Peliño, Mark Lonne C.

| BBTLEDICT 1-1 11-03-20

Examining Cultural Relativism: Cutting Off Fingers

We all know how painful and traumatizing every time that our loved ones dies, we
can feel some emotions that unbearable and takes a lot of time for us to recover. On the
other hand, some cultures have unique way of grieving. In Indonesia, women of Dani
tribe cut off their finger if she loses a family member or child.
I have not exposed to this kind of culture but when I first heard this kind of practice, I
imagined how difficult that was. You are suffering from emotional pain while you suffer
also from physical pain. It could also affect their grip since our fingertips are responsible
for picking and holding things.
However, this practice needed to stop, self-harm is not a good way of grieving. For
me, I think these people should be educated that cutting off fingers can affect their
health and system of their body. Also, advise them to customize their practice like
cutting their hair instead of their fingers. Regarding with that the practice is now banned
in Indonesia, but the practice can still be seen in some of the older women of the
community who have mutilated fingertips.
In the perspective of Cultural Relativism, one should understand a culture on its own
terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. Using the
perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior to
another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc. However, in
my opinion, cutting off fingers is right for Dani tribe but not right for some of us, there is
nothing we can do about that because it is their belief. However, we all know that cutting
off fingers for the sake of grieving is not ethical and moral. There should be a standard
for those kind of culture especially of it affects our well-being; I do not agree that there is
no standard exist which you can judge the best culture, we are just bounded by the term
“respect” their culture. Culture has large part in a community, but we can tell if it still
moral and not, some are just uneducated that they still relying on their ancestors even if
it is already unethical and unpleasant to the eye.
 Examining Cultural Relativism: Endocannibalism
Endocannibalism is one the most disgusting and intriguing cultures in our world. The
Yanomami tribe, who live spread across 200-250 villages in the Amazon rainforest,
practice the traditional death ritual of endocannibalism. This means that loved ones of
the person who has died consume his or her flesh if he or she was a member of the
group. It also involves pulverizing bones from the dead body and mixing it into banana
soup. According to tradition, the ritual helps ensure that the souls of the dead find their
way to paradise. Most of us preserve the body and protecting it. This culture became
bizarre because they do not bury or burn the body, instead they eat it which is not
normal for us and even animals will not do this.
Moreover, I have not exposed to this kind of culture yet. For me, this practice should
not continue, people of Yanomami should be educated that eating dead bodies could
affect their health, although it will be hard since they might take it as a disrespecting
their culture. Maybe they are doing this not just because it is a tradition but also
because they get food for survival.
In the perspective of Cultural Relativism, one should understand a culture on its own
terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. Using the
perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior to
another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc. However, most
of us has discomfort feeling when we heard cannibalism. So, we cannot just say that
this kind of practice is normal, even though this kind of culture is performed because of
reasons that they might get from doing it and because it is passed by their ancestors.
Culture is so diverse, but we can still distinguish whether it is right or wrong.
 Examining Cultural Relativism: Living with the Dead
In modern civilization, if someone died, we usually bury them or sometimes we also
cremate them after. On the other hand, there is a terrifying and unusual culture in Toraja
people of Indonesia wherein decades old bodies were being exhumed and then
paraded around the village. It feels strange and amazing how Toraja people deal with
their dead.
It can be compared to the ritual of Mangyans in the Philippines called
“Pangutkutan”. The “kutkot” ritual is a tradition of bringing the dead back to life. A
Filipino word for “scratch” or “unearth,” it entails dressing up the remains of the dead in
cloth so that they take on a human form again. The family members cleaned the
skeleton, and then wrapped the parts in a large cloth. The ritual involves an elaborate
process of draping the cloth around the bones in such a way that it resembles a sort of
mannequin, called a “sinakot.”
In the perspective of Cultural Relativism, one should understand a culture on its own
terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. Using the
perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior to
another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc. So, we cannot
say that the culture of Toraja people in Indonesia is right or wrong because leaving with
the dead is part of their culture and that is not wrong for them. However, when you put
that in the perspective of civilized modern community, people will agree that itt is
unethical to live with the dead.
 Examining Cultural Relativism: Ainu Bear Worship
We have different religions and different Gods, Christians worship Jesus, Muslims
worship Allah, Hindus and Buddhists worship animals etc. There are cultures and
religions that supports animal welfare because compassion for all living beings.
However, it was awful and gruesome when I learned about Ainu people about their God
and the way of their religious devotion. For the Ainu, several animals are considered
gods, but the bear is above them all. It involves slaughtering a mother bear by spearing
and then drinking its blood and eating the flesh as part of the devotion. Furthermore,
they will put the skull in the top of the spear covered with skin, then it is ready to
worship.
This kind of culture to me is totally new; I never heard this kind of religious rituals. In
my opinion, this kind of practices should be limited because nature should not be
treated like that, even though animals like bears is to be purposely slaughtered for the
food and survival of indigenous people, the way you treat animals should also has
proper way when you slaughter it.
Ainu’s way of religious devotion is not that morally correct in our standards but in the
perspective of Cultural Relativism; one should understand a culture on its own terms
and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. Using the
perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior to
another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc. If I were
exposed to that kind of culture, I will not agree to it. I will disregard the notion of cultural
relativism and I will conclude that it is unethical.
 Examining Cultural Relativism: Self-Flagellation
Among the 7 Bizarrely Interesting Cultural Practices Still Carried Out Today, Self-
Flagellation is the most dangerous and painful practice for me. Muslims flagellate their
head with daggers during the commemoration the death of Imam Hussein and for the
sake of tribute and absolve sin. In the photo, you can feel how painful when you see
their head bleeding, despite that, Muslims are still martyr and devoted in doing that
horrible practice.
This kind of practice is somehow similar to the “Penitensya” of Catholics every Holly
week wherein men roam the streets and flog their own backs until they bleed, some
would even willingly nail themselves on the cross as their penitensya. As a Filipino, I
have witnessed this kind of practice before in our province, but not often in Metro
Manila.
In my opinion this kind is life threatening, if someone accidentally hit his head hardly,
it could be fatal because you are flagellating near your brain that could result
hemorrhage. For me there is no need to educate Muslims to customize their practice. It
might also cause chaos. I know it is hard to educate people especially if they are really
committed and devoted from what there are doing. In addition, in the perspective of
Cultural Relativism, one should understand a culture on its own terms and not to make
judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. Using the perspective of cultural
relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior to another culture when
compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc. But if I have the power, I will ban this
kind of practice.
 Examining Cultural Relativism: Carrying Your Wife over Burning Coal
This kind of practice is kind of shallow for me; you cannot ensure that wife will have
an easy and successful labor by just carrying your bride in while on the middle of
burning charcoal and torturing yourself. After I read this kind of practice, I feel some
cringe and pain. Although, we cannot blame or say what we want about them because
its their belief and tradition.
I have not exposed to this kind of culture, but I am familiar with it, because other
tribes in the Philippines also doing this but for another reason. They are dancing on the
burning charcoals as a ritual believing that it will avoid them from different disasters that
may occur.
I think people who practice this should be educated and modify their practice. For
me, they need to make it painless, although it will also be impossible to happen, since
they are strict when it comes to the process of it.
We can say that Carrying Your Wife over Burning Coal is kind of unethical when you
review it. On the contrary, in the perspective of Cultural Relativism, one should
understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards
of one’s own culture. Using the perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that
no one culture is superior to another culture when compared to systems of morality, law,
politics, etc. in the perspective of Cultural Relativism, one should understand a culture
on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture.
Using the perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is
superior to another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc.

Examining Cultural Relativism: The Eskimo Funerary Ritual

 One of the most well-known stories about the Eskimos is the strange practice that
they have adopted when facing death, and old age. According to the popular
conception, Eskimos must work so hard to survive that they simply cannot manage to
support adults who are no longer contributing to the well-being of the group. Alone on
their iceberg, the elderly must inevitably freeze or starve to death, facing their end,
uncomfortable, and horrifyingly alone. After I read about this, this something that I will
never do to my family no matter how old they are or even they are burden in my life. In
the first place, they are the reason why you live and exist. It is a disgrace to let your
loved ones die because they are burden and inconvenience to you, this is immoral for
me.
However, this kind of practice is new to me and also a kind inhumane, in spite of
their reason that they would not be sending the elderly off to die and disappear, but to
move on to the afterlife. They no need be educated and modify their behavior since
someone’s life is at stake in this practice. They need to understand and value one’s
present life and not in afterlife. I think it is more on just excuse; Eskimos just does not
want to be patient and persistent.
On the contrary, The Eskimo Funerary Ritual might sound immoral but on
perspective of Cultural Relativism, one should understand a culture on its own terms
and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. Using the
perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior to
another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc. in the
perspective of Cultural Relativism, one should understand a culture on its own terms
and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. Using the
perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior to
another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc.