Culture: World S Indigenous
STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
CHAPTER II
© UNICEF/NYHQ1993-1860/Charton
STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
CHAPTER II CULTURE
By Naomi Kipuri Culture has been defined as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capacities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”.1 In other words, culture is a patterned way of life shared by a group of people. Culture encompasses all that human beings have and do to produce, relate to each other and adapt to the physical environment. It includes agreed-upon principles of human existence (values, norms and sanctions) as well as techniques of survival (technology).2 Culture is also that aspect of our existence which makes us similar to some people, yet different from the majority of the people in the world… it is the way of life common to a group of people, a collection of beliefs and attitudes, shared understandings and patterns of behaviour that allow those people to live together in relative harmony, but set them apart from other peoples.3
culture is also that aspect of our existence which makes us similar to some people, yet different from the majority of the people in the world…
Indigenous peoples have rich and diverse cultures based on a profound spiritual relationship with their land and natural resources. Dichotomies such as nature vs. culture do not exist in indigenous societies. Indigenous peoples do not see themselves as outside the realm of nature, but as part of nature, and they have their own specific attachment to their land and territory and their own specific modes of production based on a unique knowledge of their environment. Nor do indigenous peoples emphasize a radical duality between the sacred and the mundane as happens in Western culture. In many indigenous cultures, social and political institutions are part of the cosmic order,4 and it is on the basis of their worldview, beliefs, values and customs that
CHAPTER II
© UNICEF/NYHQ1993-1860/Charton
STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
CHAPTER II CULTURE
By Naomi Kipuri Culture has been defined as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capacities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”.1 In other words, culture is a patterned way of life shared by a group of people. Culture encompasses all that human beings have and do to produce, relate to each other and adapt to the physical environment. It includes agreed-upon principles of human existence (values, norms and sanctions) as well as techniques of survival (technology).2 Culture is also that aspect of our existence which makes us similar to some people, yet different from the majority of the people in the world… it is the way of life common to a group of people, a collection of beliefs and attitudes, shared understandings and patterns of behaviour that allow those people to live together in relative harmony, but set them apart from other peoples.3
culture is also that aspect of our existence which makes us similar to some people, yet different from the majority of the people in the world…
Indigenous peoples have rich and diverse cultures based on a profound spiritual relationship with their land and natural resources. Dichotomies such as nature vs. culture do not exist in indigenous societies. Indigenous peoples do not see themselves as outside the realm of nature, but as part of nature, and they have their own specific attachment to their land and territory and their own specific modes of production based on a unique knowledge of their environment. Nor do indigenous peoples emphasize a radical duality between the sacred and the mundane as happens in Western culture. In many indigenous cultures, social and political institutions are part of the cosmic order,4 and it is on the basis of their worldview, beliefs, values and customs that