SCHOOL OF MEDICAL

LABORATORY SCIENCE
PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE
SAN PEDRO COLLEGE – MAIN
CAMPUS
Instructor’s Name: Janice B. Sawe
AY 2022 – 2023 - 2ND SEMESTER LESSON NO.6 - COMPONENTS OF CULTURE-MATERIAL CULTURE AND
NON-MATERIAL CULTURE

● Pre-Spanish Period (cave, tree house, Nipa hut/Bahay

OUTLINE Kubo).
I. Components of Culture ● Spanish Period (Forts, Plaza, Churches, Government
A. Material Culture building or capitol, Bahay na bato or Stone House).
1. Art ● American Period (Chalet, two-storey house, bungalow
2. Architecture and Housing house, residential architecture).
3. Tools of Communication - We can learn a lot about the culture of a period by
4. Food looking at the material artifacts of that age. Indian art
B. Non-Material Culture and architecture are distinguished by their religious
1. Cognitive content, exquisite style and philosophical outlook. The
2. Normative artistic remains show their close connection with religion.
● Architecture of the Pre-Historic Period - In
North India, the Stone Age was followed by the
I. COMPONENTS OF CULTURE Copper Age, which was followed by the Iron Age.
But in South India, Stone Age was followed by the
Iron Age.
● Harappan Architecture - The discoveries of the
cities like Mohenjo Daro and Harappa show that
indus valley houses and the town planning show
that they had made much progress in
architecture. The public baths and public buildings
show that their architecture was characterized by
its utilitarianism.
● Architecture during Vedic Culture - Aryans
developed a new culture in North India around
Figure 1. Components of Culture
2000 B.C. The great epics of Mahabharata and
Ramayana make reference to many places, royal
William Ogburn has given two forms of culture: courts, buildings and cities and a high degree of
A. Material Culture excellence in arts and architectural sense.
B. Non-Material Culture ● Buddhist Period - Not much progress in art and
architecture. Materials like the earth bamboo and
A. MATERIAL CULTURE wood were used for the purpose of construction.
A few buildings were made of stone.
All things that man has created, which are observed and ● Mauryan Period - Mauryan Empire made much
tangible are material artifacts. progress to art and architecture. Mauryan kings
→ Example: tools, table, chair etc. patronized many artists, architects, and
Elements of material culture in society can be observed engineers. Chandragupta had built a large and
through: beautiful wooden palace. King Ashoka built many
1. Art Stupas in honour of Lord Buddha.
- It refers to those forms of creative expression which ● Gupta Period - The Gupta era is regarded as the
are guided by aesthetic principles and which involve golden age in the history of ancient India. Art and
imagination, skill, and style. Every culture and society architecture entered its classical phase and a lot
has their own characteristic forms of art. For Example: of progress happened in architecture.
tea drinking is a form of art in Japan; calligraphy is a form ● Mughal-Maratha Period - The Indo-Islamic art of
of art in China and the Islamic Middle East. the earlier period was combined and there were
not many changes. To a certain extent, Persian
- Art is a universal aspect of human experience and influence was pre-dominant unto the end of the
there is no such known culture where art is not present. reign of Akbar after which Indian style dominated.
Art is not present. Art is a means by which people
express their values, perceptions of reality and the 3. Tools of Communication
identity of their culture. - There are different tools of communication used
by different communities. Some of them are:
2. Architecture and Housing I. Oral Culture - Communication here is generally
- The History and culture of the Philippines are reflected face-to-face and verbal.
in its architectural heritage. II. Writing - More than 5,000 years ago, the development
of alphabets took place independently in several places
Factors to consider in building a house: around the world. The medium used for carrying out this
form of communication was clay tablets by the
1. Setting (Geography) Sumerians, but Egyptians. Greeks, and Romans
2. Climate eventually made use of papyrus. Romans Later began to
3. Availability of resources use parchment. By A.D.100, the Chinese developed a
paper which was made from rags. Today, writing is no

BSMLS – 2G Team Writers: Tulio, Ipong, Montenegro, Flores 1 of 3

 SCHOOL OF MEDICAL
LABORATORY SCIENCE
PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE
SAN PEDRO COLLEGE – MAIN
CAMPUS
Instructor’s Name: Janice B. Sawe
AY 2022 – 2023 - 2ND SEMESTER LESSON NO.6 - COMPONENTS OF CULTURE-MATERIAL CULTURE AND
NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
longer dependent on such rudimentary techniques and a
variety of paper and writing materials are used.
III. Printing Press - This led to the spread of written
material and to mass communication being possible.
IV. Modern Communication Technologies - These
include newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, radio,
television and more recently the internet.
4. Food
- Food is also considered as a form of art in many
societies and cultures.
- In many cultures, it is seen as a tradition and traditional
recipes are handed down from one generation to the
next, from mother to daughter. The type of food eaten is
also a part of culture. For Example: In China and India,
pigs are eaten and are seen as a source of protein but
religious tradition of Islam and Judaism forbid eating of
pork.
B. NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
● This refers to various symbolic creation of man. It consists of
the intangible products of human society.
- For Example: values, norms, attitudes.
● They are called Mentifacts. Both, material and non-material
cultures are originally linked.
● Material culture emerges out of non-material culture. Material
culture changes more frequently, whereas non-material
culture is slow to change. This gap between their paces of
change is known as Culture Lag.
- Example: Material aspect of Indian culture has
changed a lot, in terms of technology and
lifestyle; whereas non-material aspects like
region and social values change slowly.
Elements of non-material culture in society can be observed
through:
A. Cognitive (Knowledge and Beliefs)
a. Knowledge: All information about the material
world that can be objectively substantiated. It is
the storage and recall of learned information.
b. Beliefs: Ideas and speculation about the
physical, social and supernatural reality, not as
easily supported by facts. They are cultural
conventions that are concerned with true or
false assumptions, specific descriptions of the
nature of the universe and the place of human
begins in it.
B. Normative (Values and Norms)
a. Values: They are a part of the cultural system
and are inculcated into the psychological
system through socialization and are
instrumental in shaping and determining
behavior in groups and other social systems.
Example: Driving at high speed leads to
accidents is a belief; driving should not exceed
a certain limit is a value.
b. Norms: These are usually derived from values.
They are standards of behavior expected of
individuals by their social groups and therefore
norms supplement values. Values tend to be
BSMLS – 2G Team Writers: Tulio, Ipong, Montenegro, Flores
broad and non-specific and norms are specific
and definite.
● Norms can be:
○ Prescriptive Norms - are those which
prescribe or allow kinds of behavior to take
place. Example: in college, you should study.
○ Proscriptive Norms - are those which prohibit
certain kinds of behavior. Example: murder and
crime are those acts which are forbidden by
society.
○ Cultural Norms - states how culture should
ideally followed, that is, how it actually should
be. Example: one should always be honest.
○ Statistical Norm - is the measure of the actual
conduct in the society. It is the ‘the actual
behaviour of a person in a given situation.’
Example: one shouldn’t break a traffic light -
this is a norm =, but when one is in hurry and
one breaks it, then it is a statistical norm.
● Norms include
1. Folkways: they are workable patterns
accepted as appropriate but not insisted upon.
Example: if you eat food with your hand, you
won’t be punished. They are passed down from
generation to generation either through
deliberate or more imitation.
2. Mores: they are morally and strongly
sanctioned folkways regarded as important for
the survival of the group. Example: wearing
clothes is a mores. Negative mores are called
taboos, which mean that something should not
be done. Example: Incest- a sexual relation
relationship between father and daughter.
3. Customs: a custom is a long established
usage or practice, gradually accepted as an
appropriate mode of behaviour. Customs are
sanctioned by group pressure. In traditional
societies the hold of customs is very strong.
4. Laws: Laws are codified norms or rules
enacted by those who exercise political power
and are enforced through state machinery.
There is an element of force or compulsion in
law. They are needed in a modern, complex
society to maintain social order. it is more
formal as compared to the folkways, mores and
norms in the society.
● Different cultures manifest their non-material culture
through:
1. Folklores: Folklores are an important part of
many cultures, especially the primitive
communities. In primitive communities, cultural
transmission takes place through folklores.
Folklores contain the philosophy of the people
of that society or culture. Most of the folklores
have references made to the mutual relation of
the people to their gods. Folklores help in
socialization as they point out how different
types of offences are punished by the
supernatural powers. They also contain
descriptions about birds, beasts, trees and
human beings etc.
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 SCHOOL OF MEDICAL
LABORATORY SCIENCE
PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE
SAN PEDRO COLLEGE – MAIN
CAMPUS
Instructor’s Name: Janice B. Sawe
AY 2022 – 2023 - 2ND SEMESTER LESSON NO.6 - COMPONENTS OF CULTURE-MATERIAL CULTURE AND
NON-MATERIAL CULTURE

2. Myths: Myths owe their origin to belief and

ideals associated with leaders, patriots, national REVIEW QUESTIONS
heroes, institutions and individuals. They are
handed down from one generation to the next. 1. Define culture. Explain the components of culture.
They set examples and guide people in their 2. explain how housing and architecture are components of
life. Despite the fact that they are imaginative material culture.
and unrealistic, they are still very important. For 3. Explain the Cognitive and Normative elements of
Example: In India, myths have originated in non-material culture.
connection with Lord Krishna, Brishma, 4. Discuss how non-material culture manifest itself.
Tulsidas etc. Myths have functions in a society 5. Write short notes on:
like making the social-cultural reality stable, ● Legends
predictable and capable of being endured. They ● Tools and Communication
also maintain the relationship or link between ● Art
the past, present, and future. They also induce ● Norms
a feeling of security and ascertain the beliefs of
people.
3. Legends: They are a form of social myth which
REFERENCES
are based on some part of historical facts and
deal mainly with heroes and events, which are Rai, R., & Panna, K. (2009). Introduction to culture
related to the successes and failures in a group studies. Global Media.
society. Mostly the heroes are religious and the
events related to them, are of a divine
supra-social nature. For Example: In India ,
there are many legends attached to the life of
Lord Krishna.
● There are different types of
legends:
1. Religious Legends - Shri
Krishna, Sai Baba , etc.
2. Political Legends - Gandhi,
Abraham Lincoln.
3. Economic Legend - Karl
Marx.
4. Social Legend - Mother
Teresa.
● Legends evolve due to many reasons and they
are very important because they represent the
ideals and values in a society and they provide
an opportunity for the individual to acquaint
himself/herself with the culture of that society.
Legends are also important because they are
attached with the emotions, feelings and
assumptions of a particular society and culture.
4. Aesthetics: In every society, people express
themselves through different ways of creative
expression. These are guided by aesthetic
principles involving imagination. beauty, skill and
style. Example: Many cultures have a history of
appreciating music, poetry, forms of dance and
paintings.
Every Culture includes both material as well as
non material. Even though material culture
changes more frequently and drastically, as
compared to non material culture, without either
of them, no culture is complete.

BSMLS – 2G Team Writers: Tulio, Ipong, Montenegro, Flores 3 of 3