Culture in Tanzania PDF - Social Studies Textbook

FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE Chapter Four Culture Introduction In Standard Four, you learnt about issues that build and enhance good relations between people in a society. In this chapter, you will l...

FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE Chapter Four Culture Introduction In Standard Four, you learnt about issues that build and enhance good relations between people in a society. In this chapter, you will learn about the concept of culture, elements of Tanzanian culture and the importance of LY culture. In addition, you will learn about things that negatively affect culture and how to promote appropriate traditions and customs. N Meaning of culture O Culture is the totality of human experience that consists of the customs, taboos, social behaviours, ideas and practices found in various human SE societies. Culture identifies and connects people living in a particular society through several aspects such as language, food, clothes, songs, sports, traditions and customs. Culture is shared by members of a given society in U a family, community or nation. It is learnt and passed from older generations to younger ones. E Tanzanian culture is the total way of how Tanzanians live. It is based on their customs, taboos, traditions, ideologies, sports and forms of social, N economic and political relations. Tanzania has over 120 ethnic groups. Each ethnic group has its own culture that is specific to its social, economic and LI environmental setting. In spite of these differences, there are also cultural ideas and practices that connect all Tanzanians, regardless of their ethnic N groups. These practices include the use of the Kiswahili language, which is O the official medium of communication in the nation, respect for elders in the society and good manners. R The importance of culture to Tanzanians FO Culture is important to Tanzanians because: (a) It promotes national unity; (b) It gives Tanzanians a social identity; 31 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 31 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY (c) DO friendly It promotes good and NOT DUPLICATE relations among people in the society; (d) It is a bond that ties and connects people together; (e) It helps the society to value good cultural practices and preserve the natural resources of the nation; (f) It is the foundation of good ethics that the nation and society inculcates into children, the youth and adults; and (g) It helps Tanzanians to develop a sense of belonging, patriotism and unity as a people. LY Elements of Tanzanian culture There are many elements of Tanzanian culture. These elements include N language, customs, traditions and taboos, sports, creative arts, clothes, O education, religion and behaviours. Some of these elements are described below. (a) Language SE Language is a system of communication used by people of a given community, society or nation. In other words, it is a means of human communication, U which uses sounds, signs and words to convey messages. Language is an important element of culture. In Tanzanian culture, the dominant language is Kiswahili. Kiswahili is one of the official languages of Tanzania. E Kiswahili reflects Tanzanian culture in many ways. First, it is used as a N cultural tool of social identity for many Tanzanians. Second, it is a medium LI of transmitting knowledge and information of local, national and global importance. Third, it is used to transmit customs, taboos, values and ethics N across generations. Fourth, it is a carrier of national cultural heritage. O (b) Traditions and taboos A tradition is a belief or custom or way of doing something that has existed R for a long time. While a taboo is a practice that is prohibited or restricted by social or religious customs. A person in a community who breaks taboos FO is punished by the community’s leaders in accordance with the existing social rules. Cultural processes such as marriage, religious ceremonies, inheritance, libation and burials are usually conducted on the basis of some 32 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 32 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY beliefs and environmentalDO NOT DUPLICATE conditions. One of the oldest traditions practised by some societies in Tanzania is the initiation of girls and boys into adulthood. Each ethnic community has its traditions and taboos on how to initiate girls or boys that have been inherited from a previous generation. Girls and boys were taught how to keep houses, children and families. Ethics and values were also taught in order to make them better community members. They were also given knowledge, skills and competencies so that they could become productive and useful persons in the family and the community more generally. In addition, they were taught things which they were not allowed to do. Some old taboos are now being discredited such as the prohibition of LY pregnant women to eat eggs, milk and the liver. (c) Customs N These are socially accepted ways of behaving or doing things in a O community. They are also important elements of culture, which are sensitive to changing circumstances. They can change, depending on the time, place and changing social, economic and political developments in a community. SE Every community has its own customs that make up its cultural identity in matters such as medicine, dressing, food and greetings. U (d) Sports Sports are activities that people do for leisure, entertainment or recreation. There are many types of sports. Some are indigenous to Africa and were E practised even before the arrival of the people from the Middle East, the N Far East and Europe on the continent. They included running, swimming, jumping, wrestling, spear throwing and bao playing. Other sports were LI imported into Tanzania from outside the country, especially from Europe and Asia. They include boxing, kabaddi, karate, judo, volleyball, football, netball, N basketball and table tennis. Sports and the ways in which they are played are important elements of culture in a particular society because they are the O society’s identity and tool for unity. R (e) Creative arts Creative arts consist of a range of human activities that involve creating FO visual, performing or auditory artefacts. The person who creates these artefacts is called an artist. Artists use these artefacts to transmit their ideas, imaginations and skills to the public. Examples of artefacts include literature, 33 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 33 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOTfilms, drawings, weaving, sculptures, DUPLICATE songs and pottery. There are three categories of creative arts. (i) Fine arts – These are visible artefacts which have a shape. These include weaving, drawing, painting, textile design, sculpturing and pottery. (ii) Literary arts – These refer to creative writing or literature. These include songs, poems, plays and novels. (iii) Performing arts – These are artistic activities which are performed on LY stage. They include drama, dance, films, story-telling and citation. N O SE U E N LI N O Figure 1: Sculptural forms R FO 34 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 34 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE LY N O SE Figure 2: A weaving activity U E N LI N O R FO Figure 3: The art of pottery 35 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 35 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY Exercise 1 DO NOT DUPLICATE Answer the following questions: 1. Mention the works of art shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. 2. On the basis of the activities shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, which activity can you perform? 3. What do you understand by the term culture? 4. Mention the importance of the Kiswahili language to the promotion of LY Tanzanian culture. 5. Describe four main elements of Tanzanian culture. N O Activity 1 SE With your fellow pupils, discuss the good traditions and customs found in your community. Then write them in your exercise book. U The importance of traditions and customs E Traditions and customs are important elements of culture. They are part of the things that constitute ethics and moral values in each community. All N communities uphold and protect traditions and customs because: LI (a) They are used to promote a culture of hard work; N (b) They promote the spirit of cooperation, valuing each other, loving one another and respecting other people; O (c) They promote the spirit of helping each other in social and economic matters such as burial ceremonies, weddings, initiation ceremonies, R farming activities, hunting activities and livestock herding (see Figure FO 4); (d) They may provide references for harmonious living and conflict resolution in a community; 36 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 36 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT DUPLICATE LY N Figure 4: Community members weeding together O (e) They help to instil discipline and good behaviour in people. People who break socially accepted taboos and customs can be punished (see Figure 5). SE (f) They help a community to have shared space that is good for every person to live in and thrive for life; and U (g) They help to promote the spirit of self-reliance. E N LI N O R FO Figure 5: A boy being warned by his mother 37 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 37 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY Activity 2 DO NOT DUPLICATE Ask your parents or guardians to teach you how to sing your traditional songs. Then sing the songs to your fellow pupils in class. With your fellow pupils, discuss the importance of traditions and customs in society. Then write them in your exercise book. LY Factors affecting Tanzanian culture The culture of a community or nation can be affected by many factors. Such N factors include the following: O (a) Development of science and technology The development of science and technology can potentially affect Tanzanian SE culture. This is because science and technology promote the development of transport and communication networks such as airports, mobile phones and television. These expose Tanzanians to foreign cultures. Some of the U aspects of foreign cultures that are easily copied from outside the country include language, dressing styles, eating styles, ceremonies, love and relationships. Some of these may be harmful to our nation. E (b) Environmental changes N Changes in the environment can also have certain negative effects on LI culture. Changes in the environment such as climatic changes can affect an economy. Drought, for instance, can affect the production of food in a country. N This may necessitate introducing a new culture of producing food into such a country. It may also force people to change the culture and patterns of food O consumption by adopting new styles. Such adoption may lead to the loss of previous cultural practices. R (c) Growth of the Kiswahili language FO While Kiswahili has played a very important role in promoting national culture and social cohesion, it has also undermined the culture of some communities 38 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 38 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY in Tanzania. For example,DO NOT as the DUPLICATE Kiswahili language has become popular and almost common in Tanzania, the local languages of such ethnic groups as the Zaramo, Hehe, Nyamwezi, Chagga, Ndali, Nyakyusa, Haya, Ngoni, Yao and Zigua are losing words and may in the long run become extinct. Many people, especially the younger generation, prefer to speak Kiswahili rather than speaking the local languages. Over time, many words in the local languages will be lost among the young people of the areas where the languages are spoken. (d) Growing global interactions LY The growing interactions between Tanzania and the outside world have also affected our culture. While such interactions have some positive social and economic effects on our development, they have also negatively affected N the culture of our nation. Tanzanians have been borrowing aspects of foreign O cultures, some of which are not good. Bad cultural behaviours that have been adopted from foreign cultures include drug abuse, prostitution, gambling, unethical dressing styles and unethical hairstyles. (e) SE Social media and communication technologies Social media and communication technologies are very useful in facilitating U communication and knowledge exchange. Technologies such as the Internet have produced many revolutionary tendencies that have brought the world closer. The problem is that in countries such as Tanzania it has been difficult E to control formal channels of communication such as television, the radio N and newspapers. It has also been difficult to control social media outlets such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram. Some of these outlets LI and channels do not observe ethical and moral values. Therefore, these media project programmes, graphics and images that are inappropriate to N our cultural norms. O R FO 39 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 39 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY Exercise 2 DO NOT DUPLICATE Answer the following questions: 1. Define the following terms: (d) Culture (e) Art (f) Customs (g) Taboos LY (h) Sports 2. Mention three different types of art. N 3. ____________ is an element of Tanzanian culture as it has succeeded O in uniting all the ethnic groups. 4. Creative arts consist of ___________, ___________ and ___________. SE Write True for a true statement and False for a false statement. U 5. Changes in science and technology can affect culture.___________ 6. Traditions and customs identify communities. ______________ E 7. Language is the identity of any society._______________ N LI Ways of promoting good traditions and customs Families, communities and nations have the responsibility to protect and N promote good traditions and customs as aspects of their cultures. Below are O three ways of promoting traditions and customs. (a) Promoting the indigenous language of each ethnic community R in Tanzania FO As noted in the previous sections in this chapter, language is an important carrier of traditions and customs. As a nation, Tanzania has done an excellent job of promoting the Kiswahili language in order to enhance national 40 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 40 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO NOT communication, unity, cohesion DUPLICATE and identity. Now, parents and communities should encourage and help children to learn their indigenous languages. Indigenous languages promote the traditions and customs of the society. Thus, learning them helps children and the youth to be responsible citizens in their communities and the nation at large. Children and the youth need to understand the Kiswahili language, as the national language, and their respective ethnic community languages that connect them to their cultures. (b) Collecting and storing traditions and customs This is another important method. It is important that the nation and LY communities collect the traditions and customs and ensure that they are stored safely. This is necessary because the development of science and technology, as noted above, can negatively affect culture and lead to its N extinction. The elders in each community who are knowledgeable about O cultural practices should collect information on the traditions and customs of particular communities. Such information should be stored in writing, audio facilities and in audio-visual equipment. They will be available for SE transmission from one generation to another. If these traditions and customs are not collected and stored, they will be lost when the elders die. U (c) Creation of cultural heritage centres As mentioned earlier, traditions and customs are part of a community. Thus, one way of promoting and keeping them is to establish cultural heritage E centres. The centres may include community museums where collected N traditions and customs can be stored and retrieved whenever needed. These centres can also be places for teaching children and the youth all aspects of LI their cultures such as language, customs, traditions and taboos, arts, sports and history. N Activity 3 O  ith your fellow pupils, discuss how foreign cultures negatively W affect Tanzanian culture. Then record the discussion in your R exercise book. FO 41 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 41 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY Exercise 3 DO NOT DUPLICATE Answer the following questions: 1. How can we maintain traditions and customs? 2. List three important uses of the traditions you know. 3. Mention three ways of maintaining good manners and customs. Choose the correct answer from the altenatives provided in the fol- LY lowing questions: N 4. The way of conveying the emotions and thoughts contained in the mind is called ___________. O (a) Culture (b) (c) Taboos Customs SE( ) U (d) Art 5. ___________ is the nature, taboos, beliefs and customs of a particular society. E (a) Language N (b) Art LI ( ) (c) Taboos N (d) Culture O Fill in the blanks. 6. Language is a major identity of ___________. R 7. The training offered to young people in a community for the purpose FO of preparing them for adolescence is called ________. 42 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 42 30/07/2021 11:49  FOR ONLINE USE ONLY DO ANOT Match the items in Column with DUPLICATE the answers in Column B by writing the letters of the correct answers in the answer section: No Column A Answers Column B 8 Poems, cartoons and ( ) (a) Kiswahili sculptures (b) Culture 9 A reflection of the life and ( ) (c) Customs will of a community (d) Elements that LY 10 Rituals ( ) characterise social traditions 11 The language used by the ( ) N (e) It is part of the art people of East Africa O (f) English 12 The things that a society ( ) often does SE U Vocabulary Cohesion the act of forming a united whole E Ethics  the moral principles that govern persons’ behaviour or the N conducting of an activity LI Sculpture the art of making two- or three-dimensional representative forms, especially by carving stones or wood or by casting N metal O Technology  scientific knowledge used in practical ways in industry, for example in designing new machines R Weeding removing unwanted plants from a farm FO 43 SOCIAL STUDIES STD 5.indd 43 30/07/2021 11:49