Whether we romanticize – or condemn – a traditional culture’s practices, we are often missing a part of the picture.
Photo: wwarby
Sometimes, I think about the romantic notions that arose in my Masters program, on my part just as much as others.
A good chunk of what we did was take a look at traditional ways of healing. Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and Native-American healing are all extremely valid, deeply historical systems that are often dismissed in our Western allopathic mindset.
Even though, of course, each has been around hundreds to thousands of years, and seen millions of more patients than medical doctors.
Sometimes, learning about disregarded, lesser-known or underutilized traditions can lead us to the conclusion that all is right with the world in the “natural order,” while our current approach is kind of, you know, evil.
Sure, there is a lot wrong with the way we live life in the West. That’s a given. So it is easy enough to fall into the trap of longing to live in a place where the 8-6 job does not exist, people are still rooted to the Earth because they actually work with it, and family connections leave little room for depression or other American institutions. Ah, wouldn’t life be grand?
The Wrong Parts
Photo: Sand Paper
Then, way over on the flip-side, there’s the shock that arises when seeing a traditional culture up close and personal. Andy Jarosz at 501 Places just tackled this topic in his piece, When is ‘local culture’ just wrong? Now you are facing a particular tradition that you not only don’t understand, but inherently believe is immoral.
The first thing that popped into my mind as I began reading the piece was female genital mutilation, and my own struggle around believing we shouldn’t step into other cultures and tell them what is what (through war or other means) and at the same time, believing no woman should ever have to face this barbaric, misogynistic act.
One of the stories Andy related was about a blind girl he met in Uganda while working at an eye camp. He notes:
Her corneas were totally opaque. At first she said didn’t know what had caused this, but on further examination and in conjunction with a local nurse, we found out that she had been to see a local shaman about a matter unrelated to her eyes, and he had given her a liquid to wash her face with, and specifically to put in her eyes. The main ingredient was horse urine, and this potion had proceeded to render this young girl blind.
He was obviously extremely angry about what he witnessed, and rightly so. But the nurse he was working with explained it was a “slow, frustrating and often dangerous” process of educating people away from their faith in witch doctors.
And what exactly might be offered in return? A system that also damages a lot of people with pharmaceutical drugs and unnecessary surgeries? Even with the positives of Western medicine, these traditional societies would never have continuous access be made available to them.
Not So Pretty
Reality is a lot less pretty and succinct – all cultures and places have their ups and downs, their “rights” and their “wrongs.” Trouble is, some of the things many on the outside see as wrong, such as wearing a burka or even seeing a shaman, are not only deeply embedded in cultures, but also have valid points that we would never truly be able to comprehend from our own cultural mindset.
There are certainly things indigenous cultures would be flabbergasted by if they came to the West.
Sometimes, what we see as gruesome may actually be distinctly connected to the Earth in a way that our Western hands-off approach to all things icky just can’t wrap our heads around. And as Andy noted in his piece, there are certainly things indigenous cultures would be flabbergasted by if they came to the West – people being forced to live on the streets as open, empty buildings sit nearby, or the forgotten elderly generation that is so prized in their own culture.
The real question is, how does removing both romantic ideals and disapproval get us closer to a just world for all?
What do you think about romanticizing or condemning other culture’s beliefs? Share your thoughts below.
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13 Comments... join the discussion!
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Thanks for this article, Christine – you raise some very interesting and important points, and I don’t think there are any easy answers.
For the little it’s worth, my opinion is that cultural relativism is extremely dangerous. While most of life is made up of shades of grey, there are some objective truths. Something like FGM is just plain wrong, no matter how you look at it. I’m not sure what form “intervention” could take, though, assuming it even should.
Other issues are much more complex. The burka is a good example. While I personally don’t agree with it, and view it as a symbol of a misogynistic and patriarchal society, I’m not sure my view is in any way relevant: I am neither Muslim, nor female. Who am I to judge?
Some women have no choice, and must wear it. Some women choose to wear it, either because they believe in what it represents, or because it makes their life easier. Others may be lucky enough to choose not to wear it. In this case, the issue isn’t really the burka, it’s how women are treated within society.
I think the answer to your final question – how does removing romanticism and disapproval help us move forward – is implicit within the question itself: by trying to see clearly and objectively, free from all sorts of preconceptions, we can cut straight to the real, underlying issues of justice that are at stake.
Sadly, with the way the world is now, I don’t see this happening any time soon. I’m still holding out for that 2012 shift in consciousness you promised us!
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You and both me, Nick. You and me both.
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“…and both me” – always had that sneaking suspicion there might be more than one of you ; )
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Did I write that? I don’t think so.
Not with my fantastic editing skills
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Sometimes it is traditional biases and agendas that are pushed forward as culture.
There is no rational argument for certain acts – FGM, the caste system, etc – but when you say, ‘that’s our culture’ you are somehow handed a free pass. For some reason if it’s part of your culture, it is understood that your God(s) won’t find offense despite the misery and the atrocities committed.
Understand that I am not pitting all tradition into this one bracket. My problem lies with social evils being disguised as tradition and culture, and these acts going unquestioned because of it.
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Nice piece! I don’t really have any overarching insights, but I do remember learning that FGM is a result of those in power (men, in this case) trying to regain/assert control in a situation where their power is being taken away by outside forces–in this case, Western colonialists. This is similar to why people likely looted after Hurricane Katrina, trying to carry off huge TVs through flooded streets. It may seem ridiculous or gruesome, but it’s the one chance the underclass had to grab some power in all the chaos. I could be wrong, but it makes sense sociologically to me.
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Here’s looking at it from the other side: When people from other cultures view Western / American traditions that are degrading and submissive, what should they do? And why do we continue to do things in our culture that are degrading and disgusting?
I’m talking about wearing things like having plastic surgery and wearing copious amounts of make-up so that we hide who we truly are. In Asia, they used to bind women’s feet because it made them beautiful. How is wearing stiletto heels really any different?
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I think the subheading to the title of this article says it all: “Whether we romanticize – or condemn – a traditional culture’s practices, we are often missing a part of the picture” . That is exactly the point, we are often missing a part of the picture because we are not of that culture and will never fully understand that traditional culture’s practice. It may be a point of discussion with someone from another culture, but after that it is not up to anyone else to romanticize or condemn.
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I think there are always going to be bad things going on in cultures around the world, and people from outside can only pick out a few extreme cases to focus on, but that’s better than nothing.
I think that if it is something that has been inherent to a tribal location for centuries or millenia then it is more difficult to criticise, but if it is something relatively newly imposed, such as the removal of women’s rights in Afghanistan under the Taliban, then it is easier to justify cultural condemnation.
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My experiences with “cultural difficulties” both home and away have to do with natural resources, endangered species and how to live sustainably. Asian cultures value traditional medicines that put rhinos, tigers and bears on the cusp of extinction. How do you tell an African man who can make several years salary with the sale of one poached rhino horn that the trade his tribe has engaged in for 1500 years is just wrong?
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I have worse struggles dealing with this kind of behaviour. I find it difficult – and nor do I consider it necessary – to put the value of human life over that of an endangered rhino. What makes an animal more valuable? If cognition, then supposedly humans. If scarcity, then NOT humans. I don’t know if I can reconcile my belief in the sanctity of human life with my grief at seeing other magnificent species being mauled to extinction. Who says that the life of that African man, his family or indeed his entire village are more valuabe than the life of a white rhino that may be one of hundreds left on the planet?
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I agree with you Andrew. Most of my travels involve conservation work in attempts to bridge the gap between natural resources (plants, animals, soil, water) conceived as something to exploit and use rather than nuture and preserve. I’m only pointing out it isn’t easy to change people’s practices, no matter the ethical rightness of one’s position.
Hermata Mishra wrote a brillant book that came out in 2008, The Soul of the Rhino, about the one horned Asian rhino and his attempts, as an Western educated wildlife biologist, to teach his fellow Nepalese why it was more inportant to save this ancient mammal than kill it. It is a must read to understand how difficult and delicate it is to balance traditional human culture and the ecosystems they inhabit. Check it out.
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