Objective:
According to Geert Hofstede, “Culture is the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others”. For the purposes of this paper, I am going to be conducting an in-depth analysis of the Irish and Malawian cultures. The main reason as to why I chose to focus on Malawi is because Malawi happens to be the country of focus for this year’s Charity:Water Gala. At this event, they will be raising money to provide clean drinking water for people in developing countries. Lastly, I chose Ireland because the majority of my coworkers belong to this particular country. To further break it down, I will be focusing on several deep culture elements within the Irish and Malawian cultures such as social etiquette, gestures, body language, communication styles, religion, gender roles, forms of greeting. Additionally, I will be discussing the issue of gender roles and Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions.
Ireland
Greetings:
When two men are meeting each other for the first time they usually tend to shake hands. These handshakes tend to be firm and typically don’t last too long. There could also be a hug involved if they are close friends. When two females are meeting each for the first time they typically shake hands or kiss each other on the cheeks if they are good friends. When a man and woman are meeting each other for the first time, they will typically shake each other’s hands, but if they are close they could kiss each other on the cheeks or possibly hug (culturecrossings.net).
Social Etiquette/ Gestures/ Body Language:
Standing too close to someone during a conversation can be viewed wrongly. At least an arm’s length is a proper distance measure to be kept between two indiv...
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...uette. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.culturecrossing.net/basics_business_student.php?id=124
Malawi Engagement Ceremonies. (n.d.). Traditional wedding and engagement ceremonies in Malawi. Customs and traditions explained by Local Malawian Chimwemwe Siyabu.. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.explore-malawi.com/travel-info/traditional-ceremonies-malawi
THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. (n.d.). Cultural Insights. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://geert-hofstede.com/
Hofstede, G. (n.d.). THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. Ireland. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from http://geert-hofstede.com/ireland.html
Malawi Engagement Ceremonies. (n.d.). Traditional wedding and engagement ceremonies in Malawi. Customs and traditions explained by Local Malawian Chimwemwe Siyabu.. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.explore-malawi.com/travel-info/traditional-ceremonies-malawi
To legalize a marriage it must be done at the mayor's office in a city, which is rarely done. The family often has influence in the choice of a marriage partner. Typically, the women’s family look for men who will be able to provide for them, while men choose women who will wear children and keep their home. Girls are sometimes promised at a very young age, although the wedding does not take place (if at all) until after puberty. Gabonese parents do not pressurize their children to marry someone they do not like. They leave it upon the children to find someone right for them. However, they do consider the capability of the person their children selected. The Gabonese generally marry within the ethnic group but mostly outside of their village, to avoid marrying relatives. People usually get married on their 30s. Dating is looked down upon by the society, and the couples dating tend to hide their relationship from their parents. When a couple is wed, they traditionally move to the husband's
As you can see, marriage can come in different celebrations but they all constitute the fact that marriage is an institution in which man and woman come together as one. Aditi and Hermant’s marriage was no different compared those in this study. Al-Zu’abi (2008) states that urbanization plays a key role in influencing perceptions of marriage and that marriage patterns are formed and reformed according to culture. The final point is, marriage is a basic institution of any society no matter the culture difference.
Both civil and church wedding ceremonies are available and acceptable for marriage and, as you’d expect, there are various ceremonial forms. However, the ceremony starts when the father’s bride walk next to his daughter towards to the altar; it is accompanied by “Bride Entrance Song.” This is refers as to “give her away” moment. Family and friends will be witness of the culmination of the engagement for the couple to become a one unity. As far as the ceremony goes on, the couple will express the interest to change the status by asking a religious blessing. The couple’s vow will be heard in the church and promptly, and they will interchange the rings which symbolize the commitment between spouses on to the marriage. By the moment that the groom says, “With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee honor, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow”, the ceremony will be reach the climax and it will following by the priest’s blessing. “In Mexican weddings, after exchanging their vows, El Lazo, a symbolic rope made of ribbon, or adorned with fertility symbols such as orange blossoms, as well as crystals, satin and tiny jewels is ceremonially put around the couple’s necks to symbolize their new unity.” (Traditions:
Marriage ceremonies are held to the highest traditional standards in the six Iroquois nations, specifically the Mohawk. A marriage signifies a lifelong relationship and there is no end. There are no Mohawk customs for the notion of divorce. Mohawk nations believe in a matrilineal society. In this society the woman is the head of the household and highly respected by her husband and family. The marriage process of the Mohawk nations includes seven traditional elements; the rite of transformation, arranged marriages, wedding wheel, the longhouse, marriage instruction, marriage questions, marriage baskets, feather dances, and traditions conducted at the end of the ceremony.
very modern traditional Indians, as likely to attend a ceremony as they are to have
This provides information on the customs and traditions throughout the American culture and their marriage and wedding practices.
What is culture, one might ask? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, culture is the “customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group or the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time” (Culture). Five major characteristics that define a culture include culture is learned, culture is shared, culture is symbolic, culture is all-encompassing, and culture is integrated. Culture depends on the human capacity for cultural learning that encompasses shared rules for conduct and that are dependent upon symbols. Cultures can be integrated by using “social and economic forces, core values, and key symbols” (Mirror for Humanity, 2002). This essay will elaborate on the physical geography and military history of Sub-Saharan Africa, an analysis of its weather, and an overview of the ASCOPE acronym.
Whether you belong to a certain race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, geographical region or you identify with a certain sex you belong to a particular culture. Culture as define by Shiraev and Levy (2013), “Is a set of attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared by a large group of people and usually communicated from one generation to the next” (p. ). In other words, we are a product of what has been handed down to us from the generations before. However, culture is evolving and it changes all the time. Hence the reason, no one group has a unique culture, since we are all influenced by each other’s way of life. As a result of this influence, we form relationships with people we know little about and share our values and beliefs with each other. Thereby creating a cross-cultural mix.
Despite people celebrating marriage in different ways it all comes back to one thing; marriage is a social ritual that by which two people affirms one abiding contracts between. The ceremonies are composed of rituals which symbolize facets of married life and the obligations being undertaken. In Hinduism the marriage celebration can start weeks before the actual ceremony depending on the preferences of the family. Once the day of the ceremony comes around the day starts with the brides’ family welcoming the groom into their home and both families are formally introduced. Both the bride and groom sit at the Mandap- tent where the ceremony is held under,-and are offered a drink. Gifts between the two families are generally exchanged at this point. The groom's mother gives an auspicious necklace to the bride, which is essentially an emblem of the married status in the Hindu religion. Then scared fire is lit and a pundit recites t...
Three different Western marriage customs have influenced the characters in the story "Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe. It is about a Nnaemeke and Nene. Nnaemeke was an Igbo but Nene was from a different part of the country. They fell in love and Nnameke proposed. Then Nnaemeke got a letter from his father telling him about an arranged marriage that is being planned. Very disappointed, Nnaemeke comes home and tells his father that he will not get married to anybody, except Nene. Nnaemeke was kicked out from his father's house and wasn’t wanted there anymore. Happily married, Nnaemeke and Nene, had two sons. They wanted to see their grandpa and wouldn’t stop asking to visit him. When Nnaemeke's father read the letter about his grandsons he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about them. At last he was beginning to open his heart for his son, daughter-in-law, and his grandsons. The first custom was that the parents arranged marriages for their children. Nnaemeka's father had arranged a wedding for him with a girl from his culture. The second custom was that love was not part of the marriages. All that mattered was that she had to be a good Christian and had the potential to become a good wife. The third custom is that the woman had to be raised from the same culture. Women from other cultures were not welcomed in Igbo culture and families. These three customs had a huge affect on Nene's and Nnaemeka's lives.
The first difference between American culture and Indian culture is marriage. A wedding is a great social event in our society, which establish a new bond between two individuals and families. Marriage is a joyful occasion with plenty of music, dance, partying and merrymaking. It also brings together a long-lost friends, relatives and acquaintances. In India, the parents choose the mate for their child, which is called an arranged marriage. In most cases, the bri...
The Hindu wedding is a complex ceremony whose various components has all a specific meaning and has all a relation to
One of the more interesting marriage practices to me is the ones that are done by the Na and Nayar cultures. And technically, they are not marriages because they are the exception to the whole arranged marriage concept. In China, arranged marriages are somewhat common but in the southwest region the Na are a group of people that do
Almost every culture around the world have the idea of bringing together households in marriage. In the United States, this a coupling of two people who will start a life on their own. In India, a marriage is more than two people falling and love and getting married. Family, religion and casts play a role for the future bride and groom. The Indian culture’s weddings have different traditions when it comes to proposals, ring traditions and ceremonies not only for the couple but for the families as well.
People around the world have many different kinds of wedding due to the differences in their religions and cultures. Since most Thai people are the Buddhists, the traditional Thai wedding is mainly related to Buddhism. However, it is also blended with Thai culture and Thai people’s ways of life. Traditional Thai wedding can be organized in various ways depending on the local people’s beliefs. In this essay I will describe some details of the general traditional Thai wedding.