Cultural Practice
Encyclopedia
Cultural practice generally refers to the manifestation of a culture
or sub-culture, especially in regard to the traditional and customary practices of a particular ethnic or other cultural group. In the broadest sense, this term can apply to any person manifesting any aspect of any culture at any time. However, in practical usage it commonly refers to the traditional practices developed within specific ethnic cultures, especially those aspects of culture that have been practiced since ancient times.
The term is gaining in importance due to the increased controversy over "rights of cultural practice", which are protected in many jurisdictions for indigenous peoples
http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/orgs/canadian/canada/justice/ethnocultural-groups/ecg-003-00.html and sometimes ethnic minorities. It is also a major component of the field of cultural studies
, and is a primary focus of international works such as the United Nations
declaration of the rights of indigenous Peoples http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/drip.pdf.
Cultural practice is also a subject of discussion in questions of cultural survival http://www.onefish.org/servlet/CDSServlet?status=ND0zODkyLjMwMjUxJjY9ZW4mMzM9ZG9jdW1lbnRzJjM3PWluZm8~. If an ethnic group retains its formal ethnic identity but loses its core cultural practices or the knowledge, resources, or ability to continue them, questions arise as to whether the culture is able to actually survive at all. International bodies such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
continually work on these issues, which are increasingly at the forefront of globalization
questionshttp://books.google.com/books?id=uBUD7nh8S74C&dq=globalization+indigenous+cultural+practice&pg=PA109&ots=tFWPvlmt2t&sig=UVDszTZyqoLl0inD8cLaBqRjvhc&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dglobalization%2Bindigenous%2Bcultural%2Bpractice%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26aq%3Dt%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26client%3Dfirefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=3.
, indigenous hunting
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/aboriginalplanet/archives/january2005/art7_main-en.asp and gathering practiceshttp://books.google.com/books?id=WD-huzL13PgC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=native+gathering+rights&source=web&ots=6-ctah600m&sig=7ZFC04KaQAmiTbXeWsVmhC1W39k#PPA8,M1, and the question of licensing of traditional medical practitioners http://www.camsociety.org/issues/Attitudes.htmhttp://www.springerlink.com/index/P222318Q38U4Q013.pdf.
Many traditional cultures acknowledge members outside of their ethnicity as cultural practitioners, but only under special circumstances. Generally, the knowledge or title must be passed in a traditional way, such as family knowledge shared through adoption
, or through a master of that practice choosing a particular student who shows qualities desired for that practice, and teaching that student in a hands-on manner, in which they are able to absorb the core values and belief systems of the culture. The degree to which these non-ethnic practitioners are able to exercise "customary and traditional" rights, and the degree to which their practice is acknowledged as valid, is often a subject of considerable debate among indigenous and other ethnic communitieshttp://www.geocities.com/eaglefeatherlaw/argument.htmlhttp://www.wkf.org/cta.html, and sometimes with the legal systems under which these communities function. The difference between bona fide non-native cultural practitioners and cultural piracy, or cultural appropriationhttp://www.earthcall.org/en/faq/, is a major issue within the study of globalization
http://www.ejcl.org/75/art75-7.html and modernization
http://www.caslon.com.au/ipguide14.htm.
. However, major questions surround the legitimacy of newly evolved cultural expressions, especially when these are influenced by modernization
or by the influence of other cultures. Also, there is significant debate surrounding the source of evolution: for example, an indigenous community may accept the use of store-bought materials in the creation of traditional arts, but may reject requirements to apply for a permit for certain gathering purposes; the central difference being that one is an internal cultural evolution, while the other is externally drivenhttp://science.jrank.org/pages/8152/Westernization-Africa.html by the society or legal body that surrounds the culture.
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
or sub-culture, especially in regard to the traditional and customary practices of a particular ethnic or other cultural group. In the broadest sense, this term can apply to any person manifesting any aspect of any culture at any time. However, in practical usage it commonly refers to the traditional practices developed within specific ethnic cultures, especially those aspects of culture that have been practiced since ancient times.
The term is gaining in importance due to the increased controversy over "rights of cultural practice", which are protected in many jurisdictions for indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/orgs/canadian/canada/justice/ethnocultural-groups/ecg-003-00.html and sometimes ethnic minorities. It is also a major component of the field of cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
, and is a primary focus of international works such as the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
declaration of the rights of indigenous Peoples http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/drip.pdf.
Cultural practice is also a subject of discussion in questions of cultural survival http://www.onefish.org/servlet/CDSServlet?status=ND0zODkyLjMwMjUxJjY9ZW4mMzM9ZG9jdW1lbnRzJjM3PWluZm8~. If an ethnic group retains its formal ethnic identity but loses its core cultural practices or the knowledge, resources, or ability to continue them, questions arise as to whether the culture is able to actually survive at all. International bodies such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is the UN's central coordinating body for matters relating to the concerns and rights of the world's indigenous peoples. "Indigenous person" means native, original, first people and aboriginal. There are more than 370 million indigenous...
continually work on these issues, which are increasingly at the forefront of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
questionshttp://books.google.com/books?id=uBUD7nh8S74C&dq=globalization+indigenous+cultural+practice&pg=PA109&ots=tFWPvlmt2t&sig=UVDszTZyqoLl0inD8cLaBqRjvhc&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dglobalization%2Bindigenous%2Bcultural%2Bpractice%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26aq%3Dt%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26client%3Dfirefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=3.
Examples of cultural practice
- Religious and spiritual practices
- Medical treatment practices
- Forms of artistic expression
- Dietary preferences and culinary practices
- Cultural institutions (see also Cultural Institutions StudiesCultural Institutions StudiesCultural institutions studies is an academic approach "which investigates activities in the cultural sector, conceived as historically evolved societal forms of organising the conception, production, distribution, propagation, interpretation, reception, conservation and maintenance of specific...
) - Natural resource management
- Housing and construction
- Childcare practices
- Governance, leadership, conflict resolution
- Power relationships
- "Everyday life" practices (including household relationships)
- Other practices not listed above
Qualifications
The question of what qualifies as a legitimate cultural practice is the subject of much legal and ethnic community debate. The question arises in controversial subject areas such as Genital MutilationGenital mutilation
Genital mutilation can refer to:*Clitoridectomy*Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision*Genital modification and mutilation*Infibulation...
, indigenous hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/aboriginalplanet/archives/january2005/art7_main-en.asp and gathering practiceshttp://books.google.com/books?id=WD-huzL13PgC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=native+gathering+rights&source=web&ots=6-ctah600m&sig=7ZFC04KaQAmiTbXeWsVmhC1W39k#PPA8,M1, and the question of licensing of traditional medical practitioners http://www.camsociety.org/issues/Attitudes.htmhttp://www.springerlink.com/index/P222318Q38U4Q013.pdf.
Many traditional cultures acknowledge members outside of their ethnicity as cultural practitioners, but only under special circumstances. Generally, the knowledge or title must be passed in a traditional way, such as family knowledge shared through adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, or through a master of that practice choosing a particular student who shows qualities desired for that practice, and teaching that student in a hands-on manner, in which they are able to absorb the core values and belief systems of the culture. The degree to which these non-ethnic practitioners are able to exercise "customary and traditional" rights, and the degree to which their practice is acknowledged as valid, is often a subject of considerable debate among indigenous and other ethnic communitieshttp://www.geocities.com/eaglefeatherlaw/argument.htmlhttp://www.wkf.org/cta.html, and sometimes with the legal systems under which these communities function. The difference between bona fide non-native cultural practitioners and cultural piracy, or cultural appropriationhttp://www.earthcall.org/en/faq/, is a major issue within the study of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
http://www.ejcl.org/75/art75-7.html and modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
http://www.caslon.com.au/ipguide14.htm.
Evolution of culture
The evolution of traditional cultures is a subject of much discussion in legal, scholarly, and community forumshttp://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~sai/Saht_indig_way.html. It is generally accepted that all cultures are to some degree in a continual state of Sociocultural evolutionSociocultural evolution
Sociocultural evolution is an umbrella term for theories of cultural evolution and social evolution, describing how cultures and societies have changed over time...
. However, major questions surround the legitimacy of newly evolved cultural expressions, especially when these are influenced by modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
or by the influence of other cultures. Also, there is significant debate surrounding the source of evolution: for example, an indigenous community may accept the use of store-bought materials in the creation of traditional arts, but may reject requirements to apply for a permit for certain gathering purposes; the central difference being that one is an internal cultural evolution, while the other is externally drivenhttp://science.jrank.org/pages/8152/Westernization-Africa.html by the society or legal body that surrounds the culture.