amount of influence from the side of the Portuguese is experienced in the literature of Brazil. Brazilian literature started shaping up during the 16th century when explorers from Portuguese entered the nation and started writing about concepts such as fauna and flora. Brazilian literature writers are even recognized for producing great romantic works produced by Jose de Alencar who wrote specifically regarding pain and love (Newcomb 35). The cuisine that is experienced in Brazil varies from region to region which is a reflection of the taste of those who are recognized as natives of Brazil and those who migrated to the nation. Feijoada is considered as the national dish of the nation and everyday food that is consumed in the nation mainly consists if rice along with salad and beans. Beverages that are liked throughout the nation includes coffee and cachaca and the most popular sports of the region is football and the team has a national football team which is considered as one of the best teams throughout the world. Culture of Russia Russia is ethnically diverse with around 160 ethnic groups currently residing in Russia and due to this ethnic diversity, several religions are practiced in the region including: Islam, Christianity and Buddhism (Mack 8). Russia is mainly recognized for its cuisine which mostly includes diverse kinds of fishes, mushrooms and poultry. The most popular beverages of Russia include vodka and beer and consumption of black bread is really high within the nation. The architecture of Russian buildings and historical places is mostly influenced by the architecture of Byzantine. During the period of 15 and the 16th century, Russian architecture was heavily influenced by architectural trends of Renaissance. Russian paintings that were witnessed during the evolution of the region included icons along with frescos that were vibrant in nature and these two genres of paintings were acquired by Russia from Byzantium. Russia heavily practices Rock music in modern times and the roots of their rock music can be witnessed in the heavy metal rock music of Western societies. The early 19th century is recognized as the Russian poetry’s golden age in which poetry writers such as Alexander Pushkin made their mark. Russia is even recognized one of the few nations which accepted and introduced both radio and television shows and over the past two decades a huge number of both types of media have emerged. In Russia a total of seven public holidays are exercised and other than those holidays, most events take place on Sundays. Russia is even known for being one of the best teams of Olympics with several medals to their names. Culture of China The main population of ethnically Han Chinese and various other ethnicities are experienced in the region including: Manchu, Muslim, Korean and various others. The most commonly practiced religion of China is Daoist and Buddhist while a small percentage of individuals follow Islam and Christianity. Chinese language is divided into different types and all these types of Chinese languages are influenced by Sino-Tibetan languages. The philosophy of Chinese individuals is dependent on the kind of face. China recognizes four different types of faces including Diu-mian-zi and an individual is said to experience this face when his activities are realized by others, the second kind of face is Gei-mian-zi and is experienced while one is showing respect to others, the third kind is Liu-mian-zi and is experienced when an individual tries to avoid making mistakes and the last face is Jiang-mian-zi and is experienced one others recognizes an individual as a friend (Palls 230). Chinese individuals tend to behave in accordance to Confucianism which is a term used to regard a set of activities and ethics that pay emphasis towards ones righteous activities towards other individuals. Generally the Chinese live in collectivism and the nation emphasizes on family rather than individualistic ideas. Chinese give great importance to friendship and respect and this is reflected in the way they greet others as they bow in front of others to greet them and gifts are mostly shared on different events such as Chinese New Year. The Chinese population is regarded as one of the most hardworking individuals throughout the world. Culture of India India is a region where about 800 different forms of languages are spoken and 18 of these languages are recognized on the national level with people following diverse religions including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity (Bergunder 313). One of the most prominent features of the culture of India is its music which range from various amount of folk songs and music even varies in accordance to region. The classic music that is experienced in India is divided into two forms, Hindustani classic music which is practiced in the northern regions and the Carnatic classic music which is mostly experienced in the southern regions of India. Other than these two forms of classical music, other forms of classical music are even played in India but in very rare areas, these forms include ghazals along with Qawali. India’s popular music that can be mostly experienced in the Indian cinema is recognized throughout the world and Indian cinema is heavily dependent on the musical numbers played in movies. The traditional Indian dance have existed and made its mark for more than 2000 years and the themes for these dances are obtained from literature that is classical in nature and legends. Theater in India was very popular for several years but now has lost its stand at the hands of the Indian cinema and Indian literature has its origins in the literature of the past which was mostly verbal in nature. A description of Indian culture is not complete without the admission of Indian cinema in the description, Indian cinema has been around since 1912 and with the films of the 21st century such as Slum Dog Millionaire it has even made its international appearance and gained acceptability. Culture of Africa Population started adjusting in the region of Africa around 5 to 8 million years ago and since then several languages and religious activities have been a part of the nation. Africa experienced huge influx of migrants from several nations including Arabs who entered the northern regions during the 7th century and then their population spread of Eastern and Central region of Africa during the period of 19th century (Gibney 330). Similarly, Europeans even migrated to African regions in huge numbers during the 17th Century and their descendants make a major portion of the population of Southern Africa. Indians even flew to several destinations of Africa in search of lively hood and moved to areas such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The area is ethnically rich with several tribes and certain ethnical groups form the millions of individuals living in the region. Several customs are practiced in the region and great emphasis is given to family life. This means that African people live in a collective manner rather than living in an individualistic society. In African societies, the male gender is considered as the elites and is responsible for looking after the economics of the family, while the mothers are expected to look after the children and the elders living in the family. They operate in groups and tribes and in certain regions they still practice hunting for food and children of these families are taught about such values at a very early age. Since the region is ethnically divided, several languages including: Arabic, Swahili are the major languages practiced in the region. Works Cited Bergunder, Michael. Ritual, caste, and religion in colonial South India. Halle: Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen ;, 2010. Print. Gibney, Matthew J., and Randall Hansen. Immigration and asylum: from 1900 to the present. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Print. Mack, Glenn Randall, and Asele Surina. Food culture in Russia and Central Asia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. Print. Newcomb, Robert Patrick. Nossa and nuestra América: inter-American dialogues. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, 2012. Print. Palls, Byron P.. Cultural portraits: a synoptic guide.. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2008. Print. Read More