Ethnocentrism in the creation of myth

Ethnocentrism can be seen in many aspects of culture--myths, folktales, proverbs, and even language.  Many different myths evolved among the Indians to explain the different colors of humans.

There was a good example of ethnocentrism in the creation of myth of the Cherokee.

According to the story, the Creator made three clay images of a man and baked them in an oven. In his haste to admire his handiwork, he took the first image out do the oven before it was fully baked, and found that it was too pale.

He waited a while and then removed a second image; it was just right, a full reddish-brown hue. He was so please, with his work that he sat there and admired it , completely forgetting about the third image.

Finally he smelled it burning, but by the time he could rescue it from the oven it had already been burnt, and it came out completely black.

Other Indians myth said that the Creator made three-light skinned men, but then each washed himself soon after creation in different shades of muddy water which altered their color.

Sometimes it was simply said that God mistakenly created black and white men first but found them repugnant to look at and so created a red man ‘who was his favorite’.
Ethnocentrism in the creation of myth

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism
Continue from: understanding ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism can be seen in many aspect aspect of culture – myths, folk’s tales, proverbs, and even languages.

For example, in many languages especially those of non-western societies the word to refer one’s own tribe or ethnic literally means “mankind” or “human”.

This implies that members of others groups are less than human. For example, the Eskimo, used to refer to groups that inhabit the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, is an Indian word used by neighbors of the Eskimo who observed their strange way of life but did not share it.

The term means: "eaten of raw flesh,” and as such is an ethnocentric about cultural practices that were normal to one group and repulsive to another.

On the other hand, we find one subgroup among the Alaskan natives calling themselves Inuit, which means “real people” (they obviously did not think eating raw flesh was anything out of the ordinary).

Here then, is a contrast between one’s own group, which is “real,” and the rest of the world, which is not so “real”.

Both Eskimo and Inuit, are equally ethnocentric – one as an observation about differences, the other as a self evaluation. However, Inuit is now seen as more appropriate term because of its origin.
Ethnocentrism

Understanding Ethnocentrism

Understanding Ethnocentrism
Culture shock can be an excellent lesson to relative values and in understanding human differences. The reason culture shock occurs is that we are not prepared for these differences. Because of the way we are taught our culture, to some degree we are all “ethnocentric”.

This term comes from Greek root ethnos, meaning a people or group. Thus it refers to the fact that our outlook or world view is centered on our own way of life. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own patterns of behavior are the best: the most natural, beautiful, right or important. Therefore other people, to the extent that they live differently live by standards that the inhuman, irrigational, unnatural, or wrong.

Ethnocentrism is the view that one’s own culture is better than all other; it is the way all people feel about themselves as compared to outsiders, no matter how liberal and open minded they might claim to be.

 People will find aspect of another culture distasteful, be it sexual practices, a way of treating friends or relatives, or simply a food that they cannot manage to get down with a smile. This is not something we should ashamed of, because it is natural outcome of growing up in the society.

However as if we study other cultures, it is something we should constantly be aware of, so that when we are tempted to make value of judgment about another way of life we can look at the situation objectively and take our bias into account.
Understanding Ethnocentrism