Anthropology

In New Guineas Gebusi tribe the concept of kogwayay is a complex idea of the groups beliefs as a culture. A combination of three different sounds, each with their own meaning there is kog, which means togetherness, friendship, and similarity, wa, which means to talk, and yay which is to cheer, yell, joke, and cry out (18). Each part of the word represents, for the Gebusi, their cultural ideas of community (kog), communication (wa), and spiritual celebration (yay). Taken separately or together, these things are what the Gebusi see as being best about their culture. Kogwayay is present in all parts of the village life, from their daily meetings with neighbors and the talks in the longhouse, and in the way the Gebusi relate to the world. Even the women, who are excluded from a lot of the more important aspects of the society, take pride in their tribes culture and how its acted out by the men of the tribe.
   
While the Gebusi idea of kogwayay is more specific in how it breaks down the different part of their society, its very similar to more generalized ideas of Western culture. Our views of culture include ideas on community and communication, just like the Gebusi. Here we break the larger population into smaller communities, hoping for the same cooperative spirit of the Gebusi. We have a tendency to celebrate our similarities with national holidays like the 4th of July and our differences with group-specific holidays like Black History month. Language too plays a big part at how we look at culture, since the way we communicate with each other and understand each other is important in holding together the community. In this way, kogwayay and culture are very similar. However, Western culture includes such a variety of people that we tend to break down communities and cultures to better make sense of them and ourselves. The Gebusi, since they only number in the hundreds, have an everyday awareness and relationship with kogwayay and each other. There is no other culture within the kogwayay its a way of life, whereas Western culture tends to be more of a way of making sense of life.

According to the theory of evolution, artificial selection is the process of deliberate or accidental alteration of species through human activities. It allows for the manifestation of  favorable  traits and suppression of  unfavorable  traits. A specific individual is chosen for his or her desirable traits and then inbred with another which has similar traits the product is one with a higher potential of the traits desired. This process is repeated until the desired traits are fully manifested. Scientist Charles Darwin observed that many domesticated animals and plants have favorable traits that were expanded by deliberately, allowing the reproduction of those who had the desirable traits and inhibiting the development of those that did not posses the traits (Lewis et al. 200916). Human preferences have had an effect on evolution, leading to the production of diverse species.
   
Human activities, to a great extent, contribute to the creation of undesirable environmental pressures like change of habitat which lead to artificial selection. Same as other species, human culture (beliefs, religion, and way of life) is shaped by forces of artificial selection, such as diseases, climatic changes, population, and even droughts (Diamond 1997142). Humans acclimatize hereditarily to constant cultural changes such as fashion and foods. Biologists view culture as a way of humans shielding themselves from the impacts of artificial selection (Lewis et al. 200946). By means of artificial selection, evolution story is being studied in laboratories by formation of new generations of specific laboratory organisms.

The Neothilic Revolution
Domestication of plants and animals began during the Neothilic revolution, a transition era from hunters and gatherers to farmers and stock breeders.  The transition saw to it that people moved from being nomadic and they settled down  (Angeloni 20097). In his work, Guns Germs and Steel, Diamond (1997143) posits that, after the second ice age, water became scarce and people who were used to hunting and gathering had to find alternate methods of obtaining foods. The climatic changes forced people to traverse longer distances in search of food as aridity spread. Over the years, they unknowingly adjusted their lifestyles according to the environmental changes (Lewis et al. 200965). They unconsciously camped near water sources, and they would bring wild seeds back to their settlement areas and plant them. Their knowledge of plants and animals expanded with time. They altered the genetic makeup of plants, mostly grasses, to produce wheat, barley, rice, and other cereal crops. Crops that possessed undesirable tastes were discarded and those that were up to their requirements were eventually domesticated. As their life changed from being nomadic to agriculturists, they found it more convenient to make animals part of their lifestyle they therefore domesticated them as well (Diamond 1997147).

Domestication
A domesticate is a modified form of a plant or animal. Most studies show that humans have been able to transform different organisms, a factor that has led to the extinction of others in a relatively short time.

Through environmental changes humans were forced to settle down and they increased in population thus domestication.
The early sedentary man considered the animal diet, mating habits, disposition, size, and lifespan as essential factors in domestication of animals (Angeloni 20097). They preferred milk-producing animals like the cows and goats as they gave a renewable source of proteins. The ability of the animal was utilized in such works as plowing where oxen were used, while the donkeys were employed as a mode of transport.  Docile animals like sheep were easily domesticated by capturing and taming their leaders. Early archaeologists argued that some animals like the cattle were domesticated because of religious sentiments (Angeloni 20097).

Over time, humans have transformed numerous plant and animal species to suit their needs (Lewis et al. 20098). One theory that explains the evolution of agriculture is the oasis theory (Lewis et al. 20092 4).  According to researchers, as climate changed, it got drier, causing humans and plants to concentrate around the few oasis that were available. This interaction favored the humans as they eventually took control of the animals (domestication). Other theories suggest it was an accident of nature, co-evolution hypothesis, a symbiotic liaison between humans and animals or plants (Lewis et al. 20095). They evolved to suit each others needs.

Varieties of domesticated animals and plants normally vary from one another. In this respect, domestic dogs ranging from the Chihuahuas to the Danes trace their ancestry from the great gray wolf. The Chihuahuas were preferred because of their small size as they eat less, but the great Danes are much larger in size and are therefore more ferocious. The neothilic people found out that wolf puppies could be tamed and used for hunting. The strains they developed later were used for herding ( Lewis et al. 200912). Another example of domestication is the wild mustard which, over time, has evolved to a variety of vegetables. Starting with the cauliflower which evolved from making the flowers of the mustard sterile, followed by the broccoli, a repression of the flower development, then came the cabbage which was the result of restraint of the internode length. This was then followed by the kale which resulted from the enlargement of the cabbage leaves. An improvement of the kales  lateral meristems resulted in the Kohlrabi (Diamond 1997121 147).
The three main outcome of domestications were
Increased energy returns from consumption of the preferred foods.
Domestication saw to it that time involved in production of foods was reduced. For the animals, their increased small sizes reduced their aggressiveness.

By increasing their farming area, the availability of foods increased and herding  was also introduced.
Domestication led to agricultural revolution which was a product of the spread of domesticated plants and animals and the emergence of complex communities. Hunters and gatherers who bordered the sedentary farmers had to either adopt the new ways of life or flee in search of more virgin land for their nomadic way of life. Varieties of crops that evolved from early artificial selections made agriculture a more profitable engagement this, and the urge for people to own property ensured agriculture developed (Angeloni 20097).

Settlement
As agriculture took hold, the farmers got surpluses of foods which necessitated storage. However, the people were unable to store their produce as they were always on the move due to their nomadic lifestyle, but those with sedentary lifestyle were able to store food (Diamond 199739 43 77). They eventually built granaries which allowed for villages to develop and store seeds for longer periods (Diamond 19979).  These increments in food production eventually led to explosion in population and formed communities. They were able to specialize their work, an idea that brought about advancement of tools. Life became easier for the people, and they were able to manage their food supply systems. As climates changed, people were able to produce crops at concentrated water sources. These encouraged larger communities and obliged them settle in specific territories (Diamond 199729 46).

The communities reproduced faster as their permanency made it easier to bring up children. However, this expansion of huge societies required a method of governance. Food surpluses and animal products were used to feed the leaders as they concentrated more on leadership than food production. Settlement allowed people to acquire more personal possession attached to their land of settlement. From their possession, they were able to save for bad times or trade off their surpluses for what they did not produce with other societies. The establishment of food security and trade allowed communities to enlarge (Diamond 199767 138 141).

In Diamonds  (1997426) view,  societies developed differently on different areas courtesy of different climatic changes.  He further concludes that improved technology and centralized forms of government could only develop in dense sedentary communities who were capable of storing food surpluses.

Culture
Intense labor was needed to ensure consistence supply of food and at first, farming did not promise the people security from hunger. This caused some smaller communities of hunters and gatherers, migratory cultivators, and fishermen to hold on to their known way of life. Farmers and the nomads coexisted peacefully. Even after sedentary farming became their culture, those of the nomads held on. An example is the America nomadic culture which persisted due to lack of transport and minimal herds of animals (Barry et al. 2009334).
  
Domestication also led to the rise of the pastoral culture which by far has been a great competitor of sedentary farming. It was mostly preferred because it could thrive in semi and arid areas like central Asia and south of the Sahara desert. These areas were not capable of supporting large populations and tended to produce hardy people who could defend themselves from the wild and also attack the sedentary farmers for food. The specialized occupation brought about civilization which led to the rise of diverse culture, which included religions, arts, and advancement in science and technology. Today, as technology unifies people and the world becomes a global village, homogenized cultures are emerging and early cultures are slowly being eradicated (Lewis et al. 2009334).

Development of Infections
There were complex societies who eventually contracted diseases which spread faster than during times when the people led a nomadic life. These diseases might have been contracted from the animals they domesticated. As they modified the animals to suit their needs, they created germs which in turn they contracted through produce like milk and meat. Some of the diseases that were contracted then were small pox, measles, and others (Barry et al. 2009332).
Most of these infections either killed the humans or eventually gave them immunity. Recent biological studies have shown that these diseases evolved from similar strains found in the domesticated animals. Artificial selection which eventually led to domestication ensured crowded residence due to population and also closer contact of humans and animals. These two factors made it easy for human to contract infections from their animals (Diamond 19979).
   
The infections that were contracted were eventually used as a mode of capture by the early man most exposed to them. Gradually, the people acquired immunity from the diseases
they had contacted from as early as childhood. Genetic resistance to certain infections eventually
evolved in exposed populations as each generation became more resistant than the previous one, but unexposed communities did not have any form of resistance. Expanding sedentary farmers used such infections as a form of conquest as they expanded their agriculture beyond bounders. They exposed the infections to indigenous people who had no form of resistance, eventually killing them and taking over their pasture lands to utilize them as farmlands (Diamond 199711). Technology has, however, helped scientists to manufacture vaccines for example, they created a vaccine to fight against small pox and eventually eradicated it
   
Civilization is where societies achieve relatively advanced development and organization often characterized by agricultural advancement, trade, and specialized occupations (Angeloni 200976). The early man became more skilled in farming varieties of crops including protein rich legumes like beans peas, fruits, and others. The exertion used in such activities contributed to the slow phasing of their nomadic activities. As their outside activities were reduced, their crops also reduced their yield. This people involved themselves in selecting only the best seeds and also mixed varying strains so as to improve the yield and disease resistance (Angeloni 200938). They invented herbalism (use of plants and plant extracts for treatment and prevention of diseases). History suggests herbalism originated from the Middle East and was mostly used for trade as it was very profitable. Currently, however, herbalism is used in the formulation of conventional medications, food supplements such as Vitamin c, and many others (Angeloni 200938).

Most plants synthesize substances such as phenols, tannins, and aromatic substances which are widely utilized in the maintenance of human health. Some of the herbal medicines being used to date include Aspirin, digitalis, and opium. The early man discovered how to use animal manure to enrich their farms and increase their yield. Today, through artificial selection, technology is being applied to modify manure and give fertilizers. Animal products like the skins and wool were used to make materials for shelter and clothing they also crafted crude boats from them. Other products like horns, hooves and bones were carved for utensils, needles and even weapons, which with time were replaced by steel and guns.

As a large majority of people engaged themselves in food production, a minority engaged themselves in more specialized activities. They included art work, building an advanced warfare, and a centralized form of government capable of controlling all the sophisticate tools being created  (Diamond 1997147).

The Fertile Crescent of the Middle East was where archaeologists deem civilization began. This area had considerable geographical differences, which allowed for different plant species for experimentation. They developed irrigation especially in Mesopotamia, where cities were enclosed with brick walls. Most of their homes were made from reeds, but they later started using bricks to make more permanent structures.
   
Lewis and associates (2009) argue that civilization brought about less organized communities with complex patterns of exchange and ownership of properties. Since people in civilized places did not farm, they had to trade their goods for food. Trade by use of gold, copper bronze, and steel was introduced, forming economies. They also began to use money as a means of transaction. The Sumerians developed the first form of writing which is considered by archaeologists as the cradle of civilization (Lewis et al. 2009).

In his book, Diamond (1997147) attempts to explain the reason behind the differences in the civilization between continents. He argues that factors like fragmentation of the European community ensured that they advanced in technology while other areas like China remained unified and these did not foster technological growth. There was competition in Europe as states sought different ways to support them and to protect them from invasion. This led to capitalism and advancement in technology and science. He continues to outline that political fragmentation can have more negative than positive consequences, for example World War I and World War II (Diamond 1997147).

The civilized world has been dotted with religious conversions, genocides, and even invasions. By the introduction of agriculture and writing to the primitive societies, trade and formal forms of leadership easily spread. More civilized societies used the advantage of arms and advanced technology to force religion and different cultures on primitive illiterate communities. Childe, as cited by Diamond (1997), describes how civilized societies used the excuse of religion to justify their invasions, and they either succeeded to impose their culture on others or assimilate others cultures into their own for instance, Korea, Japan and Vietnam assimilated the culture of China (Diamond 1997148). Thus, civilization enabled the people to  spread their culture. Nevertheless, civilization can also fall. Diamond (1997148) gives five reasons that can lead to the fall of civilization, namely  deforestation which leads to soil erosion, climatic changes which is not reliable for food production, long distance trade for resources leaving cities with no one to develop them, and increasing levels of internal and external violence.

Long distance trade ultimately led to globalization which has both negative and positive outcomes. In today s world, globalization has led to a rise in sources and types of education systems, diversified career choices, and a massive increment in technological innovations which are supposed to make life easier. An example given by Diamond (1997) is the success Microsoft which made it easy for everyone in the world to communicate and keep track of information and data. Another example is that of the Kuwait bank which managed to fax key documents to Bahrain while the country was being invaded by Iraq. These documents enabled them to continue operating across the border without being affected by restriction being imposed on Kuwait by Iraq. However, research has shown that culture and values are faced with crisis. Barry sees technological innovations as having reduced the time people use to communicate across cultural bounders.
   
In conclusion, artificial selection has both positive and negative effects whether in medicine, plants, or animals. In artificial selection, humans predetermine which features are favored by what time. Not all artificially selected organisms are well suited to their environment of origin, which necessitates human interventions to help sustain their existence. This has led to great technological inventions like herbicide, pesticides, and enriched fertilizers for crop plants, vaccines for animals susceptible to infections, and artificial inseminations for those which have lost fertility due to artificial selection.
   
However, in more ways, artificial selection has endangered biodiversity by destroying original wild varieties and by getting rid of competitor varieties. It has also led to the emergence of unfit breeds which have adverse health effects. Examples of an unfit breed are the Pug dogs which have difficulty in breathing and the Boxers which suffer from epilepsy.
   
The manufacture of artificial fertilizers has also proved to be lethal as runoffs from farmlands end up in the oceans and seas, poisoning the waters and endangering aquatic live. On the other hand, these fertilizers have ensured a steady supply of fortified foods which can be grown in the field over an over without depletion of nutrients.
   
Nevertheless, artificial selection has also led to the evolution of medicine it offers hope for most who suffer from genetic problems like cystic fibrosis which can be treated by artificially selecting stem cells that will alter the condition. It is also applied in modifying bacteria genetically for production of medicine. Therapeutic viruses are also being manufactured in laboratories and made to reproduce faster. Thus, artificial selection is sure to benefit medicine in future though advanced researches should be done to ensure it safeness and effectiveness.

Psychological anthropology investigates the psychological conditions that encourage endurance and change in social systems, with the goal of better understanding the relationship between culture and the individual (Alten, 1998). Psychoanalysts like Freud and Erikson were among those who led the development of this concept.
  
 Learning anthropology is never wearisome task. Its different disciplines and aspects keep a dedicated learning moving and wanting to learn more. For certain, a little amount of sacrifice helps. One who studies anthropology should set aside his or her biases in order to fully understand the culture of a certain civilization. Being judgmental could lead to the discrepancies of reporting observations, but scrutinizing every detail is very important.
   
This paper was done to make a comparison between the psychological anthropology of the Japanese and Americans and to recognize how their personalities and identities were formed and shaped within their cultures. The first thing done was to examine their traditions through various life cycles, both male and female.
Japanese were always believed to have a very rich cultural background, which is evidenced by their artifacts, language, religion, art, and national pride. In fact, the study made by Eiko Kato-Otani in 2004 entitled Story Time Mothers Reading Practices in Japan and the U.S. reveals that Japanese mothers reported reading more folklore, and considered this an opportunity to teach important cultural values and discipline. This shows that Japanese are very conscious about their behaviors in developing interpersonal relationship with other people. They are trained with gestures, the way of bowing, and even the way how they should make payments in stores. They also have a clear description of what is respectful and what is not.

Japanese people have a deep attachment to their traditions. Even until now, you can see Japanese wearing kimonos (Japans national costume) when at home. Their rich language is also respected. In buses and other public places, you can see them reading books written in their own language. Their custom of respecting the elderly is still observed, and also their beliefs that they should be hard-working in order to achieve success in life, and should maintain health and cleanliness within themselves and in their surrounding. They are also conscious of their reputation in their society. Some of them commit hara kiri, a ritual suicide self-disembowelment on a sword, when they cannot accept loss or their reputation is destroyed.

On the other hand, Americans are very famous for their impact on globalization. They are up-to-date with technological advancements and researches. Their national pride lies on their ideals, customs, beliefs, values, arts, sports, fashion, and most especially, on their innovations, which developed vial colonization and immigration of people from other countries. Their culture is a mixture of conservative and liberal elements.

Their freedom of expression is very much observable in all types of media. Freedom can also be seen when young adults (18 years old and above) are allowed to live an independent life from his or her parents. Another proof is the allowance of same-sex marriage and of first-degree cousins in some states. Americans can also file for a divorce through a legal process. And for the elderly, they can be sent to nursing homes to be taken care of health providers.

With these two contrasting cultures, it is no wonder why Japanese people have developed and maintained their close family ties. Though Japan also has many innovations when it comes to technology, they still observe their rituals and customs. This may be the reason why their culture is not lost nor changed even with the mixture of the cultures of people who prefer to live in their country.

The progress of Japan is faster if compared to some of the countries surrounding it. This may be because of their hard work, patience, and dedication to their work. Their love of nature and cleanliness led them to become advocates of many organizations whose goal is to protect the earth and also to become more nature-friendly, which can be seen through their inventions.

Americans can be seen as ambitious, technology-dependent, fast-paced, always wanting to improve and to prove that they are better than the rest, and to help other people in need of their assistance. This could be brought about by their colonist-European side.

The United States of America may have influenced almost all countries of the world with its modern form of entertainment, fashion, and lifestyle. Their country may seem to be the most perfect place where you want to achieve success in life. But this, in turn, attracted many people from other races to migrate to their country, which led to the diversity of cultures there.

Different people have different ideologies. They may argue because of those. But when one tries to delve deeper, that is to understand the cultural background of the one he is speaking with, then there might be a better chance for them to be in harmony. Learning other peoples traditions, beliefs, customs, and rituals will enable one to widen his or her perspective about life, and not to change it. This will make us better individuals who want to make a difference by understanding the facts about life and to grab every good opportunity that comes our way.

The author of this essay, Bradd Shore, focused on making generalizations about Polynesian conceptions of power, how men use this power, and how this affects their cultural practices and behavior.
He started by defining the word of mana, the supernatural or divine power and continued to give its sources. The evidence he used is the transformation of mana into two subsidiary notions, which are tapu (sacred) and noa (non-sacred, common).  He also showed the practices and rituals done by Polynesians even until this contemporary era.

Anthropology is always seemed as a good subject for me. It gives me that feeling of excitement anytime I read histories of civilizations and how they developed their culture. Through this reading I understood why Polynesians have their own culture. This reading gave me a very concise and clear view of the Polynesians perspective when it comes to power, may it be divine power or power in a group or a government. Western and eastern Polynesia may have different cultures but they have the same background, which has been believed to have been coming from the influences of the gods or spirits. This may be the reason why their religions have sets of practices and beliefs that are concerned with the ritual transformation of mana.

This state of power can be obtained through divine intervention or through procreation. Men are above women, which is why their chiefs are all men. Women are considered to be on the lower level because childbirth is only a passive sexual role for them. In my own opinion, culture has a big impact on the type and amount of power a man should possess, and also his role in the male-female relationship. Culture has its own way of representing itself and cannot be changed that easily. People might have different reactions to different cultures. But if one really wants to understand a specific culture, he or she has to understand the very beginning or the structure of the civilization, and not just to criticize its practices.

Research Question What do you think has been the reason why Christians (specifically Roman Catholic Church) believe in the existence of ghosts and demons How do they deal with it

Religion is basically defined as a set of beliefs to gods.  It is primarily a sacred involvement to things that has to do with spirituality.  Karl Marx once said that human makes religion and not religion makes a human, as what most of us believes.  There are different religions that have evolved centuries ago.  One of these religions is Christianity, which is the largest religion in the world covering more than 30 of the world population.  For this ethnographic fieldwork, we would focus on a specific Christian religion  Roman Catholic. 

There are many Christian religions in the world, Roman Catholic is one.  Roman Catholic believes in the existence of God through the Holy Trinity God the father, God the son, and God the Spirit.  Religious Tolerance has given an explanation of why the term Roman Catholic evolved.  According to them, we use the phrase Roman Catholic in place of Catholic to avoid confusion. Most Christian faith groups acknowledge the Nicene Creed and thus regard themselves as Catholic, at least as far as being part of the catholic and apostolic church. Within any one given faith group, the meaning of the term Catholic is relatively clear. But our site deals with all Christian denominations and all other religions. To assure clarity and to avoid ambiguity, we use the term Roman Catholic when referring to the church headed by the pope in Rome. We use similar terms (e.g. Evangelical Catholic, Anglo-Catholic, Old Catholic) when referring to some other faith groups.

Roman Catholic has many beliefs in its religion.  Most of these beliefs are based on the religions Holy Bible which consists of the words and doings of Jesus Christ (God the Son).  The religion also consists of people who are called the servants of the Lord this includes the priest, nuns and saints.  One of the many beliefs of this religion is the existence of ghosts and demons.  Not many religions believe in the existence of such and how Catholics approach this issue is very interesting. 

My hypothesis for this problem would be Catholics believe what the Bible consists and the existence of demons was told in the Bible.  Also, Catholics have the belief that one of Gods angels, Satan (also called as Lucifer) has become a traitor, and he has become the image of a demon.   The concept of ghosts evolved because Catholics believe that when a person died without fully accomplishing his purpose in life, he tends to come back to Earth in the form of spirit mostly commonly considered as ghost.  Some Catholics also believe that the existence of ghost could be because of revenge or guidance.  It is also a part of the belief that ghost could possibly turn out as guardian angels. 

For the ethnographic fieldwork, I have decided to conduct a one on one interview from people that were randomly selected.  The group of interviewees consists of a priest, a student, a ghost buster, a kid and an old woman.

The interview with the priest was quite predictable and boring.  He did support my hypothesis that Catholics adopted the belief of demons from the Bible.  He also noted that ghost should not be termed as such rather, it should be called spirits.  In the fundamental sense, ghosts are spirits surrounding us.  According to him, the best way to deal with demons is through prayers, the usual prayers would work but knowing tongues is better.  Tongues is a way of praying in which you mouth random words and saying the prayer only in your mind.  He says that through this, the devil would not be able to hear your thoughts.  Catholics do believe that there are some powerful devils that get immune to basic Catholic prayers such as The Lords Prayer and it would be more effective if a person would mouth his own.  Evils sometimes possess a persons body and this is dealt with through exorcism. 

The rest of the interviewees have almost the same answers.  They believe in the existence of demon because there is the existence of good.  They believe in the story of Satan.  The kid said she believes in demons because she believes there is evil but she does not believe in ghosts because her mom said ghosts are just products of our imaginations.  She said she considers ghosts as guardian angels like her grandmother who just passed away and are not to be afraid of.  The student, however, believes in ghosts because he was able to see one already.  He also said that whenever he feels cold air pass him he gets paranoid that someone unseen is there. 

Nevertheless, he only believes that ghosts exist only to frighten people and not to hurt them and to remind everyone the existence of God.  The old womans belief is caused by traditions and faith.  She said that she does believe in the existence of the two but are not afraid for them God is with her all the time. 
The ghost buster primarily believes that the existence of ghosts is because of unfinished business. 

Stories about demons and ghosts are usually believed to happen in provinces or places far away from the city proper.  This because such things do not like to be seen by much people. 

The belief of Catholics about the existence of ghosts can be falsifiable because ghosts are not included in the Bible which is the basis of the Catholic Church.   Also, there are no distinct and concise explanations of how a spirit would exist.  The beliefs are only based on sayings and there are only few people who are able to witness such things that still make this issue unjustifiable.  

The approach for this issue was easy because the topic is part of the cultural norms.  The interviewees did not have any difficulties answering the questions and all of them were able to support the hypothesis that the Bible influenced the people with the belief of demons.  Though some of them have their different opinions and views about ghosts, it can be concluded that most Catholics believes in the existence of demons and ghosts. 

Japan has a very rich culture that has developed and advance over millennia. The prehistoric nature of the countrys culture which was during the prehistoric Jomon period developed to a modern hybrid culture which is a combination of North America, Asia, and Europe influences. With immigration from different continents, Japan itself experienced an era of isolation as due to the Tokugawa shogunate and was only ended during the Meiji period and the advent of The Black Ships.

History shows that there are many numbers of family forms that have existed in the Japanese culture through the matrilocal customs of Heian. Switching from a tolerant society with regards to legal family concerns to a more modern and pro-law society. Currently, there also exist a variety of family forms in Japan but the mainstay of the 20th century has been the agricultural household or the ie. This type of family system features a patriarchal head, dividing the work based on gender, also having a hierarchy by birth. This system covers the entire household, regardless of non-blood relatives, and thus provides a basis for extended family relations. Being stem-like, another characteristic of this family type is that (most probably) the eldest son will remain in the household to handle and take over the family business while caring for his aged parents and the other sons moves out of the household or sometimes establishing a branch of his own household which remains subordinate to the main family. The daughters marry into other families and in the hierarchy, the wife of the eldest son is the lowest in the household whose primary function is to create successors and also learn the new household through the guidance of her mother in law. Their primary goal was to provide resources to be passed on the next generations.

But this eventually changed with the post-war era as the families became fragmented and their primary goal changed to the basic needs that are food, shelter and clothing. The modern family became a smaller one. The culture of the contemporary family focused on addressing the primary needs. But the inner core of the family culture was retained. The father still was more of a provider the mother is the homemaker and the one who takes care of the children. The children focused on studying onto becoming a good provider or homemaker someday.

The Japanese society in particular is a patriarchal society. Needless to say, the men of the country have more responsibilities on their backs in terms of finance, while the women become the family-maker. The Japanese men are considered to be hardworking, reporting long hours in their work. The wife takes care of the well-being of the children, as well as the needs of her husband. The children are disciplined to be most respectful to their fathers. The family values of Japan are a strong bond with the members, as it is the basic unit of society.

Filipino Culture
Family plays an essential role in every Filipino. In the traditions and culture of the Filipino people, family always comes first and its something that defines a Filipino individual. Family is deemed to be the fundamental unit in the society. It serves as the security and support for Filipino youth and for the adult and old Filipinos, family is where one can always turn to no matter what the situation at hand is. Filipino culture strongly believes and practices traditional values.

Parents play a huge role and significantly influence their children. Filipinos have high regards when it comes to their parents and the elderly. Unlike those who come from the western cultures, Filipinos show a lot of respect for their parent by not calling them with their first names but with terms such as Daddy or Mommy, Mama or Papa, and Tatay or Nanay.

In a typical Filipino family, the parents work hard in order to provide for their children. Usually it is the father who is expected to bring the money in to the household. The parents suffer all the hardships in order to give their children a bright future. In turn, when these children grow up they are fully committed to help their parents and make their lives easier. Some children are even hesitant to move out of their parents home even when they are grown up.

One of the most admirable characteristics or personalities of Filipinos is on how respectful they are when it comes to the elderly. Even if the elder is not of their own blood, Filipinos show total admiration and respect for the elderly people. It can be credited to the way Filipinos have been raised up in their families. Every Filipino had been taught of showing regard to elderly. Homes for the aged are rarely considered by Filipinos as they do not think that sending their aged parents and grandparents to institutions is a good idea. Unlike Western cultures, Filipinos are not very much in support of homes for the aged.

As family is a fundamental institution for Filipinos, most Filipinas (women) are brought up to be completely faithful to her family. A Filipinas family is always her first priority and there are cases that if she is asked to make a choice between her spouse and her family, the Filipinas answer would be her family. Women in the Filipino culture are brought up with the idea that her family will always be on her side no matter what. Aside from this, most Filipinas have been brought up in such culture that men should be the one doing the hard work for the family. Most Filipinas are still conservative and classical when it comes to their mindset that men should provide for their household. If problems between a Filipina and her spouse arise, the woman immediately comes to her family for help as she has strong ties to her relatives.

Ever since the dawn of man, curiosity has been part of our natural system. We have an innate thirst for knowledge, no matter how small it may seem. We have that knack for asking about things, regardless of how insignificant it may seem to our lives. This habit starts from a young age, and even as time progresses, we still continue to ask about things even if we are well into adulthood. In our world today, scientists are the ones who officially do the major research and study. To be a scientist, you must have that inquisitive nature that would help you explore new ideas. We may not all be professional scientists, but we are all born ones. Our inquisitive nature brings about new knowledge and understanding, and this will continue for as long as we exist.

Our hunt for knowledge is not focused on only one thing. The data that we have gathered over the years have been divided into different divisions or sciences. Each of these sciences has their own focus and specializations (subfields). It is quite surprising how much knowledge have been gathered over the years, and up until now, new fields are being developed. These fields have been conventionalized and have been taught in universities, so as to breed new scientists for the age.
One of the fascinating sciences that exist is anthropology. This paper will discuss what anthropology is, what its beginnings were, and what its main focus is.

The Study of Humans
Anthropology deals with studying the humankind. It has its interests in the way we think, act, speak, and feel. It looks deep into our beliefs, traditions, social connections and kinships. It studies how we interact with others and what characteristics we exhibit.

This study has, over the years, encompassed many subject matters that it has developed a number of specialized fields. These specialized fields focus on specific aspects of human existence, still incorporating the basic knowledge of the anthropology. There are six specializations listed in this discussion. These are 1) physical anthropology 2) ethnology or cultural anthropology 3) social anthropology 4) linguistic anthropology 5) psychological anthropology and 6) archaeology.

Physical Anthropology
This branch of anthropology deals more on the biological and the anatomical aspects of human beings. It is more interested in the human evolution and physical development. It also discusses the biological differences that we have with other species. What are the main differences among different groups of people What separates us from the other species thriving on earth, past and present Gender, adaptation and race are but a few of the interests of physical anthropology.

Ethnology or Cultural Anthropology
Compared to physical anthropology, ethnology focuses on the changes in the cultural systems of human beings over time. The traditions, beliefs, rituals and that all concerns the cultural side of human society are studied by cultural anthropologists. This has a subfield that studies folklore, music and myth to further understand the cultural transition of humans through the ages.

Social Anthropology
This is closely related to cultural anthropology. This area discusses the social aspects of human beings. This deals with how humans interact within a certain society, how they apply what they know of their culture and upbringing in the presence of others, through different times. Together with cultural anthropology, social anthropology has given insight to the different changes that have happened to our culture and our society, and how these have helped in our growth and development.

Linguistic Anthropology
As can be deduced from its title, this area deals with human language. This focuses on the ability of humans to communicate with each other using distinct verbal communicators (i.e. words, signs, text). This also analyzes the languages of different races all around the world.

Psychological Anthropology
This deals with the thinking and the perceptions of a human with regards to his culture and his society. As what is stated in its name, this focuses on the psychological aspect of the existence of humans through the times.

Archaeology
It is not only the present or the living human beings that anthropology can study. Through the aid of tools, scientists were and are able to obtain evidence of humans of the past. Bones, pottery, jewelry, and even cities unearthed by skilled hands can be analyzed so as to determine the social and cultural life of those who have lived way before our time. This can be said to be a combination of the other fields of anthropology, only that it dwells more on the interpretation of the past, and the relationship it has with the present and the future.

History of Anthropology
The study of human beings, in general, has its origins in the 1860s. This was the time when advances in prehistoric archaeology, biology and philology. One of the propagators of anthropology is Charles Darwin. In his On the Origin of Species (published in 1859), he said that humans have a common ancestor. Later on, in his work The Descent of Man (released in 1871), this common ancestor was the great African ape, and fossil finds of early humans supported this claim. Darwin added that the advantage of humans is our big brains and our intelligence.

According to Edward Burnett Tylor, a pioneering anthropologist, the more intelligent we get, the more we progress. The civilizations that have preceded us and indeed even us can be grouped into divisions with respect to the significant changes to our culture and society. Thus we have the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, etc.

During the advent of anthropology, the first anthropologists had to rely on information given by others to come up with reports and data with regards to human dealings. In the late 19th century, expeditions were done, often funded by museums, to gather more ethnographic information. In the early 20th century, a more investigative and forward approach was implemented by anthropologists. Instead of just relying on secondary sources, they progressed to actually working on the field. Aside from conducting interviews, they now also observed how people talked, behaved and moved in society. This proved to have given a revolutionary step in the theoretical focus of the historical and evolutionary interests of the century.

Focus on Social Change
As we have discussed earlier, anthropology focuses on the study of human beings in general. This includes the past, the present and the future dealings of humans. If we take note of each of the subfields of anthropology, we will see that its main concern lies with the society and the changes that happen and affect it. These changes may involve language, beliefs, perceptions, traditions, etc. Anthropology deals with humans and humans are grouped or belong to societies. Social change therefore, in whatever aspect it may be, is a part of the said study, or even, the main focus of it.

Throughout the years, anthropologists have studied how we humans interact with each other. They have observed the relationship between our actions and our words. They have recorded our way of living and have watched how we have changed over time. It is not enough to just note the current state of a particular society and leave it at that. It is more adequate to also take note of evolutions in the human race.

Why though, is it important to consider social change This is because this may give clues to what we could assume for the future. What will we be like 20, 50, 100 years from now Will we be able to continue to survive on this earth for another millennia Also, social change gives us an idea of how much we have progressed in the years that we have inhabited this planet. Being gifted with a brain and a culture, we are able to adapt to changing times and environment. This ability to adapt to varying conditions has been our key for survival. This is also what separates us from the other species that inhabit the earth, past and present. Culture as a factor for change and development and the historical patterns and processes associated with it thus makes it the major focus of anthropology.

Anthropology deals with the study of human beings and their dealings in society. This field has subfields which focus on specific aspects of human existence. If we take a look at each of them, we will see that the bottom line or purpose of anthropology as a whole is to take note of the social change of human beings. Throughout history, it has been found that our actions, behaviors, perceptions, cultures and the changes associated with them have contributed to our growth and development. We have been given gifts that help us advance and progress into the future. Like what has been mentioned before, the more knowledge we possess, the more we develop. Anthropology has given us clues with what lay in our past, what beginnings we have had. And it will continue to do its job, this time with preparing us for the coming future.

The field of medical anthropology is concerned with how culture influences human health and disease as well as the role of health care system in determining health and disease.  Cultural and ethnic influences are considered as far as health status of different populations is considered whether in the prehistoric era or in the contemporary days (McElroy, 2002).  Among the cultural factors that have an influence on the development and outcome of disease across different cultures are poverty and inequality. Different diseases will affect different cultures differently depending on the level of poverty and different aspects of inequalities such as income inequality, inequality in education and gender inequality among other disparities.
   
This paper argues that poverty and social inequality are great determinants in patterns and types of disease in different cultures.  A variety of examples and illustrations are provided to support the argument.
Poverty and disease in different cultures 
   
Poverty is considered as among the greatest factors that influence health (Murali  Oyebode, 2004). Poverty is a phenomenon that can be viewed through many faces but it Murali and Oyebode (2004) basically defines poverty as covering three main aspects being unable to meet basic needs, having no control over resources as well as lacking in education and good health. Low levels of education lead to social exclusion and disparities in health status. Health status is also influenced by differences in race, gender, ethnicity as well as occupation with political process also being central to poverty determination (World Bank Group, 2004). The consumption levels as well as income levels of individuals is taken to determine the level of poverty thus people are regarded poor if they are living below poverty line i.e. they can barely meet their basic needs as determined in different societies. Absolute poverty has a far reaching effect in determining disease and types and patterns. Abject poverty is defined as a life state whereby individuals face malnutrition, illiteracy, disease, squalid surroundings, high infant mortality rates and low life expectancy as to be beneath any reasonable definition of human decency (Laurent, 2010, para 6). Although a poor person is considered to be living on less than one U.S. dollar per day (absolute poverty), it is also possible to have relative poverty whereby a person earns more than a dollar per day but they are still highly unequal compared to other members of the society (WHO, 2006).
   
Poverty and social inequality contribute to not only infectious diseases but has been linked to other forms of diseases such as cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases. Different explanations are provided for each of these cases as elaborated later in this paper. 
   
Non-communicable diseases are also influenced by poverty and social inequality. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), Western Pacific Region, non communicable diseases (NCD) are prevalent among the poor in developed countries and have a marked increase in the developing world. The main most common of the NCDs in the Western Pacific Region are cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Poverty among the populations in the Western Pacific Region is associated with smoking and unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity, the levels of non communicable diseases have risen significantly. Non communicable diseases are more prevalent among persons with low education levels whether in the developed or developing world.  WHO (2006) notes that the increase in prevalence of NCDs has been due to the earlier misconception that these are diseases of the affluent.  Since the NCDs are now known to affect even the poor, WHO (2006) indicate that the poor suffer most from these diseases as treatment and preventive services are expensive to establish or even afford where they are available. Other than the poor being unable to access and afford treatment and preventive measures for NCDs, the poor are also vulnerably to discrimination in terms of quality of services received.
   
It is worrying that the non communicable diseases, which were initially diseases of the wealth, are increasing among the low-income populations to levels of high income populations. Obesity is for instance on the rise among poor populations with South Africa recording a high of 50 percent overweight individuals in the population and Morocco having a 40 percent overweight population (Stevens, 2004). Diseases such as diabetes and stroke that come in association with obesity are also more common. The rise in obesity and cardiovascular diseases among the low-income populations is attributed to availability of low quality foods that are rich in calories and fats. As much as inaccessibility to treatment may be leading to deaths associated with the non communicable diseases, poor access to the accurate information regarding the risks of changing lifestyles is also a major factor (Ezzati et al, 2005).
   
Stelmach et al (2009) showed that low income and education level are contributors to cardiovascular diseases. In the study carried out in Lodz, Poland amongst elderly formerly communists these authors found out that cardiovascular disease were more common among less educated. For instance, smoking was found to be more common amongst younger and less educated single adults and this increased the risk of cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension. Diabetes and obesity was also more common among the less educated compared to higher levels of education.
   
Hunger, the want and scarcity of food in a country is considered as a poverty factor that enhances disease (World Hunger, 2009, para 1). Poverty is the number one cause of hunger and levels of poverty are almost equivalent to the global estimate of undernourished persons.  Whereas there are an estimated 982 million poor persons in developing countries, the estimated number of undernourished people is 1.2 billion. Hunger is associated with malnutrition whereby a person lacks part or all of the nutritional elements. The malnutrition may be in form of lack of proteins and energy giving foods or malnutrition in form of lack of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. When the body lacks the essential nutrients, an array of diseases is likely to set in. developing countries experience the greatest impact of malnourishment and hence development of nutrition deficiency diseases. World Hunger (2009) estimates that undernutrition is very prevalent amongst children with children suffering from sickness for 160 days in every year. Undernutrition exacerbates almost all diseases and especially malaria and measles. With Asia and Africa recording the highest number of malnourished children (70 and 26 respectively), it is no wonder that these continents experience highest child morbidity and mortality rates from infectious diseases. For instance, undernutrition leads to 57 percent of deaths from malaria and 52 percent deaths from pneumonia. Worse still is that malnutrition affects the health of the pregnant mother leading to learning disabilities, retardation and blindness among other health problems.
   
Deficiencies in specific micronutrients lead to nutritional deficiency diseases. Developing countries which are struck by poverty suffer most from nutritional deficiency syndromes. Deficiency in vitamin A leads to night blindness and immunosuppression and it is estimated that up 500,000 vitamin A deficient children become blind every year. Whereas it is cheap to supplement vitamin A in the diet, the poor cannot afford such or they are misinformed on proper diet. A deficiency in iron has led to more than 30 percent of anaemic conditions in the world with developing countries suffering most as malaria and worm infections exacerbate the condition. As a result of iron deficiency, children usually suffer from developmental disorders, infections and the risk of death. Asia and Africa still tend to suffer most from iodine deficiency with mental and congenital abnormalities such as cretinism being the most prevalent (World Hunger, 2009).
   
Poverty and social inequality is linked to several psychological disorders. This is because poverty leads to social withdrawal and alienation and distress which consequently affect alter the emotional state of a person.  Jeopardised mental health as a result of poverty-related distress then leads to the development of psychiatric disorders. If for instance a person is receiving income which has a great inequality measure, they are likely to suffer from psychosocial stress thus affecting health negatively. According to Murali and Oyebode (2004), the poor are not only exposed to dangerous working environments but they are also under constant stress having to labour for less rewarding jobs. In addition, the poor also face isolation from the rest of the society since they may enter into maladaptive behaviours as a means of dealing with stressful situations. Poverty and social inequality therefore acts as stressors which have the capacity to initiate or worsen psychiatric disorders.
   
Although poverty is not always positively correlated to psychiatric disorders, the relationship between these two is mainly a positive one for several psychiatrist disorders that have been studied. Psychiatric disorders are more prevalent in low social class societies with high prevalence of mental disorders being associated with high levels of unemployment. Murali and Oyebode (2004) particularly mention that psychosis is more prevalent in social class V which is a low social class in the UK. Although genetic predisposition to schizophrenia is a contributing factor to development of schizophrenia, low class persons tend to have this predisposition exacerbated by these stressful conditions. It is also observed that schizophrenic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions are more severe in the low social class persons compared to middle and high social class persons. It is though that the symptoms are exacerbated in lower social class individuals since most of them cannot access health care services or are ignorant of the existence of any help (Hodes, 2002).
   
Prevalence of childhood mental disorders is higher in children from poor family backgrounds. It is for instance estimated that children from poor households have a three times likelihood of developing mental illnesses compared to children in well to do families. The persistent stressors in the life of children seem to impair the cognitive skills of a child as well as hinder their educational achievements which exacerbate poverty and stress. Persistent poverty seems to affect the development of psychiatric disorders in children with children living in persistent poverty experiencing lower cognitive functions in adulthood (Brown et al, 2000). Children facing social economic deprivation also experience conduct disorder at a higher rate than children from well to do families.
   
Reproductive health is also among the health issues that affect different populations depending on poverty and inequality levels. It is identified that poor families rarely use birth control measures due to ignorance of the existence of such, inability to access such services as well as unavailability of the services (Khan, 2001). In Africa for instance, the percentage of poor women not using contraceptives is very high compared to wealthier women who do not use contraception. As such, poor families tend to have a higher reproductive rate than wealthier families and this increases reproduction-related problems. Maternal mortality rates are found to be higher among poor women since poverty causes the women to lack access to health care facilities. Often, the pregnant mothers in the poor family settings are attended by unskilled and unprofessional health workers which increase risks of unsafe motherhood. The higher maternal mortality rate in Africa may be attributed to the low number of skilled birth attendants (46.5 percent) with low income families being hard hit by this phenomenon (UNFPA, 2009).
    
Distribution of infectious diseases such as malaria and HIVAIDS clearly shows a link between poverty, inequality and disease patterns. The high prevalence in HIV in Africa is highly attributed to poverty and various social inequalities. The distribution of HIV in Africa follows a poverty trend as demonstrated by socio-economic distribution. Poverty in Africa tends to follow a gender inequality dimension with females being hard stricken by poverty and subsequent HIV prevalence (Anabwani  Navario, 2005). The sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected by poverty and HIV infection with about two-thirds of all global HIV infections as in 1997 being localised to sub-Saharan Africa. Women are generally more affected by HIV infection whether directly or indirectly. Whereas poverty per se is not an obvious factor towards HIV infection in Africa, its role cannot be ignored since poverty worsens the coping ability of the infected individuals. Since HIV infection is hest tackled by informing the public on the preventative measures, it is expected that the less informed (probably due to alienation) end up experiencing more infections (Shelton, Cassell  Adetunji, 2005). With poor communities facing the hardship of accessing health facilities or being politically as well as socially marginalized, they are less likely to learn appropriate sexual conduct. As such, the poor get predisposed to factors that increase the likelihood of HIV infection. For instance, sexually transmitted diseases are likely to persist among the poor which in effect increases the likelihood of HIV infection (Cohen, 2010).
  
Lopman et al (2007) attempted to find out whether HIV has gained the trend of the disease of the poor in Manicaland, Zimbabwe. The study concluded that higher socioeconomic status was associated with lower HIV incidence and mortality.  Even though the high economic status men were found to have more sexual partners, the infection rates were still low since they reduced infection risks through use of condoms. Although this study identified a decrease in HIV infection in Zimbabwe, it acknowledged the fact that the decrease was more significant among the small population of wealthy individuals thus associating the disease with poverty. The poor in Manicaland have lower educational status in addition to lower social status which makes them less empowered in changing risky sexual behaviours. For instance, whereas the better-off women had less sexual partners in addition to being less likely involved in transactional sex, the poor women on the contrary get involved in risky sexual behaviours.
   
The high prevalence of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa is also associated with the fact that the poor are usually neglected socially and politically. Rarely do HIV intervention programmes focus on the interests of the poor in the society. Failure to have programmes that address the socio-economic status of the poor further make the poor to be exposed to that increase the risk of HIV infection (Singer  Boer, 2007). For instance, women in sub-Saharan Africa who are the household heads and are among the poorest are likely to get involved in commercial sex which predisposes them to HIV infection. A poor HIV infected mother is then likely to transmit the infection to the child either in utero or during breastfeeding. This is because these women can rarely afford the antiretrovirals that help in prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Most of the HIV infected mothers end up breastfeeding their babies since they cannot afford the baby formula as an alternative (Cohen, 2010). Worse about HIV infection is that it exacerbates poverty thus exposing individuals to other poverty-related diseases.
   
Poverty and social inequality are related to malaria infection in that malaria is more common in poor developing countries than in developed countries. While malaria can easily be prevented through the spraying of dwellings with insecticides, use of insecticide treated nets, prophylactic drug administration and taking measures to eradicate the disease causing vector, malaria is still a challenge to the developing countries (Calisher, 2007). This is because these poor countries are not able to effectively incorporate preventive programs with the poor populations being severely affected. Likewise, tuberculosis is a killer disease among the poor who are unable to afford good housing conditions, nutrition and prompt therapy (European Research, 2002). In particular, tuberculosis infection is very prevalent in overcrowded places such as in refugee camps and slums. It is disheartening that the poor cannot afford vaccines for diseases that were eliminated in developed countries long time back. For instance, diseases such as polio and measles have vaccines yet the diseases contribute 5.2 of Disability Adjusted Life years in low-income countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa was still lagging behind (53 percent) in the number of children immunized against diphtheria-tetanus and pertussis by 2000. Poverty also goes hand in hand with poor sanitation which increases incidence of diarrhoeal diseases. Despite the fact that such diarrhoeal diseases can be treated cheaply, they still kill up to 1.8 million people per year in the poor societies due to poverty and health inequality (Stevens, 2004).
   
Poverty has far reaching effects on human health considering that poverty takes different dimensions such as income, education and social inequality. Poverty distribution across different cultures leads to development of various diseases as well as patterns of disease distribution. In essence, the role of poverty and inequality in disease patterns in different cultures differs variably. However, it is no doubt that poor populations are mainly affected by non communicable diseases, psychiatric disorders and infectious diseases. In essence, poor cultures are generally unable to afford proper health care they have low education status and hence poorly empowered to counter common diseases. Conclusively, the low income countries particularly sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are most affected by almost all forms of diseases with poverty and social, economic, health and political inequality being the central cause. 

Candombl originated from Africa and is now an established religion being practiced in Brazil. In the book of Larry Crook, Brazilian Music, he narrates that during the trans   Atlantic slave trade during the fifteenth century, African slaves mostly from Yoruba and Fon of West Africa brought by Portuguese in Brazil brought along with them their religious practices and has evolved to be  Candombl. This is also the main reason behind Yoruba as the language of  Candombl.
   
The religion was called Candombl because it is the location believers hold their religious feasts. It is a temple where its walls are made of clay and while floors are made of brick. According to Rachel Harding, Candombl symbolizes this locale wherein they get to show that they are no longer slaves and is actually called into new being.  New meanings of self are (re)shaped to contest a place in the Brazilian geographical space.
   
Dr. Kathleen OConnor, a Ph.D in Anthropology from Harvard University, defines Candombl as a set of traditional religious beliefs and practices that often deal with transaltered states   not trances as traditionally understood, but rather in altered states of being. According to OConnor,  Candombl has five practices worship of orishas, divination, ancestor worship, syncretic and memory practices.
   
Orishas are deithies from Yoruba. Popular Orishas are Ogum, Xango, Omolu, Oxossi, Iemanja, Iansa, Oxum and Exu. Each orisha represents different divinities of air, water and earth.  In the religious ceremonies, practitioners dress in the colours of the orishas and place food at the altar before singing special songs and dancing precisely choreographed steps to the sacred drums. The initiated must dance barefooted in the temple.
   
Divination, as explained by OConnor, for Africans is the source of determining the causes and solutions to a certain suffering.  Divination can determine whether patient seeks treatment from biomedical psychiatric institutions or from traditional spiritual practices .
   
Candombl honors the dead. The believers think that ancestral worship is manifested by calming the spirits of the dead are necessary because they do not know that they do not have a life already and they may want to go back to their life or take the still living individuals with them. This is in line with their memory practice wherein, they offer mass for the dead.
   
The religion can be considered as a syncretic practice or as OConnor describes it  religious practice as the result of mized traditions.  Candombl was banned at first, thus, the orishas or deities, were worshipped behind the identities of catholic saints making Candombl a fusion of Roman Catholicism and African beliefs.
   
According to Anthony Pinn in his book, African American Religious Cultures, there are approximately a million followers of Candombl. Communities are unified as they go together worship their orishas with their new found self free of slavery. In a foreign land, they were still able to practice their beliefs from their origin. The religion is organized around religious centres known as terreiros, which are usually led by high priestesses called me de santo (mother of saints) or pe de santo (father of saints).

Humans are greatly affected by the cultural environment in which they are raised. In other words, if you were raised in a foreign cultural environment you would be a different person than you are today. Even I will be different were I born in a different country.

If I were born in the Philippines, I will have grown with the concept of hiy or shame. Hiy would have defined most of my actions as much as it curbs Filipino culture. Thus, I will consider my shame as my familys shame. Conversely, in Mexican communities, the most noticeable trait is machismo in men. Making remarks to us, women, is stereotype machismo and are not seen as harassment (Kwintessential c. 2010). Women have always enjoyed better equality treatment in the Philippines. Before Spain colonized them, the Filipinas rights to legal equality and to inherit family property have not been questioned (Dolan 1993, p. 96).

If grew up in the Philippines, I will have had a better shot to education. Literacy in the Philippines is at 92.6 which is slightly higher compared to that of Mexico which is at 91. That may be a small difference but, considering Im a woman, Ill have a significantly better chance to education. Women literacy in the Philippines is at 92.7 compared to 89.6 of Mexico (Central Intelligence Agency CIA, 2010a CIA, 2010b). Moreover, living in the United States lowers my chances to education further as Mexican-Americans have the lowest level of educational attainment compared to any other major group in the United States (Bravo 2005, p.171). This is largely attributable to the lack of government support in education.

Should I have been born in the Philippines, I believe I will be an entirely different person than I am now. Although I may have the same religious standpoint, I may also see religion as an inevitable chain of oppression  a tool for subjugation as told by my ancestors. I would have felt inferior as a Filipina but more empowered as a woman. I would have had more access to education but lesser access to jobs. Id bear the same pigments but would be more care-free about it. I may be better or worse but I will definitely not be the same.

 President Corazon Aquino was considered the most powerful woman in Asia proving that being a woman is not a hindrance in attaining political power in the Philippines. She was the first woman to be designated TIMEs Person of the Year since Queen Elizabeth II for 1952 (Time 2010).
El Toro y Matador The bull and the murderer was assimilated by Mexico from Spain. The matador enters the ring in a celebration of bravery and machismo, taking advantage of a bull exhausted (La Comunidad 2008).

Education in the Philippines is readily available. The available jobs, however, are always short. Most of the unemployed in the Philippines are fresh graduates with about 400,000 added to the labor force each year. But a significant ratio of them is also workers who were retrenched from their jobs or whose employment contracts were not renewed (Pinoy-OFW 2008).

Cultural anthropology, which is also known as social or sociocultural anthropology, is defined as the study of customary patterns in human behavior, thought and feelings (Haviland, Walrath and Prins, 2006). The discipline uses the methods, concepts, and data ofarchaeology,ethnography,folklore,linguistics, and related fields in its descriptions and analyses of the diverse peoples of the world (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010). Anthropologists generally describe culture in terms of a set of interacting systems that perpetuate cultural practices through generations. In order to understand their work, culture should be clarified and basically understood since it is the societys shared and socially transmitted ideas, values and perceptions (Ember, C. R., and Ember, M. 1990).

Cultural Anthropology is seen to be a significant field in social sciences due to its various contributions to understanding people from different cultures. Essentially, this method is founded on the observation of phenomena as they occur in nature (Moore, 1998) focusing primarily on the study of contemporary cultures wherever they may be found in the world (Ferraro, 2006).

Theoretical Approaches of Cultural Anthropology
Specific theoretical approaches are applied by cultural anthropologists in order to accurately study and observe the way in which culture influences the interaction and socialization of a particular group of people.

Cultural Functionalism
Structural Functionalism
And Structuralism
are some of the widely used theoretical approaches which have contributed greatly to ethnographic fieldwork. Various anthropologists such as Bronislaw Malinoski, Emile Durkheim, and Claude Levi-Strauss have worked on developing and further analyzing these theoretical approaches through their application in research studies or ethnographic fieldwork.

Cultural Functionalism  An Overview
Bronislaw Malinowski believed that the productivity of field workers depends on certain conditions, special methods, and genuine scientific aims  (Moore, 1998). His theoretical framework posits that all facts in a social field are interrelated so that changes in one affect all the others (Moore, 1998). Like Franz Boas, the popular German anthropologist, Malinowski is a strong advocate of field work and insisted on learning the local language in order to try and understand a culture from an insiders perspectives (Ferraro, 2006).
Malinowski relied greatly on the perspective of functionalism which concentrated on exploring how contemporary cultures operated or functioned in the society (Ferraro, 2006) as a means to the satisfaction of the needs of an individual (Bailey, 2009). His discussions emphasized that all the needs of individuals (like biological, psychological, andor social) should be served or met by culture (Bailey, 2009). He stated that not only do all aspects of a culture have a function, but it is also related to one another (Ferraro, 2006).

Cultural Functionalism  Application in Religion
An example of the application of this theory is best seen in Malinowskis analysis of the Trobriand Island where the religion included magic as a core part of the religious belief (Ferraro, 2006). Although religion and magic are commonly expressed as two distinct aspects, Titiev (1960) stated that the realizations concerning the vagueness and uncertainties of this common idea regarding the said division are increasing. Thus, people are now refusing to recognize the traditional dichotomy and now prefer to treat both sets of practices as one (Titiev 1960). This functionalist tenet is no better illustrated when the kula (a regional circuit activity where participants exchange shells) not only performs the function of distributing goods within the society but is related to many other areas of the Trobriand Culture, which includes political structure, magic, technology, kinship, social status, myth and social control (Ferraro, 2006). 

Structural Functionalism  An Overview
On the other hand, a different viewpoint on Functionalism is expressed by Emile Durkheim. His fundamental concepts revolved around the idea of how the individual is able to support society, specifically its solidarity. According to him, religion dictates to people actions, ideas, and sentiments and it also possesses its own authority. Therefore, like law and morality, it has a regulating function in society and creates social equilibrium (Hosu, 2009). Structural Functionalism is best understood in his explanation of the use of religion to control a society. His approach to the topic was complex and involved several different forms of explanation and the core was the form called structural (Schneider, 2006).

Structural Functionalism  Application in Religion
The application of the beliefs and practices of religion acts as a great tool in unifying a community (Lukes, 1985). The domain of religion presents a fascinating field for inquiry by social scientists, in which, like magic, religion is populated with entities (i.e. Gods, miracles and sacred objects) whose existence or spiritual qualities are not detectable by the accepted methods and instruments of science (Schneider, 2006). Specifically, a unified social interaction such as the church ensures social solidarity.

Durkheim dismissed some of the easier answers to this question that had been provided and assumed that religion resulted from flawed thinking on the part of primitive people (Schneider, 2006). Yet, Durkheim doubted that religion was merely an immature phase in human intellectual development. The fact that questions regarding religion could be explained by social science made him hypothesize and focus on the question which states, What sort of a science is it whose principle discovery is that the subject of which it treats does not exist (Scheider, 2006). Due to this, Durkheim dismissed arguments that the core of religion was a belief in the supernatural or in divinities since some religions, forms of Buddhism, for instance, lacked them (Scheider, 2006).  He also believed that the distinction between the sacred and the profane was unique because it was seen as being absolute unlike good and bad, which might shade into one another at their boarders (Schneider, 2006). The sacred had to be kept perfectly insulated from the profane in ways that allowed the two to be defined by one another, thus having decided that sacredprofane distinction characterized all religions, Durkheim made it the centerpiece of his definition of religion as

A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is
to say, things set apart and forbidden- beliefs and practices which unite into a single moral community called a church, all those who adhere to them (Schneider, 2006).

Structuralism  An Overview
The theory of Structuralism in cultural anthropology can be seen as similar to Durkheims view of functionalism not only because the concept of life-death is emphasized in the two approaches, but also in a sense that Structuralism also focuses on questions about bringing order and unifying the society. Structuralism analyzes any specific field as a complex system of interrelated parts. Structuralism states that there is a structure to all elements of a society  principally there are structural laws which govern these elements (Assiter, A 1984).

Although this is so, the concepts found in this theory led by Claude Levi-Strauss are centered more on the human patterns of thought and mans management of the chaos he is exposed to (Kaplan  Manners, 2009). Levi-Strauss studies, which focus on myth and thinking, emphasize that man consistently tries to give logic to chaotic experiences by providing classifications of various concepts. As a result, specific segments of societies are labeled complete with their resulting opposite.

Structuralism  Application in Religion
Levi-Strauss always maintained that it was the paradox of certain elements in a society which form the core of its general religion. He tried to reduce apparently arbitrary data to some kind of order, and to attain a level at which a paradox becomes apparent helps the people of the society to better form the structural distinctions of religion.

Certain examples of the theory of Structuralism include concepts like good and evil, right and left, and life and death. These concepts are found in accordance to religion. Specifically, the opposing ideas  good-evil and life-death can be considered as core elements in religion. This shows that the theories involving structuralism are applied in the social institutions such as religion.

These theoretical approaches are important to researchers mainly because they provide guidelines in the analysis of data. Specifically, the ideas and questions involved in these anthropological theories are able to sustain the objectives of the anthropologist while collecting and interpreting the data from field work. Research studies done by Malinoski, Durkheim, and Levi-Strauss are ideal examples of the significance of theoretical approaches in ethnographic fieldworks.

All three released studies which were similar to each other due to the focus of the religion of a particular group or society. Although the focus of their studies was similar, a crucial distinction is seen in these studies in the application of all three different approaches for the analysis of the social institution which they have focused on.

Biological aging is the process by which changes occur in the body over time which in return leaves the body exposed to diseases and eventual death. It is a complex process that involves physical changes, exponential increase in mortality rate and also increased risk of attack by diseases. These changes are usually associated to the process of aging. They occur across all species of animals. The process is said to be under gene control. Although aging runs across all species, the life expectance differs depending on individual species. In America, over the last 100 years, the life expectancy has improved from 47.3 years in the year 1900 to about 77.3 in 2002.

Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the period of time that an animal is likely to live given ideal conditions. This is usually arrived at considering the number of years that previous species had lived. The human lifespan has been estimated to be 121 years. There has been an increase in the life expectancy of human beings through the twentieth century. This is partly due to better health facilities, improved hygiene and nutrition, control of some diseases through provision of clean water, antibiotics and vaccination which has been made possible through the numerous researches that are taking place. While most of the explicit factors that could cause diseases have been taken care of, implicit factors have remained which could be taken care of by healthy lifestyle among the people.

Senescence
All organisms that are multicellurar derive energy from the sun that they use in developing and maintaining their identity. When deterioration is more than what an organism is able to synthesize, it ages. Aging affects all individuals in all species. Many biologists suggest that aging is part of the development process in an animal while others think that it is a default state that comes after completion on natural selection process in an animal. After an animal has given birth to offspring and raised them, death comes.  However, studies that have been done recently suggest that lifespan characteristics that are genetically determined can be controlled through gene alteration or change of diet (Caleb, p.1721).

Changes in the mammalian life span and those related to reproductive schedules are usually regulated by development. It is also possible that age related changes come due to mechanical senescence. For example in Alzheimers disease which affects human beings but it may not be related to the usual cognitive aging. It can be noted that longevity in humans may make us uniquely prone to Abeta toxicity. Due to this, there is a possibility that Alzheimers disease is a form of mechanical senescence despite the fact that some loci that are important in development of the disease enhance development (Denham, p. 7127).

Tooth erosion can also be used to demonstrate senescence together with mammal oocyte exhaustion, although they can be perceived to be caused by some intrinsic limitations in most mammals body plan. This can be attributed as an outcome of the developmental process. In female, senescence in reproduction comes as a result of loss of ovarian oocytes that is brought about by age. Some reptiles undergo oocyte regeneration during adulthood and as a result tend to appear not to age (Denham, p7127). During the earlier years of development of mammals, oocyte regeneration is not active until the earlier stages of development.

Hence reproductive senescence is perceived as an outcome of senescence blockage. Likewise, tooth erosion can be considered to be a limitation to mammal development whereby the development process comes to an end as a result of worn-out tooth not being able to be replaced. Dental development is usually slow in humans compared to other primates and also extinct hominids, suggesting that the on set of tooth erosion is affected by the pace at which dental development takes place. Hence, during mechanical senescence, age related changes can be perceived to be influenced by the timing of developmental mechanisms (Michael et al, p.4769).

Causes of aging
The death of cells and aging has been associated to be part of the ageing process. This is because the rate of cell production and the changes that occur are regulated by genes but they are also prone to environmental changes. When a cell is not able to perform its important functions, it dies. This is also true in the case of multicellular organisms and thereby the process of aging involves majority of body cells dying. Death of an animal occurs as a result of death of cells in vital body organs that are important in sustaining major body functions (Brakefield at al, p .435).

Because of the speculations around the aging process, people have tried to come up with some of the things that contribute to the process. Some of the suggestions include progressive breakdown in protein synthesis, encodement of Deoxyribonucleic acid in aging, damage brought about by free reaction, autoimmunity in higher organisms, and also cross linkage of macromolecules (Medvedev, p.377). Many theories have been formulated that try to explain the aging process.

The free radical theory is one of the theories and it is based on an assumption that aging is caused by a single cause that is modified by environmental and also genetic factors. According to it, free radical reactions are responsible for aging and age related disorders. The reactions are believed to come about due to exposure to ionizing radiations, non-enzymatic and also enzymatic ones particularly those involved in photosynthesis and oxygen regulation. This reactions cause oxidation to tissue which in return brings about aging programmed theories of aging (Conboy et al, p.761).

According to Holliday (p. 570), oxidative damage has also been linked to aging. According to this theory normal metabolism is one responsible for aging and that mutations are not a necessity. 2-3 of the oxygen taken by the mitochondria is reduced to a reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS is composed of hydrogen peroxide, super oxide ions together with hydroxyl radicals which have a potential to oxidize and destroy cell membranes, nucleic acid and also proteins (Thomas, p.3779). This can be observed in drosophila which produces enzymes that destroy ROS and as a result its able to live longer than other wild-type flies. Other flies that mutate Methuselah gene, also live longer compared to other wild-type flies. This gene that they produce works by increasing resistance to paraquat which is a poison that generates ROS within cells. Through the examples above, it is evident that aging is genetically controlled and that ROS play a role in it (Qin etal, p. 4340).

In mammals, the role of ROS in aging is not clear although some studies tend to support it. Other studies have shown that caloric restriction in mammals can help in slowing the process of aging although it is said to have other effects also. Hence it is not yet certain that it works by preventing ROS synthesis. Other factors that prevent ROS synthesis include vitamins E and C.  Studies have also indicated that when vitamin E is added to the diet of nematodes and flies, increases their longevity (Christoph, Jeen-Woo and Bruce, p 467).

Wear and tear is another theory that tries to account for aging. According to the theory, as an individual grows older, little traumas experienced by the body build up. There is an increase in point mutations and a decrease in efficiency of enzymes brought about by genes. Furthermore, large faulty proteins are made when there was a mutation in part of the protein synthesis material producing faulty DNA polymerases. Because DNA is vital in repair of worn-out tissues, individuals with faulty DNA will end up producing pre-mature aging syndromes. This may end up reducing their life span (Weindruch, Kayo, Lee, and Prolla, p.178).
Mitochondria genome damage is also thought to be the cause of aging. Because mitochondria mutates 10-20 times more fast than the DNA, its thought that if the mitochondria undergoes a mutation, it could affect a number of processes which include energy production in the cell, manufacture of  ROS as a result of a faulty electron transport and it may also lead to apoptosis. Mitochondrion that has undergone mutation is thought to have greater replication frequency compared to wild-type mitochondria. As a result, the mutants outgrow the wild-type mitochondria and finally occupy majority of the cell. The mutants allow formation of ROS at the same time increasing the risk of mitochondrial DNA suffering damage from ROS (Michelle et al, p.471).

According to Hawkins and Lovett (p. 290), some genes have also been found to play a significant role in aging. Dormant mutant genes such as Hutchinson-Gilford progreria syndrome affect children and causes rapid growth and death during the early years of life. The victims are found to have the following symptoms hair loss, thin skin spotted with age spots, arteriosclerosis, and reabsorbed bone mass (Nijhout, P.166).

When an acid diet is taken in by an individual, the PH of blood and cytoplasm falls to acidic levels. In response to the fall in the level of acid, the body uses its bones to buffer the acid. This is achieved through activation of osteoclasts cells which produce inflammatory chemicals that in return break bones to produce minerals that it uses to buffer the acidic state. These minerals include Mg, Ca and K which are released into the blood cytoplasm to effect the change to aid in bone repair. When we also eat meals rich in alkali, osteoblasts are activated if the diet taken is relatively alkalizing, there is no need of production of these cells because of the minerals contained in the food. Acidifying diets lead to a constant flip flop which in return causes an increased rate of metabolism of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. An increase in metabolism leads to a faster cell turn over speeding up the shortening of telomeres hence the process of longevity is accelerated (Pamela p. 97).

Genetically regulated aging insulin pathway
The caenorhabditis elegans DAF-2 insulin like signaling path way not only has been found to regulate lifespan and increase stress resistance capability, but also has a significant resistance to bacteria pathogens. Resistance to a wide variety of bacteria pathogens and prolonged lifespan has also been noted in the loss of function daf-2 and age -1. This has increased the possibility that longevity and pathogen resistance in the insulin-like signaling pathway mutants could be using the same mechanism as daf-2 and age-1. Here, lifespan regulations and resistance to pathogens is found to link by a mechanism that resembles both genetically and contain a genetically distinguishable mechanism. Loss of germline proliferation is found to enhance resistance to pathogens and this in return requires daf-16 which is the same in lifespan regulation.

Contrary to that, regulation of pathogen resistance and lifespan is decoupled in the DAF-2 pathway. Wild-type resistance to pathogens is shown in long lived mutant of genes belonging to daf-2 like pdk-1 and also sgk-1. However, enhanced resistance to pathogen has been observed in akt-1  2 which also have individual modest effect on lifespan. However, pathogen resistance in insulin-like signaling pathway is connected to the increase of immunity gene expression during infection. Other factors that have an effect on an organisms longevity include Jun kinase signaling together with caloric restriction although they do not affect on bacterial pathogen resistance. The finding that insulin pathway affects the lifespan and metabolism showed a concordance with mammalian lifespan studies where by low calories in rat and mouse diets increase their lifespan by reduction of levels of insulin. Signaling of insulin in the nervous system has been found to be important in lifespan elongation (De Magalhaes, p.45).

Production of free radicals that have high insulin signaling in neurons may destroy them leading to a decline in hormonal signal towards the muscles and skin resulting in visible signs of aging in both humans and worms. Regulations of lifespan by hormones released from the brain depend upon regulation of other life stage events such as menopause together with puberty.

Promoting longevity
Aging is a process that cannot be avoided because no one has control over it. The only thing that can be done to prolong life is to alter the aging process through taking relevant measures. There are three factors that contribute largely to the aging process. They include the length of Telomere, replication rate and the rate of metabolism together with the free radicals in the system.

Telomeres resemble caps and are usually found at the edge of chromosomes. They protect the chromosomes from deteriorating. They get shortened every time there is division of cells. When the cell continues to divide, they eventually disappear leaving the cell without the capacity to replicate. The cells then age and eventually die and sometime they may become cancerous or temporarily immortal.
Replication rate is necessary for elimination of endogenous and exogenous toxins that are acquired from the environment. These toxins put older cells DNA at a higher risk of undergoing mutation which may result in cancer. However, when replication occurs too often, the length of telomere shortens prematurely exposing the cells to more risks (Weindruch, Kayo, Lee, and Prolla, p.178).

According to Vaux and Strasser (p. 243), metabolic rate and the free radical activity play an important role in cell breakdown and replication. The food that we consume and the activities that we engage in affect greatly these factors. When one engages in exercise, metabolism is increased temporarily leading to an increase in the number of free radicals in the body. This leads to a healthy and cleansing turnover of cells. When an individual thinks that heshe is starving, physiological processes reduce. This reduces the wastes products produced by cells and increases the levels of free radicals increasing the risk of acquiring cancer (Joseph et al, no.15).  

The following measures can be helpful in ensuring that an individual enjoys longevity. They include
Making sure that antioxidant levels of your body are elevated. Oxidation is brought about by the chemical reactions that occur as a result of free radicals. This oxidation brings about oxidative stress to the body cells together with tissues. To take care of these oxidants, a daily assimilation of various nutrients is a necessity by use of strong antioxidant food supplements. This will ensure that the levels of radicals that are free in your body are kept at a low level and the adequate concentration of antioxidants is maintained. This will help strengthen the bodys immune system which will take care of infection and therefore preventing pre-mature deaths.

Through use of herbs, it can help in reducing the level of free radicals in the body. One of the best herbs that can be used as an antioxidant is Ganoderma Lucidum. This herb contains high levels of SOD. This enzyme is important in regulating the levels of free radicals present in the body at any particular time and therefore slowing the process of aging. Therefore, through long term consumption of Ganoderma, vitality together with longevity is promoted. Consumption has to be done over a long period of time to achieve the results.
Low levels of antioxidants are achieved by the body through the use of a natural anti oxidation system that is found in the body. The system is composed of natural enzymes such as Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), glutathione Peroxidase (GPX) and also Catalase enzymes. These are the ones responsible for eliminating free radicals in the body. However, these enzymes keep decreasing as one ages. The older one grows the less antioxidant enzymes you have. The levels of these enzymes in the body keep decreasing day after day. Other factors that contribute to the increased level of free radicals include prolonged periods of stress more so work related, irregular patterns of work and also anxiety (Robert et al, p.210).

Biological aging is a process that occurs naturally. It may occur earlier in some species and late in some depending on some of the factors such as genes and environmental conditions. Although aging is inevitable, one can prolong longevity by ensuring that the level of free radicals in the body is kept low through the use of the methods discussed above such as avoiding work related stress and avoiding situation s that may make someone exited.