Custom «Why Traditional Culture Is Declining All Over The World» Essay Paper Sample

Culture was redefined by Edward Taylor in 1871 as a various set of actions distinctive of all human cultures, Taylor .E.B., 1871, ancient culture. According to Taylor's description, each human culture has its artistic practices that make that culture to be a complex whole. Communal evolutionists like Hebert Spenser, Emile Durkheim, William Hamilton and others think that customs undergoes an evolutionary procedure just like living things, Jennifer Shakeel, 2009. This is why the modern community is witnessing a change process of cultures. In these changes, some customs are being modified to match the environments set while others are being misplaced.

Traditional cultural practices such like female genital mutilation in sub-Saharan Africa, witchcraft, belief in magic etc are waning. In restricting the spread of HIV/AIDS epidemic, some customary cultural practices have been given up. In article, "Circumcision Recommended to cub HIV' from Africa Press International 31^st August 2008 Erwida Mawilia reports that circumcision was started amongst the Swazi community of Swaziland and other African communities like Luo of Kenya as HIV/AIDS reduction program. Nevertheless, the traditions of these communities never allowed this artistic practice before. The cultural practice of the Swazi which valued the man's foreskin as a sign of fertility had to refuse to accommodate for the circumcision.

Australia, during its aboriginal traditions represented the oldest existing culture in the world. Nevertheless, an artistic evolutionary procedure explained by the social evolutionary theorists like Emile Durkheim is captivating its effect on the traditional aborigine culture in Australia. From the Anthropology works, Morgan Keay 2009, in his work for graduate seminar at George Washington University, "Culture, Risk and Security" reports of 'threads' that when acted across a precise culture leaves a waning effect to that culture. Just like other traditional cultures in the world, Australian aborigine cultures have been endangered by 'Physical threads' and 'social cultural threads'. Physical threads as reports Keay, 2009 are those that have physical effect on people and the environment they live in. 'Social cultural threads on the other side have less lasting effect and can be active in nature. They are given as a personal experience to the new social measures and cultural difficulties like language.

The Australian aborigine communities have had outcomes from all this two mechanisms. Their traditional technique of pursuing and assembling has been permanently distorted due to land shortage and flattened natural habitants. Their traditional art of dressing skin, rock tool making technology and simple made stick huts has been changed by current knowledge. (Posted in aboriginalculture.com by David Welch).The social threads forced to the Australian Aborigine community come from their opening up to the rest of the world. Mackey Eva disputes that the non aborigine community has acted as a real thread to aborigines generally. The aborigine's customary language is about to be wipe out due to the dispersion procedure as posed by other languages. Their traditional kinship practices are binding out as a consequence of disintegration of community members in a look out for jobs or for educational purpose.

According to Mackey (1999), the government of Australia has acted as a straight thread to traditional artistic alteration procedure among the aborigine communities. It has given both a positive and negative thread effects. In the local lands act of 1992, the government familiarized native land of any society. Their traditional artistic practices like hunting were to be valued. Still during the same year, the government outlawed hunting of world game reserves. In some cases where these game reserves were their hunted animals, they sought to other techniques of survival hence change in their traditional form of endurance. However in a way of making sure that the aborigine society is part of the tourism business, its traditional art, ceremonies and dances are encouraged between them t o amuse tourists. Report released Australia National Tourism Association posted on Australia Party Explorer limited 2009 show that, more than 70% of tourists visiting Australia are captivated to rich traditional aboriginal practices.

Many global societies and non governmental organizations have had a growing anxiety on the decline of traditional cultural practices. In Australia, the United Nation through the announcement made on Universal Human rights of December 1948 recognized an office in Sydney, Australia's capital that could foresee government arms in regarding any human right in spite of their artistic practices. This consist of the 'stolen generation' of between 1900 to 1972 where international association reported cases of children taken from their relatives, by the government and churches in the name of 'educating them' only to result in strange identity loss. This was seen as part of the plan to have them outlined from their rich customary practices which the government saw as a thread to its growth.

The United Nations human right watch organ came in to reinstate this predicament and returned back the aborigine's traditional artistic practices. In working close to the government, the united Nation through its teaching progress plan makes sure that it opens up the aborigine society to the same educational chances. However, this plan contributed to the wonderful decline of traditional artistic practices as reports, Mackey and Eva (1999) in Deborah Lupton's, New Direction and perceptions, London; Cambridge University press. Learning given was based on western arrangement with little thought to them about their own artistic practices; it hence exposed them to cultural absorption procedure of different backgrounds.

Different non governmental organizations have shown interests in the worlds declining traditional culture. Center for Reproductive Law, Catholic for Free choice and International Planned Parenthood Association are only but a few NGOs who have powerfully come on board to see to it that decline in traditional cultural practices is tackled. Catholic for free Choice is a non governmental organization that values traditional practices from being corroded by the church. In representing this, they feel that the practice of celibacy is not obligatory and not necessary. Although they relegate the rich traditional culture of catholic society in the world, they also supplement some traditional practices which are broad that calls for marriage.

Many states apart from Australia are facing a rough challenge of harmonizing between waning traditional culture and rising globalization as well as infectious matters such as limiting HIV/AIDs scourge. In the article, 'The End of Christian America' by Jon Meacham April 4^th 2009, from News week magazine, America is faced by grave traditional cultural turn down. Religion which was the culture of American people is now seen as a small unit that has no sense or supporters. Most Americans have found going to the church a boring fact .That they always feel sick when they hear that it is a Sunday. Meacham is seeing a condition that could end in the church being completely forgotten. This is an example of a serious challenge facing America to the declining traditional culture.

In South Africa, the overgrowing HIV occurrence has reduced polygamous marriages which were an element of a traditional practice that gave a lot of sense and worth to anybody who was practicing it. (Elizabeth Dean,BBC News magazine 2010). Many societies have fear of losing their loved ones or being infected. The Zulus who were polygamous are therefore having a declining traditional culture of polygamy as a result of HIV/AIDS plague. In Zimbabwe and Kenya, communities which never used to carry out male circumcision like the Luo are adopting another culture of doing so. Some non governmental groups also assisted aid the traditional 'bad' cultures from taking place in many African communities. Female genital mutilation is one of the cultures explained as bad owing to its effects to the members in this modern world. On governmental organizations like World Vision in Conjunction with governments made sure that this does not occur. This is of the declined traditional cultures which leave helpful effects after being done a way with.

In trying to solve this issue of declining traditional culture, a part involved needs to first address the effect/ impact of that issue to the development process of the whole population. As argued above we have some traditional artistic practices which cause more damage to the whole population than the members. For instance from an emic's viewpoint, traditional cultural matter of female genital mutilation is very vital .However, it endorses premature marriage resulting into less women freedom. It also results to school dropouts hence less chances to women in form of employment and other career progression. World Health Organization describes it as a health challenge both to physical and mental process of a person. This is some of the matters that nongovernmental organizations and governmental organizations look into before investing into making sure that a cultural part is faced out in the society. (Ontario consultants on religious mentorship).

However, some traditional cultural matters are of much advantage to the society. They should be encouraged to allow the society to develop. Male circumcision who is seen as helping to the decrease of HIV/AIDS spread should be encouraged in spite of taboos against it in a society. This is what most governments in the world like Kenya are doing. However, in encouraging these artistic practices we should be cautious not to give fake information as it can result into other difficulties. Traditional artistic practices like performing art as observed in the Australian aborigines should be encouraged for they receive a society a sense of prestige and self identity. They also pass on communal standards like the virtue of tolerance, honesty, determination and others. Each administration should come up with caring devices of making sure that these cultural practices are not shattered. The Australian government is a good example of states having plans. Its local control act makes sure that aborigines are well protected from their native land. It is the basis why Australia has the oldest culture in the world. Declining traditional culture can as a result be met with both positive and negative effects.