It is Friday, World Music Friday!
Today we travel to the Antipodes, to Australia. Since 1788, the basis of Australian culture has been strongly influenced by Anglo-Celtic Western culture. Distinctive cultural features have also arisen from Australia's natural environment and Indigenous cultures. Since the mid-20th century, American popular culture has strongly influenced Australia, particularly through television and cinema. Other cultural influences come from neighboring Asian countries and through large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking nations. Founded on stories of battlers, bushrangers and brave soldiers; of sporting heroes, working heroes and plucky migrants. It’s all about a fair go, the great outdoors and a healthy helping of irony. Today Australia also defines itself by its Aboriginal heritage, vibrant mix of cultures, innovative ideas and a thriving arts scene. The oldest surviving cultural traditions in Australia—and some of the oldest surviving cultural traditions on earth—are those of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Their ancestors have inhabited Australia for between 40,000 and 60,000 years, living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The Dreamtime is the sacred ‘time before time’ of the world’s creation. According to Aboriginal belief, totemic spirit ancestors emerged from the earth and descended from the sky to awaken a dark and silent world. They created the sun, moon and stars, forged mountains, rivers, trees and waterholes and changed into human and animal forms. Spirit ancestors connect this ancient past with the present and future through every aspect of Aboriginal culture. Rock art, craft and bark painting reveal Dreamtime stories, mark territory and record history, while songs tell of Dreamtime journeys, verbally mapping water sources and other essential landmarks. Their special lyrics have been passed down virtually unchanged for at least 50,000 years, and are often accompanied by clap sticks or the deep throb of the didgeridoo. Similarly, traditional dances reveal creation myths; enact the deeds of Dreamtime heroes and even recent historical events. Here is a sample of the traditional music of the native people of Australia. Enjoy this masterpiece of aboriginal folk music and the fascinating sound of the didgeridoo (the traditional aboriginal wooden "drone pipe")! Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend! - Alba Serrano-Miro
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It is Friday, World Music Friday!
Today we travel to Canada. Canada's culture is a product of its ethnicities, languages, religions, political and legal system(s). Being a settler nation, Canada has been shaped by waves of migration that have combined to form a unique blend of art, cuisine, literature, humor and music. Today, Canada has a diverse makeup of nationalities and constitutional protection for policies that promote multiculturalism rather than cultural assimilation. In 1971, Canada was the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy to protect and promote diversity, recognize the rights of Aboriginal peoples, and support the use of Canada’s two official languages. Multiculturalism is used to refer to a society that is characterized by ethnic or cultural heterogeneity; to refer to an ideal of equality and mutual respect among population’s ethnic or cultural group’s; and to refer to policies implemented by the federal government in 1971 and subsequently by a number of provinces. The declaration of Canada as a bilingual and multicultural nation resulted in an explosion of multicultural research. Publications and literature were developed, many national research surveys were launched, ethnicity identity research escalated, and organizations were established to support diversity. Multiculturalism was celebrated as a new vision of Canadian identity, which would foster a global understanding of all ethnic communities. Despite the official policies, segments of the Canadian population are critical of the concept(s) of a cultural mosaic and implementation(s) of multiculturalism legislation. Quebec's ideology differs from that of the other provinces in that its official policies focus on interculturalism, which involves moving beyond mere passive acceptance of a multicultural fact of multiple cultures effectively existing in a society and instead promotes dialogue and interaction between cultures. Leonard Cohen, the legendary Canadian Singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist, is an example of this country shaped by waves of immigrants. Born in an English-speaking area of Montreal, Quebec, of a Lithuanian Jewish decent mother, and of a Polish decent father, here a beautiful song of his, So long, Marianne, Enjoy the song and the weekend! - Alba Serrano-Miro It is Friday, World Music Friday!
On a hot summer day like today, we want to cool off a little by traveling to the northern lands, today we visit Sweden. One of the key characteristics of Swedish culture is that Swedes are egalitarian in nature, humble and find boasting absolutely unacceptable. In many ways, Swedes prefer to listen to others as opposed to ensuring that their own voice is heard. When speaking, Swedes speak softly and calmly. It is rare that you were to witness a Swede demonstrating anger or strong emotion in public. Swedes rarely take hospitality or kindness for granted and as such, they will often give thanks. Behaviors in Sweden are strongly balanced towards ‘lagom’ or, ‘everything in moderation’. Excess, flashiness and boasting are abhorred in Sweden and individuals strive towards the middle way. As an example, work hard and play hard is not a common concept in Sweden. People work hard but not too hard, they go out and enjoy themselves, but without participating in anything extreme. Due to the strong leaning towards egalitarianism in Sweden, competition is not encouraged and children are not raised to believe that they are any more special than any other child. The family unit in Sweden is extremely important and as such, the rights of children are well protected. The rights afforded to Swedish families to ensure that they are able to adequately care for their children are some of the best rights in the world. In Sweden's advanced general welfare state, communal institutions ensure the well-being and economic security of all citizens. No other country has as low a rate of poverty and social exclusion. Health, education, and social-welfare programs are comprehensive and universal. Coverage for all citizens prevents the development of an underclass. If this wasn’t enough, Sweden also has a long history of great musicians and artists. Here a little taste of a new generation of musicians, they are called First Aid Kit with the song My Silver lining, Enjoy! |
AuthorUnicultural team and trainers, sharing our views and experiences on everything cultural. Archives
May 2016
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