Patterns of Culture

PATTERNS OF CULTURE

by Antonio C. Antonio

February 4, 2015

Why is it important to study culture in relation to environmental management?  It must be noted that there are numerous cultural and indigenous communities living in the rural and (even) in the urban landscapes.  To these groups of people, their indigenous knowledge, culture and traditions are held sacred.  Introducing modern technologies without considering or integrating such indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditions might not work well with them.  A combination of these (therefore, indigenous knowledge, culture and tradition, and modern management methods) may stand a better chance of being accepted by these cultural and indigenous peoples.  Understanding traditional worldviews and culture, therefore, becomes imperative.

Culture or cultural pattern is a group of interrelated traits of some continuity.  In this sense, culture does not refer to a specific individual but to the cultural patterns as exhibited by a group of persons or refers to the generalized pattern of behaviour of a group of persons.  While culture is “general” in nature, variations could be described as sub-culture sets.  In these sub-culture sets, individual groupings will show some degree of variation from the generalized cultural pattern.

There are two types of culture or cultural patterns.  “Ideal patterns are called the “imperatives” of culture.  They are the musts and should of the culture:  Women must marry at the age of fifteen.  Hunters should enter the forest only after the performance of rituals.  Couples should have only one child.  Behaviour patterns refer to the actual behaviour of members of the culture.  The ideals are not always followed.  For example, not all women marry at the age of fifteen.” (Daylinda Banzon-Cabanilla, “Cultures and Societies in Typical Forest Ecosystems”)

It is equally important to consider both ideal and behaviour patterns in understanding culture.  If only “behaviour” patterns are considered in the case of forest degradation, the conclusion would most likely be that the upland dwellers and community do not find forest protection and preservation as an “ideal”.  It would be hard to imagine the complex problems that will result if only behaviour or ideal patterns are taken into consideration. This is the importance of patterns of culture.

Just my little thoughts…

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