Cultural Geographies of Asia and South AmericaJune 14th, 2008 @ 10:31 AM
Asian and South American continents are well known for culture and traditions. The world's most historical cultures belong to Asian and South American continents. Asian and South American geographies are mainly divided according to culture and traditions. Even today many ancient cultures are practiced in these areas of geography - John Germy, Asian and American Cultural Studies, 2001. Asian and South American cultural geographies are observed in the areas of foods, clothing, music, traditions, architecture, languages, customs and religions. There are more than 300 religions with more than 3900 languages in Asian and South American continents itself, making these continents as cultural divided geographies - Patrick Jones, World's Religions and Languages, 1998.
Asian and South American continents are having more than 90 ancient religions and devotional practices, which are almost belong to 1000 B.C. Countries in these continents are divided as per the classification of cultural norms - Modern Geographical Thought, Richard Peet, 1998. Globalization and Westernization harm the cultural practices in these areas, which results in modernization of the society and devaluation of human standards. Cultural Geographies of Asia Culturally Asian Geography can be divided into five parts basing on cultural norms. They are Middle East, Indian sub continent, Chinese, South East Asian and Japanese. Each region has different culture norms such as religions, languages, traditions, food habits and customs. Middle East cultural geography spread across 18 nations in the Middle East, which have similar cultural norms. The main languages in this area are Arabic, Hebrew (Israel), Farsi (Iran) and Hindi (Indian). Muslim religion has the majority in this area with Christianity and Hinduism has minor religions. Islam traditions are commonly observed in this region with diverse food habits and customs. The architecture in this region is similar in every part with historical marvels which shows Muslim traditions. Camels are still used as transportation means which is existed from 16th century and spices are sold in the local markets from centuries - Arabic Culture, Wikipedia, 2008. Middle East has a tradition of celebrating festivals with entire family members with joy and devotion. Indian sub continent is another cultural geographical area with more than 415 languages and 9 religions. Different customs and traditions are followed in the region. Indian geography is shaped by its long historical presence. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are the main religions in the region with a diversity of Muslim and Christianity. Indian culture is mainly influenced by Persian, Turkish, English and Arabic cultures. Indian culture is rich in music, dance, sculpture, food and architecture. The Indian religious philosophy belongs to 400 BC, which is the most ancient religions in the world - Varma K. Pavan, Real Indian Culture, 1996. Chinese culture is one of the oldest and complex cultures with a history of more than 5000 years. With the influence Chinese culture is also found in the some parts of other Asian countries. Chinese society has a structure which is coming from long times, which is filled with values and philosophy. Chinese language has the complex spoken and written dialects which are developed in 1051-1108 BC. Mythology and spirituality have higher position in the Chinese society. Martial arts had its birth in China which is practiced as the traditional art from many centuries. In South East Asia, the principal nations are Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, which are influenced by Chinese culture. These nations Follow Chinese culture and traditions, since the people in these countries are generally migrants from China. Japanese culture has evolved since many centuries from original Joman culture. Japanese culture had influenced many parts of the world such as Asia, Europe and North America. Japanese language is agglutinative language which is pitch-accent system, widely spoken by Japanese community around the world. Japanese culture norms include painting, calligraphy, sculpture and Ikebana which is called as flower arrangement. These are followed in Japan from centuries as cultural norms and traditions. Japanese architecture is taken from Chinese form of architecture - Japanese Culture, Takarazuka Revue, 1992. Cultural Geogrphay of South America South American culture has drawn from diverse cultural traditions and customs. This region is full of native culture before the arrival of Europeans. Now Spanish, Portuguese and French cultures are commonly seen in this region - Exploitation of American Culture, Dawn Brown, 2001. Roman Catholicism is the main religion with over 97% majority and minor ancient tribal religions which are commonly found in Brazil and Venezuela. Portuguese and Spanish are widely spoken languages in the South American region, where 51% of the South American speaks Portuguese as primary language. South America has ethnic mix of people from Europe and the natives. There is minority of the tribal people who live in forests of Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela. Many of South American countries are colonies for European countries for centuries which made Europeans to settle in South America resulting in a multicultural and multiethnic society - Culture of South America. Northern South American has also influenced to the Latin culture and traditions. Countries like Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago have a Latin settlement which has resulted in adoption of Latin customs and traditions. Black Africans who were brought as slaves in the colonial rule to South America also influenced the South American culture by impacting African way of food, music and language to the South American region. South Americans are commonly passionate for music with variety of traditional and cultural music plays. Football is the favorite game in the South American region. Due to South American colonial rule for centuries, South American culture is said to be multicultural and multiethnic |
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