StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The object of analysis for the purpose of this assignment is “Grand Valley Dani: Peaceful Warriors” by Karl G. Heider.  The paper tells that times have definitely changed the culture.  The women, often now, wear cloth skirts, and the men wear pants. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.5% of users find it useful
Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors"

Download file to see previous pages

This research will begin with the statement that the people of the Grand Dani are believed to have resided in this area of New Guinea for centuries, according to Karl Heider. The technology of these people is very limited and the only resources that were basically utilized in the 70’s era were stones and bamboo instruments. Also, their way of preservation deals almost entirely on horticulture for sustenance. Their culture and previous style of life have practically vanished away, due to Western missionaries’ encroachments and the degree of far-reaching variables in the environment due to World War II.

The sociological structure of the Dani people differs greatly from American society. They are not totally united as a social network and do not necessarily have to rely on one another’s individual contributions to the clan in order to persevere. The main lifestyle objectives of the Dani women are kept separate from the men. While the men do more technical and constructive work, the women’s primary attentiveness is on tending to the children, gardening, tending and feeding the pigs, making salt, and weaving carrying baskets.

The work among these people is almost always assigned to gender or in an age categorization. What unites them as a whole is the similarity that they have in regards to their values, beliefs, and rituals. Though it might be hard to believe, the men are the ones that normally weave the skirts that the women wear. Furthermore, they are the ones that also perform the myriad of ceremonies and rituals. The men also build the wood and grass houses and ready the fields by plowing, for the women to be able to plant the sweet potatoes (Heider 2004).

One quite notable difference between the Dani people and American’s is the definite lack of specialized skills within their community. The Dani’s primary food source is sweet potatoes, although they do have other fruits and vegetables as well. Their only meat source comes from the pigs that they raise (Heidi 1970). The Dani Valley consists of a huge network of fields which the Dani improvise on and develop into harvested areas for gardening purposes. This is a year round process and there is always a field in the procurement of being harvested (Heidi 2004).

Their irrigation technique involves constructing ditches around the fields so that there will be a proper route for excess water to drain. These same ditches are utilized to allow needed water into the harvested fields in the dry season of the Dani Valley. The social organization of the Dani is divided into two groups. The Wida or the Waija, which are the two designated social circles within the community. This simply means that each individual person is an aspectual part of their father’s moiety.

They are required to marry outside the moiety that the reside in (Heider 1996). Though this works well for their people and their belief system, there are instances when complications arise among this type of social structure. For example, every Dani is born into the Wida moiety, no matter the specification, of which group, the father is bound too. The separation of social recognition does not occur until marriage, during the pigs feast (Heider 1996). In regards to the political aspects of the Dani people, there are different allegiances.

Extended family compounds become part of a large confederation, usually equaling 1000 individuals (Heider 2004). It is the confederations that co-exist in a stable and peaceful, multi unit society. Although they might present more stability in family life, the allegiances among them often change (Heider 1970). There are no written laws or any real legal constraints, unless verbalized. Also, they share the same unique culture and belief system despite what group they are affiliated with. Their belief in marriage has a very distinct variation from an American perspective.

They believe in Polygony, which is the custom of having more

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1530199-grand-valley-dani-peaceful-warriors
(Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/history/1530199-grand-valley-dani-peaceful-warriors.
“Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1530199-grand-valley-dani-peaceful-warriors.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Grand Valley Dani Peaceful Warriors

Are Democracies Inherently Peaceful

hellip; Are Democracies Inherently peaceful?... Citizens of those states cannot obtain a peaceful living environment and this situation adversely affects their quality of living.... As compared to monocracy, oligocracy, or military rule, democracies are inherently peaceful unless they are unjustifiably attacked by external powers.... Giving specific focus to the era of World War I & II, this paper will discuss how democracies are inherently peaceful....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

Private peaceful is a novel by Michael Morpurgo in which he has gone through the task of contrasting bravery with cowardice.... hellip; Even though it is a children's book, Private peaceful possesses dramatic power and is a true description of the horror of war times.... Private peaceful is a humanizing recollection of the depravity that is overlooked by the British army to date.... The book evokes a real feeling of depression in its quest for realism Private peaceful revolves around a seventeen year old called Tommo peaceful and it begins with the Tommo reminiscing while in the trenches at War....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

Samurai Warriors

The Samurai warriors of Japan are synonymous with loyalty, bravery and efficiency which resulted in their strong impact upon Japanese culture and society, even after they had been forced to give up their traditional task of being warriors, who protected the interests of their masters.... hellip; It is a common fallacy to think of the Samurai as fierce warriors, since the best of them were great visionaries who pursued spiritual, artistic and cultural endeavors apart from their regular, prescribed duties....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Peaceful coexistence within society

In this discussion, the writer of this essay "peaceful coexistence within society" explicates the reasons that have facilitated his belief in these three imperative issues and also describe the policies that have been implemented to ensure that they occur amongst our society.... hellip; peaceful co-existence within every society is pertinent in promoting development; it is apparent that in the contemporary global society countries that experience frequent civil violence and conflicts are among the poorest in terms of economic and social developments....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Movie review peaceful warriors

Silence is the warriors art -----meditation is his sword.... in turn, a person is able to come up with a solution to solve real problems peaceful warrior if you do not get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don't want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you cannot hold on to it forever.... I would, as a peaceful warrior, choose when, where, and how I would behave.... How can YOU become a peaceful warriorIn order to become a peaceful warrior, I need to live in present time, engage both brain and mind in thinking, and develop the capacity to enjoy less in life....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

20 paragraphs relating to the Rio Grande Valley

The Rio Grande valley has a rich diversity of flora and fauna.... The area in which Rio Grande valley… Rio Grande valley comprises of four large counties (Acton, 35).... In addition, Willacy County and Hidalgo County are some of the counties found in Rio Grande valley....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Cultural Worksheet for The Dani

The grand valley dani were the inhabitants of Grand Valley, New Guinea at the western highlands.... The name Papua is derived from Malay “papuwah” meaning… The term Papua New Guinea was coined by the Australian colonialists after the Second World War. Farming is the economic activity practiced by the dani where the basic capital and land resources are conjoined for the use of irrigation, whereby the sweet potatoes are grown The irrigated land is provided freely for use by any member without prior payments or negotiations....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Answers to Questions About Rio Grande Valley, South Texas

The Cultural Aspects of an Effective Organization Recognized in the Rio Grande valley.... Some of the cultural aspects of an effective organization recognized in the Rio Grande valley include autonomy, innovation, skill development, trust, and open lines of communication.... … The different types of organization cultures in Rio Grande valley make it close to an ideal culture, which has the capacity of maximizing its potential for success....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us