Understanding How Societies Hold Together

What Is Anthropology? ANTH 2301 Central Commitment #2: Understanding How Societies Hold Together The many components of a society—the political system, the economy, families, and so on— all function together, just as the various components of our bodies—the brain, heart, liver, bones, and so on—do. Anthropologists often find that shifts in one area of society have surprising connections to shifts in another. Gender relations were drastically changed when Ghanaian farmers started cultivating cocoa for export during the colonial era. Men were given exclusive control over cash crops, while women were forced to raise vegetables for their families' use and local trade. Men's gains from the cocoa trade led to an increase in the inequality of relationships between men and women. The way that all aspects of human existence interact to create unique civilizations is known to anthropologists as holism. These components can support stability when they work in tandem with one another, or they can work against one another to encourage change. Think about India's caste system. Cultural anthropologist Susan Bayly explains how caste-related customs and beliefs in India have contributed to societal transformation and cultural unification while also exhibiting a high degree of regional variation (1999). The jati (birth group) and varna (order, class, or kind) are the two types of birth-assigned membership that the majority of Indians are familiar with. In India's several areas, there are thousands of birth groups, many of which are unique to a particular area. In contrast, India is home to four distinct varnas: Brahmins, who are related to priests; Kshatriyas, who are related to kings and warriors; Vaishyas, who are related to traders; and Shudras, who are related to servant labourers. Another group is not included in the varna system and is referred to as "untouchables" or dalits. The four varnas are arranged in an interdependent hierarchy that is similar to human anatomy, as stated in the Vedas. The first man, Purusa, was sacrificed by the gods, who divided his body into four groups according to the Rig Veda: How many portions did they arrange the Purusa in when they separated him? What was the shape of his mouth? What are his two arms made of? What do his feet and thighs (loins) go by? His mouth was the brahmin, his two arms were fashioned into the rajanya (kshatriya, warrior, king), his two thighs were made into the vaisya (loins), and the sudra (servile class) was created from his feet. Bayle (1999) According to ancient writings, caste is a system of social order in which members of various castes work together harmoniously to execute a variety of jobs. But take note that the authors of these writings were often Brahmin professors or other members of higher castes. Historians and anthropologists that research caste customs contend that rather than being a rigid, national structure, the caste system was always a fluid, localised, and dynamic collection of identities. Select caste groups were given access to school and employment throughout the British colonial era, which strengthened and antagonised the caste structure. Many lower-caste communities have rebelled against their tyranny in the 20th century by becoming Christians or Muslims and founding political organisations to put pressure on the government to provide possibilities for social development. Anthropologists are interested in the ways in which various cultures categorise individuals and utilise such classifications to structure social interactions. For example, in many farming civilizations, women perform some agricultural tasks while males perform others. Men generally cut down trees and remove undergrowth while women plant in countries where clearing land is necessary before crops can be planted. People of a certain ethnicity or given racial group, or migrants, are frequently recruited (or coerced) to carry out the physical labour necessary for cultivating and harvesting crops in civilizations that practise large-scale industrial farming. One class of individuals owns the factories in industrial capitalist society, while another group operates the machinery that creates the goods. Group relationships can be antagonistic, cooperative, or competitive. While many cultures support inequality within groups, others encourage equality between social groupings. Harmony and holism are not the same thing. In addition to being interested in the circumstances that might lead to conflict, change, and disintegration, anthropologists also study how society remains cohesive. You may have heard the term "polarised" used to characterise the idea that values, beliefs, and desires between two distinct groups in American society are becoming more and more unlike. Some claim that the opposing viewpoints of these two organisations pose a danger to the unity of American society. Others contend that fundamental ideals like democracy, equality of opportunity, and freedom bind Americans together. An anthropologist using the theory of holism to this problem may take into account the ways in which the viewpoints of various groups are related to their respective political beliefs, religious or moral ideals, and/or economic circumstances. A thorough application of holism would examine each of these societal facets, examining how they combine to create the polarisation that exists today and offering potential solutions for resolving tensions between the two sides via constructive discourse.