The Concept of Culture

“An essay article paper provided the reaction to the concept of culture as a system interrelated and interactive parts of society. However, culture can be defined through the given examples with the two videos entitled, “Desert Fishing Frenzy Human Planet” and “Black Friday Store Stampede” on how the people can interact and adopt the environmental practices within the society. But, the communities within the communal group are structured and composed of groups that have unequal access and control over the resources and benefits. Moreover, the concept of culture provides additional insights into how and why people behave differently in different cultures.”

“This article paper is a glimpse concerning the concept of culture which has been discussed hereof for more information; however, this is an edited edition of the first edition whereas the author published last February 2019, which is one of the "Most Read" in the LinkedIn Publishing, ResearchGate and Academia platforms that have been provided based on observation and hands-on experiences in our environment.”

Insight

The concept of Culture depending upon where we live in or practices that they have inherited from individual ancestors where up to now is in existence, and with those practices, to be honest, the author was amazed and asking himself, is it really?

Is it happening in the modern generation whereas innovations and high-technology came in?

The author thinks might everybody will be afraid of it, first of all, with their gestures and the way they approach, practices, and public skills and mindset. And thus, it is because the concept of culture explains the wide variability that we have to experience and see unto human behavior.

According to the concept of culture, the societies are structured and composed of groups which have unequal access and control over the resources and benefits? There are different fields of social sciences with various views, and that is, the sociological idea of stratification which means all societies exhibit between individuals. However, the anthropological concept is believed that social stratification is not universal but with human inequality since the 19th century has sustainability concerned with human societies and the effects of human ecology on the natural distribution of plants and animals from the environmental perspective.

Culture acts as an adaptive mechanism and allows the society to survive in a given environment with the adjustment to the changes within the environment. However, customs vary in their flexibility to adapt to change. In the case of the Dogon people, since the Fishing Frenzy is only allowed once a year, it is impossible for them to survive with the resources they will get from what they did in their practice. Moreover, based on the Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine (1992), the Dogon are also farmers in their hometown. And their main crop is millet, which they plant at the start of the rainy season. Other crops include rice, beans, peas, peanuts, and sesame.

The Dogon divides the land into communal and private plots. The eldest member of each lineage controls the lands for Miller and other subsidence crops, which are worked communally during the wet season.

Similarly, with Black Friday, a traditional culture which was originated from the United States and this kind of culture has been adopted throughout the world commercially in the landscape market.

The Culture of Desert Fishing Frenzy Human Planet

(Thousands of Fishermen Empty Lake in Minutes Human Planet: Deserts, Preview)

1. The Glance of Culture Impression

In a glance at watching the video, the author doesn’t know what to say and was made surprised when the author clicked the link then it goes that way. The perception in the first place that was a kind of environment whereas the said culture might be a tropical ecosystem movie instructional study to learn. But whenever the author went back in the Portal, noticeably that the course subject is about Cultures and Societies in Tropical Ecosystem, which in fact, that was very relative to the topic for the course subject that we need our reflection and insights why those activities are happening in the country around the world. And to be honest, the author doesn’t understand why this world we live in has been created unequal and doesn’t know how our world will become fair or rather, will become equal to each one of us as a living creature on the planet Earth to live in common.

The presentation was made embarrassing the way they live in such a way, only for them to survive with that kind of practice they have. To have that fish will make you fool afterward and only 1-fish if ever you caught luckily (Figure 01). But, will it mean for food to eat the whole day for the family?

The author felt so pity with them whereas somewhere in this world and this kind of culture becomes their traditional norm. But the fact is, some of our friends and colleagues have just wasted and left their foods into a waste bin without knowing that the other side of the world are having to find difficulty on how and where to get foods to eat for themselves as well as for their family, such crazy!

2. Culture as Part of their Practice

Moreover, the video is a Sacred Antogo fishing ritual of the Dogon people whereas the lake can be considered sacred which is believed to have populated by good spirits. The lake was used to provide tons of fish participated by the children and men on the ritual while the women are prohibited because they believe as they are impure of their menstrual cycle.

With the hundreds of Dogons had jumped on the lake to catch some fish and after 15 minutes, a gunshot will mark as the end of the ritual. However, after all, the fish had been captured and brought together, they will give it to the "Bamba" for the village elder to be equally distributed among the villages’ members. However, with the culture, they have made in the competition is only for them to survive for the last day of the dry season and according to their belief that whenever they catch fishes, they feel that the door of happiness is open to everyone for individuals and within the family for a year. What do you think? Are this ideology and beliefs will it be helpful for them to survive?

As a reflection, we have many cultures around the world that can't be denied and hide as well, and many societies living the world with perfections, but the author is not expecting that way! How pity they are, right? And that’s the opinion came to the author’s mind in the first place, but nobody can’t imagine and figured in today’s generation. And with the kind of culture they have are still practicing their skills for them to survive only for their family and belief.

The practices are similar and usually happening within the jailbreak due to the riots between prisoners. The author’s understanding of the implications, however, for them might be their culture, that is always happening every day or maybe, a festival wherever they need to have caught fish for a prize because the presentation was just too short of about 1-minute and 31-seconds. But who knows, the whole story wasn’t played in detail for the viewer to understand that kind of situation why that’s happening. In that case, whatever that may say is real or just a contest, however, good luck to the winner where they can have a door of happiness in securing graces for the family as well.

According to the article entitled “Antogo Fishing Frenzy,” and the lake is a rarity in a country comprised mostly of the Sahara desert and the dry steppes of the Sahel. And they undoubtedly lead to their importance and sacredness of the land. Throughout the year, however, the festive is illegal to fish in the lake. But after the ban is being lifted, all fishermen file into the lake to grab whatever they can during the short-lived Antogo fishing frenzy. The fact that their ritual is solidly based on their ancestor worship and along with other ceremonies happening in Dogon culture, the women are prohibited from participating. The Dogon are the people who originated from Mali and renowned for their advanced astronomical knowledge at that time when the telescopes were not available to the native tribes of Africa. Notwithstanding, based on the historical records, they are also famed for their religious traditions, mask dances, wooden sculptures, architecture and their fishing ritual that takes place once a year in Lake Antogo (enca.com, 2015).

The Culture of Black Friday Store Stampede

The presentation was what they called it, "Black Friday" and traditional culture that was originated from the United States whereas the day off after Thanksgiving Day. And that was a day when some of the major retailers offer meager prices on their products which attracted a lot of consumers within the community. But the issues being recorded that cause of violence cases, injuries or even death.

Moreover, whatever they called it “culture,” and this has been practicing as a user at the start of the holiday shopping season. Almost most of the commercial stores have come out with the Door Buster Sales and with the early bird special has to attract consumers to their shop at stake.

The people stand in the line of hours before the stores are being opened, and grabbing the bargains of the year, (TheBlackFriday.com, 2018). As a result of what they called “culture,” there have been numerous cases of injuries and deaths that have been recorded and noted due to the stampede in the Black Friday event (Figure 02). And with the presentation can be watched on YouTube, therefore, like a shred of evidence in the footage they have done no matter what.

But the fact is, the author doesn’t ever expect of the presentation that ever has had watched relevant to their practices, cultures and societal movements whereas the author made a surprise at all. The stampede videos, however, embarked on the author with a negative impact on why they did such exercises.

The people whereas present at stake and other people who are unaware of the situation in that place somehow or whatever might be, of course, in reality, if ever that is true and whoever is there in that place will be magnetized and reacted upon for them to survive.

But if that’s a culture part of one of the countries in the world, to be honest, that is NOT GOOD. That is not a good practice to be tolerated because the accident may happen anytime equaling to “FATAL.” However, if that they called, “tradition and beliefs,” the implication to anyone or even to the outside world is not a good “behavior” in tolerating that way and must be stopped, otherwise “crimes.”

Conclusion

As part of the lessons and to be acquainted with the cultures where they belong as we have throughout the world of these kinds of practices are amazing and lots of surprises at all. The Culture of Desert Fishing Frenzy Human Planet is fantastic and came to the author’s mind of a couple of speculations whereas everybody, of course, may have the same as what the author perception or came across when reviewing the kind of cultures they have that ever existing in today’s generation.

Moreover, according to Ralph Linton (1945) and the quoted as, “culture refers to the total way of life of any society, not simply to those parts of this way which the society regards as higher or more desirable.” The essential task of culture is to ensure that a group of people will survive in their environment by striking a balance between the population and resources (e.g., Antogo fishing frenzy only happens once a year). A holistic perspective is indeed critical to understand their interactions, behavioral patterns, and changes that may be anticipated when intervention is introduced (e.g., the Black Friday Store Stampede Compilation). However, culture is a culture and that’s what they believe in not only in that specific area but around the world similar traditions in the Philippines.

Whatever lessons we can have in our environment, these provide additional insights about how and why people behave so differently in different cultures. There is wide variability in human behavior because of cultural diversity. Each society or community has its own culture and varies at various levels from global, regional, national and local. And upon studying these differences, you will be able to appreciate them one by one be it their beliefs, ideas, and practices or it’s up to you.

Culture is a system with interrelated and interactive parts. The four interlinked components ideology, techno-economy, social organization and environment shaped the culture as demonstrated above. Having been exposed to diverse people and culture has instilled in the author’s mind on how to appreciate people, to be more sensitive to their feelings, beliefs, and perceptions.

Accordingly, again, the concept of culture defines anthropology is the study of human beings and the culture is the central concept in anthropology, thereby, the two-types of culture, as discussed above are their cultures wherever their society belongs, and the practices are their traditions to celebrate with. However, if that’s the case in a realm case, the author may say that SURVIVAL is one of the crucial parts for individuals to fight only to get freedom. But cultures can be defined by anyone based on their belief and their kind of environment where they live in. The environmental learnings will give us more hints and information for us to know things around us and be familiar with, which is the reality that’s happening around our country for individual’s beliefs and traditional cultures, but also the whole world. These gave to the author on how to stand with meaningful insights to learn around our environment, and thanks for that.

Write-Up References can be Read from this Links;

Gomeseria, R. V. (2019, February). The Concept of Culture. Retrieved from; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331032666_The_Concept_of_Culture

Gomeseria, R. V. (2019, May 11). Socio-Cultural Perspectives on the Environment. Retrieved from; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333774275_Socio-Cultural_Perspectives_on_the_Environment