User:Tanish Chheda/sandbox

TOK Indigenous Societies Project

= Inuit =

Location
Canada, Siberia, and Greenland

Fast facts

 * Originally made their home along the Alaskan coast, but migrated to other areas
 * Life is entirely influenced by the cold tundra climate in which they live.
 * 90% died from disease after they came into contact with Europeans in the 1800s
 * Three Inuit men with fish near Bernard Harbour (51002).jpger, the hunting culture, skills, and diet are still very much a part of their lives and their identity. The Inuit continue to eat their traditional regime of seal, walrus, and reindeer.

Gender roles
Women: sewing, cooking, and raising the children.

Men: to provide food by hunting and fishing.

Some videos
About the Inuit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6T2nJ7NTk

Traditional whale hunt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIYag5MWhPU

Eskimo family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9oIYE4iWMk

Spirtitual beliefs

 * The Inuit cosmos is ruled by no one.
 * They believed that all things have a form of spirit or soul, just like humans.
 * Since all beings possess souls like those of humans, killing an animal is little different from killing a person.
 * Some spirits have never been connected to physical bodies. These are called tuurngait.
 * An angakkuq with good intentions can use them to heal sickness and find animals to hunt and feed the community. However, an angakkuq with harmful intentions can also use tuurngait for their own personal gain.
 * Qalupalik is a myth/legend told by Inuit parents and elders to prevent children from wandering to the shore.

Religion

 * Traditional practices include animism and shamanism.
 * Today many Inuit follow Christianity, but traditional Inuit spirituality continues as part of a living, oral tradition and part of contemporary Inuit society.

Art & Artefacts
About 80% of the artefacts are made of wood and other organic materials. Eg: Kayak parts, basketry, masks, dolls, bowls, pottery, ivory, bone and finely ground stone tools. Art played a big part in Inuit society and continues to do so today.

Ivory carvings are the most popular crafts produced by the Inupiat Eskimos of the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea regions who hunt walrus for meat and utilize the skins and tusks for clothing and crafts. Basket weaving reflects a healthy and growing cultural tradition.

Survival of customs and language
The Eskimo sub-family consists of the Inuit language and Yupik language sub-groups. The Sirenikski language, which is virtually extinct, is sometimes regarded as a third branch of the Eskimo language family. Other sources regard it as a group belonging to the Yupik branch

As the WW II ended and the Cold War began, the Arctic became a place where countries that didn’t get along were close to each other. The Arctic had always been seen as inaccessible, but the invention of airplanes made it easier for non-Arctic dwellers to get there.

Schools and health centers were built in these permanent settlements. In several areas, the children were needed to attend schools that emphasized non-native traditions. With better healthcare, the Inuit population grew larger, too large to sustain itself solely by hunting.

Technology and adaptation
Between 1800 and 1950, the culture and way of living of the Canadian Inuit, who had not known any monetary system before, changed fundamentally. Complete self-sufficiency and independence were to a large extent replaced by dependence on goods of western industrialized countries, such as clothing, many kinds of foodstuffs, weapons, tools and technical equipment.

By the mid-1950s, dramatic changes had occurred for the Canadian Inuit, which lasted well into the 1960s;


 * There were differences among the regions of Nunavut. The common characteristic was the extensive change from the nomadic to the sedentary way of living.
 * These buildings are heated with oil stoves (every building has a holding tank for heating oil).
 * Fresh water is delivered by tankers, and sewage is brought away the same way.
 * The buildings contain kitchens with electric range, sink, and freezer; a bathroom with shower and/or bathtub, and flushing toilet; washers and dryers have become common.
 * Like other westerners, many households keep their TV sets on almost 24 hours a day. The people use fax machines and e-mail for correspondence.

= Balinese =

Location
Indonesian island of Bali

Fast facts

 * Well-known for its dance rhythm, performance pattern, and the art of sculpture
 * Tradition of marriage ceremonies and there are still known distinction based on the ancestral line
 * Their art and culture make the place become a magnet for tourism

Gender roles
Women: fostering balance and harmony within families. look after the home, the market, the family budget and the religious responsibilities of the household.

Men: responsible for all major decision made within the household

Some videos
Balinese Hinduism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcoC7I9Iwbw

Funeral rites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXp5mIztjIg

Shamanism
Shamans are traditional healers who work with divine energy to treat physical and mental illnesses, remove spells and channel energy from ancestors. Some Balian have learned their art from studying the ancient scriptures called lontar and apprenticing with a master. Others have received wahyu or divine inspiration and heal from the heart.

Family organisations

 * The Balinese people view women not from the view of career success but rather from the view of whether they can produce good quality children, and can work as part of a family team.
 * Bali children learn their gender roles from a very early age.

Religion

 * Though Bali is multi-religious, consisting of Christian, Muslim and Buddhist minorities, the predominant religion is Hinduism. Balinese Hinduism, called Agama Hindu Dharma, originated from Java and is a blend of Shivaism and Buddhism.
 * That is why it is often called the Shiva-Buddhist, Hindu-Dharma, Tirtha religions and also the Holy Water Religion. However, unlike polytheistic Indian Hinduism, in the belief of Balinese Hinduism, they only worship one God, called Sang Hyang Widhi, Acintya or Sang Hyang Tunggal.Bedawang Nala (I Ketut Gedé).jpg

Art & Artefacts

 * A new framework based on Balinese cultural principles to capture, classify, and organize cultural artefact and practice knowledge, and design and develop an online digital portal prototype to enable the sharing and growth of knowledge.


 * Balinese art has a rich and unique history dating back over 400 years. Originally the work of artisans from the East Javanese Majapahit Empire (13-16th Century). Balinese art.png
 * The Kamasan paintings feature two-dimensional compositions with imagery derived from the Wayang shadow puppet theatre.


 * Some of the ceremonies performed for tourists have been "edited" from among the rich diversity of Balinese music, drama and dance, and have become boring to villagers

Technology impact
In Bali, it was found that different economic and socio-cultural backgrounds strongly influence acceptance and use of the information provided by modern communication media. Mass media distribution and ownership is a prime factor conditioning the effectiveness of modern communication systems in traditional societies. The role of the opinion leaders is closely interrelated with the role of the mass media.

Though, in general, the role of mass media as initial sources of information is seen as still relatively small, the local opinion leaders are intensively and regularly using the media. They can even be characterized by their high media exposure and they are respected and influential because of their knowledge of cultural and religious matters, and also because of their innovative and progressive attitudes and practices which seem to mainly stem from the mass media.

= Bibliography =