The Assigment of Final examination/ME and Culture/Irmayanti/031104134/VII E

Irmayanti

031104134 / VII E

Cross Culture Uderstanding

Me and Culture

A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next my original culture is sundanese, there are several thing that we can learn from my culture.

.The Sundanese is the second-largest ethnic group in Indonesia. By the late-1950s, "Sunda-land" had been fully integrated into Indonesia. Called West Java, it is one of the nation's richest provinces.Like other Indonesians, most Sundanese are bilingual. They speak both their native tongue, Sundanese, and the Indonesian national language. Generally, Sundanese is the language of choice among family members and friends, while in the public sphere, Indonesian is used. Both languages are part of the Austronesian language family.Sundanese is extremely diverse, with various regional dialects. However, all are divided into different levels of formality depending on the social status of the person being addressed. Thus, the words one uses when talking to one's father differ from those used when talking to a friend or to one's younger sister. Most people use only two levels, or sometimes three. However, some older people make use of four.Sundanese naming practices are extremely varied. Some people have only a single name, while others have a first name and a last name. Women do not legally change their names after marriage but are frequently called "Mrs. [name of husband].

. Marriage is the most elaborate Sundanese rite of passage. Formally, it involves nine stages, from the initial visit between both sets of parents to the sharing of food and gifts on the day of the wedding. The groom's family brings gifts and money to the family of the bride. A few days before the wedding, the groom is "given" to the bride, along with clothing, jewelry, and money. On the day of the wedding, the groom is picked up at his home and taken to the bride's house, where he presents her with an agreed-upon amount of gold. The parents of the couple ceremonially feed them the last bites they will receive from their parents' hands. One week after the wedding, a gathering is held at the groom's house for his family and friends to meet the bride.

Traditional Sundanese clothing for women consists of a kebaya and a sarung (a skirt-like garment). The kebaya is a long-sleeved, fitted lace blouse that is worn over another layer of clothing. The sarung is a length of cloth that is wrapped around the waist and hangs down to the ankles. Men also wear a sarung, but instead of a kebaya, they wear a long-sleeved batik shirt or a fitted, embroidered jacket.Increasingly, such traditional clothing is worn only on formal occasions such as weddings. Everyday dress follows either Western or Islamic styles.

The Sundanese like to say, "If you have not eaten rice, then you have not eaten." Rice is prepared in hundreds of different ways. However, it is simple boiled rice that serves as the centerpiece of all meals. Side dishes of vegetables, fish, or meat are added to provide variety. These side dishes are spiced with any combination of garlic, galingale (a plant of the ginger family), turmeric, coriander, ginger, and lemon grass. Usually the food itself is not too spicy, but it is served with a very hot sauce made by grinding chili peppers and garlic together.. Preferred fowl include chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons. A well-known Sundanese dish is lalapan, which consists only of raw vegetables, such as papaya leaves, cucumber, eggplant, and bitter melon. It is said to be the only Indonesian dish that features raw vegetables. Thus it often gives rise to jokes comparing Sundanese people to goats.

The Sundanese have an extremely rich cultural heritage. Many of Indonesia's most famous pop stars are Sundanese. Local music is sometimes set to the beat of "house music." One of the more traditional varieties is called degung. It is performed by a simplified gamelan orchestra blending soft-sounding percussion instruments with the melancholy sounds of a flute. Another type of orchestra is made up of an instrument called angklung (consisting of suspended bamboo tubes in different lengths that make a musical sound when shaken).One of the oldest forms of Sundanese literature still in existence is the pantun cerita. It is a kind of traditional poetry, in which each verse consists of two couplets. It tells of Sundanese heroes from ancient times. More modern forms of literature, such as the novel, have also emerged among the Sundanese. Sundanese novels are strictly popular, rather than "high brow."

The conclusion that culture can e defined as a symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institution, acculturation: all the knowledge and values shared by a society.Every country has different culture and they have characteristic that interesting to be explore for knowledge. And they have different way to conserve their culture in order that not contaminated by culture from another country. Culture have important role on politic and economy, I’m very proud being Indonesian, because it rich with the cultural heritage. As a sundanese I fell the culture in my neighborhood still kept, for example I still use sundanese language for daily conversation to older people I have to more polite when I speak with them.

Reference:

1. http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Germany-to-Jamaica/Sundanese.html
2. http://www.roshan-institute.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=39783&PID=474552
3. http://www.google.co.id/search?hl=id&defl=en&q=define:culture&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title