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What are the factors influencing cultural practices?

      

What are the factors influencing cultural practices?

  

Answers


Francis
There are varies factors that can affect a people's ways of carrying out activities. These, according to Gwarinda (1993), include the following:

a) Natural catastrophes or disaster
Droughts, floods or invasions by pests can lead to shortages of food that can make a very hospitable people get stingy with food. The level of generosity varies between people in areas where food is plentiful and those where it is scarce. Insecurity too can make people who originally welcomed and assisted strangers to become individualistic and hostile. In schools, a child who has suffered natural calamities like loss of a loved one to famine or AIDS will react differently from one who has never experienced these problems. Teachers need to be aware of learners' backgrounds and to be careful about the type of examples they give in the classroom.

b) Changes in the geographical environment
The tribal clashes that rocked parts of Kenya sometime in the nine-ties led to massive translocation of people from agricultural regions which had plenty of water to dry regions like Maela. This resulted to changes in agriculture and other practices among affected people. The clash victims had to adopt new survival tactics.

c) Discoveries and inventions in science and technology
This has led to changes in almost all operations, resulting to different behaviour patterns in most spheres of life. Mobile phones have greatly affected the written mode of communication. The Internet has created an awareness of other people's cultures and beliefs. Youths have at times copied the mode of dressing and language from these cultures.

d) Social catastrophes
Wars, epidemics and economic depressions can lead to changes in culture. Wars have resulted in people living in refugee camps such as Kakuma and Dadaab in Kenya. These are people of different cultures.
This calls for adaptation. Inflation in Kenya has led to changes in lifestyle and eating patterns.

e) Cross cultural contact
Increasing urbanization has resulted in different cultural groups merging. This has led to intermarriages. Such diffusion has had a great impact on culture. Many beliefs like wife inheritance are questioned and discarded.

francis1897 answered the question on August 18, 2022 at 11:51


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