Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Paper - Essay Example The cycle of the livestock forms the key determinant of pastoralists’ daily and seasonal lives (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Among the Zulu and some other pastoral cultures, agriculture forms a supplement to developing animal products (Nowak & Laird, 2010). However, Gluckman (1963, p.81), argues that although â€Å"the Zulu, Tswana, Ankoke, Kavirondo, and Nuer are grouped as pastoral-agriculturalists†, complex patterns emerge from an interweaving of their ecological setting, the distribution of their settlements, division of labor, and other factors that form their culture. The Zulu utilise their animals not only for their own subsistence, but also in social and ritual occasions. Similar to the Masai of Kenya, although there is emphasis on music, dancing, elaborate beadwork, and oral narratives, there is little significance for the visual arts in the Zulu culture (Hatcher, 1999). Livestock represent wealth and prestige; they are exchanged as a part of marital gift-giving, and are used for settling disputes, as well as for ceremonial sacrifices. The community develops close emotional attachments to their livestock, and rarely slaughter their animals for food. Due to a lack of storage facilities and preservation techniques, pastoralists such as the Zulu have a reciporcal system of distributing the animals they butcher to other members of the group for immediate consumption (Nowak & Laird, 2010). Pastoralism as the primary mode of subsistence impacts several dimensions of cultural behavior among the Zulus. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the pastoral mode of subsistence impacts different aspects of the cultural behavior of the Zulu tribe of Africa. In this context, their beliefs and values, gender relations, and political organization will be examined. Beliefs and Values of the Zulu Tribe The ancestor cult of the Zulus is based on the lineage and kinship system distinguishing Zulu life. Ritual sacrifices form an inherent pa rt of ceremonial rites among the tribe. Lambert (1993) attributes sacrifice to its origins in the ritualisation of the palaeolithic hunt. The contradictory features regarding people deeply attached to their animals is that there is no trace of guilt or anxiety at ritual killings among the Zulus. The author states that in both Zulu as well as ancient Greek sacrifices, misleading emotional factors are imbued, which may actually be absent from individual sacrifices. Hence, â€Å"explanations offered in terms of origins or formative antecedents are fraught with speculative problems and throw no light on the motivation for sacrifice† (Lambert, 1993, p.293) of livestock. The African cosmological understanding of life, death, and creation include the relationship of humankind with nature and the natural phenomena as their core issues (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2005). According to Asante (1998, p.89), â€Å"the organizing principle of human society, the creative spirit of phenomena, and th e eternal order of the universe† is Ma’at, which depicted the basic principle of creation as the equilibrium of opposites, the universe being regulated by the force of the perfectly established energy. Through the tradition of the oral narrative passed on from one generation to the next, these cosmological and ethical concepts were recreated to symbolize the spirit of the ancestors, which were considered very significant by the Zulus. Thus, Unkulunkulu is the ancient concept of a

A Dolls House Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A Dolls House - Research Paper Example â€Å"A Doll’s House† which is a scintillating play, was written by Henrik Ibsen during the period of the ‘Naturalism Movement’ and revolved around the women of the 19th century society. The basic premise of the play was the portraying of women in different gender roles and how they looked after their families by staying at home. In sharp contrast to Ibsen’s poem is Larkin’s poem ‘Home is so sad’. In this poem, the poet expresses the dark vision of home and of human solitude. In this essay an attempt is being made to find out how the poem ‘Home is so sad’ relates to the play ‘A Doll’s House.’ Body Most of Ibsen’s plays depict the struggle between individuals for an authentic identity of their own. This struggle rests against the backdrop of a tyrannical society, with the individual on one hand, and their families and society on the other. In ‘A Doll’s House’, Nora is the chief protagonist in the play and represents such struggling women, suppressed by society. Larkin’s poem on ‘Home is so sad’ also has a melancholic atmosphere as he deals with some of the negative aspects of life such as loneliness and disappointment. Both these works though moody and pessimistic in approach never fail to engage its audiences because it helps them to identify themselves with its characters. The playwright and the poet have attempted to express their thoughts and ideas through the eyes of society. Women in the 19th century were expected to be the typical stereotype subservient housewife, but one would be surprised at the turn of events in Henrik Ibsen’s play. Women in those days were hardly educated and hence were very easily relegated into a corner and never came forward to voice their opinion. Nora was one such stereo type who was controlled by her husband Torvald Helmer, who was very controlling and he looked upon Nora as one of his resp onsibilities. In the beginning of the play, Nora accepts her doll-like existence, with no identity to call her own. In fact , Nora seemed to like being treated like a child and used this technique to get what she wanted. According to Shaw "She has learnt to coax her husband into giving her what she asks for, by appealing to his affection for her: that is, by playing all sorts of pretty tricks until he is wheeled into an amorous humor" (Shaw, 226) However, according to Clement Scott "Helmer's attitude towards his child-wife is natural but unreasonable" (Scot, 222).   While pinching her ear he calls her using pet names like squirrel and mouse, but he clearly understands that she is a â€Å"positive hindrance to his ambition† (Scot, 221) This clearly reflects the attitudes of ancient society filled with suppression. In Phillip Larkin’s poem, ‘Home is so sad’ we find the same gloomy atmosphere of existence depicted by the loneliness that is experienced. We s ee this sadness in the following lines of the poem. bereft Of anyone to please, it withers so, Having no heart to put aside the theft (Phillip Larkinn, Home is so sad,) www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16659 The inhabitants of the house have left and all that remained was loneliness and memories that brought remembrance of the times shared there. In the same manner, in the play ‘A Dolls House’ Nora goes about her duties as a good mother despite the emptiness she feels in her existence, and agrees to do whatever Torvald asks her to. â€Å"Yes, whatever you say Torvald† (Ibsen, 872) However, when she finally decided to leave, she bravely confronts him saying, â€Å"I’ve lived by doing the tricks for you Torvald.† (Ibsen, 919) She understands that her life with Torvald was like a dolls house and they had been lying to each other about their love, which was no more than a facade.