SCHOOL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

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Name

MOGANRAJ A/LK RENGASAMY

Student ID

201205040050

Code

BMUF 1033

Title
MULTICULTURAL STUDIES
Lecturer
MS MARDIYANA

Assignment title

CULTURE AND SYMBOLS

Definition of Culture
Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from
language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music arts, and most importantly, their way of life.

Western culture
The term Western culture has come to define the culture of European countries as well as those
such as the United States that have been heavily influenced by European immigration. Western
culture has its roots in the Classical Period of the Greco-Roman era and the rise of Christianity in
the 14th century.

Eastern culture
Eastern culture generally refers to the societal norms of countries in Far East Asia (including
China, Japan, Vietnam, North Korea and South Korea) and the Indian subcontinent. Like the
West, Eastern culture was heavily influenced by religion during its early development. In general,
in Eastern culture there is less of a distinction between secular society and religious philosophy
than there is in the West. Today, the influences of Western culture can be seen in almost every
country in the world.

Latin culture
Many of the Spanish-speaking nations are considered part of the Latin culture, while the
geographic region is widespread. Latin America is typically defined as those parts of the Central
America, South America and Mexico where Spanish or Portuguese are the dominant languages.
While Spain and Portugal are on the European continent, they are considered the key influencers
of what is known as Latin culture, which denotes people using languages derived from Latin, also
known as Romance languages.
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Middle Eastern culture

The countries of the Middle East have some but not all things in common, including a strong
belief in Islam and religion is a very strong pillar of this society. The Arabic language is also
common throughout the region; however, the wide variety of dialect can sometimes make
communication difficult

African culture
The continent of Africa is essential two cultures North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The
continent is comprised of a number of tribes, ethnic and social groups. One of the key features of
this culture is the large number of ethnic groups some countries can have 20 or more and
the diversity of their beliefs. Northwest Africa in particular has strong ties to European and
Southwestern Asia. The area also has a heavy Islamic influence and is a major player in the Arab
world. The harsh environment has been a large factor in the development of Sub-Saharan Africa
culture, as there are a number of languages, cuisines, art and musical styles that have sprung up
among the far-flung populations.

What Is Symbols in Culture

A sign or called as a symbol which is normally defined as meaning something specific within an
entire culture to a contextual symbol created by a single author that has meaning only within a
single work or group of works. Examples of cultural symbols in Western culture include the cross
as a symbol of Christianity, the American flag as a symbol of America's colonial history of
thirteen colonies growing into fifty states, the gold ring as a symbol of marital commitment, the
Caduceus as a symbol of medicine, and the color black as a symbol of mourning. Examples of
cultural symbols in other cultures include white as a symbol of mourning in Japan, the Yin-Yang
sphere as an oriental symbol of oppositional forces in balance, the white crane as a symbol of
longevity in Mandarin China, and so forth.

Symbols and their meanings

Here are attached several symbols which represent their meanings.

ANKH: An Egyptian cross symbolizing a mythical eternal life, rebirth, and the lifegiving power of the sun.

ANGEL: Symbol of good and evil spirits in religions around the world. This picture
shows a Tibetan guardian angel.
ARROW: These two pictures shows the astrological sign for the archer (Sagittarius)
-- part of the zodiac. But, through history, the arrow has also symbolized war, power,
swiftness, the rays of the sun, knowledge... as well as deities such as the Greek
god Apollo and goddess Artemis (both hunters), the Hindu weather god, Rudra; and
various gods of sexual attraction: Eros (Greek), Cupid (Roman), Kama(Hindu).... On
ancient Roman coins, it represented the Zoroastrian god, Mithra.
BAT: A symbol of good fortune in the East, it represented demons and spirits in
medieval Europe.
BLAIR WITCH: A five-pointed compound symbol with a center triangle pointing
down. The five lines resemble the microcosmic man with arms and legs outstretched
inside a circle (with a pentagram in the background)-- a magic symbol or charm
among medieval alchemists and wizards.
CADUCEUS (The Staff of Hermes): An ancient symbol dating back to the Greek
messenger god Hermes (the Romans called him Mercury). "In Indian philosophy and
medicine the Caduceus is intimately associated with the system of energy centers
called Chakras....The 2 serpents coiling around the staff [represent positive and
negative forces like] the Yang and Yin of Chinese Medicine.The crossing over of the
2 serpents creates 5 energy fields in the body.

CRESCENT MOON: A symbol of the aging goddess (crone) to

contemporary witches and victory over death to many Muslims. In Islamic
lands, crescent can be seen enclosing a lone pentagram.
The CROSS of Christians: While anyone--even pagans--now use the cross as
decoration or as an occult symbol, Christians must continue to treasure the cross of
Calvary. But be careful what kind of cross you wear - and what message you
communicate to others. To understand the Christian significance of the cross and
appreciate its excruciating cost to our crucified and resurrected Christ, read The
Triumph of the Cross and "The Cross".

Inverted cross: Originally represented the apostle Peter's humility in his martyrdom.
He insisted that he be crucified upside-down, because he felt that he was unworthy
to die in the same position as Christ. But today, especially in the rock music culture,
it generally represents the opposite: satanism and its mockery of Christ. Lucifer
continues to twist God's wonderful truths and works into lies and deceptions.
COMMUNISM: Originally the hammer and sickle represented a hammer and a
plough -- the collective unity of Soviet workers and peasant farmers. It's interesting
to see its resemblance to Islam's symbol (crescent/star). The two ideologies have had
much in common: hatred for Biblical Christianity and Jews (remember the Russian
pogroms), readiness to kill those who don't conform, hope of world conquest, etc.

LIZARD: Its "sun-seeking habit symbolizes the soul's search for awareness." To the
Romans, who believed it hibernated, the lizard meant death and resurrection.[2]

MASONS (Freemasons): The Masonic symbol of the compass and the T-square
represents movement toward perfection and a balance between the spiritual and
physical which resembles Egyptian and oriental mysticism. The compass (used to
form circles) represent spirit. The ruler (part of a square) represent the physical.
Some public schools pass out pencil cases and other gifts decorated with this
emblem.

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD (MB): Featuring the Koran at the top, it reminds us

that MB stands ready to use their swords to defend their militant beliefs against
anyone who refuses to bow to their Islamic ideology. Their agenda is Jihad, and their
goal is a global Caliphate. That means constant readiness to fight the enemies of God
-- until a world-wide victory is theirs.
OM: Sanskrit letters or symbol for the "sacred" Hindu sound om (ohm or aum)
called "the mother of all mantras. Apparently, the four parts symbolize four stages of
consciousness: Awake, sleeping, dreaming, and a trance or transcendental.
SIKH symbol called the KHANDRA: In the middle is a single double-edged
sword pointing to a single God. (The truth about this God is revealed through Ten
Gurus.) The circle -- the Chakra -- refers to the unity of this God and people. Two
single-edged swords frame the Chakra. They represent spiritual and temporal
powers.
SWASTIKA: Ancient occult symbol found in Egypt, China, India... (The lower
picture shows part of a Hindu temple) Chinese versions include a right-handed
(yang) and a left-handed (yin) version -- opposites that "harmonize." It has
represented the sun, the four directions, movement and change (the four appendages)
and union of opposites (lines crossing]

TRIDENT: Called "the devil's pitchfork," it has symbolized major gods

in various pagan cultures. In India, it is linked to the Hindu "tridentbearer" Shiva, spouse of the skull-bearing goddess Kali. More recently,
this three-sponged spear has been used by Hindu militants in India to intimidate
Christians
YIN YANG: A Chinese Tao picture of universal harmony and the unity between
complimentary opposites: light/dark, male/female, etc. Yin is the dark, passive,
negative female principle. Yang is the light, active, positive principle. Since the
holistic balance between Yin and Yang is dynamic and constantly changing, it
illustrates the consensus process, the vision of global unity, and the blending of
opposing energies at the heart of Holistic Health.

Conclusions

Different culture symbols represent different cultures, and each of the symbols are vary to each others
culture. Some of the culture may oppose to one another, but at the end of the day its the way of living of
the people from the culture. WhenI noticed cultural differences I recognize that people do not go all about
their business in the same way, how they approach life is shaped by their culture. Symbols also play a
major part in representing the culture.