Custom and Culture

Two words name this unit, and they go together:

Word	What it means	An example
custom	one particular practice that a group of people have done for a long time, and expect each other to do	touching an elder’s feet at Dashain; taking off your shoes before entering a house
culture	the whole way of life a group shares: its language, beliefs, values, customs, food, clothes, music, festivals and art	Newar culture, Sherpa culture, Tharu culture, Nepali culture

So a custom is one part of a culture. A tradition is a custom or belief handed down from parents to children over many generations, and a ritual is a set of actions done in a fixed order, often in a religious ceremony.

The unit opens with four pictures:

Picture	What it shows
a man carrying a huge fan-shaped frame of long bamboo arms on his shoulders, a crowd round him in a street of old brick houses	Jibro Chhedne, the tongue-piercing festival of Bode in Madhyapur Thimi, Bhaktapur, on the second day of the Nepali New Year, during Bisket Jatra. A Shrestha man of Bode, after prayers to the local gods, has his tongue pierced with a long iron needle, then carries the mahadwip, a half-circle frame of burning oil lamps, round the town. Local stories say it began as an offering to save the town from a famine.
rows of monks in saffron and maroon robes, sitting and praying together	Buddhist monks at prayer: chanting and meditating together, as in the monasteries of Boudha, Swayambhu and Lumbini.
a bullfighter in a gold costume holding out a pink cape, a black bull charging at it in a sandy ring	a bullfight in Spain: a show hundreds of years old, admired by some as an art and attacked by many as cruel to the bull.
a woman kneeling on straw mats, making tea at a small hearth with steam rising, a young man and woman kneeling opposite with tea bowls in their hands	the Japanese tea ceremony (chadō, “the way of tea”): powdered green tea (matcha) made and served with calm, exact movements, as a form of art and of quiet thinking.

Before you read

What kind of text it is

The text is a personal account, a true experience told by the person who had it, in the first person (I, we). Its writer, Matthew Carney, is an Australian journalist who ran the ABC’s (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s) news office in China from 2016 to 2018, and lived there with his wife and three children. On a family trip to Tagong, a Tibetan town on the high grasslands of western Sichuan (in China’s Garzê Tibetan region, nearly 4,000 meters up), they stumbled on a sky burial.

Sky burial is a funeral custom of Tibetan Buddhists: the body of the dead person is cut up and offered to vultures on a mountain. Tibetans don’t use the English name; they call it jhator, “giving alms to the birds”.

The text, part by part

1. What a sky burial is

The writer explains it bluntly (plainly, without trying to be polite): the body is chopped into pieces and fed to waiting vultures. Outsiders are now mostly forbidden (not allowed) to watch. He admits he felt a mixture of horror and fascination (a strong wish to know more) when he first heard of it.

2. Only to see the place

The family reached an isolated Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Tagong. They had been told that foreigners couldn’t see the ritual anyway, so they planned only to look at the site where it happens. Their driver showed them the way up the mountain: a hilltop covered in Tibetan prayer flags, with a stone slab in the middle.

3. A burial about to begin

As they arrived, they heard Tibetan nuns chanting. Then the writer saw about 100 vultures sitting on the hill, waiting, and what looked like a body bag on the stone slab. They had stumbled into (found by chance) the start of a sky burial. Through a translation app on his phone, he asked a Tibetan beside him what was happening, and was told: “Flesh-eating birds.” May they stay? Yes, but to the side, and no photos.

4. A quick family decision

He was excited, but he had his children with him, so he and his wife had to decide fast:

• The six-year-old son was given the iPad to play games: he was too young to see this. He was thrilled, and his parents had never been so glad to give it to him.
• The 11-year-old son and the 13-year-old daughter were told honestly by their mother, Catherine, what was about to happen, and why, in its cultural and religious context. Then they could choose to stay or go. They stayed.

The writer himself was nervous: he had first seen a dead body at 12, and it had a profound (very deep) effect on him.

5. The body breaker

The bag was taken off: it was a middle-aged woman. A rogyapa, a “body breaker”, came quickly up the hill, in a thick dark scarlet coat with a black hood and a butcher’s knife in his hand, and began cutting the body at once. It was gruesome (horrible to see); the writer almost vomited. His children seemed to take it in their stride (deal with it calmly).

6. The vultures

The vultures grew impatient. At the rogyapa’s signal, the Tibetans holding them back let them through, and they swarmed over the body in a frenzy (wild excitement), jumping on one another. In 15 minutes at most, every piece of flesh was gone; only bones were left. The rogyapa then pulverized the bones (beat them into powder) with a mallet (a heavy wooden hammer), mixed the powder with yak butter and barley flour, walked into the middle of the birds and threw it high into the air. Then he was gone. Nothing at all was left of the body.

7. What it means

A bad omen (a sign that something bad will happen) is when the vultures don’t eat the body, or even leave small bits. Tibetans see the vultures as dakinis, beings like angels that carry the soul up into the heavens, to wait to be reborn (reincarnation). The body is only a vessel for the soul. When it was over, a peace and calm seemed to come over the place: everyone was glad the ritual had been done properly.

8. A proud father

His children were fine: they seemed to understand that an ancient culture was giving meaning to a life. He was proud of their maturity and intelligence. And the six-year-old was none the wiser (knew nothing about it): he had been engrossed (completely absorbed) in Minecraft the whole time.

Words from the text

Words linked here open in English Vocabulary, where you can see an example and practice them in the word game. The meanings below are the ones the words have in this text.

Word	Meaning here
forbidden	not allowed
fascination	a very strong interest in or attraction to something
bluntly	plainly and directly, without trying to be polite
stumble into	to find yourself in something by chance
profound	very great, very deep
gruesome	very unpleasant, filling you with horror (usually about death or injury)
take (something) in your stride	to deal with something difficult calmly
frenzy	a state of wild activity and strong feeling
pulverize	to crush or beat into a fine powder (British pulverise)
mallet	a hammer with a large wooden head
omen	a sign of what is going to happen in the future
vessel	here, a container (a body that holds the soul)
reincarnation	being born again in a new body after death
none the wiser	knowing no more than before
engrossed	so interested in something that you notice nothing else

A. Find the words

B. True or false

C. Answer the questions

D. Customs from other countries

A negative contraction joins a helping verb and not into one word, with an apostrophe where the o of not is left out: is not → isn’t. Each is one stressed syllable, or two with a very weak second one (isn’t = “IZ-nt”). The t at the end is light, and before a consonant it is often hardly heard.

Contraction	Full form	Sounds like	IPA
aren’t	are not	“arnt” (rhymes with aunt in British English)	/ɑːnt/
isn’t	is not	“IZ-nt”	/ˈɪznt/
wasn’t	was not	“WOZ-nt”	/ˈwɒznt/
weren’t	were not	“wurnt”	/wɜːnt/
haven’t	have not	“HAV-nt”	/ˈhævnt/
hasn’t	has not	“HAZ-nt”	/ˈhæznt/
hadn’t	had not	“HAD-nt”	/ˈhædnt/
don’t	do not	“dohnt” (rhymes with won’t)	/dəʊnt/
doesn’t	does not	“DUZ-nt”	/ˈdʌznt/
didn’t	did not	“DID-nt”	/ˈdɪdnt/
can’t	cannot	“kahnt” (British), “kant” (American)	/kɑːnt/, US /kænt/
couldn’t	could not	“KUD-nt” (the l is silent)	/ˈkʊdnt/
mustn’t	must not	“MUS-nt” (the first t is silent)	/ˈmʌsnt/
won’t	will not	“wohnt” (rhymes with don’t)	/wəʊnt/

To ask for permission is to ask if you may do something. How you ask depends on whom you are asking and how big the favor is:

	Asking	Saying yes	Saying no, politely
a friend, a small thing	Can I…? Is it OK if I…?	Sure. Go ahead. Of course. No problem.	Sorry, I need it now.
a teacher, a stranger	May I…? Could I…?	Yes, please do. Certainly. Please feel free.	I’m afraid not. I’m sorry, but…
a bigger favor, very polite	Do you mind if I…? Do you think I could…? Would you mind if I…?	No, not at all. Not at all, go ahead.	Well, I’d rather you didn’t. Actually, I do mind.

Three things to notice:

• After May I, Can I, Could I comes the base verb: May I sit here? After Do you mind if I, Is it OK if I comes a present verb: Do you mind if I sit here? Do you think I could takes the base verb after could. Would you mind if I takes the past: Would you mind if I sat here?
• Do you mind…? asks “Does it bother you?” So No means you may: “Do you mind if I open the window?” “No, not at all.” Answering Yes to it means Yes, I mind: please don’t.
• A polite refusal rarely says a plain “No”. It says sorry and gives a reason (I’m sorry, I’m using it), or uses I’d rather you didn’t (I would prefer you not to). A plain No, you can’t is for a firm rule, or sounds rude.

A. Sentences from the table

B. Ask and answer

C. Conversations for situations

A yes/no question can be answered with yes or no: Are you ready? Did you eat? (A wh-question asks for information: Where are you going?) To make one from a statement:

The statement has	Rule	Statement → question
a helping verb (am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had, or a modal: will, would, can, could, may, might, shall, should, must)	move the helping verb in front of the subject	Pemba is coming. → Is Pemba coming? She can swim. → Can she swim?
a form of be as its only verb	move be to the front	He was at home. → Was he at home?
no helping verb (present or past simple)	add do / does / did in front of the subject; the main verb goes back to its base form	They live here. → Do they live here? She plays football. → Does she play football? He went out. → Did he go out?

Then end with a question mark. In speech, a yes/no question usually rises at the end.

Short answers

We rarely answer a yes/no question with only Yes or No (it can sound cold), and we don’t repeat the whole sentence. We give a short answer: Yes/No + subject pronoun + the helping verb of the question:

Question	Yes	No
Are you busy?	Yes, I am.	No, I’m not.
Does Harish play football?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn’t.
Did you go out?	Yes, I did.	No, I didn’t.
Has your brother gone to sleep?	Yes, he has.	No, he hasn’t.
Can she swim?	Yes, she can.	No, she can’t.
Is there a bus?	Yes, there is.	No, there isn’t.

A positive short answer is never contracted (Yes, I am, not Yes, I’m); a negative one usually is (No, I’m not).

But an offer or a request gets a friendly answer, not a grammar answer: “Can I carry your bag?” “It’s all right, thanks.” (a polite no) / “Yes, please. That’s kind of you.”; “Would you like to come?” “Yes, I’d love to.”

A. Match the answers

B. Ask in these situations

C. The correct answer

D. Write yes/no questions

An essay is a short piece of writing on one topic, in paragraphs, that gives information, describes, tells or argues. Its three parts:

1. Introduction: catches the reader’s attention and says what the essay is about.
2. Body: two to four paragraphs, each on one main idea, which its first sentence (the topic sentence) states, and the rest explains with facts and examples.
3. Conclusion: sums up and leaves the reader with a final thought. No new points here.

Give it a title. Join the paragraphs with linking words (first, also, moreover, however, for example, in conclusion). In your final exam, a short essay is a Free writing II task: about 200 words, 8 marks, marked on its content, organization, language and layout.

Before you read

What kind of text it is

It is a short informative article: an introduction, then four customs, each under its own subheading, with the country, what people do and why. It explains, without telling a story or arguing: an expository text (see the Extra bit).

The text, part by part

Introduction: why customs?

What sets humans apart from other animals is our propensity (natural tendency) to build customs and traditions around everything, from beauty to death. Thousands of cultures have grown since civilization began, and each has its own etiquette (rules of polite behavior) and its own sense of identity. Then come four astonishing (very surprising) customs.

1. Pointing with lips (Nicaragua)

Hand gestures differ from culture to culture, but few cultures use the mouth. In Nicaragua, in Central America, people often point with their lips instead of a finger or thumb: they pucker up (push the lips forward, as for a kiss) toward the thing they mean, to show something happening nearby during a conversation.

2. Tipping (the United States)

In many countries people don’t tip, or tip a little for very good food. In the United States, a tip (extra money for the person who served you) is rather mandatory (almost compulsory) at most restaurants: customers (patrons) are expected to leave 10–20 percent of the bill, and there are rules for tipping bartenders, delivery people and others. Some call it irrational (not sensible), but it gives waiters and waitresses an incentive (a reason) to serve better.

3. Slurping (Japan)

In Western countries, eating noisily is rude, and noodles are eaten by twirling them round a fork or spoon first. In Japan, people simply slurp noodles up, without contorting (twisting) them, which is naturally noisier. Slurping there shows you are really enjoying the noodles, and some scientists say that drawing in air with them even improves their flavor.

4. Kneeling or lying flat to greet (the Yoruba of Nigeria)

The Yoruba, a people living mostly in Nigeria, in West Africa, take greetings seriously, especially greeting elders. When an adult comes near, young people go down: women and girls kneel, and men and boys lie prostrate (flat on the ground, face down). It shows respect and deference (polite obedience) to the community’s elders, and it marks the Yoruba out from other Nigerian peoples, such as the Bini and the Kalabari.

Words from the text

Word	Meaning here
propensity	a natural tendency to behave in a certain way
etiquette	the rules of polite behavior in a society or group
astonishing	very surprising
customary	usual, as custom expects
pucker (up)	to push the lips forward and together, into small folds
mandatory	required, compulsory
patron	a customer of a restaurant, shop or hotel
bartender	a person who serves drinks in a bar
irrational	not based on good reasons; not sensible
incentive	something that makes you want to do something, such as a reward
slurp	to eat or drink noisily, sucking in air
contort	to twist out of the usual shape
palate	the roof of the mouth; also the sense of taste
prostrate	lying flat, face down
deference	polite respect for someone older or more important

A. Find the words

B. True or false

C. Answer the questions

D. The most interesting custom

The listening is a short talk on five of the world’s most fascinating wedding traditions. CDC’s own recording is below: read the questions in B and C first, then listen, as many times as you need.

A. Before you listen

B. The countries

C. Fill in the blanks

These answers have been checked against the recording. It also says the groom breaks the glass under his foot, near the end of the ceremony; that whichever of the couple jumps higher over the broom is said to become the head of the household; that the money dance is common in Poland, Greece, the Philippines and parts of the southern United States too; and that the Chinese bride’s second dress is usually a white ball gown, in the Western fashion.

D. Your own traditions

When you report a question someone asked, you tell what they asked in your own sentence, without quotation marks. A yes/no question is reported with if or whether:

Barsa said to her teacher, “Should I write the story again?”
→ Barsa asked her teacher if she should write the story again.

The steps:

1. Reporting verb: said (to) becomes asked (or wanted to know, wondered, enquired). Keep the listener after asked, with no to: asked her teacher, not asked to her teacher.
2. Add if or whether.
3. Statement order: the subject comes before the verb, and do, does, did disappear: “Do you like it?” → … if I liked it.
4. Tense one step back, after a past reporting verb: am/is → was, are → were, do/does + verb → past simple, did + verb / has / have → had + past participle, will → would, can → could, may → might. Should, would, could, might, must stay.
5. Pronouns change to fit who is reporting: you → I/he/she, my → his/her, and time and place words move: now → then, tonight → that night, yesterday → the day before, last night → the night before / the previous night, tomorrow → the next day, here → there, this → that.
6. Full stop, not a question mark.

A wh-question keeps its question word instead of if: “How is your family?” → She asked me how my family was.

A. Match the reported questions

B. Change into indirect speech

C. Report a friend’s questions

How to write an essay on a custom

1. Title: the custom’s name.
2. Introduction: a vivid opening (a sight or a sound), then what the custom is.
3. Time: when it happens (month, day, season).
4. History and meaning: how it began (say “people believe” or “a legend says” for a story that can’t be proved) and what it means.
5. Community: who observes it.
6. Activities: what people do, in order, with details of sight, sound and taste.
7. Your opinion: why you like it, or what you would change.
8. Conclusion: one or two sentences on why it matters.

The picture Figure 6.3 shows culture in the middle and its elements around it: attitudes, beliefs, language, customs, rituals, behavior, faith and religion, food, and art, drama and music. Each petal is one way a culture shows itself. Some you can see (food, art, rituals); others are inside people’s minds (attitudes, beliefs), and you see them only through what people do.

Essays are grouped by the writer’s goal: to tell, to describe, to explain or to persuade.

Type	The writer’s goal	What it is like	An example title
narrative	to tell a story from real life	usually in the first person (I); vivid, in time order; ends with what the writer learned	The Day I Got Lost in Asan
descriptive	to paint a picture in words of a person, place, object or memory	shows, not tells: details of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch; appeals to feelings	My Grandmother’s Kitchen
expository	to explain or inform, in a balanced way	facts, figures and examples; no personal feelings; can compare and contrast, give causes and effects, or explain how to do something	How Bisket Jatra Is Celebrated
persuasive	to convince the reader to accept a view or do something	an argument built on facts, logic, examples and expert opinion; answers the other side, then makes its case clearly	Every School Should Teach Its Students’ Mother Tongues

In this unit, Sky Burials is a narrative: a true experience told by the person who had it. Surprising Customs is expository: it informs, with examples. Our Culture, Our Pride is often written as a persuasive essay (we should be proud of our culture and protect it), and the essay on a custom mixes expository (when, who, history) and descriptive (the celebrations).

Practice on this unit in the style of the final exam (Grade 9’s exam follows the SEE’s kind of chart). Try each one as in the exam, then open the answer.