22 Lesson 3 ANTHROPOLOGY Motivational Activity: Pinoy Ako! What makes a Filipino? Name at least 10 unique practices or beliefs. Processing Questions: 1. What makes you proud as a Filipino? 2. If you will be required by the school to come up with your own label or ““tatak”, what would it be and why? 3. How did you find the activity? 4, What is your insight about it? Whang-od Oggay is a tattoo artist. She was born on February 17, 1917. She is also known asMaria Oggay, a Filipino tattoo artist from Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga, Philippines. She is often described as the “last” and oldest mambabatok (traditional Kalinga tattooist) and is part of the Butbut people of the larger Kalinga ethnic group. She has been tattooing headhunters and women of the indigenous people of Butbut in Buscalan, Kalinga, since she was 15 years old, but the Butbut warriors who used to earn tattoos through protecting villages or killing enemies no longer exist. Despite that, Whang-od continues to apply her traditional art form to tourists visiting Buscalan. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) conferred on Whang-od the prestigious Dangal ng Haraya Award at Tabuk, the capital of Whang-od'’s ethnic province of Kalinga, in 2018. She was nominated for the National Living Treasures Award (Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan) in 2017. Her nomination is still being processed by the NCCA. ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIEW OF THE SELF Anthropology is the science of humanity that studies human beings in aspects ranging from biological to evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the features of society and culture that decisively distinguish humans from other animal species. It has several branches - Physical anthropology is the branch that concentrates on the biology and evolution of humanity. It discussed in greater detail human evolution. Cultural anthropology (or ethnology), social anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and psychological anthropology are branches that study the social and cultural constructions of human groups. GEC 108- Understanding the Self “Module2B Further, anthropology according to Waltz is the science of the nature of man. Nature means a matter animated by the Divine Breath. Based from Thomas Csordas, anthropology means “what it means to be human”. For Clifford Gertz, it is the study of cultures, practices, values, ideas, technologies, economies, and other domains of social and cognitive organization. He even said that, “Without culture, there is no man”. The study of culture is always a part of anthropology. The word “culture” is derived from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin “colere,” which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture. It shares its etymology with a number of other words related to actively fostering growth is the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. It is also the customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Culture therefore; is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. It is a shared pattern of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding that are learned by socialization. It can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the group. The Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition goes a step further, defining culture as encompassing religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things (Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London). What is the relevance of studying Anthropology? It provides us basic assumption about human life. It gives us information about different cultures and norms which help us understand beliefs, practices, and values of people across the globe. THE SELF EMBEDDED IN CULTURE Culture is a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which people communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life. Culture is everything a person learns as a member of the society. It is a powerful agent that shapes the decisions and actions of humans. It can material (tangible) and non-material (intangible) which differ based on the country as a result of environment and history. Culture is likewise learned through socialization agents. This can be through; a. Enculturation - the process of \earning your own culture as a result of interaction with significant others GECC 108- Understanding the Self “Module F24 b. Acculturation - the process of modifying culture to accommodate desirable traits from other culture (ex. Inclination of Filipinos towards Kpop culture) ¢. Decculturation - happens when the culture of the older generation comes in conflict with the needs and realities of the younger generation (ex. Parental high expectation of elders is an instigator of high suicidal rate and high educational attainment among Japanese adolescents) Culture is also shared intergenerationally. It even affects Biology such as humans are born into cultures that have values on beauty and body (ex. Mursi Tribe in Ethiopia Africa wearing lip plates is a sign of beauty. Women are expected to wear them to attract men). In summary, the self is embedded in culture once it identifies its relationship with culture. The self has to respect these cultural practices and remain reflexive. It is only when the self the power of culture constituted by every system that we can have an effective shaping of social reality. Areflection of this is the threat of Cultural Degradation which happens when there is a loss of a particular culture due to assimilation or loss of interest (ex. Indigenous people not being proud of who they are and try to conceal their background when enrolling in a university). Social media has become a venue of cultural degradation due to commercials or advertisements and exposures to virtual activities that influence traditions, language, beliefs, knowledge, and personalities (ex. being thin is beautiful, being black is ugly, hair must be silky and black, drinking liquor is cool, etc.). El SUMMARY Lesson 3 on Anthropology emphasized the importance of culture in shaping one’s behavior. The self is understood in the context of anthropology in a sense that the self is biologically attuned to respond in the environment where he/she lives. [lv] OUTPUT PLAN © Compose your own original Shout Out of who you are as a Filipino. It should reveal the identity of Filipinos. GECC 108- Understanding the Self Module I