Background
Culture is the way people behave and coexist with one another. Culture helps to differentiate one group of people from another (Fine 14) since every culture has its own belief system to which the society is expected to adhere. Therefore, cultures are used as identities. In fact, they are often inherited. Older generations pass on their cultural values to new generations.
However, cultural beliefs are at risk of extinction in these changing times where people no longer embrace and or value their culture. Warrior cultures refer to the cultural beliefs of the people of ancient time. These cultures consisted of different types of cultures, which emphasised on the skill of the warrior, caste, and the impact of culture on the society (Greif 912).
On the other hand, societal norms refer to the social structures or acceptable code of behaviours that the society requires people to portray. There are certain behaviours that the society does not expect from somebody with knowledge and skills. For instance, it is against the expectation of the society for a normal person to walk naked on the road. Such behaviour is against the social norms: it is denounced (Durkheim 14).
Therefore, social norms are simple behaviours or actions that the mainstream society expects an individual to do. The paper is a research on warrior cultures. It presents some of the contrasts that exist between culture and societal norms.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to find out how the warrior culture contrasts with societal norms. Various secondary sources will be relied upon to gather facts about these differences.
Objectives of the study
The study aims to:
- Find out various warrior cultures in a bid to show how they influenced people’s lives
- Investigate on the societal norms to find out how they differ from the warrior cultures
- Deeper insights on cultural practices and social norms will be examined
Limitations of the study
Because of the nature of the study, the researcher will utilise the available secondary sources to complete the research. The study will be limited to the objectives and aims of the study. However, the scope will be limited to warrior culture and societal norms. One of the limitations the research is inadequate resources about the warrior cultures.
There are inadequate materials written about the warrior cultures. Therefore, this may have a negative impact on the inferences made about the culture. Furthermore, secondary materials may not provide the exact practices due to frequent translations and revisions that have been done on the original manuscripts.
The research therefore may not be able to gather the exact facts. Nevertheless, the researcher will ensure that enough and credible sources are used to maintain credibility of this research.
Findings: How the Warrior Culture Contrasts with Societal Norms
Enough literature on warrior society was traced from ancient authors such as Appollinaris, Sidoris, Tacitus, Julius Caesar, and Saint Jerome amongst others. The findings revealed that the warrior culture was structured. They were not based on testorene filled with instances of war (Caesar 199). People knew what they wanted and how they were expected to behave.
As classical pieces of work and literatures, indicated, warrior culture observed a defined set of structures where people had their moral beliefs and traditions that they adopted. For instance, behaviours were learned through training and participation. On contrary, societal norms require people to observe certain behaviours without necessarily going through any form of induction or training.
People live and interact with others in accordance with the acceptable moral standards from where they learn or acquire their unique behaviours. The major warrior cultures included Samurai, Spartans, Apache, Romans and knights. These cultures had their own belief systems though the cultures and the beliefs mostly related with each other.
The Samurai were warriors who laid emphasis on the honor, correct options, and actions all the time. These warriors were useful in highly skilled battles. Giving a picture of their society, they resembled the katana warriors (Gutenbrunner 111). Later, they were identified with the crafted sword, which was depicted or regarded as their soul.
They had high skills on the usage of swords. Mostly they always meditated that they were dead, which is contrary to the societal norms, as the meditation enabled them to have the courage to engage in any battle without fear or reproach. Therefore, this warrior culture was turned into an art and belief that they used to engage in and pass on the mantle to their new generations.
This was unlike the societal norms where people are expected to adhere to moral standards and ethics. People are not supposed to turn against others without any valid reasons. Another important warrior community was Spartans, which occupied the Spartan city-state.
It is one of the greatest and well-known warrior cultures in history. In this society, contrary to the normal society, they did not tolerate any weaknesses. The Spartan warriors were the most feared people. Their women feared them because of their mighty and intolerant nature (Todd 25). When well equipped, no army could match their strength.
The defeat of the Spartans arose because of the decreasing number of warriors. Due to the decrease in the rate of the population, many of the people were slaves and helots. However, this society demonstrated its strength as it defeated its enemies in the battles that it fought. The societal norms, on the other hand, require that all the members of the society with their weakness and strength be respected.
This is contrary to the warrior culture where weakness was not tolerated. In the warrior cultures, people were relentless and fierce. Young children had to go through suffering to be trained to learn the cultures. Apache is an example of such warrior culture. In Apache warriors, young men went through tough experiences in the process of testing whether they were fit to join the warriors.
For instance, they could be forced not to sleep, sit for a long period without movement, and or produce any sound. Does this concur with societal norms? The best answer is no. Boys were required to run through the desert with a mouthful of water. The water was to be spit on completion or at the end of the race. They also used primitive weapons in their fighting such as knives that made other people fear them.
On the contrary, societal norms require members of the society to live with one another showing love with no basis upon which people can engage in fight using weapons such as knives. There is high respect of people in a normal society. Even though people sometimes disagree, the societal norms dictate that they need to settle their disagreements in a better manner. Roman warriors were pragmatic.
Therefore, they used whatever they felt could work for them to come up with the best option (Spaeth 12). For instance, they adopted the phalanx formation. They borrowed these ideas from the Greeks and developed them into their own. However, when the ideas became obsolete, they abandoned them, as opposed to the normal society that upholds all its behaviours to the later. Therefore, this culture was flexible.
The flexibility and adaptability to various ideas led to its success in battles. The culture delved on four aspects, which included conquering the world, recruiting new men, learning of new ideas, and adapting options that they believed could work for them (Elster 99). According to the societal norms, the society knows what it is supposed to do or not to do (Kahneman and Miller 136).
The set of standards to live to is already established. Therefore, all people are required to adhere to that provision. Some warrior cultures like knights aspired to uphold the honour. They always defended and protected the weak, as well those who were helpless and defenseless in the society.
Honour was entrenched in their psychology and mind. Therefore, they were always ready to engage in a confrontation to protect their people just like any other society. They rode on a horse and carried with them armour with artillery of weapons. The armour was very heavy and their enemies could attack them if the soldier fell from their horse (Sidonius 204).
However, contrary to the societal norms, the society ought to live in peace with one another not engaging in battles. The difference between these cultures and the normal society is the aspects of living (Boyd and Richerson 12). Warrior cultures delved much on war as the last resort in defending themselves as opposed to societal norms.
In warrior cultures, belief system, traditions, and values existed. However, they did not apply to a certain category of people. For instance, warrior societies such as Knights, Spartans, and apaches had their own value systems and beliefs. They did not uphold the same values and traditions because they were from different social groups. On the contrary, societal norms define the characters and behaviours of people.
People’s characters and behaviours are expected to resonate to the societies’ expectations. From the study, it was revealed that warrior cultures were learned and passed to the next generations. For instance, in the Apache culture, young men were trained to be brave through exposure to harsh physical exercises (Hochschild 15).
They were oriented into warriors through vigorous training until they were assimilated to be part of the wider group. Society has to orient new generations’ to live according to various rules and guidelines (Burt 1287: Heaney 12). They learnt and assimilated these behaviours through experience. On contrast, societal norms are not transmitted to the next generation through vigorous training.
Rather, people acquire certain behaviours through interactions and exposure. For instance, when people seek employment in white-collar jobs, they dress smartly to create the first impression. This behaviour has been emulated. It resonates among people of the society. Therefore, people always behave in a certain manner in various situations due to their interactions and experiences.
Furthermore, in warrior’ cultures people were preoccupied with hunting and thoughts about war (Horne 23). They believed that, for them to be powerful, they had to be brave enough in readiness for war. They were clustered in terms of tribes that had relationships with blood ties thus forming communities through intermarriages that resulted to clans (Saint 202).
Therefore, they strengthened their unity and bonds besides having common values and traditions that made them cooperate during the time of need (Tacitus 65). On the other hand, societal norms are concerned about the moral inclination of the society. They dedicate platforms upon which the society should behave and or act to one another.
They are diverse and may characterise a larger group of people compared to the warrior culture/society. Societal norms require people to behave in an ethical way that is accepted to the larger society. For instance, behaviours such as war and hunting are not embraced in the normal society because they do not conform to the expected norms of the society.
The way of life of people in warrior cultures is different from the way people live in accordance with societal norms. In the warrior cultures, warriors were preoccupied with war. Therefore, all they thought revolved around wars and on how they could win a battle (Blumer 683).
Therefore, there lives were more associated with battles and conflicts with the only way of solving problems being through violence and wars (Cialdini 203), which is contrary to the societal norms that establish moral standards on how people should live with one another exercising dialogue in case of any misunderstandings.
They believe that people can live together in peace and unity with one another without fighting or attacking one another. Therefore, social norms aimed at cementing union and togetherness among people in the society. Societal norms are based on respect of one another and promotion of peace and cooperation.
Behaviours not expected from the larger society are not welcome and such individuals who demonstrate such behaviours are seen as deviant and outcasts (Fehr, Fischbacher, and Gächter 12). Warriors were obliged by certain codes of behaviour. For instance, they believed that a hero was someone who was supposed to demonstrate hospitality and generosity. They needed not to be mean, but to have a heart of generosity.
The consequences to those who refused to be polite were dreadful. They were demanded to give a very expensive apology, which was accompanied by valuables. Furthermore, the warrior culture acknowledged their warriors as heroes when they died in the battlefield.
Therefore, the warrior culture, had its structures that helped in ensuring that the warriors functioned and executed their duties with due diligence that it deserved. On the other hand, societal norms appreciate any individual who is able to bring order and one who behaves in accordance with the expectation of the society.
Conclusion/ Recommendations
Therefore, in conclusion and based on the research findings about warrior cultures, there is the need for the society to encourage new generations to uphold societal norms to ensure that the new generations live and interact with one another peacefully. The warrior cultures style of transmitting values and beliefs to its young men was brutal thus making the young men psychologically affected.
Behaviours should be passed onto the new generations in a dignified manner. It is also recommended that the society inculcate good morals in its young men while at the same time discouraging bad behaviours through appropriate means. Subjection to harsh punishment is not the solution. Moral standards that are of benefit to the society should be encouraged and transmitted to these young men to make them grow up respecting others.
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