Tag: shelter

10 Cultural Universals Wrap-Up

19. October 201821. October 2018by J. WittwerLeave a comment

Over these past few months, we’ve talked about the 10 Cultural Universals.

These are the ten themes that every culture has in common.

Let’s run through these themes one more time and sum up what we’ve covered.

Geography

From the geography of the Inca culture and how it impacts all other aspects of life in the Andean Mountains.

Language

To the way words and language can color our world – like it does for Russian culture in shades of blue.

Family

From the varied family structures in collectivist and individualist cultures.

Food, Clothing, Transport, Shelter

To the dignity of food with Anthony Bourdain.

From fashion, its trends, and social movements that advance culture.

To how transportation can shape a city and its embrace of greener alternatives.

From how shelters tell stories of culture to the stories told by the nomadic homes of Mongolian yurts.

Values, Beliefs, Rituals

From how we become who we are through the values we consume.

To how cultural beliefs can impact everything from gender roles to healthcare to education.

From how rituals can make death a celebration.

Economics

To how cultural values can influence economic output and shape government for better or worse.

Education

From how educators serve as the front-line in disseminating our culture’s values to our children.

Politics

To how “collapsing events” in politics can inform those very values and provide context to the evolution of our culture.

Technology

From how social media movements are being used as a vehicle of change across the world.

Cultural Expression

To how art, literature, dance, music, sport, and other forms of creative expression have always been used as vehicles of sharing and understanding both the familiar and the foreign.

What’s So Beautiful About These Universals?

The fact that each and every culture around the world has these themes in common.

Regional surroundings help define culture, language and cultural expression communicate to others who we are, politics provide culture structure.

Although from East to West, individuals, societies, governments, and their values are different – very different – we all share these ten aspects of culture in common.

And sharing commonalities is as beautiful a thing as appreciating our differences.

Next week, we’ll talk about the dangers of assuming sameness. Stay tuned.

10 Cultural Universals: The Yurt, A Nomadic Home

3. August 20183. August 2018by J. WittwerLeave a comment

Last week, in our series on the 10 Cultural Universals, we talked about how shelters are illustrations of culture.

A shelter’s attributes inform you about the area’s climate, the structural materials inform you about the type of resources available in the region, the layout informs you about the social elements of the culture, and the home’s architecture and design inform you about the culture’s aesthetic sensibilities.

To put it simply, structures are incredibly informative in the study of culture.

In today’s post, we’ll take a virtual walk-through of one of these shelters and learn a little about the culture within.

Design

The Yurt is a circular home in Central Asia, emblematic of nomadic Mongolian tribes.

In the 13th century book Travels in the Eastern Countries, Guillaume de Rubrouck wrote of the yurt:

“They [the nomads] put their houses on wheels, and woven rods are used as walls for their homes. The walls are enclosed on the top forming the roof of the house. They are covered with white felt and it is often coated with lemon or bone powder to make it sparkle.”

Rubrouck goes on to say that the black felt opening in the rooftop is designed elaborately with themed illustrations.

A felt wall hanging at the home’s entrance is also a norm. These wall hangings are usually colorfully artistic renderings of birds and other animals, trees, and vines, revealing the importance of nature to the Mongolian nomadic tribes.

Materials

As forever-travelers, nomads need a home that can spring up out of transportable materials, which the yurt can do, although it’s also used as a more permanent structure.

The wooden frame of a yurt is collapsable and is often draped in animal skins or wool felt, which keeps the cool in during summer and the heat during winter. The wool felt is obtained from sheep often shepherded by the nomadic pastoralists, while the timber to form the structure cannot be found on the steppes, which don’t have trees, and must be sourced through trade in the nearby valleys.

Modern yurts also have a double layer of canvas to protect from the elements.

The structure includes three to five orange mesh walls, depending on the size of the yurt. The sloped roof with a hole in the center is a primary feature, allowing for a chimney when cooking or heating the home.

The yurt also has a wooden floor, covered by carpets, again for insulation.

Learn

As you virtually walk through the yurt and learn of its build and design, what do you learn about the nomadic Mongolian peoples who inhabit these structures?

Tell me in the comment section.

10 Cultural Universals: Hearts & Hearths, How Shelters Tell Stories of Culture

27. July 201827. July 2018by J. WittwerLeave a comment

Yurt, adobe, Siheyuan, izba, stilt, igloo, turf.

Some of these housing types, you may recognize; others, you may not. But each of them illustrate character traits of a culture…that is, if you’re willing to look closely.

Along with food, clothing, and transport, shelter is a basic cultural element in our series on the 10 Cultural Universals.

The homes we choose to live in tell a story of who we are. They are historical artifacts that provide archeologists a look into the past, and they are modern snapshots that inform others about who we are and what we deem most important in life.

Whether the focal point of a home is the kitchen, a social room, or even a temple built within, our hearts are revealed by our hearths.

So let’s take a look at both.

Hearts & Hearths

What can a shelter tell us about the culture and about life in a region?

Here are some things to consider when discussing the cultural elements of shelters:

Climate – The climate of the region determines the needs of the home. Stilt houses in Cambodia, for example, to avoid flooding, or thick insulation in locations with hard, cold winters.
Structural materials – Structural materials for homes are best sourced locally. You’re more likely to find bamboo used in construction in Asian countries than in the West, or adobe clay in the desert than in the arctic.
Social elements – Whether the residence is built around a courtyard, likethe Siheyuan homes of China, or is set up with individual rooms for more independent and private living or a single room for more commune-style living, the social elements of each culture determine a home’s layout and design.

Aesthetic – From the vaulted ceilings of Italian homes to the bamboo roofs of Bali, from the ornately designed doors of Icelandic turf houses to the homey thatched cottages of England, the aesthetic and architecture of a home is obviously the most eye-catching and expressive element of the culture. Aesthetics tell us what the culture finds beautiful and most comfortable.

In essence – and in reality – home is where the heart is. Each form of shelter is a monument to the people. This is why homes around the world inform our understanding the people who inhabit them and the culture they engender.