17.2 Climate and Vegetation

Southwest and Central Asia

Monday

I. In classA. Scavenger HuntB. Read pps 425 – 428C. Climate MapD. Answer Questions to exploreE. Assignment I

II. Due todayI. Scavenger HuntII. Assignment I

• Superstition:- If parents want their child to be a composer, they touch him/her with a dombra

Prohibition:- Do not stare when a cow is calving

Questions to Explore

• 1. What are the main climates and types of vegetation in Southwest and Central Asia?

• 2. How do the climate and vegetation affect the people of southwest and Central Asia?

Assignment I

• You are a farmer trying to establish a farm in Southwest or Central Asia. Look at the climate map on page 426. Analyze the climate in the area and choose a place to establish a farm. Draw your farm. Decide what crops you are going to grow and show the rows of those crops on your map. See description of farm in your text to be sure you are growing the correct crops

Tuesday

A. In Class1. Scavenger Hunt

2. Assignment II

B. Due today1. Scavenger Hunt

2. Assignment II

Raising Children in Kazakstan

• Naming a baby. Kazakhs believe that the name of a person foretells and determines his/her future. Children were named by the names of their famous fathers and ancestors, with the names like Zhanibek, Abylai, Abai, Ybrai, or Shokan. There are also wishing names like Mynzhasar (live a thousand years), Zhuzbai ( a hundred years), and Toksanbai (ninety years) indicating the wish for a long and wealthy life. But there are also so-called «unpleasant» names like Kushikbai (puppy) or Ayubai (bear).

• This tradition has an explanation to it. In old times, when the medical knowledge was limited and life conditions were tough, babies death rate was quite high. Nomadic people tended to blame the evil forces and spirits for it. The idea was to give funny or strange names to babies (people would laugh when hearing them) as protection from evil spirits or evil people. An evil person or spirit would be distracted by the name of the child rather that pay attention to the child itself.

• This was common in families where babies had not survived. For this reason babies were also named Tursyn (may he live) or Toktasyn (may he stay). Families that had no boys gave the name to a girl with a certain wishful meaning: Ultuar, Ulbolsyn (may she be followed by a boy)...

In Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, brightly colored carpets adorn the floor and interior walls of a yurt, a domed

tent used by nomads.

Flag of Kazakstan

Government:

• -Presidential republic

• - PresidentNursultan Nazarbayev

•  - Prime MinisterKarim Masimov

Currency

• Tenge (KZT)

Assignment II

• Assignment #2

• In an essay, describe the climate of Southwest and Central Asia. Compare and Contrast it to the climate in South Africa. Use your text to explore the climate in South Africa. Give relevant examples of each type of climate on each continent.

Wednesday

I. In Classa. Scavenger Hunt

b. Assignment III

II. Due todaya. Scavenger Hunt

b. Assignment III

Saudi Arabia

Mecca

Saudi Arabian Wedding

• Good Luck for the Bride In Saudi Arabia, when men and women want to get married, they prefer to buy new clothes and throw out old ones. They say this is a new life, so the couple need new clothes. On the wedding night, the man dresses in white clothes and a long cover called a Bisht, and the woman dresses in white. At the end of the wedding, the man goes with his father and relatives to his marriage room and sits to drink some coffee for a few minutes. Then they leave.

• Then the woman comes with her mother and relatives and do the same thing. This removes the stress of the man and the woman, so they are together to start a new life. The morning after the wedding, the man gives a gift to his wife. Abdullah Al-Subaiei

•  

• When the bride and groom start walking to the wedding cake, all the wedding guests move out of the way and look in anticipation at the bride and groom. Then the groom holds the bride's hand carefully and together they hold the knife. After they cut a small piece of the cake, the groom holds the piece of cake and the bride eats a bit of it. After that the bride holds that piece of cake and lets the groom bite another bit of the piece. Then the attendants start cheering and clapping for them. The cutting of the cake symbolizes that the couple have started taking care of each other and looking after each other.

Who took the groom?

• In my country (Saudi Arabia), after the wedding ceremony, the religious man says that the bride and the bridegroom are man and wife. Then the bridegroom goes to a party hall--a special hall for weddings--near his house. His friends follow him in their cars and honk their horns and flash their lights, so the people know that there is a wedding party. Our special thing is the food. At the party, they cook special, traditional food--rice and a whole sheep on a big plate--and they cook 8-15 plates because usually there are a lot of people at the party.

• After dinner, the bridegroom goes out from the back door and takes his wife to start their honeymoon, but sometimes--or usually--his friends will play big jokes on him. For example, they may take him before he leaves with his wife to have a picnic in a place he cannot get back from (the desert) for about 2-3 days to make him late for his honeymoon.

• The apparatuses and furniture which are taken by the bride to her husband's house is called "Tocher". This word is taken from Arabic word "jahaz" or "jahiziyeh". Both forms are derived from Arabic. It was a tradition that the amount of tocher that bride brings to grooms house, is a sign of bride and her family's prestige and honor. And the girl who didn’t have a tocher , was taken as an orphan.

• Nowadays, tocher still has so much to tell a bout the class distinction of the bride. Assess the amount of the "tocher": The amount of the tocher usually is announced by the bride father or directly is asked and pandered by groom's family. Amount of the dowry and how to hold the wedding ceremony is set by the groom.

• It's not common and rational for a girl with an average tocher expecting to have high amount of dowry. According to this, bride's family usually coordinates their expectations with groom's family regarding their financial abilities for preparing tocher and holding all the ceremonies before the wedding. Proper time for preparing the "tocher": From long time ago it was a tradition between Iranian families to start preparing things for their daughter's tochers when there are still children. this gradual way of preparing tocher is still common between families with incomes or even middle class families because the family may presume when the girl is a bout to marry they may not have the financial abilities to prepare the tocher .so they rather to do it gradually.

•  

Modern Tocher

• As we mentioned before preparing bride's tocher is one of the most important things. Here under we are going to make a list of things that usually includes in the bride's tocher.

• 1) Bride and groom's bedroom furniture: It includes double bed, end tables, commode, dresser, bed sheets and pillow clothes. Some extra bedclothes, bed sheets and pillow covers for guest. Some bedclothes, bed sheets, and pillow covers for guest. 2) Proper curtains for each window for example: curtain for kitchen, bedrooms and living room.

• 3) Living room furniture, dinner table and chairs. 4) Carpet 5) Vacuum 6) Decorative things such as pictures, drawings and different statuettes. 7) Clock or horologe. 8) Library 9) Refrigerator (Refrigerator)

• 10) One set of chinaware and pocelain dishes or plates 11) Washing machine 12) Gas burner (over) 13) One set of autoclave, stew pan and pan. 14) Crystal dishes for different purposes. Utensil and kitchenware. 15) Few sets of glasses 16) Tableware. 17) Samovar, and teapot. Plus a teaset 18) Set of spoon and fork 19) Sets of Fork and knife plus dessert plates.

• 20) Knife, colander and ladle 21) Water bottle, flask, cruse and glassware 22) Boxes of castor or condiment and spice boxes place for the tea, sugar, and sugar loaf 23) Kitchen apron and towels 24) Fridge Special utensils 25) Boskets and plastic dustbins in different sizes 26) Trencher and special boards for cutting meat and green vegetables 27) Electrical mill 28) Preparing boxes of legume, cereal, rice, spices, tea and sugar. 29) Rope for hanging cloths and clothespin.

• 30) Workbag, some colorful bobbins needle and scissors. 31) Separate towels for bride and groom 32) Necessary things for bath and washroom. 33) Few nightgowns and pajama plus various underwears for the bride 34) Towels 35) Iron and its cover 36) Crystal vases in different sizes.  

Assignment III

• Few places in southwest and Central Asia Receive enough rainfall for growing crops. What challenges does this create for people who live in this region? How will you overcome this challenge on your farm? It is very important to have relevant solutions and explanations.

Thursday

I. In Classa. Scavenger Hunt

b. Assignment IV

II. Due todaya. Scavenger Hunt

b. Assignment IV

Tomorrow is Politics Friday

Iran

Mohammed Reza, the last Shah Of Iran

The Flag of Iran

Weddings In Iran

• Tradition of the "Grinding Girl" In my country Iran, there are very many different traditions associated with marriage which should be very strictly observed, otherwise bad luck is sure to ensue soon. For instance, on the night before the marriage ceremony, three or four unmarried girls hold a clean white cloth on the heads of the bride and bridegroom while they are sitting on a sofa or on the ground.

• Then one of the girls start to grind two big nuggets of sugar together. As she does that, she asks God to repel all evil spirits from the life of the newly married couple. Before this, the families of the girl and the boy should make sure that the "Grinding Girl" is very trustworthy and decent. This will also provides the young unmarried girls with the chance to get married in the coming years!

Assignment IV

• Create a town in your group and elect a mayor. Create a co-op in your town. Discuss with your group how you will divide your crops and what other ways you will help each other with the necessities of farming. What is the family structure of your family? What is the family structure of each of your group members? What needs will a young couple have that a family of four will not? What needs will an older couple have that a young couple will not? This is a group activity, but each member must have an assignment to hand in.

Politics Friday

I. In ClassExplore the issues of each of the political parties. Submit a candidate from your group. Create a platform for your candidate. You will be building a campaign over the next several weeks, so keep your eye on your parties candidate. What has he/she said that you agree or disagree with? Would this be good to put into your campaign? This assignment does not need to be finished today, we will continue next Friday.

References

• "Kazakhstan: geography." Online Map/Still. Britannica Student Encyclopædia. 26  Apr.  2008  <http://www.student.britannica.com/ebi/art-52654