Culture is something that tremendously varies from society to society and is an essential part of what shapes our perceptions, attributions, judgments, and ideas of self and other. Unlike the United States of America, Sudan was not founded on the principle that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In Sudan, it is ubiquitous that every civilian does not have an equal opportunity as well substantial support to obtain quality food, shelter, safety, clothing, and medical care. Due to the social injustices found in Sudan, it is axiomatic that the Sudanese culture is very diverse from the culture found in the United States.
Material culture is important in every culture and country; it represents the identity of each nation. To fully understand Sudan, one must learn about their material culture. Stated in the Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Culture, in Sudan, women are enjoined by the “Islamic regime to dress modestly” (Joseph, Afsaneh 34). A woman wearing a thawb, demonstrates this enjoinment. A thawb is an ankle length piece of clothing wrapped around the body and around the head. On the other hand, men can be seen wearing traditional or western clothes. A traditional outfit for a man would consist of a jalabiya and sirwal. The jalabiya is similar to the thawb. Though, the jalabiya does not wrap around the head. Sirwal’s are loosely fitted pants worn under their jalabiya. Food is quite scarce in Sudan due to the recent civil war that lasted over twenty years. Though, the foods native to Sudan are the Kissra, Kawal, and Marara. Kissra is “a special type of bread made of durra. Kawal is used as a meat substit...
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...r people to partake in a community by contributing to life-giving relationships with others who live nearby. Despite all the economic and political differences between Sudan and the U.S, the challenge of overcoming a history laced with violence and a culture in which guns play an integral role is a similarity between these two nations. Another similarity seen between these two countries is the love each President has for its nation. The part of the Sudanese cultural that interested me the most is their music and their diverse and colorful dietary habits. The music that is seen in the Sudanese culture interested me because it is unique and extraordinary. Most of the lyrics are made up on the spot and is accompanied by a rhythmic drum. I was also interested in Sudan’s diverse and colorful dietary habits because I did not recognize any of the foods listed as “normal.”
Since 1983, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudanese government have been at war within the southern region of Sudan. This brutal conflict has ravaged the country claiming hundreds of lives and exiling a vast number of the southern Sudanese people. Most of these outcasts were young men aging between five and twelve years of age who returned home from tending cattle to see their village being attacked and their fellow villagers being killed by government militias . These boys fled, not knowing what they would encounter on the journey to escape the violence in their own country. Hungry, frightened, and weak from their long and hellish journey, the boys reached refugee camps outside of Sudan. Even though many young men were killed on their journeys to and from refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, many remained at these camps for numerous years. While in the camps, they heard news of an opportunity to travel to the United States for hope and a promise of a better life. In Mark Bixler’s The Lost Boys of Sudan: An American Story of The Refugee Experience, Bixler depicts the story of these young men or Lost Boys’ and their determination to receive an education that would not only transform their lives but also the lives of their kinsmen.
In Northern Kenya a small village of Sudanese refugees have made a makeshift village, which has served as their permanent housing for the past twenty years. This village displays the kind of poverty that is predictably featured in Time Magazine on a semi-regular basis: mud walls are adorned by straw roofs, ribs can be easily counted on shirtless bodies, flour is a resource precious enough to be rationed, and a formidable desert can be seen in all directions. What do you see when you look at this village? Do you see a primitive society, struggling to survive in a world that has long made struggling for survival antiquated, do you see the cost of western colonialism, do you see a people deprived of the dignity of humanity, do you just
Reeves, Eric, Massimo Calabresi, Sam Dealey, and Stephan Faris. “The Tragedy of Sudan.” Time. Time Inc, 4 Oct. 2004. Web and Print. 15 April 2014. .
The Dinka and the Nuer are two culturally similar ethnic groups that reside in Southern Sudan. Through time, they had changed not only culturally but also politically. Evan Pritchard introduces the Nuer and the Dinka to the western world as a simple cow herding society with a patrilineal structure, that centered around was defined by their kinship, extending networks and forming of political structures. The Dinka and the Nuer are an excellent example of Carl Schmitt’s dichotomy concept of friends and enemy, they represent how a culture can be altered based on what political nation state has the political power.
Brief History From the 1500s to the 1700s, African blacks, mainly from the area of West Africa (today's Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Dahomey, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon) were shipped as slaves to North America, Brazil, and the West Indies. For them, local and tribal differences, and even varying cultural backgrounds, soon melded into one common concern: the suffering they all endured. Music, songs, and dances as well as traditional food, helped not only to uplift them but also quite unintentionally added immeasurably to the culture around them. In the approximately 300 years that blacks have made their homes in North America, the West Indies, and Brazil, their highly honed art of the cuisine so treasured and carefully transmitted to their daughters has become part of the great culinary classics of these lands. But seldom are the African blacks given that recognition.
This research paper will provide a detailed comparison of views between a typical American and the lost boys of Sudan, towards some political concepts. The concepts include; (1) war, (2) role of women, (3) the purpose of government, (4) the role of interest groups and international organizations, and (5) education.
...d viewed independence as the British keeping their rule through their Arab colleagues. Continuous Sudanese governments have failed or been reluctant to change the inequalities brought on by colonialism in the nation and therefore discrimination is being exposed in Sudan.
The lost boys of Sudan went through far more than the average westerner will go through throughout their entire life. They were forced to run away from their home, and wander more than 1,000 miles to the promise of safety. During this voyage they were struck by animals, disease, hunger, and dehydration. After living in such poor conditions they were thrust into western society without knowledge of how to shower, get a job, or maintain finances. With only four months of government aid, they were forced to find a job in this alien world. This paper will show the obstacles that these Sudanese boys had to overcome both in Sudan and The United States Of America.
As the Falolas put it, “In reality, there is no such thing as a nuclear family and an extended family in Sudan because spousal commitments do not take away couples’ responsibilities toward their siblings and their aged parents: this is the basic principle binding almost all cultures in Sudan…” (Falola 121). Sudanese people had simple lifestyles, mainly including agriculture and tending to farm animals, or herding. The main agricultural crops which they produced were cotton, peanuts, grains, sugar cane, and sorghum grasses (Nelson 146).The young Sudanese boys would normally move around a lot, day to day, in modest crowds for cattle herding, retrieving food or water, attending school, or labor responsibilities (UNICEF). While the South’s education was lacking, with hardly any schools or teachers, most of the education systems li...
America started by setting up refugee camps, to relocate the Lost Boys within its own cities and was able to change the lives of thousands of boys who endured war, defeat, hurt and fear all through their childhoods. The significance of America’s involvement is emphasized in each source because it was an essential aid, support and hope for the Lost Boys of Sudan. Without America these lost boys may never have been discovered by the
The Sudanese Civil War lasted approximately twenty years and destroyed whole villages along with the lives of entire families. “They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky” tells the true story of the Sudanese civil war and the Lost Boys swallowed up by gunfire and hatred. The Lost Boys was the ‘nickname’ given to the thousands of children that were orphaned or relocated during the bloody Sudanese civil war. The Lost Boys includes Benson Deng, Alepho Deng, and Benjamin Ajak who wrote the novel provides their opinions and understandings of several political concepts. These political concepts have multiple views by the Sudanese people. When brought to comparison by the American culture the perspectives are not that different.
The culture of Africa is manifold and varied. Africa is a product of the different diverse populations that today inhabit the continent of Africa and the communities throughout the world that are descended from the historic movement of people...
The lost boys of Sudan did not only show courage but also perseverance when they were forced to flee their home, leaving everything behind to find safety, after their village and all their loved ones were destroyed by the war.
South Sudanese independence thus far has been quite detrimental than beneficial to the people of South Sudan. On July 9, 2011, the 54th African state was born. Independence was fought to fight challenges that, as part of Sudan it endured for 56 years; however its current state has brought about challenges from within . This essay will discuss a brief history of Sudan and South Sudan and then analyse President Salva kiir’s speech in contrast to Former Nelson Mandelas’.
As any mother, I want my kids to understand my heritage and adapt Ethiopian culture. I have two sons, Philemon and Mekiyas. Philemon is in middle school and Mekiyas is elementary school. They both have good sense of humor, they are very caring, loving and responsible boys. Every opportunity I get I try to tell them, how I grow up, and how much my tradition means to me. I use books that tells story about what Ethiopians value the most, and some handcrafts wall decorations that represents the culture. However, I have not get a chance to take them to see Ethiopia, and to see my family yet. One day I want to Ethiopian grocery store to buy the sponge Ethiopian bread ( enjera). As I was waiting in line to pay, I saw an AD about the soccer