Customs of Japan and Zimbabwe
SynthiaCMY2.0 Custom
Japan | Zimbabwe | |
Food | Main course: Rice | Main course: Cornmeal/ Sadza |
Clothing | Traditional clothe: kimono, yukata, nagajuban, haneri, tabi, zori, obi, geta | Traditional clothe: idzilla, isigolwani, nguba, amacubi, iporiyana, karos |
Housing | Made by wood and wooden pillar, designed with tatami floor. | Made by brick or mud and stick. Having thatch or metal roofs. |
Marriage | Bride wears shiro kimono and hood. Uchikake kimono wears at reception. “San-san-kudo” ritual. End wedding ceremony by offering twig from sakaki scared tree to God. | Munyai help groom send proposal, the groom must prepare “roora” / dowry. Matabele House Paintings. Bride wears Idzila and Isigolwani. Slaughter cattle as weeding celebration. |
Funeral | Clean deceased’s body, prepare arrangement, condolences money, wake up ritual, crematorium | Buried the deceased near home Home bringing ritual by using the returning ox |
2.1 Food
The food culture between these two countries are different, whereby the main course for food in Japan is rice while in Zimbabwe, they can only afford to enjoy cornmeal as their main diet.
In Japan, the rice is such an important food they call their meal “gohan” which it mean rice in Japan. A traditional Japanese meal included serving plain rice along with soup, main dish, pickled vegetable and some side dish. The traditional Japanese cuisine “Washoku” had the honor of being on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. This represents the spirit of Japanese people with their respect for natural. [pic 1]
Now days, Japanese had adapted food culture from around the world. They are now having more choice of food as their main course, such as bread, noodle, pasta and other. They also enjoy various sorts and varieties of meats, fishes, fruits and vegetables. Fast food restaurant are popular with youngster.
Japanese people always say “itadakimasu” before enjoy the meal, which it means “I had receive the food”. This is use to express gratitude to those who prepare and serve the food. After done eating, they will show gratitude by saying “gochiso sama deshita” which means “It was quite a feast.” (Explore Japan – Housing, Food and Clothes)
Zimbabwe is having cornmeal-based dietary staple, the national dish “sadza” is make by cooking maize into thick porridge like substance, and it is normally serve with appetizer. The appetizer can be various from vegetable and meat goulash that the common families could afford. To Zimbabwe, sadza is similar to rice to Japan and pasta to Italian. In their language, “sadza re masikati” which translate into “sadza of afternoon” means lunch, also dinner is known as “sadza re manferu” which translate into “sadza of evening”. (Food in Zimbabwe)
[pic 2]
There are a few food taboos that are still practiced by them. In the past, they believe egg will cause infertility in women thus the women avoid consume the egg, however in now days it was widely consume by them. Traditionally the people of Zimbabwe also try to avoid eat the meat of one’s clan totem. Even in the modern day, the animals representing their totems are rarely consumed by them. Roasted and stewed meat is the food of celebrations. In some ceremonial occasion, a goat or even an ox will be slaughtered in rural areas depended by the event, and some time it can accompanied with rice.
2.2 Clothing
The Japanese traditional dress is still wear by the modern people, however it usually wear on special occasion like weddings, adulthood ceremony, Shichi-Go-San festival and others. A kimono could wear by both the genders and it can be wears on casual or formal event depend on the design of the kimono. Kimono was a full-length rode that normally made from silk, it has large long sleeves that reach from the shoulders down to the heels. People normally tie a wide belt knows as “obi” when they wear kimono. The design is different for men and women, and they have to choose from the different styles of kimono to accommodate to one’s age and statues, the occasion, the season and others.