Cultural Anthropology for Missions

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY FOR MISSIONS
M.M.NINAN
and how to give tips, when to accept an invitation and when not to,
how to give orders to the servants, how to make purchases, when
to take a statement at its face value and when not to, when should
one smile and when should one be serious etc. etc. These customs
and cues - which may be words, gestures, facial expressions,
customs or norms - are acquired by all of us in the course of
growing up and are as such a part of our culture as the language
we speak or the beliefs we hold (from Oberg, Culture Shock)
Rejection takes several forms:
• We may make derogatory and joking remarks about the
people;
• We may disassociate ourselves as far as possible from the
people;
• We may try to associate as much as possible with the
people of our own culture, etc.
ETHNOCENTRISM
The act of considering our own culture as superior to those of the
host culture is known as ETHNOCENTRISM.
Ethnocentrism is the practice of interpreting and evaluating
behavior and objects by reference to the standards of one's own
culture rather than those by reference to the standards of the
culture it belongs. (from Himes) On the other hand
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