TOPIC 1
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CULTURE AND ETHNIC GROUPS IN
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Learning Outcomes
At
the end of this unit, learners should be able to:
1.1. Explain concepts of culture and ethnic
groups in Malaysia
1.2 Elaborate
and present the characteristics of ethnic groups and demography in Malaysia
Unit 1.1
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Definition
and Concepts of Culture
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1.1.1 Definitions and Concepts of Culture
In general, culture means the way of life. From the sociological
viewpoint, the word culture is derived from the Sanskrit word Buddhaya which
is a combination of the word Budhi (Sanskrit) meaning active mind and
Daya (Malay) which means force, power
and influence. The English term of culture, however, has it’s root from the
Latin word, “colere” which means designing or doing. Besides, let us look at other definitions of
culture.
"Culture or
civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society".
(Edward B. Tylor, 1871)
"Culture may be defined as the totality
of the mental and physical reactions and activities that characterize the
behavior of individuals composing a social group collectively and individually
in relations to their natural environment, to other groups, to members of the
group itself and of each individual to himself. It also rates includes the
products of These activities and their role in the life of the groups ".
(Franz Boas, 1911)
"Culture is a
set of intellectual and material equipment that can meet their biological and
social needs in keeping with the surrounding".
(Mohd Taib Osman,1988)
“Culture is a set
of human-made objective and subjective elements that in the past have increased
the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction of the participants in
an ecological niche and thus become shared among those who could communicate
with each other”.
• Objective - something that has a tangible form, such as
agricultural tools, art works, houses, means of transportation, communication
tools and so on.
• Subjective-something abstract such as norms, morals and values.
(Triandis,
1994)
"The way of
life of people, including their attitudes, values, beliefs, arts, sciences,
modes of perception and habits of thoughts and activity".
(Dictionary of Philosophy,1996)
Based on the given definitions of the meaning of culture,
we can conclude that there are distinct similarities in the various thoughts
from different backgrounds in different epochs. In short, culture is a way of
life in any society which includes belief systems, values, beliefs, art, tradition and civilization.
Next, let's look at several other aspects of the concept
of culture. Based on some thoughts on universal cultural elements, Kluckhohn in
his book “Universal Categories of Culture” (1953) discuss the cultural
framework. Based on that, Koentjaraningrat (2002: 203-204) highlights seven
cultural elements, namely:
1. Language
2. Knowledge system
3. Social organization
4. Technology systems and equipment
5. Livelihood and economic system
6. Religious system
7. Art
In other words, all the seven elements form the basis of the culture in any
society. These elements are all inter-related. However, not all of these
elements stand out. Different societies have certain elements that stand out
and this varies from one society to another.
1.1.2. Characteristics of Culture
However, there are several characteristics of culture
which are similar in all societies. The
characteristics are as follows:-
i) Learned – Culture is not herited but can be learned. For example parents need to teach
their children manners and dress codes, table manners and communication with
the elderly.
ii) Shared - There are certain elements in a culture that
is not confined to any one ethnic group, but also practiced by other ethnic
groups. For example, we see in terms of clothing. Although baju kurung and kebaya are the
traditional attire of the Malay community, it is also worn by other ethnic
groups. Similarly, in terms of food, we find that in the context of Malaysia
which is blessed with a great variety of food because of the various ethnic groups, the traditional food
of a certain ethnic group, for example thosai and apom which belongs to the Indians, is also a favorite of
other ethnic groups.
iii) Has been
universal - universal features exist in all human groups. For example, animal
loving culture and the environment. However,
these cultural practices may differ from one ethnic group to other
ethnic groups due to the system of beliefs, local customs and values of a
society.
iv) Inherited - This means that culture can be passed
down from one generation to another generation. For example, the Malay culture
in marriage customs practiced today is a legacy of the previous generation.
Similarly, there are certain cultural practises adopted by other races in
Malaysia like the Chinese. They have a
certain tradition of prohibited colour for clothings that they need to observe
during Chinese New Year and this is a
tradition that has been practiced for generations.
v) Dynamic - Culture is something that is dynamic over
time, context and place. As an example, we see changes in the male Sikh
community in ancient times adhere to wearing
turban. But with the passage of time and modernization, there have been
men among the modern generation Sikh whereby wearing of turban is no longer
observed.
vi) Have a symbolic elements - These elements exist in
all societies based on the level of importance of the tool selected as the
image or symbol. For example, symbols such as flags, logos and symbols have
specific meanings to the members of the community.
vii) The existence of worldview
Next, based on these features, culture can be categorized
into two types, namely: -
i) material
culture - equipment and supplies life and economic systems.
ii) non-material culture - religion and belief systems,
knowledge and language.
As a conclusion, in terms of human psychology, culture is
part of human life. Citing Matsumoto
(2002) 'culture played as basic and important a role in understanding and contributing
to human behavior as did any other influences on our lives, and to gradually understand
its pervasive and profound influence on psychological processes in al areas of
functioning.' From a different viewpoint,
we also can say that culture is the production of a community in various forms,
whether tangible or intangible (Noriati A.Rashid et al, 2011). Culture also refers
to a way of life practiced by many people involving thought, values, beliefs,
opinions, habits and way of thinking that can be inherited. Important cultural
concept to compare and contrast the different societies. Thus it seems that man
himself create a culture and cultural development will follow the progress of
society. (Aziz Deraman, 1994)
In the context of current education, teachers have a
responsibility to educate students to be cultured as required by not only
society but conform to the explicit and implicit elements in the National
Philosophy of Education. Thus, the teacher is responsible for understanding the
diversity of cultures and groups among the students in the classroom. To
realize their role, teachers need to improve their understanding of the
cultural and ethnic diversity. In this regard, two major cultural roles that
need to be recognized by the teachers are to build the country's image to
create character and identity and to foster national consciousness and
nationhood based on characteristics of spirituality, humanity and mentality
(Nasrudin Yunos, Centre for General Studies, UKM).
1.1.3 Summary
This topic has discussed important aspects such as:
Definitions
of culture from various perspectives. In
general, culture means the way of life. From the point of language, the word
culture is derived from the Sanskrit word Buddhaya which is a combination
of the word Budhi (Sanskrit) meaning
active mind and Daya” (Malay) which means force, power and influence. The
English term of culture, however, has its root from the Latin word, ‘colere’ which means
designing or doing. In short, culture is
a way of life in any society which includes belief systems, values, art,
tradition and civilization.
Further
discussion featuring seven cultural elements, namely: Language, knowledge
systems, social organization, technological systems and equipment, livelihood
and economic systems, religious systems and the arts.
Characteristics
of culture discussed in this module are as follows: -
o Learned
o Shared
o Being universal
o Inherited
o Dynamic
o Have a symbolic element
o The existence of worldview
- The teacher has to be responsible for understanding the diversity of cultures and groups among the students in the classroom. Two key roles of the teacher are to build the country's image to create character and identity, fostering national consciousness and nationhood based on characteristics of spirituality, humanity and mentality (Nasrudin Yunos (Centre for General Studies, UKM).
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