- What
is your definition of “culture?”
-
Groups that do things that are passed
on to other generations
-
Groups of people with similarities
-
Similarities in how a group of people
act and what they do.
- How
do you define “family?”
-
Group that cares, support and love one
another. They do not have to be blood related.
-
A group made by two people.
-
A group of people from the same blood.
- Who
holds the most “status” in your family?
Why?
-
Mother because she is the “bread
winner”
-
The owner of the house, or whoever is
the eldest in room.
-
Male’s, whoever is the eldest, whoever
owns the house
- What
are typical foods served in the culture?
-Porridge with milk and sugar with any
type of meat, usually chicken, donkey, or goat.
-Porridge with soup and spinach
-Porridge with spinach and chicken.
Mopane worms are often eaten, also.
(porridge is made from maize meal and
cooked by adding it to boiling water. The end product is something similar to
plain, thick grits)
- Are there any typical styles of dress
(clothing)?
-
Women wear long dresses with many
colors in a square pattern while men just wear long trousers.
-
Women wear a dress/top that is red/pink
and the men wear springbok animal skin.
-
Women wear the traditional pink, black,
and white dress and men just wear whatever.
- What do people do for fun?
-
Sit, talk and tell stories.
-
Celebrate by clapping and dancing.
-
They dance and celebrate
- How
do you define success?
-
If you achieve your goals
-
Doing something for good.
-
Something good that comes from hard
work
- Do
you consider your parents to be successful? Why?
-
Yes, they achieved some of their goals.
-
Yes, they did all the things for me,
like giving me a name and paying for me to go to school.
-
Yes, they support, care, love and
provide food for me.
- How
important is education in your family?
-
It is very important because when you
get older you have to have money to take care of your parents when they are
elders.
-
Very important because you need to be
able to get a job that can support you and your family.
-
Very important because you need to get
a job.
- Is
being on time important to you? Why
or why not?
-
Sometimes, because I don’t like being
the first person at a meeting and I kind of like when people have to wait on
me.
-
Yes, people should be on time.
-
Very much because if you are working
you must be on time.
- How
is time understood and measured? (e.g., how late can you be to a business appointment
before you are considered rude?)
-
30 minutes is acceptable but after an
hour the meeting must go on.
-
After 5 minutes you are rude.
-
30 minutes is understandable but after
an hour you are rude.
- What
is the most important meal of the day?
-
Porridge with soup or milk, which is
served at lunch.
-
Porridge with spinach which is served
at lunch or dinner.
-
Porridge which is served at lunch
- Do
you eat foods that are native to your culture (traditional)? Why or why not? If you answered yes, name some of the
foods that you eat. If you answered
no, what types of foods do you eat?
-
Yes, porridge
-
Yes, but mainly because it’s what mom
cooks and not because it’s my favorite thing.
-
Yes, but I hate spinach. I eat it
because it’s what is cooked.
- Did
you ever live with your grandparents or extended family?
-
Yes when I was one year old. (did not
know the circumstances that led to this)
-
Yes, when I was small (did not know the
circumstances that led to this)
-
Yes, for holidays.
- Do
you actively participate in an organized religion? Which one?
-
Yes, Church
-
Yes, Church
-
Sometimes, Church
o
(When I asked which religion all three
simply answered “Church”, but they were referring to Christianity.)
- How
important is religion in your family?
Why ?
-
Very, they just believe
-
Very, they believe
-
Very important, they believe God gives
and helps the people
- If
religion is important in your family, do you plan to pass this on to your
children? Why or why not?
-
Yes, they should know
-
Yes, to know there is a living God
-
Yes, so they can follow your (my)
footsteps
- Are
the roles of men and women specifically defined in your family? If so, what are they?
-yes, men take care of the animals/farm
while women clean, cook, take care of the kids.
-Yes, men take care of the animals
while women pound the muhungu (maize for porridge)
- Yes, men take care of the cattle while
women cook, fetch water or fire wood and cultivate the fields.
19. What are the cultural attitudes toward aging and the elderly?
- The eldest are the most important and respected in the family.
19. What are the cultural attitudes toward aging and the elderly?
- The eldest are the most important and respected in the family.
- The most important members of the
family are the grandparents followed by those who are eldest after them.
- You must respect your elders.
- Is
change considered positive or negative (good or bad)?
-
Good
-
Good
-
Bad, they want the traditional way to
stay.
- Do
you have any eating habits/rituals that are specific to your culture?
-
The men eat first unless there is an
elder and everyone eats with their hands.
-
The elders eat first and everyone eats
with their hands.
-
Elders eat first and everyone eats with
their hands.
- Define
and describe the most important (or most celebrated) holidays or
celebrations of your culture.
-
Weddings, births, December
holiday/Christmas.
-
Christmas and New Years
-
Christmas, weddings and baptisms
- Describe how a holiday is celebrated.
-
By eating a lot of traditional food.
-
Christmas: everyone is invited to a
house and a cattle is killed to eat. For New years they wait until midnight and
then make a lot of noise by banging on the tin roof.
-
By celebrating with dancing and food
and making a lot of noise.
- How would a visitor be welcomed to someone’s
home?
-
If a seat is not available, the
youngest will get up and offer their seat, if they are someone who is important
then a chicken will be killed and eaten in their honor.
-
They will be given chicken and
porridge.
-
They will be welcomed with peace
- What are the norms around weddings?
births? deaths?
- -
Weddings: The groom should not see the bride for 24 hours before the
wedding and once the ceremony is over they will walk to the house to eat. Births:
the mother will stay with the baby for 2 weeks in the house. Deaths:
everyone will say nice things about the person.
-
Weddings: everyone goes to the wife’s
house to eat, and then they go to the man’s house to eat. Births: there will be
a celebration with food and dancing. Deaths: people just cry.
-
Weddings: there is nothing special.
White dress. Ceremony. Birth: The baby will be taken to the elders to be prayed
over. Deaths: did not know.
- If
you are from a culture that speaks English as a second language, do you
speak your native language? If not,
why? If so, will you teach your
native language to any children you have?
-
Yes, they must learn
-
Yes and yes
-
No, they will only be taught English and
Afrikaans.
o
(Afrikaans the language that the white Namibians
speak)
- How
is physical contact viewed in your culture?
-A mother or father does not often hug
or touch their children. They will give them verbal praise if they are good. Contact
between a young boy and a young girl (even holding hands) is viewed as
disrespectful to all those older than them and should only be done after they
reach the age of 20.
- (they
all said approximately the same thing for this question)
- How
important is the individual in the culture? How important is the group?
-
The most important thing is family not
the individual.
-
The group is most important but so is
the individual.
-
The group is most important.
- How
is space used (e.g., how close should two people who are social
acquaintances stand next to one another when they are having a
conversation?)
-
Boys and girls must not stand close but
two girls or two boys can.
o
(they all said the same thing for this
question)
- How
do individuals “know” things? (e.g., are people encouraged to question
things? are they encouraged to
master accepted wisdom?)
-
It is expected to just to accept the
wisdom of the elders.
-
You must accept the wisdom without
asking “why?”
-
Wisdom is most encouraged.
- Are
people encouraged to be more action-oriented or to be more contemplative?
-
People should be more action-oriented
-
They should be action-oriented
-
They should be contemplative
- What
is considered most disrespectful in your culture?
-
Yelling/disrespecting your elders
o
(they all said the same thing for this
question)
- What
is considered most respectful in your culture?
-
Greeting your elders
o
(they all said the same thing for this question.)
- What
would you say is, from your perspective, the most commonly held
misconception about people of your culture?
-
We eat dogs.
-
We eat dogs or frogs
-
Did not have an answer
- Have
you ever experienced racism? In what form?
o
(None of them knew what racism was
until I explained it.)
-
They all said no
- Have you ever experienced Tribalism? In what form?
-
No
-
I have been treated bad because people
thought I Owambo’s eat dogs.
-
No
- What
can be done about racism and prejudice, in your opinion?
-
No answer.
-
No answer.
-
It should just be stopped.
- Do
young people today have a sense of culture?
-
Not while they are young, but some of
them do when they grow up
-
Some
-
No, they ignore their culture and think
it is old fashioned.
- What
is the best thing about living in Namibia?
-
Namibia is free and independent.
-
No answer
-
No answer
o
(Most Namibians have not been out of
their town/village, much less their country. They don’t even know much about
other countries therefore it is difficult for them to compare living in Namibia
with living somewhere else and why it might be good/bad. )
- What
is the worst thing about living in the Namibia?
-
Passion killings, dumping of babies.
-
No answer
-
No answer
- Have
you ever felt excluded based on your gender or culture?
-
No
-
No
-
Yes
- Do
you remember excluding others based on Culture or Gender?
-
Once, there was a new guy who was from
a different tribe and he was excluded because he did not know the language the
group was speaking.
-
No
-
No
Is there anything you would like others to know that we have
not included here about you or your culture…..
-
None had an answer
Thank you- is there anything else you would like to share?
-
None had anything.
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