Element of culture

ArtifactsArtifacts are the physical things that are found that have particular symbolism for a culture. They may even be endowed with mystical properties. The first products of a company. Prizes won in grueling challenges and so on are all artifacts.

Artifacts can also be more everyday objects, such as the bunch of flowers in reception. They main thing is that they have special meaning, at the very least for the people in the culture. There may well be stories told about them.

The purpose of artifacts are as reminders and triggers. When people in the culture see them, they think about their meaning and hence are reminded of their identity as a member of the culture, and, by association, of the rules of the culture.

Artifacts may also be used in specific rituals. Churches do this, of course. But so also do organizations.

Stories, histories, myths, legends, jokesCulture is often embedded and transmitted through stories, whether they are deep and obviously intended as learning devices, or whether they appear more subtly, for example in humor and jokes.

A typical story includes a bad guy (often shady and unnamed) and a good guy (often the founder or a prototypical cultural member). There may also be an innocent. The story evolves in a classic format, with the bad guy being spotted and vanquished by the good guy, with the innocent being rescued and learning the greatness of the culture into the bargain.

Sometimes there stories are true. Sometimes nobody knows. Sometimes they are elaborations on a relatively simple truth. The power of the stories are in when and how they are told, and the effect they have on their recipients. 

Rituals, rites, ceremonies, celebrationsRituals are processes or sets of actions which are repeated in specific circumstances and with specific meaning.

They may be used in such as rites of passage, such as when someone is promoted or retires. They may be associated with company events such as the release of a new event. They may also be associated with everyday events such as Christmas.

Whatever the circumstance, the predictability of the rituals and the seriousness of the meaning all combine to sustain the culture.

HeroesHeroes in a culture are named people who act as prototypes, or idealized examples, by which cultural members learn of the correct or 'perfect' behavior.

The classic heroes are the founders of the organization, who are often portrayed as much whiter and perfect than they actually are or were. Heroes may also be such as the janitor who tackled a burglar or a customer-service agent who went out of their way to delight a customer. In such stories they symbolize and teach people the ideal behaviors and norms of the culture.

SymbolsSymbols, like artifacts, are things which act as triggers to remind people in the culture of its rules, beliefs, etc. They act as a shorthand way to keep people aligned.

Symbols can also be used to indicate status within a culture. This includes clothing, office decor and so on. Status symbols signal to others to help them use the correct behavior with others in the hierarchy. They also lock in the users of the symbols into prescribed behaviors that are appropriate for their status and position.

There may be many symbols around an organization, from pictures of products on the walls to the words and handshakes used in greeting cultural members from around the world.

BeliefsAn organization and culture will often share beliefs and ways of understanding the world. This helps smooth communications and agreement, but can also become fatal blinkers that blind everyone to impending dangers.

Attitudes Attitudes are the external displays of underlying beliefs that people use to signal to other people of their membership. This includes internal members (look: I'm conforming to the rules. Please don't exclude me).

Attitudes also can be used to give warning, such as when a street gang member eyes up a member of the public. By using a long hard stare, they are using national cultural symbolism to indicate their threat.

Rules, norms, ethical codes, valuesThe norms and values of a culture are effectively the rules by which its members must abide, or risk rejection from the culture (which is one of the most feared sanctions known). They are embedded in the artifacts, symbols, stories, attitudes, and so on.

A people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

List of Rituals and Traditions in Indonesia

Birth

1. Mitoni 7 bulanan2. Tedhak Siten3. Tanam Ari- ari4. Selapan (40 days after the baby born)5. Baptism at church6. Potong Rambut Bayi

Religious Ritual

1. Moslem pray 5 times a day2. Going to church for Christian3. Buddist prayer4.

Adolescence:

1. Circumcision2. Sharpening teeth for girls3. Upacara Ruwatan Cukur Rambut Gimbal4. Upacara potong gigi in Bali5. Lompat Batu at Nias Island

Wedding:

1. Javanese Wedding ceremony2. Minagkabau Wedding ceremony3.

Funeral:

1. Cut finger Dani Tribe2. Toraja Funeral Ceremony3. Maisongan4. Ngaben

Dealing with nature

1. Upacara Wiwit before planting paddy to respect the Goddess of Paddy, Dewi Sri2. Ritual berburu ikan paus di Flores3. Upacara Tebang Pohon di Kalimantan

10 Extraordinary Burial Ceremonies From Around The WorldBy James Michael Dorsey On June 25, 2008 · 32 Comments

Photo by Dale Harrison

Not all cultures believe in burying the dead in the ground. Here are 10 unique ceremonies from around the world.

The modern dictionary defines the word ‘burial’ as placing a body in the ground.

But burying the deceased was not always the case.

Just as primitive man has long worshiped the four elements of Earth, Sky, Water, and Fire, so too have these elements taken their place in burial practices as diverse as the different tribes of the earth. 

The way mankind deals with its dead says a great deal about those left to carry on.  Burial practices are windows to a culture that speak volumes about how it lives.

As we are told in Genesis, man comes from dust, and returns to it. We have found many different ways to return. Here are 10 that I found particularly fascinating:

Air Sacrifice – Mongolia

Photo by Viacheslav Smilyk

Lamas direct the entire ceremony, with their number determined by the social standing of the deceased. They decide the direction the entourage will travel with the body, to the specific day and time the ceremony can happen.

Mongolians believe in the return of the soul. Therefore the lamas pray and offer food to keep evil spirits away and to protect the remaining family. They also place blue stones in the dead persons bed to prevent evil spirits from entering it.

No one but a lama is allowed to touch the corpse, and a white silk veil is placed over the face.  The naked body is flanked by men on the right side of the yurt while women are placed on the left.  Both have their respective right or left hand placed under their heads, and are situated in the fetal position.

The family burns incense and leaves food out to feed all visiting spirits.  When time comes to remove the body, it must be passed through a window or a hole cut in the wall to prevent evil from slipping in while the door is open.

The body is taken away from the village and laid on the open ground. A stone outline is placed around it, and then the village dogs that have been penned up and not fed for days are released to consume the remains.  What is left goes to the local predators. 

The stone outline remains as a reminder of the person.  If any step of the ceremony is left out, no matter how trivial, bad karma is believed to ensue.

Sky Burial – Tibet

Pounding the bones. Photo by Rotem Eldar

This is similar to the Mongolian ceremony. The deceased is dismembered by a rogyapa, or body breaker, and left outside away from any occupied dwellings to be consumed by nature.

To the western mind, this may seem barbaric, as it did to the Chinese who outlawed the practice after taking control of the country in the 1950′s. But in Buddhist Tibet, it makes perfect sense. The ceremony represents the perfect Buddhist act, known as Jhator. The worthless body provides sustenance to the birds of prey that are the primary consumers of its flesh.

To a Buddhist, the body is but an empty shell, worthless after the spirit has departed. Most of the country is surrounded by snowy peaks, and the ground is too solid for traditional earth internment. Likewise, being mostly above the tree line, there is not enough fuel for cremation. 

Pit Burial – Pacific Northwest Haida

Haida carvings. Photo by Turbulent Flow

Before white contact, the indigenous people of the American northwest coast, particularly the Haida, simply cast their dead into a large open pit behind the village.

Their flesh was left to the animals. But if one was a chief, shaman, or warrior, things were quite different.

The body was crushed with clubs until it fit into a small wooden box about the size of a piece of modern luggage.  It was then fitted atop a totem pole in front of the longhouse of the man’s tribe where the various icons of the totem acted as guardians for the spirits’ journey to the next world.  

Written history left to us by the first missionaries to the area all speak of an unbelievable stench at most of these villages.  Today, this practice is outlawed.

Viking Burial – Scandinavia

Viking’s ashore. Illustration Long Beach City College

We have all seen images of a Viking funeral with the body laid out on the deck of a dragon ship, floating into the sunset while warriors fire flaming arrows to ignite the pyre. 

While very dramatic, burning a ship is quite expensive, and not very practical. 

What we do know is most Vikings, being a sea faring people, were interred in large graves dug in the shape of a ship and lined with rocks.  The person’s belongings and food were placed beside them.  Men took their weapons to the next world, while women were laid to rest wearing their finest jewelry and accessories. 

If the deceased was a nobleman or great warrior, his woman was passed from man to man in his tribe, who all made love to her (some would say raped) before strangling her, and placing her next to the body of her man.  Thankfully this practice is now, for the most part, extinct.

Fire Burial – Bali

Fire consumes all. Photo by Barnacle Bikers

On the mostly Hindu Isle of Bali, fire is the vehicle to the next life. The body or Mayat is bathed and laid out on a table where food offerings are laid beside it for the journey. 

Lanterns line the path to the persons hut to let people know he or she has passed, and act as a reminder of their life so they are not forgotten.

It is then interred in a mass grave with others from the same village who have passed on until it is deemed there are a sufficient number of bodies to hold a cremation. 

The bodies are unearthed, cleaned, and stacked on an elaborate float, gloriously decorated by the entire village and adorned with flowers. The float is paraded through the village to the central square where it is consumed by flames, and marks the beginning of a massive feast to honor and remember the dead.

Spirit Offerings – Southeast Asia

Row of spirit houses. Photo by Marc Aurel

Throughout most of Southeast Asia, people have been buried in the fields where they lived and worked. It is common to see large stone monuments in the middle of a pasture of cows or water buffalo.

The Vietnamese leave thick wads of counterfeit money under rocks on these monuments so the deceased can buy whatever they need on their way to the next life

In Cambodia and Thailand, wooden “spirit houses” sit in front of almost every hut from the poorest to the most elaborate estate.  These are places where food and drink are left periodically for the souls of departed relatives to refuel when necessary.  The offerings of both countries also ask the spirits of the relatives to watch over the lands and the families left behind.

Predator Burial – Maasai Tribe

No after life. Photo by Demosh

The Maasai of East Africa are hereditary nomads who believe in a deity known as Enkai, but this is not a single being or entity.

It is a term that encompasses the earth, sky, and all that dwells below.  It is a difficult concept for western minds that are more used to traditional religious beliefs than those of so-called primitive cultures. 

Actual burial is reserved for chiefs as a sign of respect, while the common people are simply left outdoors for predators to dispose of, since Maasai believe dead bodies are harmful to the earth.  To them when you are dead, you are simply gone.  There is no after life.

Skull Burial – Kiribati

Chilling out. Photo by aargh

On the tiny island of Kiribati the deceased is laid out in their house for no less than three days and as long as twelve, depending on their status in the community.  Friends and relatives make a pudding from the root of a local plant as an offering. 

Several months after internment the body is exhumed and the skull removed, oiled, polished, and offered tobacco and food.  After the remainder of the body is re-interred, traditional islanders keep the skull on a shelf in their home and believe the native god Nakaa welcomes the dead person’s spirit in the northern end of the islands.

Cave Burial – Hawaii

Cave burials. Photo by Extra Medium

In the Hawaiian Islands, a traditional burial takes place in a cave where the body is bent into a fetal position with hands and feet tied to keep it that way, then covered with a tapa cloth made from the bark of a mulberry bush. 

Sometimes the internal organs are removed and the cavity filled with salt to preserve it.  The bones are considered sacred and believed to have diving power. 

Many caves in Hawaii still contain these skeletons, particularly along the coast of Maui.

Ocean Burial

The open sea. Photo by Spirit of Albion

Since most of our planet is covered with water, burial at sea has long been the accepted norm for mariners the world over.

By international law, the captain of any ship, regardless of size or nationality has the authority to conduct an official burial service at sea.

The traditional burial shroud is a burlap bag, being cheap and plentiful, and long in use to carry cargo.  The deceased is sewn inside and is weighted with rocks or other heavy debris to keep it from floating. 

If available, the flag of their nation covers the bag while a service is conducted on deck. The body is then slid from under the flag, and deposited in Davy Jones locker.

In olden days, the British navy mandated that the final stitch in the bag had to go through the deceased person’s lip, just to make sure they really were dead.  (If they were still alive, having a needle passed through their skin would revive them).

It is quite possible that sea burial has been the main form of burial across the earth since before recorded history.

The Final Frontier

Today, if one has enough money, you can be launched into space aboard a private commercial satellite and a capsule containing your ashes will be in permanent orbit around the earth.

Perhaps this is the ultimate burial ceremony, or maybe the beginning of a whole new era in which man continues to find new and innovative ways to invoke spirits and provide a safe passage to whatever awaits us at the end of this life.

http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/10-extraordinary-burial-ceremonies-from-around-the-world/

Birthday around the world

Chinese Birthday Traditions - When a Chinese child turns one year old, it is a very important event. The parents might tell the baby's fortune by placing the baby in the center of a group of objects (such as coins, a doll, a book, etc.) and they wait to see which object the baby picks up. If the baby picked up a coin, he/she may be rich, if the baby reached for a book he/she may become a teacher, if the baby reached for the doll he/she may have many children, etc. The sixth birthday is also a special birthday for the Chinese. For the party itself, friends and relatives are invited for lunch and extra-long noodles are served to wish the birthday child a long life.

In China, it is considered unlucky to give someone a clock for a birthday present (in Mandarin, the word for "clock" is similar to death). On the other hand people believe that tigers protect children and so family members might bring newborns special gifts decorated with tigers.

Indian Birthday Traditions - On a Hindu child's first birthday, his or her head is shaved while being held by a special fire. Removal of the hair cleanses the child of any evil in past lives, symbolizing a renewal of the soul.

Usually on the day of the birthday, the child will wear very colorful clothing to school and will pass out chocolates to the entire class. The child will also kneel and touch their parents' feet as a sign of respect. They then all visit a shrine, where they pray and the child is blessed.

In the afternoon there might be a meal that includes a spicy vegetable stew called curry and chutney which is a spicy fruit relish. The dessert is a treat known as "dudh pakh", which is rice like pudding (they might also stir in pistachios, almonds, raisins, and a spice called cardamon).

Japanese Birthday Traditions - Certain birthdays in Japan are more important than others (the 3rd, 5th, and 7th). During these special birthdays, Japanese children participate in the upcoming Shichi-go-san Festival (meaning the "Seven-Five-Three" Festival), celebrated annually on November 15. During this festival, children and their families visit a shrine or other place of worship and will give thanks to God for their health and strength, and ask to be blessed with continued well-being in the future and a long life (this is due to the fact that a long time ago children died before their 3rd, 5th or 7th birthdays). For this occasion, girls and boys always dress in their finest clothes, which may be traditional kimonos or also western-style clothing.

Korean Birthday Traditions - In Korea, on the 100th day (which is called a "paegil") after a child's birth, a small feast is usually held to celebrate the child having survived this period. The family, relatives, and friends celebrate with rice cakes, wine, and other delicacies such as red and black bean cakes

sweetened with sugar or honey. It is believed that if the rice cakes are shared with 100 people the child will have a long life and therefore rice cakes are usually sent to as many people as possible to help share the happiness of the occasion. Those receiving the rice cakes do not return the serving vessels empty, but with skeins of thread expressing the hope of longevity, and with rice and money symbolizing future wealth. The red and black bean cakes are believed to bring the child luck and happiness and are placed at the four compass points within the house.

Malaysian Birthday Traditions - Friends or relatives who visit, give presents to the person celebrating their birthday or they may give an "ang-bao" which is a small red packet filled with money. At about 16, when teenagers start to invite boys and girls to their parties, there is lots of dancing and games to help find a partner (the trick is to always have the same numbers of boys and girls!).

Philippine Birthday Traditions - On a birthday, early in the day, the family goes to hear Mass and to thank God. Also, in the Philippines, birthday cakes are baked in various sizes and shapes. The celebration also includes noodles representing a long life. The outside of the birthday child's house is adorned with blinking colored lights in the early evening.

Vietnamese Birthday Traditions - Vietnamese do not know or acknowledge the exact day they were born, everyone's birthday is celebrated on New Years day ("Tet" is the name for the first morning of New Years). A baby turns one on Tet no matter what day he or she was born on that year. On the first morning of Tet, parents, siblings, relatives and close friends congratulate children on becoming a year older by presenting them with red envelopes that contain "Lucky Money," or "li xi".

British Birthday Traditions - It is an old English tradition to mix symbolic objects into the birthday cake as it is being prepared (in medieval times, objects such as coins and thimbles were mixed into the batter). People believed that the person who got the coin would be wealthy, while the unlucky finder of the thimble would never marry. Today, small figures, fake coins and small candies are more common. Guests are warned ahead of time as well, so that no one injures their teeth or swallows a tiny treasure.

Also, when it's your birthday, your friends give you the "bumps" which is when they lift you in the air by your hands and feet and raise you up and down to the floor, one for each year, then one for luck, two for luck and three for the old man's coconut! They usually will also drink "squash" which is an orange or lemon flavored Kool-Aid-type drink made from syrup (rather than a powder).

German Birthday Traditions - On a child's birthday the dining table or kitchen will have a special wooden birthday wreath placed on it. The wreath contains small holes for candles and a holder in the center for the life-candle (this is a taller candle and is beautifully decorated). This candle is lit each year of a child's birthday until they reach the age of twelve. Usually on the day of the child's birthday, a member of the birthday person's family wakes up at sunrise and lights the candles on the birthday cake to be lit all day long.

In Germany, when men reach the age of 30 and they still don't have a girlfriend, they have to sweep the stairs of the city hall. All their friends will throw rubble on the stairs and even when you're finished they'll throw some more rubble. This way every girl can see that this man reached the age of 30 and still doesn't have a girlfriend (and that he can clean a house very well!).

Israeli Birthday Traditions - In Israel the child whose birthday it is usually wears a crown made from leaves or flowers and sits in a chair decorated in streamers. Guests dance around the chair singing and may also raise and lower it a number of times, corresponding to the child's age (plus one for good luck).

The thirteenth birthday for a boy is when he celebrates his Bar Mitzvah, and the twelfth birthday for a girl is when she celebrates her Bat Mitzvah. Each child has to prepare for this service for many months or even years ahead of time. On this day they must now obey the Jewish laws as an adult and behave responsibly.

Mexican Birthday Traditions - In Mexico, kids love to have pinata's at their birthday. A pinata is usually made out of paper mache (usually in the form of an animal or object), is filled with goodies and hung from the ceiling or a tree branch. The birthday child is blindfolded and hits the pinata until it is cracked open and all the goodies fall out. All the children then get to share the goodies.

Also, when a daughter reaches her 15th birthday (which is called a "quinceanera"), the birthday is celebrated with a special mass in her honor. This celebration often includes a religious ceremony at church, in which the young lady recognizes her heritage and her spiritual journey. A party is then given to introduce her to everyone as a young woman, and the father may dance a waltz with her. In some Latin American countries, a young woman changes her shoes from flats to heels during the ceremony (this is symbolic—it shows that she has moved on to a higher level of responsibility).

In Mexico there are two celebrations you have for your birthday. The first one is for your name or saint's day, which on this day you attend church and a priest blesses you. Then you go home to have a party that includes relatives

and close family friends. The saint's day party is much quieter and more formal.

Native American Birthday Traditions - Throughout history, Native American tribes have usually placed significance on milestones in a child's development rather than the day he or she was born. The day a child takes its first step is cause for just as much rejoicing as the day he or she accepts the responsibilities of an adult, gets married, becomes a parent, etc.

The Winnebago Indians have a big birthday and anyone can attend, people find out about birthday parties through word of mouth. These parties can last all evening and through the night. The birthday person can choose to eat whatever they like for their birthday and it is made for them. The cake is taken around and shown to the guests and it is considered an honor to be asked to cut the cake.

After the meal the children play a hand game. This is played by an adult holding a bone or stone in one of his or her hands and the children have to try to guess where it is.

American Birthday Traditions - At children's parties, balloons and streamers are hung up and lots of friends are invited to the party. Sometimes the person having the birthday can choose what they want to do: bowling, swimming, arcades, amusement parks, camping trips, etc.

The majority of American children celebrate birthdays with a cake topped with lighted candles. Most families use the candles to represent how old a person is turning (and another one for good luck). For instance, a 2-year old will have 3 candles on the cake. When the cake is set before the birthday child, candles lit, he or she is supposed to make a wish (without telling anyone what it is) and after making a wish, he or she tries to blow out the candles. If all the candles go out with one breath, it is believed that the wish will come true!

Various Traditions & Rituals around the WorldNo. Traditions / rituals The purpose

1 The Phuket vegetarian festival To bring good luck

2 Hinamatsuri To bring success, health and good luck for one’s daughters

3 Seppuku To show bravery

4 Labor day To honor the working knights5 Puja To honor Khrisna

6 Cutting fingers To show grief for a death family / close relatives

7 Peperode To celebrate good fortune8 Lucia’s day To light up the days9 Skin carving To celebrate the coming age

10 Chuseok To say thank you11 Ogoh – ogoh to get rid of evil spirit12 Anzac day To remember the heroic action13 Takoyama festival To welcome the starts of spring14 Blood drinking To give strength for doing travelling

15 Ngaben To send the death spirit to the heaven

16 Omizutori To respect the Gods (Buddhist)

17 Columbus day To express thank to him because of finding America

18 Muay thai To protect people from harmness19 Mary Guadalupe To honor Mary as the virgin Maria20 Hangul day To celebrate the Korean language21 Wayang To remember the history

22 Mehndi To prepare the bride to be before the wedding