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Globalisation is neither static nor inevitable.
Outline!
The process of cultural diffusion
Cultural traits in terms of language,
customs, beliefs, dress, images, music, food
and technology. The diffusion of cultural
traits resulting from the international
movement of workers, tourists and
commodities.
Socio-cultural integration
Consumerism and culture
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The role of transnational corporations
(TNCs) in spreading consumer culture. The
spatial and temporal pattern of adoption of
branded commodities on a global scale.
Cultural
Diffusion
What is Culture?
ToK BoX — Page 634
Plato’s Cave and Enlightenment
We take it for granted that
people in different countries
have different cultures. As Wood and McManus describe
it:
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The role of diasporas in preserving culture,
the impact of cultural diffusion on an
indigenous remote society, and the ways in
which international interactions may result
in the homogenisation and dilution of
culture, including cultural imperialism.
framework of shared meanings which people who belong
to the same community (or
group or nation) use to help
them interpret and make
sense of the world. In other
words, a culture is the expression of people’s world view.
“In India holy men go naked and stand in one position for
years, bury themselves in sand or adopt painful postures,
permanently distorting their bodies. In Japan, the simple act
of pouring a cup of tea has become a ceremony which involves
meditating for long periods and gently stirring the tea with a
bamboo whisk. In England, wealthy people ride horses at high
speed, following a pack of hounds and chasing a small fox, while
one of the riders blows a horn.”
We accept that these behaviours are part of the culture of
the people in these countries.
16.1 Maori people performing a powhiri, or traditional welcome. The
Many aspects of people’s behaviour, attitudes, beliefs and dress, language, customs and beliefs of Maori people are important
appearance make up culture. We can define culture as the cultural traits of their total culture.
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Culture defines the lifestyle of people, and also their
values and beliefs.
Culture shows itself in many ways. Culture is expressed
through language, customs, beliefs, traditions, thinking,
behaviour, faith, music, clothing, art, technology, images,
food, architecture, dance, and in many other ways. Each
of these individual features of a culture is known as a
cultural trait. Therefore, for the Maori people of New
Zealand, cultural traits include their traditional dress,
their language, the architecture of their marae (or meeting
place), and their spiritual beliefs and myths of origin (figure 16.1). It is the combination of these cultural traits,
along with many other factors also, that defines Maori
culture.
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Globalisation works against the preservation of traditional cultures. Traditions and ways of life that have
survived for centuries in various parts of the world are
finding it increasingly difficult to withstand the pressures
of foreign influences. As the cultural theorist, Stuart Hall
commented, “global consumerism … spreads the same
thin cultural film over everything – Big Macs, Coca Cola
and Nike trainers everywhere – inviting everyone to take
on western consumer identities and obscuring profound
differences of history and tradition between cultures”
(figures 16.2 and 16.3).
QUESTION BLOCK 16A
1.! What is meant by the terms (a) cultural trait, and (b)
culture?
The Diffusion of Mass Consumer Culture
The following item appeared on the internet:
“A group of American tourists arrived in Italy. ‘Amazing!’
said one to their tour guide. ‘You have pizza here too’. A group
of Japanese boy scouts landed in Chicago. ‘Amazing!’ they told 16.3 Donkeys carry Coca-Cola into the traditional markets of Fez,
Morocco.
their troop leader. ‘They have McDonald’s here too’.”
This anecdote tells us a great deal about the globalisation
of culture. A food that was invented by the Italians –
pizza – is now accepted by people in the US and many
other countries. Similarly, an American food chain –
McDonald’s – is now found in so many countries that
children who have grown up with it consider it to be
‘local’ to their own country. And the fact that this
anecdote was found on the internet, making it available
instantly to anyone with an internet connection anywhere
in the world, demonstrates how quickly ideas now move
around the world.
16.2 Ronald McDonald
welcomes customers in
Wuhan, China.
Socio-cultural exchanges
The speed with which cultural influences move from
place to place has never been more rapid than it is today.
However, globalisation is not a new or recent process.
For example, before 1000, the nations and tribes of Europe
each had its own distinctive culture, with various languages, dress, architecture and beliefs. Around the year
800, the Serbian general Charlemagne conquered vast
areas of Europe, including France, Germany, and parts
of Spain and Italy. This led to the concept of ‘Europe’
emerging for the first time as a common culture based on
Christianity and the Latin language spread through the
empire.
16.4 A sign reflecting the spread of both the Christian religion and the
English language to Africa – the name of this business is typical of
many in Ghana. Other examples may appear humorous to outsiders,
such as the Rock of Ages Cement Works and the Only Jesus Can Do It
Beauty Salon.
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European culture developed further as something
distinctive with its own identity in the 1100s and 1200s
when Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East and
North Africa came into conflict. This was perhaps the first
clash between two cultures that were larger in scale than
individual tribes or nations. Both Christian and Islamic
cultural influences spread further over the following
centuries and traders and conquerors travelled around the
world (figure 16.4). Other cultures similarly spread their
influence during the 1400s to 1800s, including especially
the Chinese through South-East Asia (figure 16.5).
16.5 Although this temple is Chinese in its architecture and religious
practices, it is located in Penang (Malaysia), and is surrounded by
colonial buildings built by the British.
In past centuries, cultural diffusion has occurred through
a series of processes:
•! exploration by traders of areas around the world that
were unknown to those people at the time;
•! establishment of trading links in areas that produced
goods different from the home areas;
•! investment in new areas by traders, and a return of
profits to the investors;
•! expansion of production of raw materials, commodities and food in the new areas where investment has
occurred;
•! conquest and colonisation by the trading power,
imposing new systems of government and culture
on local cultures; and
•! migration of colonists to new colonies, bringing further cultural impact to colonial areas.
In general, these processes were undertaken by people
from European countries who established colonies overseas, usually in Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania.
Occasionally, similar processes were followed by other
cultural groups, notably Chinese and Arab traders,
although these groups did not conquer and colonise to
the same extent as the Europeans.
Traders and colonists exported the culture of their home
societies into the areas where they travelled. This influence still shows today in the buildings found in many
parts of the world (figure 16.6). However, the cultural
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influences also show in less visible ways such as the
religion, language, legal systems and education found in
many former colonies and trading areas. The result was
often to suppress, or at least have an impact on, local
cultures. In this way, the colonies and trading areas
became contact zones that marked the ‘frontier’ of the
expansion of one culture into a new area.
The process of cultural diffusion continues today at an
accelerating rate. Today, colonisation is relatively less
important than trade in promoting cultural diffusion.
Colonisation does continue to play an important role
in cultural diffusion, and notable examples include
Indonesian influence in Irian Jaya, Chinese influence in
Tibet, and until 1989, Russian influence in Eastern Europe.
Although tourism and migrant workers are often sources
of cultural diffusion, as discussed elsewhere in this book,
trade is probably the main agent of cultural diffusion.
However, it is important to understand that the nature
of today’s trade is quite different from trade in the 1800s.
Today, trade includes foreign investment, advertising and
commercial media broadcasts which transfer cultural influences with great speed and strength. Cultural diffusion
has now occurred to such a great extent that many people
claim that ‘places are all becoming the same’ (or homogenised). We will investigate this claim later in the chapter.
16.6 This building in Hanoi, Vietnam, shows two periods of cultural
diffusion. The building is in European style, having been built by the
French during colonial times. The posters show a more recent cultural
infusion — socialism — which originated in Europe and spread to
Vietnam through Russia (then the Soviet Union).
It is important to understand that cultural diffusion can
occur in two ways. First, in expansion diffusion, an idea
develops or exists in a source area and then spreads into
other areas while remaining strong at the source. For
example, Islam developed in the Arabian Peninsula of the
Middle East, and spread from there through North Africa,
the rest of the Middle East, East Africa and parts of SouthEast Asia. However, it remained strong in its source area,
the Arabian Peninsula, so this is an example of expansion
diffusion. Expansion diffusion usually occurs where
populations are stable or fixed; it is the idea that moves.
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On the other hand, the second type of cultural diffusion
is relocation diffusion. In this case, people who have
adopted a new idea or belief carry it to a new destination.
The spread of Christianity from Israel to Europe and then
on to Africa, Asia and South America by traders and
missionaries would be an example of relocation diffusion.
It is possible that an idea transferred by relocation
diffusion may lose its original strength in its source area,
although this does not always happen. The longer an
idea takes and the further it has to travel, the less likely it
is to be adopted in new areas; this is known as timedistance decay. It explains why cultural diffusion by
‘instantaneous’ satellite television broadcasts are so
powerful, why American speech and slang appear very
quickly across the globe, and why ‘foreign’ products gain
rapid acceptance in many other countries (figure 16.7).
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some way, usually so it can be accommodated within the
framework of an existing culture or world view.
When Buddhism spread from India into Myanmar, the
local people adapted it into their traditional belief system.
Before Buddhism came to Myanmar, the people believed
that spirits called nats inhabited every tree, rock, stream,
house and other feature of the landscape. The people
adopted Buddhism by making Buddha a supreme nat,
enabling them to adopt Buddhism as well as retain their
belief in the spirits. Even today, Buddhist temples and
pagodas in Myanmar include important places to pay
homage to the nats (figure 16.8).
The two types of diffusion were illustrated diagrammatically in figure 10.67 in chapter 10.
16.8 Worshippers at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon look on as a
devotee pours water over a small image of Buddha to earn merit.
Behind the Buddha image is an image of a guardian nat, an example
of cultural adaptation by the Myanmar people.
16.7 An advertisement for Coca-Cola in Sana'a, Yemen. The global
spread of this soft drink has been so strong that a slang term for the
homogenisation of cultures is 'coca-colanisation'.
QUESTION BLOCK 16B
1.! What is meant by the term ‘cultural diffusion’?
2.! Explain the process of cultural diffusion which occurred in
past centuries.
One of the most obvious examples of the global spread of
mass consumer culture today is McDonald’s fast food
(figure 16.9). It is claimed that a new McDonald’s opens
somewhere in the world every six hours. Because the
foreign, or American, image of McDonald’s is attractive
to people in many countries, local businesses sometimes
copy as much of the name and image as they believe they
can get away with; an example of this is shown in figure
16.10. This is a contemporary example of cultural adaptation.
3.! Describe the difference between ‘expansion diffusion’ and
‘relocation diffusion’, and give an example of each.
4.! What is ‘distance-time decay’? How does it help
understand the process of cultural diffusion?
Adoption vs Adaption of Mass Consumer
Culture
When confronted with the impact of a new culture, the
choice facing people is whether they should reject the
new influence, adopt it or adapt it. Where people adopt
a new cultural trait, they take it on board in its entirety,
perhaps abandoning some older tradition or belief to do
so. Where a cultural trait is adapted, it is modified in
Socio-cultural exchanges
16.9 Although American in origin, McDonald's 31,000 fast food
restaurants are now found in 119 countries. This example is one of
many McDonald's outlets in Moscow, Russia.
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16.10 Perhaps imitation is a sincere form of flattery; this is a fast-food
outlet in Yangon, Myanmar.
16.11 A McTurco meal in a McDonald's restaurant in Istanbul,
Turkey.
16.12 The menu of a McDonald's restaurant in Mumbai, India.
Note the vegetarian options near the top of the menu.
Furthermore, McDonald’s itself is a good example of
QUESTION BLOCK 16C
reverse adaptation, where mass consumer culture has
changed to become more easily accepted by local people. 1.! Explain the difference between cultural adoption and
cultural adaptation.
It is possible to buy teriyaki burgers at McDonald’s
outlets in Japan, McLaks (a grilled salmon sandwich) in
2.! Define ‘reverse adaptation’, and give an example of it.
Norway, and ayran (a chilled yogurt drink) and McTurcos
in Turkey (figure 16.11). In India, the burgers are made
3.! What does the term ‘hybridisation’ of cultures mean?
from mutton and are called Maharaja Macs, as Hindus
will not eat beef and Muslims will not eat pork. In addition, as many Hindus in India are vegetarian, McDonald’s
offer a spicy vegetarian patty made of potatoes and peas
called a McAloo Tikki (figure 16.12).
Transnational Corporations (TNCs)
Consumerism and Culture
Because of the adaptability of cultures, globalisation has
not resulted in all places becoming the same, although
there is certainly greater mixing (or hybridisation) of
cultures. Cultural diffusion is not a new process, and
although the pace of cultural change is accelerating, the
impact is uneven across the world – some places are more
accepting of global cultural changes while others are more
resistant.
A transnational corporation (TNC) is a company that
operates in several (or even many) different countries.
According to the Instituto del Tercer Mundo, there are
about 37,000 major transnational corporations with some
170,000 subsidiaries (local representative companies)
in the world. Of these corporations, about 200 of them
control the bulk of world trade. The growing influence of
these top 200 TNCs is shown by their increasing share of
world Gross Domestic Product, which has increased from
17% in the mid-1960s to 24% in 1982 and 33% in 1995.
Although new figures have not been reliably estimated
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since that time, it is reasonable to assume that the
percentage has continued to increase. In 1995, when they
controlled 33% of world GDP, the same 200 corporations
also controlled 76% of world trade.
cultural backgrounds (figure 16.13). When these companies establish in developing countries, they usually
charge prices that are similar to those charged in the
United States, which means prices are much higher than
local food restaurants. However, they often establish a
All 200 of the largest TNCs have headquarters in just nine very fashionable image of exotic ‘foreign’ American food
countries, all located within the tripolar core zone that
that encourages local residents to spend a significant prowas discussed in chapter 12. Japan hosts the headquarportion of a weekly salary on a single meal. Compared
ters of 62 of them, while others are found in the United
with many local food outlets, the fast-food TNCs are
States (53), Germany (23), France (19), United Kingdom
clean and safe, and this encourages local people to change
(11), Switzerland (8), South Korea (6), Italy (5) and the
their dietary habits and eat there. As the fast-food TNCs
Netherlands (4).
tend to sell food that has a much higher fat content than
local food, this is beginning to lead to problems of obesity
Manufacturing and petroleum companies hold many of
and lack of fitness among people who dine at the outlets
the top positions in UNCTAD´s annual ranking of the
world’s 25 largest non-financial TNCs, even though TNCs frequently.
in service industries have become increasingly important
since 2000. In general, the larger TNCs from LEDCs tend
to operate in a broader range of industries than TNCs
from MEDCs, the most important industries being electronics and computers, petroleum and telecommunications.
Transnational corporations often have a wide-ranging
impact in many countries, taking their production
methods into a variety of economies and cultures. For
example, one author describes the activities of Nike in
the following words:
“Nike, the athletic footwear marketer, used to own manufacturing plants in the United States and United Kingdom, but presently subcontracts 100% of its production capacity to suppliers
in South and East Asia. The geography of Nike’s production
partnerships has evolved over time, a change powered in part
by changing labour costs in Asia. Initially, production of Nike
shoes took place in Japan. Soon, subcontracting agreements
diffused factories in South Korea and Taiwan. Presently, those
partnerships are diminishing in importance as labour costs rise
and new networks of subcontractors become established in Indonesia, Malaysia and China where workers involved in shoe
production are paid about one-thirtieth of the wage their counterparts make, working for other companies, in the United
States”.
16.13 A not-entirely-official KFC restaurant in Moscow, Russia.
It should also be recognised that fast-food TNCs have
adapted to local conditions in many countries where
they operate while retaining their American image. The
adaptations to McDonald’s menus was discussed in the
previous section. The operations of the TNCs also adapt
to local conditions where appropriate. For example,
figure 16.14 shows the home delivery vehicles for Pizza
Hut in Shenzhen, China. In a country where private
motor vehicles are uncommon and bicycles are used
more often, the pizzas are delivered in insulated boxes
on the backs of bicycles.
For many TNCs involved in manufacturing, the attraction
of operating in economically less developed countries
is low labour costs. Ironically, the attraction of TNCs
involved in retailing to the same countries is the increasing wealth and spending power of the population as the
economy grows and develops. Because of the widening
gap between rich and poor in many developing countries,
it is seldom the same people who would, for example, eat
in an American fast food outlet in China as would work
in an American shoe factory in China.
Fast-food TNCs have been especially vigorous in establishing themselves in many countries. Usually, these
fast-food corporations are US-based, and they have established operations in many countries with quite different
Socio-cultural exchanges
16.14 Part of the fleet of bicycles used for home delivery of pizzas in
Shenzhen, China.
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The study of geography first began because people were
fascinated by the differences between places and the
desire to explain those differences. The homogenisation
of landscapes dilutes these differences, although it does
not eliminate them. Because of the interaction between
cultures, there is no longer a clear and simple correlation
between culture and place. In today’s world, there are
very few ‘pure’, untainted cultures remaining, and it
seems likely that this process will continue into the foreseeable future. Rather than remaining resistant to change,
most cultures in the world today are open to change
(willingly or otherwise), leading to hybridisation and
homogenisation.
QUESTION BLOCK 16D
1.! Using relevant figures, describe the importance of
transnational corporations in the world today.
2.! Explain why transnational corporations may have a
significant impact on cultures in many parts of the world.
Socio-cultural Integration
Homogenisation and Dilution of Culture
It is a common claim that ‘places everywhere are becoming the same’. The claim arises from seeing people in
many diverse places wearing similar blue jeans, brandname trainers and drinking cola from a metal can. The
claim also arises from the perception that cities around
the world are losing their individuality and character,
and taking on a uniform anonymous ‘international’ appearance. The trend towards uniformity in the character
of different places is known as homogenisation of landscapes.
When culture contacts occur, they are often caused by the
actions of powerful international corporations or media
interests. In both cases, a common outcome is that the
economies of developing countries become more dependent on the developed world.
In general, homogenisation of landscapes also means
‘westernisation’ of place, or taking on the features of a
European or North American landscape. This process
does not refer only to buildings, but also to the shops
and services found in cities around the world. Thus, fast
food outlets and brand-name clothing outlets can now be
found in many countries around the world, either in their
authentic form or in an adapted or ‘pirated’ form. The
inspiration for such shops is more likely to be a western
cartoon, television show or corporation than the traditional culture of the country (figure 16.15).
16.15 This
restaurant in
Beijing (China)
markets itself
in an overtly
American way
to increase its
appeal to young
people, for
whom ‘American’ equals
‘cool’ or ‘modern’. There is
no evidence
here whatsoever
of China’s long
history of food
traditions.
16.16 A Buddhist monk
walks past a
shop advertising Disney
home videos in
Yangon,
Myanmar.
Foreign media
programmes
were banned
until recently
in Myanmar
because of the
negative effects
they might have
on local people.
When television programs made in one country are
beamed into other countries with different cultural
priorities, the values portrayed often have a great impact
on the population (figure 16.16). Values that are taken for
granted by children in the United States may be culturally
challenging to a child in China, India, Tanzania, or even
in Australia or Canada. However, because American
culture is perceived in many countries as the road to
wealth and affluence, these values can sometimes be
accepted somewhat uncritically.
The imposition of other cultures is often sustained
through advertising which supports foreign investment
and economic activity (figures 16.17 and 16.18). Such
advertising usually has one of two aims. One possibility
is to portray a foreign product as part of the local culture
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in the hope that this will speed up acceptance of it. Such
advertising aims to achieve the objective where children
in Japan and Dubai perceive McDonald’s as being
Japanese or Arab.
The second possibility is to achieve the opposite of
portraying a product as part of the local culture. Sometimes, it is the exotic foreign nature of a product that is
highlighted in the hope that people will embrace this as
an improvement over what they have traditionally used.
An example of this is the advertising by transnational
corporations promoting the use of infant feeding
formulas or packaged foods in LEDCs (figure 16.19). The
desire by young mothers to be ‘modern’ has led many to
abandon breastfeeding, leading to poorer nutrition of
infants and sometimes fatal disease such as diarrhoea.
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passive attitude. For example, when Australian Aboriginal people send each other Christmas cards with scenes
that feature snow, or when maps of the world are drawn
with Europe in the centre top, these are commonly
regarded as examples of cultural imperialism.
The term ‘cultural imperialism’ is usually viewed
negatively because it implies an unbalanced power
relationship in which the culture of a stronger or more
powerful nation or society suppresses the culture of a
smaller or weaker society. Thus, powerful Western
governments are capable of cultural imperialism that
negatively affects people in many LEDCs, but almost all
the people of LEDCs do not have the power required to
exercise cultural imperialism in the opposite direction.
Similarly, some observers claim that in today’s globalised
world, agencies such as the World Bank, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the WTO (World Trade
Organisation) are also agents of cultural imperialism.
16.17 Advertising for Coca-Cola, which is an American product, in
Ulaan Bataar, the capital city of Mongolia.
16.19 The message of this sign to African mothers in Djibouti is in
French, and says 'Blédina helps your baby to grow well — and makes
your life easier!".
Because the term ‘cultural imperialism’ has negative
overtones, it is difficult to provide examples of it that
people of all persuasions will accept. For example, many
Palestinians assert that Israel’s policies towards the
Palestinian homelands reflect cultural imperialism, but
few Israelis would agree. Similarly, many West Papuans
accuse Indonesia of cultural imperialism in Irian Jaya, but
few Indonesians from Java or Sumatra would agree.
16.18 Another example of Coca-Cola advertising in an environment
that is very different from its origins — in rural Djibouti.
Where either of the two aims of advertising are followed,
however, local people’s perception of their own culture
is challenged, diminished or modified in a way that encourages another foreign culture to emerge in a more
dominant position.
With the dominance of English language around the
world today and the decline of many minority languages,
some commentators accuse native speakers of English of
cultural imperialism if they refuse to learn and use other
languages. English may also be an agent of cultural imperialism if it disempowers non-native speakers in important areas of business and commerce (figure 16.20).
It is not only landscapes and economies that are becoming more similar, but cultures and attitudes also. In many
When one culture is imposed upon another, a process
known as cultural imperialism is said to occur. Cultural countries, hybridisation of cultures is occurring as
imperialism can be a deliberate, active, formal policy, or it traditional cultures take on values and aspects of other
cultures with which they have come into contact. In
may be nothing more tangible than a general active or
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become politically dependent, national sovereignty can
be threatened by economic forces today. Where powerful
transnational corporations operate in a country, a nation
may find itself dealing with a company that is financially
larger than the country itself. In such cases, countries are
vulnerable to the wishes of companies who can threaten
to sack local workers or even withdraw operations from a
country completely if they do not get what they want.
16.20 Advertising in Ulaan Bataar (Mongolia) to encourage people to
learn English. As English has become the international language of
business, some argue that language is a form of cultural imperialism.
A geographer, David Harvey, attempted to give reasons
for the cultural homogenisation that is occurring in the
world today. Harvey argued that because business interests are competitive by nature, investors are constantly
searching for new places where a profit can be made more
rapidly than elsewhere. Harvey called this waiting time
for a profit the turnover time of capital.
Harvey argued that the search for shorter and shorter
turnover times of capital is the real cause of the shrinkage
of time-space. He said this shrinkage is quite different
from the time-space convergence that was described in
chapter 13. Time-space convergence involves physical
travel between two points, but the shortening of the turnover time for capital does not. Therefore, Harvey devised
the term time-space compression to describe the reduced
turnover time for capital. The process of time-space
compression can be measured by the declining cost of
travel and communications, as shown in table 16.1.
Table 16.1
Declining Cost of Transport and Communications
1920 to 2010 (all figures in 1990 $US)
Sea Freight
Year
16.21 A man in Yangon (Myanmar) walks beneath a huge
advertisement for music that is anything but traditional. The appeal
of western culture is obvious.
some countries, traditional cultures are sustained mainly
through the economic value of tourism.
One aspect of culture that is becoming more uniform as
a result of globalisation is music (figure 16.21). Modern
western music is associated with progress and antiestablishmentism in the minds of many young people,
and at times rebellion. This has led to the wide acceptance of modern music around the world. Furthermore, it
has led many bands and musicians to try and copy the
style, abandoning their own cultural traditions. In some
cases, musicians have tried to combine their indigenous
sounds with western music, and this results in a modification of traditional culture rather than its abandonment.
In the same way that colonialism during the 1800s threatened the sovereignty of nations that were forced to
(average
ocean
freight and
port
charges per
tonne)
Air
Transport
Telephone
Call
Computers
(average
revenue per
passenger
kilometre)
(3 minutes,
New York
to London)
(index 1990
= 100)
1920
95
-
-
-
1930
60
0.42
245
-
1940
63
0.29
189
-
1950
34
0.19
53
-
1960
27
0.15
46
12,500
1970
27
0.10
32
1,947
1980
24
0.06
5
362
1990
29
0.07
3
100
2000
22
0.05
0.20
42
2010
19
0.04
0.05
26
Source: United Nations Development Program, updated.
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Marshall McLuhan defined changes in cultures as
detraditionalisation. Followers of David Harvey would
argue that detraditionalisation is the result of local social
practices being overwhelmed by foreign business and
economic interests. The electronic media and developments in telecommunications have served to strengthen
the power of business interests to impose their ideas and
values on traditional cultures.
However, not all geographers agree with Harvey’s
analysis of corporate power. Some geographers argue
that culture contact is not all one-sided, and that people
from the dominant western culture are being influenced
by concepts from other cultures. Examples of this include
acceptance of Japanese management practices in many
western companies, and the adoption of aspects of eastern religions by youth in developed countries searching
for new meaning.
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During the 16th to 19th centuries a forced diaspora
occurred in the form of the slave trade in which an
estimated 12 million Africans were transported to North
America, South America and the Caribbean to work as
forced labourers for British, Dutch, Portuguese and other
European land owners on plantations growing crops such
as sugar and cotton (figures 16.22 and 16.23). The slave
trade not only created an African diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean but led directly to the development
and spread of the concepts of racial differences and racial
inferiority, not only among the slave-owning élites but
among the Africans and Arabs who sold the enslaved
people to the Europeans.
QUESTION BLOCK 16E
1.! What is meant by the term ‘homogenisation’ of landscapes?
2.! Explain why homogenisation of landscapes usually results
in the westernisation of local cultures.
3.! Give some examples from your own knowledge of ways in
which music (a) builds bridges between cultures, and (b)
erodes individual cultures.
16.22 One of the many fortresses on the coast of Ghana (West Africa)
from which European traders sent thousands of captured men and
women to the Caribbean and the Americas as slave labour.
4.! Explain how the concept ‘time-space compression’ differs
from ‘time-space convergence’.
5.! The contact between cultures is often portrayed as a
destructive process. How can contact between cultures be
constructive instead?
The Role of Diasporas in Preserving Culture
A diaspora is the scattering or dispersal of a community
of people or a cultural group from its homeland to other
parts of the world. The term was first used to describe
the dispersal of Jewish people, but has since been used to
describe the spread of many cultural groups such as the
Irish, the Italians, Africans, Indians and various Pacific
Islander groups. In general, the people of a diaspora
share a common cultural and/or geographic origin, and
although spread across many new areas, retain a strong
sense sense of identity and common background.
The Jewish diaspora is found across the world, with
concentrations in the US, Russia and South Africa that
reflect historic migrations. The Indian diaspora is found
in places such as southern and eastern Africa, Fiji, Singapore, Myanmar, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The
Irish diaspora has particular concentrations in the United
States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. An
Indo-Chinese diaspora from Vietnam and Cambodia has
concentrations in Australia and the west coast of the USA.
Socio-cultural exchanges
16.23 A memorial to the suffering imposed by slavery at the site of the
former slave market in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
The slave trade created a connection between people on
both sides of the Atlantic ocean and was thus an important agent of globalisation and cultural diffusion. One
of the after-effects of slavery has been the rise of the
Rastafari movement and the creation of yet another
diaspora, that of Jamaicans returning to Africa.
The Rastafari Movement (also known as Rastafarianism,
or Rasta) began in the slums of Jamaica in the 1930s when
a Jamaican born black nationalist, Marcus Garvey, began
calling on the descendants of slaves to take pride in their
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African heritage. Garvey began to speak in religious
terms, telling prophesies about a black king who would
be crowned in Africa, and who would be a redeemer
and liberator of the dispossessed black race. When the
Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie was crowned emperor in
November 1930, many people believed that Garvey’s
prophesy had come true. Haile Selassie was also known
as Ras Tafari Makonnen, from which the name ‘Rastafari’
derives. Haile Selassie took on a vast array of titles
including ‘Conquering lion of the tribe of Judah, Elect of
God and King of the kings of Ethiopia’, and the descendants of slaves in Jamaica started to see Ethiopia as their
promised land.
Following the crowning of Haile Selassie in Ethiopia, the
Rastafari movement in Jamaica began to develop as a
religion. Black people were called upon to follow a path
towards truth and reject the power of modern, oppressive
white society (which they called ‘Babylon’) which was
seen as rebelling against God, who was identified by the
name Jah.
During the 1930s, six principles of the Rastafari movement emerged which still hold today:
• hatred for the white race;
• the complete superiority of the black race;
• getting revenge for the wickedness of white peoples;
• opposition to and humiliation of the government and
all legal bodies of Jamaica;
• return to Africa (especially Ethiopia, which is ‘the
Promised Land’); and
• acknowledging the former Ethiopian Emperor Haile
Selassie as the supreme being (living god) and only
ruler of black people.
16.24 The rules for entry to a Rastafari tabernacle in Shashemene,
Ethiopia.
During the 1950s and 1960s, several additional Rastafari
principles emerged:
• smoking cannabis (ganja) was seen as a spiritual act
that brings a person closer to Jah;
• alcohol was to be avoided, as it is seen as a tool of white
oppression;
• dietary guidelines were adopted that avoided pork,
milk and coffee;
• wearing hair in dreadlocks was seen as a symbol of the
mane of the lion of Judah (the Emperor Haile Selassie);
• the use of certain distinctive words was adopted, such
as ‘upfulness’ (which means being helpful), ‘overstanding’ (as a higher form of ‘understanding’) ‘irie’ (to describe positive feelings, acceptance, or anything that is
good), ‘inity’ (which means unity), and ‘downpression’
(which means oppression, but emphasises the downwards pressure applied by a powerful person to suppress a victim);
• women were forbidden from wearing trousers; and
• the use of reggae music, especially the music of Bob
Marley, who is revered in Rastafari circles, was used to
express mood and power (figure 16.24).
16.25 Many symbols of the Rastafari Movement are on display in this
tabernacle in Shashemene, Ethiopia, including portraits of Emperor
Haile Selassie, the colours of the Movement, a shrine to cannabis, and
pictures of the Lion of Judah.
During the mid-20th century, a large migration of
Rastafari Jamaicans occurred to several overseas destinations, notably the United Kingdom, the United States,
and South Africa. However, the largest migration of the
Rastafari diaspora was from Jamaica to Ethiopia, and this
took place due to a combination of three factors. First,
racial relations were quite tense in Jamaica between the
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British colonial rulers and the black descendants of
former slaves. This was due to a range of British colonial
government policies that local people believed were
racist. Second, more people became aware of Marcus
Garvey’s teachings, especially his ideas that Blacks of the
Diaspora could never prosper in countries governed by
whites, and that therefore they must migrate to Africa
to contribute to the creation of a strong Black-governed
nation. Third, the crowning of Emperor Haile Selassie
in Ethiopia seemed to fulfil Garvey’s prophesy: “Look to
Africa, to the crowning of a Black King that will be the
Redemptor” (figure 16.25).
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following year, although many Rastafari believed he
was immortal and thus never died. Nonetheless, because
the Rastafari were so closely associated with the former
emperor, almost 98% of the land grant was confiscated
by the new hard-line socialist government that came to
power, and they were left with a mere 12 hectares in
Shashemene. During the 1980s, persecution of the Rasta
community caused its numbers in Shashemene to shrink
to just 50 people (figure 16.27).
In adoration of Haile Selassie as a living god, the
Rastafari in Jamaica declared themselves to be free citizens of Ethiopia, pledging loyalty to the Emperor and the
Ethiopian flag, even adopting its colours of red, yellow
and green as the colours of the Rastafari Movement.
16.28 The Nyahbinghi Rastafari Tabernacle in Shashemene, Ethiopia.
Since then, numbers have grown once again, and today
about 300 Rasta families live in Shashemene, but they
experience widespread discrimination. The Rastafari
diaspora is a highly visible group in Shashemene with
their brightly coloured clothes, loud reggae music, dreadlocked hair, and widespread marijuana smoking (figure
16.28). Although a few have opened shops, hotels and
businesses in Shashemene, most of the Rastafari stay
segregated from the general community, living in walled
compounds where they can play reggae music and smoke
marijuana without outside interference (figure 16.29).
16.26 The main street in Shashemene, Ethiopia.
16.27 Two Rastas, a priest and his wife, in Shashemene, Ethiopia.
During the 1950s and the subsequent decades, large
numbers of Rastas migrated from Jamaica to Ethiopia,
establishing a community in the town of Shashemene
(about 250 kilometres south of the country’s capital,
Addis Ababa), where Haile Selassie gave the Rastafari a
grant of 500 hectares of land in 1948 (figure 16.26). The
situation deteriorated for the Rastafari in Ethiopia, however, when Haile Selassie was overthrown in a military
coup in 1974. Army officers murdered Haile Selassie the
Socio-cultural exchanges
16.29 The wall and gate of the compound of the Twelve Tribes of Israel
Rastafari community in Shashemene, Ethiopia.
Ethiopian citizenship was taken away from the Jamaican
settlers during the socialist period of the 1970s, and the
loss of citizenship and loss of land continues to upset the
Rastafari diaspora in Ethiopia. Although the Government
is examining the possibility of granting citizenship to
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Rastafari who have lived in Ethiopia for four years or
more, restoring land that had been confiscated is almost
impossible, as it was reallocated to local Ethiopians who
have been using it for several decades for farming.
nities object strongly to the Rasta claims that the former
Emperor Haile Selassie was a divine figure who is worthy
of worship. On the other hand, most people in the
Christian and Muslim communities do acknowledge that
the Rastafari are peaceful people who seldom cause any
Nonetheless, the presence of the Rastafari community has disturbances or problems. They also acknowledge the
had some impact on the local population. For example,
good work done by people such as Rita Marley, widow of
the Rastafari demand for marijuana has created an
the musician Bob Marley, who joined with local Rastafari
expanding market for the crop with rising prices, and
aid workers to fund a school and a clinic in Shashemene.
some local farmers have replaced their cultivation of
potatoes with marijuana growing to supply the Rastafari. Q U E S T I O N B L O C K 1 6 F
The Rasta presence also provokes debate among local
1.! What is meant by the term ‘diaspora’?
people about the nature of the former Emperor Haile
Selassie. Many Ethiopians see the former ruler as an
2.! Identify some major diasporas in the world today.
autocratic and somewhat cruel absolute ruler, and
3.! What caused the African diaspora that is seen today in
certainly not the divine being that the Rastafari claim.
North and South America, and the Caribbean?
Overall however, the impact of the Rastafari diaspora on
the host society in Shashemene has been minimal because 4.! What are the main features of the Rastafari Movement?
the gap between Rasta culture and the culture of the host 5.! How did the rise of the Rastafari Movement lead to a
society is so great — in spite of their original common
Jamaican diaspora in Ethiopia?
African origins. Most of the Ethiopians in the Shashe6.! Describe the role of the Rastafari diaspora in Ethiopia in
mene area are conservative Orthodox Christians or
preserving culture.
Muslims. As such, they do not condone the marijuana
smoking by the Rastafari or the reggae music they play.
7.! To what extent has the host society in Ethiopia adopted
Furthermore, both the Christian and the Muslim commutraits of the Rastafari minority culture?
Sorong
TH
EB
Napido
Manokwari
IRD
’S
140oE
Biak
Island
Bosnik
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Biak
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Yapen
Island
Sarmi
be
am
M
Serui
m
ra
N
JA
YA
Kaimana
-M
AL
UK
U
Wissel
Lakes
Japakopra
IIaga
Tembayapura
Region
inhabited by
the Dani
Wamena
JAYA
WIJAYA
Timika
ER
5S
Enarotali
BO
RD
o
Bokondini
Nabire
MOUNTA
INS
er
IA
Genyem
River
5oS
Riv
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o
SERAM
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RANGE
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(Agats)
ARU
ISLANDS
ARAFURA
SEA
N
0
KILOMETRES
100
200
li
Ba
Tanahmerah
Birufu
Birab
Sudarsa
Island
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
135oE
Merauke
140oE
135oE
16.30 Map of Irian Jaya, showing the location of the area inhabited by Dani people in darker green.
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Case Study of Socio-Cultural Integration — the
Dani People of Irian Jaya
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Temperatures do not change very much through the year
because the region is so close to the equator. During the
day, temperatures average about 20˚C, although they
often drop below freezing point at night because the air
is so thin. Snowfalls are common, and several peaks are
capped in snow throughout the year.
The western half of the island of New Guinea is part of
Indonesia. Known as Irian Jaya, it is the eastern-most
province of Indonesia, and it is home to the Dani people
who live in the Highlands of the province (figure 16.30).
They are found in the valleys of the rivers which cut deep Q U E S T I O N B L O C K 1 6 G
valleys through the forest-covered mountains. Altogether 1.! Describe in words the location and type of country where
there are about 194,000 Dani people, 100,000 living along
the Dani people live.
the Baliem River which flows to the south and the rest
along tributaries of the Mamberamo River which flows
2.! In what ways is the biophysical environment of the Dani
to the north.
harsh?
The Dani were one of the last large groups of people to be
‘discovered’ by the outside world. Their existence was
unknown by outsiders until a group of American adventurers , led by Richard Archbold, flew over the Baliem
Valley in 1938. The fliers were astonished to find compact
villages, neat gardens and well developed irrigation systems (figure 16.31). Since the 1950s, contacts with outside
cultures have increased, although the Dani remain quite
isolated because of the rugged terrain of the Highlands.
Pre-contact Dani life
Before contact with the outside world, the Dani people
lived a very traditional lifestyle that was heavily dependent on their biophysical environment. Unlike people in
industrialised nations, the Dani did not have (and still do
not have) the resources to change their surroundings on a
large scale. Therefore, the Dani live within the confines
of their environment rather than live by changing their
environment.
When outsiders made first contact with the Dani people,
one of the first things they noticed was the traditional
Dani style of clothing. The Dani wear surprisingly little
clothing given the cold nights experienced in the Highlands. Women wear little more than a grass skirt, sometimes with a string carry bag over their backs. The string
bag is used as protection against the sun, for warmth and
for carrying food and small children. Men wear little
more than a penis sheath made from the dried fruit of the
gourd vine. Ornaments such as arm bands or ‘neckties’
made from shells are sometimes worn, especially on festival occasions (figure 16.32). All the materials for clothing worn by both men and women were traditionally
grown in the village or gathered from the nearby forests.
16.31 An oblique aerial view of the Baliem Valley. This is similar to
the view that amazed Richard Archbold in 1938.
The biophysical environment of the Dani people
The biophysical environment of the Irian Jaya Highlands
is a difficult one — harsh and unforgiving. Although
there are rich, fertile soils in the wide floodplain of the
Baliem River, most of the region has steeply sided valleys
where is almost no flat land to grow food. On the
hillsides, soils are shallow and stony, and they have few
nutrients. The Dani people are farmers, so the poor soils
are a major problem for them.
Rainfall in the Highlands is very heavy. Like mountain
ranges anywhere in the world, orographic rain falls as
the moving air is forced to rise and cool down. Average
annual rainfall varies from 2,000 to 2,500 mm. This
heavy rainfall causes leaching of the soils, washing away
minerals and nutrients. It also leads to soil erosion and
gullying on steep hillsides.
Socio-cultural exchanges
16.32 A group of men in Miagaima village, dressed for a pig kill
ceremony, wearing traditional penis sheaths together with decorations
such as armbands and head dresses. The black colouring worn by some
comprises charcoal mixed with pig fat.
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The lifestyle of traditional Dani people centred on the
growing of food. Unlike most traditional groups in New
Guinea, which practised shifting cultivation, the Dani
practised sedentary agriculture. This means that the
same land was cultivated year after year, rather than
being abandoned for a new plot. Sedentary agriculture
meant that land could be individually owned, intensively
farmed and neatly laid out, using a complex system of
irrigation channels (figure 16.33). Farming plots were
surrounded by fences with sharp spikes on top to keep
wandering pigs out of the gardens.
16.35 During this
pig kill ceremony,
the men have
pierced the pig's
heart with an arrow,
and are now pumping the heart with
their feet to hasten
death.
16.33 A sweet potato garden under cultivation beside the Baliem
River, with the irrigation channels clearly visible.
16.36 A group of men butcher the pig using bamboo and bone knives,
and stone axes. The pieces of pig meat are wrapped in banana leaves
for cooking.
16.34 Most farming is done by Dani women. This woman is using a
digging stick to cultivate sweet potatoes.
The pig-kill ceremony was the centre of traditional Dani
life. Traditionally they were held only once every three
to six years and long preparations were required. On the
day of the pig kill, the men of the host village would
The main crop grown was the sweet potato and after the
initial clearing of the land, work in the fields was usually
done by the women (figure 16.34). Sweet potatoes are
high in starch and need to be supplemented with protein
to make a balanced diet. Although some protein came
from hunting small birds and marsupials, most protein
came from the raising of pigs. Pigs were a measure of a
person’s wealth, and so they were rarely killed except at
large ceremonies. As a result, women and children often
suffered from malnutrition, as they usually received
much less pig meat at the feasts than the men. Pig kill
ceremonies were held to mark births, deaths, marriages,
and to make pre-battle magic, to cure illnesses and to
make peace after war.
16.37 Young men and women dance during the pig kill celebrations.
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Plato’s Cave and Enlightenment.
If the purpose of education is enlightenment and the development of wisdom, then by the time you finish your IB
studies in Geography you will hopefully
be well on the road towards acquiring
both.
The ancient Greek philosopher, Plato,
tried to explain how education leads to
enlightenment. He said that knowledge
is “justified true belief”, which he
explained in his tripartite (or three-part)
theory of knowledge, as follows:
.... a person ‘S’ knows proposition ‘P’ if
and only if:
1. P is true
2. S believes P
3. S is justified in believing P.
Plato said that all three points are necessary and sufficient conditions for
knowledge. Almost everyone (except a
hardened relativist) would accept the
first two points. However, many people
debate the precise form and degree of
justification required for the third point.
Plato tried to explain what it means to
be truly educated and enlightened in his
most famous book, The Republic. In that
book, Plato used the image of a cave, as
follows:
Imagine a group of prisoners who are
chained together in an underground
cave. They have lived all their lives in
that position, chained to face the wall
of the cave in front of them.
Behind them is a blazing fire that
provides light, and between the fire and
the prisoners, there is a bridge with a
safety wall. As people pass across the
bridge, they will cast shadows on the
wall in front of the prisoners, somewhat
like shadow puppets. Some of them
walk across the bridge talking, while
others walk in silence.
The prisoners will see the shadows of
the passing people, and they will hear
their voices echoing from the wall.
Because this is all they have ever experienced, they will assume that the shadows and the echoes are truth and reality.
If one of the prisoners was released, we
can imagine he would stand up and
turn around. When he saw the fire for
the first time, he would probably be in
great pain because of the strong glare,
and he would take some time to process
the realities that he was now seeing
compared with the realities he had
known all his life. Eventually, however,
he would understand that the things he
thought were realities were, in fact,
illusions.
If the prisoner was then dragged up a
steep and rugged tunnel to the earth’s
surface, he would suffer another round
of pain when confronted by the glare of
the sun. However, when his eyes had
adjusted, he would start to see a new
reality, first in the shadows, then actual
objects, and eventually in the whole
cosmos of the moon, the sky and the
stars. Last of all, he would be able to see
the sun, and begin to understand the
importance of the sun in causing many
of the other things he was seeing.
Eventually, he would be able to take in
a deeper reality than anything he had
ever known in the cave, either while
he was chained or after he had been
released. He would come to understand
that the sun was the cause of day and
night, the seasons and the life that he
dress in their finest outfits and would take turns to shoot
arrows into the heart of a pig (figure 16.35). While the pig
was dying, a fire would be started and the cooking rocks
heated. Then the pig would be butchered using stone
axes and bamboo knives, with the pieces wrapped in
banana palm leaves (figure 16.36). When the stones were
hot, they would be removed from the fire using wooden
tongs and placed into an underground pit, together with
Socio-cultural exchanges
was witnessing, and he would start to
form hypotheses, explanations and
reasons to explain what he was experiencing.
Moreover, if the former prisoner was
subsequently led back into the cave, he
would almost certainly take pity on his
fellow prisoners, because he would understand that even if he tried to explain
what he had seen, they could never
fully understand. Having experienced
enlightenment, the former prisoner
would probably rather suffer anything
than return to the false notion of truth
he was living under previously and
return to live in this miserable manner.
And yet, when he returned to the gloom
of the cave, the other prisoners would
notice that the man who had been to the
surface would not be able to see clearly
because his eyes had now adjusted to
the light of the world above. The other
prisoners would claim that he had
returned without his vision, and that it
would be better not even to think of
ascending from the familiarity of the
cave.
The message of Plato’s allegory of the
cave is that one must make the uncomfortable ascent from the gloom of ignorance if one is to become enlightened.
The next ToK BoX is on page 649.
the pieces of pig and vegetables such as sweet potato.
During the four to six hours that the food was cooking,
dancing, singing and games would take place (figure
16.37). Eventually, after night had fallen, the pig would
be eaten, first by the men, then by the women and
children who would eat the remains (figure 16.38).
Because the women received only the ‘left-over’ pig meat,
they were poorly nourished compared with the men in
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16.38 After the pig meat has been cooked underground using hot
rocks, the meat is distributed, first to the men, followed by the women
and children as shown here.
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the fields. Men lived in separate houses from the women
and children and the houses for both genders were
always two storey. The lower level had an earth floor,
covered with grass, and was used as a living and cooking
area. There was a fire in the centre which filled the hut
with smoke for warmth. The upper level, which had a
bamboo floor, was for sleeping and (in the case of men’s
huts) for storing valuable or sacred objects. Dani huts
had no chimney, so the smoke built up in the huts, eventually seeping out through open doors or through the
thatched roofs. Dani people therefore spent most nights
inhaling smoke from the fires, and this caused serious
health problems (figure 16.40). The average life
expectancy of Dani people (even today) is only 38 years
as many die from pneumoconiosis. This is similar to the
disease suffered by coal miners called ‘black lung disease’
when the alveoli of the lungs become clogged with
carbon soot.
16.39 Typical Dani huts have conical roofs and are surrounded by
the gardens so that people do not waste time or effort walking long
distances to the fields. The irrigation ditch can be seen clearly in the
right foreground.
16.40 Smoke from the fire in the men's hut collects in the upper part of
the hut where the men sleep at night. The black carbon deposits on the
walls indicate the unhealthy interior environment of Dani huts.
traditional times. Through the pig-kill ceremony, the
Dani’s culture, ceremonies, wealth and nutrition were
linked together.
Traditionally, the Dani people lived in round timber
houses with round grass roofs (figure 16.39). Huts were
almost always situated immediately beside the food
gardens so that no time was wasted going to and from
16.41 Traditional vine and timber suspension bridges such as this one
over the Baliem River at Wamena are still found throughout the Dani
territory.
Before outside contact, walking was the only means of
land transport used by the Dani. A dense network of
walking tracks criss-crossed the Dani territory. Small
bridges of timber or vines spanned rivers and streams,
while small bridges of logs crossed irrigation canals (fig-
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ure 16.41). In order to cross a large river such as the
Baliem, logs were strapped together into a raft, with the
passengers standing up as the raft was paddled across
the river.
An important part of traditional Dani life was ritual
warfare. Watchtowers were built in each Dani village
(figure 16.42). While the women gardened, the men
would keep watch in case a surprise attack should come.
Fighting used spears, bows and arrows. However, the
purpose of the fighting was not to take territory or to
kill the opposition. The fighting was done for the sheer
enjoyment and excitement. Normally, a battle would not
last more than a single day, and would normally end
16.43 A 350 year old smoked mummy in Pummo village.
when first person had been killed — this would determine the winner of the battle. In some cases, people from 2.! How appropriate is traditional Dani clothing? In your
the winning village would eat the body of the person
answer, consider (a) the climate, and (b) the difficulties of
killed to draw upon his spirit and strength. However,
washing clothes.
this often spread diseases, especially when the brain of
the dead person was eaten. This was because any disease 3.! In what ways was traditional Dani farming quite
suffered by one human can be caught by another, unlike
advanced?
diseases carried by animals to which humans tend to be
4.! What were the main traditional Dani foods? How adequate
immune.
was the traditional Dani diet?
16.42 A defensive watchtower at Miagaima village.
Only a few decades ago,
thousands of such watchtowers covered areas of
Dani settlement. Now
that ritual warfare has
ended, most of the watchtowers have been cut down
and destroyed. Only two
now remain in the Grand
Valley, these having been
re-built as tourist objects.
Note the smoke seeping
through the thatched roof
of the hut with no chimney
in the background.
5.! What advantages were there in using tools made from
locally available raw materials such as stones, bones and
timber?
6.! How did the great pig kill feasts serve to bind together
traditional Dani society?
7.! What were the important traditional Dani measures of
wealth?
8.! Why did the traditional Dani people engage in ritual
warfare?
First contact with the outside world — explorers
and missionaries
For many centuries, the Dani existed in isolation. Some
brief, isolated contacts were made in the early 1900s by
mountain climbers, but these contacts were in the high
The Dani people had a strong and rich culture. The tradi- mountains well away from Dani settlements. Following
Richard Archbold’s ‘discovery’ of the Dani in 1938,
tional religion of the Dani saw the world as being filled
with spirits and ghosts. The Dani made charms to protect several visits were made to Dani villages over the next
themselves from the spirits. A special type of charm was year. Archbold wrote of his travels in the National
Geographic in 1941, and this was the first time most people
the mummified bodies of special people. Many Dani
villages have the mummified remains of great chiefs from were aware of the existence of the Dani people. Archbold
described Dani society as a ‘paradise on earth’.
the past hidden away on the top floors of the men’s
houses. In some cases, these remains may be over 300
World War II, which was fought in South-east Asia from
years old, and are preserved by the smoke which fills the 1941 to 1945, prevented contact with the Dani people for
hut each evening. These mummified bodies are brought
several years. However, several Christian missionary
out only on special occasions (figure 16.43).
groups became interested in the Dani following the
QUESTION BLOCK 16H
1.! Why are traditional Dani houses unhealthy?
Socio-cultural exchanges
National Geographic article, and some groups made contact
in 1950 and 1952. In April 1954, the first missionaries
landed in the Baliem Valley to establish a mission station.
Six years later in 1960, virtually all Dani people were in
contact with one or another missionary group. The
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missionaries opened schools throughout the Dani area
and began medical services, church services and literacy
programs. Unlike government officers, the missionaries
always learned the local language and lived as much as
possible like the local people, and so they were able to
communicate very clearly.
The missionaries came to convert the Dani people to
Christianity. They felt that the traditional Dani people
were ‘lost souls’, and that becoming Christian was the
only way they could have eternal life. By the early 1990s,
almost every village in the Dani area had one or more
mission station attached to it (figure 16.44). It is estimated
that over 80% of Dani people had been converted to
Christianity. In fact, the efforts of the Christian missions
has meant that Irian Jaya has become Indonesia’s only
province where Christianity is the dominant faith. Most
of Indonesia is strongly Muslim.
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much more often, being used to celebrate Christmas,
Easter, baptisms, marriages, the Indonesian Day of
Independence or even the arrival of an important guest.
More frequent pig-kill ceremonies mean that people’s
nutrition has improved, especially in the cases of women
and children. The more frequent ceremonies have also
strengthened the bonds between neighbouring villages,
reducing tensions and the likelihood of conflicts.
16.45 Women sometimes travel for several days to sell their produce at
the markets in Wamena. Travel to the markets has opened up new
channels of communication for Dani people. These days, a mix of
traditional and Western dress is found.
Before contact with outsiders, Dani people seldom
travelled more than a few kilometres from their village.
To have ventured further would have taken them into
territory controlled by another village. The arrival of the
missionaries has broadened the view of Dani people, as
they were made aware for the first time that other people
existed in the world. With the end of ritual warfare,
Dani people now travel long distances without fear of
attack. Women will often travel for several days to sell
their produce in the markets in faraway towns and
villages (figure 16.45). Such travel to markets has opened
Culture contact with the Christian missionaries had
up entire new networks of communication and exgreat impact on the Dani people. When they were first
changes of ideas which never previously existed. The
converted to Christianity in the 1950s, many Dani people missionaries also operate a transport system using light
thought they would change colour and became white. By aircraft. Although mainly intended to take missionaries
the early 1960s, Dani had come to terms with being black in and out of remote areas, the aircraft are also used to
Christians. As a result, many Dani people have adopted
transport ill Dani people out of remote villages in cases of
Christian names such as Moses, Isaac, and even
emergency. Such flights can reduce a three day walk over
Epaphroditus.
snow-capped mountains to a short half-hour flight. This
Unlike missionaries in some parts of Papua New Guinea, can often mean the difference between life and death.
the missionaries in Irian Jaya never insisted that Dani
The missionaries have brought great changes to the
people who had become Christians should wear clothing. traditional pattern of farming. They brought new tools
The missionaries were concerned that clothing would
— shovels, hammers and nails — which could make the
create skin problems for the Dani because it was so hard
traditional lifestyle more efficient. They also brought
to wash clothes properly. Therefore, although some Dani household implements such as saucepans and plastic
people have chosen to adopt Western clothing, many
dishes which made life in the villages easier (figure 16.46).
Dani people today continue to wear traditional clothing.
However, manufactured goods such as these cost money,
16.44 The ‘Dr
Bob Pierce
Memorial
Chapel’ is
attached to a
Protestant
mission conducted by The
Mustard Seed
Incorporated,
Wamena.
Although the missionaries eliminated ritual warfare and
cannibalism, ceremonies such as the pig-kill have continued. However, pig-kill ceremonies now take place
and for the first time Dani people came to see the need to
earn some money. Over time, money has come to replace
pigs as the measure of a person’s wealth.
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Traditionally, the Dani people were subsistence cultivators. In other words, they grew only enough food for
themselves and their immediate families. When the
missionaries arrived, they bought food from the Dani
people, and this led to small markets being established.
The main crop grown by the Dani was the sweet potato.
The missionaries wanted a more diverse diet, so they
handed out seeds to grow vegetables such as cabbages,
tomatoes, carrots, corn and beans. The Dani people then
began eating these vegetables also, and their diet became
more balanced and malnutrition further decreased.
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5.! How has missionary activity affected the traditional great
pig kill feasts?
6.! Why did the Dani abandon ritual warfare?
7.! How did missionary work ‘broaden the perspectives of Dani
people’?
8.! How did the missionaries affect the diet and health of the
Dani people?
9.! Why were the missionaries so keen to make the Dani people
literate?
Indonesian government impact!
The Indonesians took control of Irian Jaya from the Dutch
in 1962. The Indonesians were as different from the Dani
people of Irian Jaya as were the Dutch. Almost the entire
population of Irian Jaya in 1962 were Melanesians, closely
related to the people of Papua New Guinea and other
nations such as the Solomons and Fiji. The only historic
link between Irian Jaya and the rest of Indonesia is that
both were Dutch colonies. Some people argue that Indonesian control of Irian Jaya is an example of colonialism.
16.46 Although living in a traditional hut in a compound near the
mission station at Sinatma, this Dani boy dresses in western clothes
and stands beside his plastic plates and metal can that are drying in
the sun.
Perhaps the biggest impact of the missionaries has been
to change the world view of the Dani people. The main
aim of the missionaries was to lead the Dani into a mature
Christian faith. This meant that the Dani had to learn
how to learn how to read and write, because otherwise
they would not be able to read the Bible or other
Christian literature. Each of the mission stations built a
school, and both children and adults were encouraged to
attend classes to learn basic literacy and numeracy. Over
half the Christian missionaries in Irian Jaya were involved
in translation and literacy programs with local people.
Through education, the Dani have come to learn that the
world is much bigger than they had thought possible.
The Dani still believe the world is full of ghosts and
spirits, but they now see these spirits as being subject to
the higher authority of God.
QUESTION BLOCK 16I
1.! Why did it take until the 1930s for outsiders to learn of the
Dani people?
2.! Why were Christian missionaries attracted to the Dani
people?
3.! How successful were the missionaries in evangelising the
Dani people?
4.! What was the missionaries’ attitude to traditional Dani
dress?
Socio-cultural exchanges
There was some resistance to the Indonesian take-over
by Dani people. In 1977, fighting broke out in the Dani
region. The Dani attacked the Indonesians with bows
and arrows and the Indonesians responded with rockets,
attack aircraft and helicopters to strafe Dani villages.
About 500 Dani people were killed.
In general, the Indonesian officials in Irian Jaya seem to
look down upon the Dani people, seeing them as savages
who are little better than animals. For many years they
tried to ignore the Dani people as much as possible,
and this has helped to preserve their traditional culture.
Travel to and from the Highlands by Dani people is
heavily restricted by the government, and alcohol is
banned from the Dani region by the government leaders,
most of whom are Muslim.
One exception to this ignoring of the Dani concerned the
wearing of clothes. The Indonesians were offended by
the near-nakedness of the Dani, and a campaign was
launched in the early 1970s to get them to wear clothes.
The campaign was called ‘Operation Koteka’, koteka being
the Indonesian word for ‘tail’, an insulting term for the
penis sheath worn by Dani men. The Dani were usually
too proud of their traditions to abandon their traditional
clothing, and as they despised the Indonesians, the
campaign failed. They resented the insulting comments
about their traditional clothing and if anything, Operation
Koteka encouraged Dani people to continue wearing
traditional dress as a sign of defiance against what they
saw as cultural imperialism.
Nonetheless, by the mid-1980s, the Indonesian government felt the need to try once again to improve the life of
the Dani people. The authorities were concerned about
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the short life expectancy of the Dani, many of whom
were dying in their late 30s from pneumoconiosis. The
government began building Western-style square houses
for nuclear families (figure 16.47). Most Dani people
rejected these houses and have often built traditional
houses beside them. Then they use the square houses for
storing books or clothes or as animal shelter. They do
not like the square houses because they are too cold- the
metal roofs let out the heat at night and the smoke
escapes through the doors and windows.
The Indonesians have had some influence on the Dani
diet. In an effort to make the Dani people more Indonesian, new crops such as rice and new animals such as
water buffalo were introduced. Most Dani people have
not adopted these new foods because they cannot attach
any wealth or prestige to them. Dani people see chickens
and goats as something to sell rather than eat. They do
not refuse to eat the new foods, but most cannot see a
good reason to do so.
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School classrooms now carry portraits of the Indonesian
president as the government wants the children to see
themselves as Indonesians rather than Dani. However,
most Dani children have difficulty with Indonesian
education. Unlike the mission schools, which taught
lessons in the Dani language using traditional systems of
thinking and logic, schools now teach in the Indonesian
language and use different ways of thinking. Even today,
fewer than 1% of Dani children proceed to high school.
QUESTION BLOCK 16J
1.! Describe the differences between the Dani and most other
Indonesians.
2.! How do most Indonesians regard the Dani people?
3.! What evidence is there that relations between the Dani and
the Indonesian government lack harmony?
4.! What were the aims of Operation Koteka? Why was the
campaign unsuccessful?
5.! Why does the government want the Dani people to abandon
their traditional housing? Why have the Dani been
reluctant to agree to this?
6.! How have Muslim attitudes among Indonesians towards
eating pork affected relations with the Dani people?
7.! Why does the Indonesian government place so much
importance on educating Dani children in schools? What
problems does this cause?
Tourism
Because of its isolation, few tourists come to the Dani
region. However, since the mid-1980s, small numbers of
adventurous trekkers have begun coming to the Irian Jaya
A cultural conflict arose between the Dani and the
Highlands (figure 16.48). Tourism has already had quite
Indonesians over the value of pigs. The Dani people have a significant impact on the Dani people.
traditionally seen pigs as the main source of wealth and
prestige. However, to the Indonesians who are Muslim,
the pig is an unclean animal. The Indonesians tried to
convince the Dani people to stop eating pigs, but they
were not successful. Then the Indonesians offered to
improve the quality of Dani pigs by importing some
new stock from Bali for breeding purposes. Bali is an
Indonesian island, but being Hindu, had some pigs.
16.47 Housing provided by the Indonesian government in Wamena.
Unfortunately, the pigs from Bali carried a disease called
encephalitis. This caused death by inflammation of the
brain among people who ate the pig meat. The disease is
still widespread among Dani pigs, and many Dani people
believe that the Indonesians sent diseased pigs to Irian
Jaya deliberately.
16.48 A trekking group, accompanied by Dani porters, on a walking
track near Uwosilimo.
The Indonesian government is still trying to make the
Dani people more ‘Indonesian’. In the late 1980s, the
Many of the tourists hire local people as guides and
government took over most of the mission schools so that
porters. This gives local people the chance to earn money,
Dani children would learn about Indonesian things —
learn English and explore new areas. On the other hand,
language, culture, religion — rather than Christian things.
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it also means Dani people may be diverted away from
growing food or other village responsibilities. Tourists
bring new styles of clothing, new ideas and new habits
which many Dani people have tried to copy to be
‘fashionable’. When tourists give novelties or gifts to
local people, especially children, a ‘cargo cult’ can
develop where Dani people come to expect gifts or
charity whenever outsiders arrive. This is quite different
from their traditional way of life which emphasised
giving rather than receiving.
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Of course, tourism can bring benefits also. Culture
contact is a two-way process, and if tourists take the time
and trouble to study the culture of the people they are
visiting, important learning can take place. There is some
evidence that the Indonesian authorities see tourism as a
reason to preserve aspects of traditional Dani culture.
For example, the airport terminal at Wamena, the biggest
town in the Dani region, is modelled on traditional Dani
huts (figure 16.50). Tourists visiting villages usually buy
some Dani artefacts such as spears and arrows. If these
are displayed back in their homes, then Dani culture may
become better known and more appreciated around the
world.
16.50 Wamena Airport Terminal, modelled on the architecture of a
traditional Dani compound.
QUESTION BLOCK 16K
1.! Why would tourists wish to travel to a remote area such as
the Grand Valley of the Baliem?
2.! Draw up a table which lists the advantages of tourism for
the Dani on one side, and lists the disadvantages on the
other.
3.! What conclusions about the costs vs benefits of tourism to
the Dani people can you draw from the table you
constructed in the last question?
16.49 This Dani man has dressed himself in an exaggerated form of
traditional dress in the hope that tourists will pay him to be photographed.
In an attempt to earn income from tourists, basic hotels
for trekkers were built in the early 1990s, mainly by
Indonesian entrepreneurs from Java and Sumatra. To
support this, some Dani villages encourage trekkers to
pitch tents in their compounds and local people produce souvenirs for sale to tourists. While this can help
preserve traditional crafts, it can also corrupt the
traditional culture (figure 16.49). There is a real danger
that if tourism expands too much or too quickly, the
Dani culture could be wiped out in a way that neither
the missionaries nor the Indonesians were capable of
achieving.
Socio-cultural exchanges
4.! Draw a time line from 1900 to the present. Mark in the
important events in the history of Dani culture contact.
Include the early explorers, Richard Archbold, the first
missions, government actions, tourism, and all other
noteworthy events.
5.! What evidence is there that culture contact with the Dani
has been a two-way process?
6.! Do you think the Dani people should be protected from
future culture contact? Explain your answer fully.
7.! To what extent has cultural diffusion led to the globalisation
of Dani culture?
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