Culture Schm-ulture
As a narrow minded engineer, I have always underestimated any notions of “culture”. I always thought it was simple enough to harmonize cultures as is done in thriving multicultural cities like Toronto.
Yet I am quickly learning that merely observing cultures is different from living and integrating within. For example, Westerner’s are quite individualistic, and take pride in achieving economic independence. Malawians on the other hand live in solidarity with their brothers and sisters, and depend on each other in order to ensure the survival of family and friends. When a Malawian has a need for money or some good, the normal and acceptable way to get it is to ask for it from a relative, friend, or acquaintance. It is also normal to be completely in debt, with no hopes of ever repaying money owed. If one is perceived to have more than the other, it is fair game to ask for the person who has less to ask for his piece of the pie. If money is loaned to a friend or family member, it will probably not be repaid unless the lenders need is perceived to be greater than the debtors. The concept of saving is not common, as if a Malawian has money, it is spent right away before a family member or friend asks for it. Canadians are pretty frank and straightforward, while Malawians will always smile and say yes to you, even if they completely disagree with you. If we don’t want something we say NO. Saying no to a Malawian is rude, it is better to make an excuse, or say something like ‘not today maybe tomorrow’. If Candians need money, we work for it. Malawians on the other hand, talk for it. To Malawians, it is of upmost importance to maintain their honor and dignity while avoiding shame and humiliation. To Canadians…….not as important. We don’t really care what the neighbours think. Screw the neighbours. Westerners generally make investments for future gains. Malawians want immediate results. A vendor in the market once told Jim “it is better to make a buck today, then to make ten tomorrow”.
So needless to say, with all these cultural differences that we were not aware of when we arrived, we pretty much made fools of ourselves time and time again. Not to mention the amount of money we foolishly lent to people that we will probably never see again. Now that we are a bit more aware of how things operate around here, it makes it easier for us to relate with our fellow co-workers, and I am less frustrated at the daily assaults from the street beggars and vendors who try to sell me the same ghetto mop day in and day out. I actually have fun trying to think up new excuses for not buying their junk.
In general, Malawians are very friendly, warm and generous. They laugh a lot, and enjoy life (apart from the famine). I admire their sense of family, kinship and honour. There are a lot of things that we in the West can learn from Malawians. However, there are also some darker sides to their cultures and traditions that, in my opinion, are devastating the nation..
I will give one example that is near and dear to my heart. The injustices towards women. Women are generally considered second class citizens. Women are abused regularly. Men are allowed to have concubines outside their marriage. In fact it is encouraged, particularly if the man has enough money to support them. If the woman complains, she is beaten. Polygamy is very common. The more wives a man has, the more of a man he is. Families send their sons to school more often than their daughters. Within the family, men get fed first. Children second, and women last. If a women’s husband dies, all her possessions are taken away and given to the husband’s family, including the wife herself. Plus she has to endure the cultural practice of ‘death cleansing’ which entails another man coming to live/sleep with her for a month while she cooks / cleans and pays for the service so that her husbands soul can be at rest. In Malawi, the current life expectancy is 37 years old, due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Practices such as death cleansing and wife inheritance only propagate the disease, especially since men are dropping like flies from HIV/AIDS, spreading it to their wives which in turn get spread to their brother’s family. Within the Chewa tribe, adolescent girls are initiated into adulthood through a traditional practice encouraged by village leaders and family members. Once a girl becomes of age, she is counseled by elderly women in the village on how to sexually please men. That night, the village leader will select a male from the village to sneak into the girls hut and ‘initiate’ her. A prime example of a cultural practice that demeans women, perpetuates the dominance of men, and spreads HIV/AIDs. In the South of Malawi, the Yaooaoo tribe have even worse traditional practices. There, all the young girls are taken out of school and away from their families to a month long camp, where they engage in practical lessons on how to sexually please men, taught by multiple men from the village themselves. At the end of their training, their heads are shaved to prove their rite of passage. Needless to say, another cultural practice that spreads HIV/AIDS, completely degrades and objectifies these young girls, and breeds a culture of sexual perversion, male superiority, and the inferiority of women.
Learning about these cultural traditions, breaks my heart, and makes me realize the enormous task required to mitigate the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It requires much much much more that the multitude of NGO’s implementing 3 year development programs, donor governments providing free Anti-retroviral drugs, and Stephen Lewis’ condomization of Africa. It requires a deeper examination of the root causes of this “wounded human condition” and complete cultural and behavioral change. It requires the development of a culture that is based on the human dignity of every individual, a deep respect for others, including women; and a sense of responsibility. How is this achieved? I have no idea. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. What I do know is that CPAR’s 3 year $2.5 million dollar HIV/AIDS project that we are currently implementing in rural Malawi is barely making a dent.
What are the causes of these darker cultural practices? Some may blame colonialism and the effects of slavery. Others attribute it to the lack of education or religious direction. I have no idea what it is. At times I wish I were a social scientist, but unfortunately I am simply a narrow minded engineer who can’t figure out these equations.
I hope you are all well……
Regards,
Tess
Nb – I can’t take credit for the photo. It was taken by our friend Geeta, at the World Aid’s Day Parade on Dec 1st. Apparently the poor kid, who was proudly displaying his banner, was quickly removed from the parade grounds. I think this picture is priceless. In fact I stole this photo off of her blog (www.geeta.ca) I couldn’t help it.
posted by Tess and Jim O @ 9:20 PM
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