Blog Post #2: Environmental Adaptations

1.) The Zulu people live in the KwaZulu-Natal province area of South Africa. The region is described as being a lush subtropical region. On one side it is lined with the Drakensberg mountain range with peaks over 10,000 feet high. The other side is lined with the subtropical coastline with spots of forest and the middle is a savannah grassland. The climate is described as being on both ends of the spectrum - extremely hot during the summer and heavy snow in the winter.

The Andean Indians live in Central America south of Guatemala. The area is described as being entirely in the tropics. Heavy rainfall is very common and dry spots are not.

2.)  The Zulu have dark skin which is their physical adaptation. The darker skin protects them since they are closer to the equator where the suns rays are stronger.

The Andean people have larger ribcages than people who are born and raised in lower altitudes. This is because the air is thinner as you go higher and they need to breathe in more of it to get an ample amount. Also, people from lower altitudes cannot reproduce normally when in higher altitudes. The Andean Indians reproduce normally.

3.) The Zulu's cultural adaptation is their lack of clothing. Like Donald Duck, they don't wear pants. This is probably to keep them cool during times of extreme heat. The Zulu are considered a "nude tribe" because of their lack of clothing.

The Andean Indians have developed a way to farm their mountain sides, they have to do this by hand so it is physical labor because machinery - if they had any- would be nearly impossible to use at these angles.

4.)  As far as race goes I would consider the Zulu to be African or Black. I'm not sure what the official PC term is. The Andean Indians seem to be kind of a mix between native americans and hispanic.

5) The Zulu are dark because of their physical adaptation, which is why I would consider them to be African or Black. The Andean Indians physical adaptations don't really have anything to do with race, I think. Their skin looks a little darker than a caucasian person but they're also outside a lot farming. If I was outside a lot I would burn like a lobster, but then eventually get a little tan (I am using that very loosely). That wouldn't change my race, I would just be adapting to being in the sun.


http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Zulu.html

http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0028672.html

http://www.native-languages.org/andean-culture.htm

http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/aflang/zulu/culture.html

Week 1 Blog Post: Part A. Cultural Descriptions.

Extreme:  The part about the holy-mouth-man jabbing an awl into an exposed nerve made me cringe. That is definitely something that we wouldn't do here...well, unless you're at the dentist. It doesn't mean its completely barbaric. It just isn't up to what we do. Also, the thing about women baking their heads in an oven is a little strange.

Similar: The daily body ritual of the mouth-rite sounds a lot like some kind of weird teeth brushing to me. I think that we probably do some things similar, but just in different ways. They don't have crest and oral-b selling toothbrushes and toothpaste in their area. So maybe this is some kind of alternative? Going back to the thing about women baking their heads in an oven for an hour...it's like a day at the salon...kind of.

Primitive: Their healing rituals seem to be very primitive. Like I said in the last paragraph, they don't have the same luxuries that we have so it's like they're just working with what they have and what they know. They don't have a yale trained physician with an ample supply of medical necessities. They're working with what they've got and what has "worked" (or worked well enough) for hundreds of years for them.

Modest: The article mentions how these people do a lot of things in private and seem to be ashamed of some. Being pregnant, naked or anything having to do with the "restroom" they do in secret on their own. A lot of the time when you think of another culture that is not very "westernized" you think of them running around as savage animals just doing everything out in the open. These people seem to be the opposite of that.

Religious: The article states that each family has at least one shrine. I would think that this indicates that most have more than one and they make this a big part of their daily life. A lot of other religions do this same thing. It is interesting how that carries over to different cultures no matter what it is that you worship.



Part B


1.) As an American, I feel fine with my choice of descriptive words. I don't feel like they were too judgmental or rash.

2.) Yes, I believe that they do. I said that they were primitive. Which they are- in our society. In their world and society they are probably right up to par. I also said they were extreme for some of their rituals and customs. Compared to us, they are.

3.) For primitive I cant think of a single word I would use. But probably just "set in ways. For extreme I guess I would just say "different".

4) It would be best to approach these situations with a free and clear mind. I am in the process of studying and converting to buddhism and this assignment helped me realize that I am not bringing that aspect into all parts of my life. I should have approached this assignment at first with a 100% black mind and free slate so that I could not compare them to my own society and way of life but focus on the beauty and individuality of their ways.