Deliberate Culture

Bonobo Chimps... Tools, Fire and Walking Upright

Instinctive Diets

After my recent lactose intolerance, I have become even more fascinated with primitive and cultural diets. I have a theory (probably not a unique one), that people of a particular ancestry should eat what their ancestors have eaten. Part of the reason that I believe this is that through my research into diary intolerance, I found out that unless you are of Northern European descent, you are probably lactose intolerant too. Africans, Asians, and Indigenous peoples can't eat the stuff.

Which made me wonder, of course, how many other foods that my ancestors never ate, that my body just physically can't handle? This is further confused by the fact that many people in North American are of mixed heritage, myself included. I've got Germans and British on one side, and Italians and Brazilians on the other, and I can't tolerate dairy, so it tells me that I need to lean towards the Mediterranean and Mesoamerican diets.

There are those that go back even further, and follow a Paleolithic diet, the basic principles of which are avoiding anything that can't be eaten raw. You can cook it, but if it's toxic to you raw then you can't eat it, which means no potatoes or beans. There is a great website about those diets at Beyond Vegetarianism.

What's so funny to me about researching the food of my ancestors is that I just instinctively or naturally just love that type of food anyway. Ancient Romans ate olive oil, fruits and vegetables and lots of breads, and I grew up on Mexican food, and those are the things I love to eat. They didn't eat much dairy or sugar, or even much meat, and I just don't like to eat those things either.

So here's a list of all the ancient cultures I can think of, and what they typically ate, for the benefit of those wanting to eat instinctively and change their culture:

Norther European (Vikings, Celts, Britain, France) - They ate nuts and seeds gathered from the wild, but ate a lot of meats, veal, venison, partridge, pheasant, bacon, beef, boar and hare, seafood, all boiled or roasted. The vegetables and fruits they had were cooked with the meat, and mostly onions, leeks, cabbage and mainly apples and pears. Potatoes also came in later.

Southern European (Greeks, Romans) - They ate a lot of wheat and barley, either stewed into porridge or baked into bread. With the bread they ate vegetables: cabbage, onions, lentils, sweet peas, chickpeas, broad beans, garden peas, grass peas, mostly in soup, boiled or mashed with olive oil, vinegar, herbs or a fish sauce. They also had lots of fresh fruit, especially olives, figs, and pomegranates, and nuts. Meat wasn't eaten in large quantity... mostly game birds or chicken, or pork sausage by the common people. They did eat lots of eggs, always soft or hard boiled, and goat cheese and milk.

Eurasian (Russia, Mongolia) - This was tricky to find, and mostly these ancient people were the Mongolians. They ate very seasonally. During the summer a main staple was fermented mare's milk, and they never drank fresh milk, instead using it in yogurt and cheeses. In the winter the main dish was sheep, usually boiled with wild garlic and onions, then cut into strips and served on skewers. They butchered the sheep very carefully, keeping the blood in until the animal had died and then used the blood for sausage. They hunted deer, boar, rabbits and squirrels to eat, but never in summer. If an animal died in summer it was cut into strips and dried to eat during winter.

China - Ancient Chinese ate lots of rice, millet or sorghum. They drank tea, and they sometimes had cooked vegetables on their rice, such as soybean and cucumber. For fruit they had oranges, peaches, lemons and apricots. For flavor they used ginger and anise. They later had chicken which they cut into little pieces to mix with the vegetables, and later pork. Many people were Buddhist, however, and did not eat meat, so tofu was used instead. The reason all the food was chopped into little pieces was because it took less fuel to cook it.

Southeastern Asian (India, Hindu, Thailand, Malaysia) - The earliest Indians, the Harappans, ate mainly wheat and rice and lentils, and occasionally cows, pigs, sheep, and goats, and chicken. Rice and chicken seem to have come from Thailand, and wheat and sheep from West Asia. Some of the wheat was made into stews or soups, and some into flat breads called chapatis. Then because of religious beliefs, most people became vegetarian. Their vegetarian diet was mainly wheat flatbreads or a kind of flatbread made out of chickpeas, with a spicy vegetarian sauce, and yogurt. Or people ate rice, with yogurt and vegetables, and they grew many spicy peppers. The rest of southeastern Asia did eat meat, and ate lots of curry similar to India but because they were more tropical mixed in items like coconut milk and pineapple and other fruits to their dishes.

Fareastern Asia (Japan) - Before Koreans are believed to have migrated to the island of Japan, there was a hunter/gatherer society. They ate mostly fish, and hunted deer, bear, rabbit, and duck, and gathered nuts, berries, mushrooms, and parsley. They continued to develop their fishing technology because their diet was so dependent on fish, and later the only real agriculture they introduced was to grow rice.

Middle Eastern (Egypt, Israel, Babylon, Persia) - Besides inventing hummus, they ate dates, grapes, pomegranates, peaches, watermelon, in Egypt they ate pork but not fish, while in Israel they ate fish and not pork because of religious beliefs. The common people ate eggs, sheep, geese and ducks, richer people ate beef, and many people ate antelope and gazelle. They ate a lot of bread, all flat, hard breads. The common vegetables were lentils, coarse beans, cucumbers, onions, leeks, and garlic. In Israel the diet was very similar to that of the Mediterranean, while Egypt had much less variety. The ancient Persians ate many foods: rice and bread made with wheat, yoghurt, using basil, cilantro, cumin and caraway, apricots, artichokes, eggplants, lemons, lime, oranges, pistachios, spinach, saffron, cardamom, cloves, coriander, dill, nutmeg, paprika, pomegranates, saffron, sumac, turmeric, as well as orange-flower water and rose water were used in cooking. Lamb and goat were the primary meats eaten by Persians.

African (Bushmen) - Because much of northern Africa was Egyptian they had a very similar diet with the exception of fish, which Northern coastal people ate much of. Most people were hunter/gatherers, with a few herding goats for additional meat. Egyptians pushed the San (the Bushmen) further into the desert, and they were typical of hunters of the time, eating buck, zebras, porcupines, hares, lions, giraffes, fish, insects, tortoises, flying ants, snakes- venemous and non-venemous, hyenas, eggs and wild honey. They roasted or boiled the meat on a fire. They also gathered mongongo nuts, baobab fruits, water roots, bitter melon, or berries. Water was mostly gathered from roots, and carried in an ostrich-egg shell. The San still eat this way today.

Australian (Aborigines) - They were skilled hunter/gatherers, eating large game such as kangaroo and other wild mammals such as possum, koala, bats, eels, kangaroo rats, iguanas, lizards, snakes, frogs, parrots, emus, turkeys, swans, ducks, cockatoos and fish. They were careful to harvest animals when they were at their fattest, and they were roasted or steamed over a fire. The fat around the intestines of kangaroos and emus, and possum kidney fat were eaten raw. They also ate the fat of dugong or manatee. They ate the eggs of birds and reptiles, witchety grubs, and moth larva, both raw and cooked, or dried.

Very North American (Inuit, Eskimo) - They hunted, and still hunt, whales, walruses, caribou, seals, polar bears, muskoxen, birds, and at times other less commonly eaten animals such as foxes. 75% of their daily energy was from fat. They also gathered wild grasses, tubers, roots, stems, berries, and edible seaweed. Some of their meat is eaten raw for essential vitamins which cannot be gotten from plant food, including Ringed Seal liver and whale skin.

North American (Iriquois, Plains, Pacific Northwest) - Because of a wide variety of climates, North American cultures ate a variety of things. The Iriquois were farmers, and gathered wild foods such as berries, such as wild cherries, strawberries, currents, huckleberries, chestnuts, beechnuts, hickory nuts, butternuts, acorns and black walnuts, and they collected maple sap for sugar and syrup. They planted corn, beans and squash, which they made into cornmeal, corncake, soups and puddings. They also planted kidney and lima beans and sunflowers for seeds. They hunted deer, bear, rabbit, squirrel and raccoons, wild ducks, turkeys and passenger pigeons, which were cooked or smoked. The Plains people ate much the same things but were very dependent on the buffalo. The Northwest people at a lot of fish, acorns and camas root. The camas was eaten raw, baked or boiled.

Mesoamerican (Mexico, Maya, Inca) - They depended greatly on corn (or maize), which was made into corn tortillas or tamales, and a kind of porridge. Every meal included beans, and tomatoes, avocados, and several varieties of squash were also common. They also ate squash seeds, and a large variety of chili peppers gave spice and flavor to food. The seeds of domesticated chia and amaranth plants were ground in the same manner as corn and eaten in several ways, and the amaranth leaves were eaten as greens. Chia seeds were pressed to extract the oil, and sometimes they grew prickly pear cactus for the fruit and leaf. The only animals they raised were dogs, turkey, and duck, so they mostly ate game animals: fish, birds and insects. Their favorite drink was vanilla-flavored chocolate.

So that's my list of major cultures and what they ate. In creating a deliberate culture, you would have to decide if you were going to follow your ancestry or your climate, or a combination of the two. All of these cultures ate according to what was available, although it is interesting to see that there were a few cultures that had dietary restrictions based on religion, mostly making them avoid a type of meat or all meat. Most of these cultures also weren't strictly hunter-gatherers, and incorporated something they could grow fairly early in their history to supplement what they ate. Mostly these were grains or squash, both which can be preserved easily. It was also interesting how many ate raw meat and insects to get lacking vitamins.

Resources for Creating Your Own Religion

Take a test to see what religion you fit into:

Beliefnet Belief-o-matic

This has a list of constructed religions, some satire and some serious

Create Your Own Religion Wiki

Same Wiki: Articles Under Constructed Religions

The now-recognized Jedi religion:

Jedi Church

Temple of the Jedi Order

Temple of the Jedi Force

Some sites covering all religious beliefs:

United Communities of Spirit

Beliefnet.com

Religious Tolerance

Why Start With Religion.. and Some Thoughts on MMORPG's

I've got a basic outline of the Culture Building Kit on the Tribe Wiki, and it's time to start creating tribes. I wanted to explain a little bit about the Kit and why it is in the order that it is in.

I think in any culture the easiest way to start is with religion. After reading Ishmael it became even more clear to me that everything is a myth, and that myth is an unintentionally necessary part of human life. I'm not going to get philosophical about why this is... I highly recommend reading any of the works of Joseph Campbell for that. The myths of our culture define who we are and how we think, and so it's basically the foundation. People should feel free enough to create their own myths, which is what the Kit gives you the opportunity to do. This is probably the only part of culture design that you will be able to make up almost anything you want without having to take into consideration how you will do so within the modern world and deal with Western culture.

Once you know how people see the world, you can define how they see each other and deal with each other. That's where the social aspects come in. The Kit basically asks questions about ritual and tradition. In any culture, there are rules and rituals for any social situation so that people always know what is appropriate. This is probably the trickiest part to design because we are creating cultures that have to be lived out while still physically living within Western culture. This means that you need to define how you will deal with everybody you currently deal with, but from the context of your own created culture. You also have to define how you will deal with other created tribes like your own, but who have made completely different rituals and myths than you have. This is probably the part that will change the most the more you go along and try things out.

The Arts and Dress section is relatively short but equally important. If you look to any surviving indigenous tribes, art, clothing and practical items are all the same thing. Art is worked into useful items like baskets and pottery and often they are symbols that have spiritual meaning. You will have to refer to your myths and your social values for clues to help you develop those symbols. You will also have to think of your climate and how your clothes can be handmade and functional and follow the style of your culture. Another factor is how bold will you be in wearing these clothes in your everyday life? Try to design something that is simple to make, of the style of your culture, but not too bizarre to the Western culture around you.

Trade may or may not be vital to your culture, and it may be tied to the section following it about technology. If your culture tries to make and use everything made by hand, then you will probably have to barter with other tribes. You need to know how you trade, and what is appropriate to your culture in dealing with others in order to know how to haggle the right way. If you define your views of technology at the same time, you can choose what kinds of items your culture is willing to trade for and accept into daily life.

I have a tendency to start designing the clothing first... maybe because I'm a woman. But starting out in the order I've laid out here will help create a lasting and vibrant culture. I also very much recommend studying modern and ancient cultures for inspiration. There's nothing wrong in creating a culture that pulls together all different aspects of many existing cultures into one form... for example, the honor code of the Samurai, the greeting songs of Africa and the sari of India all used in one culture.

I used to play some MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing games). I've played Star Wars Galaxies (before it changed) and World of Warcraft. For the few people who haven't tried this kind of game, it is a form of virtual immersion into another world and another culture, with the additional bonus of interacting with real people. Star Wars Galaxies in particular gave that kind of experience. You were part of an economy that changed according the products that were made by people, you could build a house, design clothes and get involved in an adventurous job. Even more importantly, these games almost always involved participating in a tribal-like lifestyle of hunting, gathering and trade. World of Warcraft now has ten million subscribers, which tells me that there is something missing from our culture and that people feel a need for that missing puzzle piece.

Quote of the Day

"A man without a culture is like a man without land." - one of the Lost Boys in God Grew Tired of Us

Being Inherently Social - Ways to Say Hello

One part of The Continuum Concept that I was fascinated with was the way that people greeted each other, especially visitors from far away. If someone arrived in the village, rather than going up and shaking hands and putting on an over-enthusiastic show of hospitality, no one spoke to them at all or even acknowledged their presence. After a while, someone would bring them a bit to eat, or something to drink. Every so gradually and gently, the visitor would slowly become absorbed into the community without anyone feeling pressured to be friendly, or without making anyone feel uncomfortably shy. By the evening the guest would feel perfectly at home as an honored visitor and would join the community fire for stories and laughter.

This makes so much sense to me, maybe because I am not an outgoing person and I just don't feel comfortable with our culture's in-your-face aggressive style. To help a visitor feel at home in such a gentle way is so opposite, and yet so sensitive and respectful to the person's feelings.

There are alternatives to shaking hands as well. The Masaii of Africa touch palms, and some cultures in Africa believe it is a great blessing to you for an elder to spit in their palm before shaking your hand. In Hindu countries the common greeting is to bow with palms together in a prayer called the namaste, something that has become more popular here in places like California. The beauty of it is a humbling oneself to another.

In some cultures, a kiss on the cheek (or both cheeks) is appropriate, and in some a kiss is obscene and meant only for the most private situation. In Botswana they ask, "How did you wake?" and in Bhutan they ask, "Is your body well?" In the country of Georgia, the word for hello literally means, "Let you win," in Iceland it means, "Happy," in Mauritus it means, "Speak!" and the Nlue say, "Love be with you." Mongolians simply exchange a pipe (or snuff), while the Maori shut their eyes and press their noses together. Tuvalu relatives press their cheeks together and sniff deeply and in Zambia they squeeze each other's thumbs.

We shake hands. There is a science to it.. firm, but not too painful, looking directly into the eyes, leaning in with one foot. It is a display of power, confidence, a gauge of personality. The other thing that is interesting is that it is not all-inclusive... it is almost always offered by the right hand, leaving about 10% of the population feeling awkward. How different than in Japan when such an approach would be a violation of personal space. Instead, a short bow is considered respectful, and is universally equal.

As I read, what struck me is the attitude between the Western handshake and everyone else. Almost everyone else painstakingly shows affection or respect and humility. The greeting is never a show of power or confidence. In India, it is quite common for a family to wash the feet of a guest. In almost all other cultures, young people really go out of their way to show respect to an elder, because they respect wisdom. While we prize outgoing, confident children, they prize quiet, humble, listening children. The greeting of a culture shows how they value people, and what their values are.

Ancient Trade and Barter from Polyani

"When one tribal member gives to another tribal member they can expect in return from that tribal member or another member of the tribe something of equal worth. For example, if a tribe member gives some food to another tribe member, that tribe member will give something of the same worth back. If it is not a material, the tribe member will give his or her time by helping in some type of physical labor, such as planting crops or taking part in a hunt. The giver might not get something back right away but the receiver has to give back something of equal worth in a certain amount of time or they will lose status in the tribe. Rituals and ceremonies were developed to ensure that reciprocity went smoothly.

Since everything is shared collectively in tribal societies maintaining social ties is incredibly important to the individual. All social obligations are reciprocal and fulfill the individuals interest the best. If an individual acted in his or her own self-interest rather than in the interest of the tribe, it could be fatal to that individual. If the individual were to hold back somehow they would lose status and if the individual lost enough of their status they could be cutoff from the tribe and would become an outcast. An outcast from the tribe had little hope of surviving.

How members of a tribe receive what they need is determined by two factors: reciprocity and redistribution. Symmetry and centricity help economic systems that are based on reciprocity and redistribution to work without written records or any kind of public administration. Reciprocity means what one gives to another today will be matched tomorrow by one taking. Redistribution in tribal societies most often comes about through the tribal chieftain or headman. It is the tribal chieftain who gains goods from tribal members and redistribute the wealth to the members. The bigger the territory, the greater number of goods that the land produces the greater the need for redistribution and for the division of labor in order for everyone to receive the goods that their survival is dependent on. Polanyi believed that early humans never hunted or gathered food for just themselves or their immediate family but rather for the whole group in which they live.

Economies that were driven by the markets changed societies and greatly influenced how they were run. markets are able to control the prices of goods only when there are many markets in close proximity to one another and many traders bartering and haggling over the price of goods. When markets have a greater role in controlling the economy they also have a greater role in controlling society. When economies are no longer shaped by social relationships but shaped by markets societies change their social relationships. Societies, social relationships are reshaped to accommodate the market economy. Local trade is limited to goods that are too heavy or perishable to travel over long distances, and are found in the region in which they are being traded in. External trade is the trade of goods that are absent from the regions in which they are being exchanged. Markets are usually found where rivers or overland roads intersect, fords, seaports, and riverheads. Neither local or external trade in the ancient economy were very competitive, it was the internal trade that was competitive. Goods are exchanged more and there is greater bartering in internal trade than local or external trade. Polanyi did not believe that bartering lead to the development of market economies; rather bartering was just a part of the systems of reciprocity and redistribution. Bartering was a type of social relationship that implied trust and confidence."

(From Early Anthropological Economic Theory by Karl Polanyi on the MSU Emuseum)