How rituals, traditions and artefacts provide a window into the beliefs and values of culture. What constitutes culture.
By Kenzie Hill 6CM
Culture Have you ever wondered what the true meaning of culture is? Well in this report I will take you through how I came across the true deeper meaning of culture. My group and I decided that we would investigate how "Rituals, traditions and artefacts provide a window into the beliefs and values of culture”. What is culture, you might say. Culture is "the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time." Culture is constantly changing because culture is in our minds and is represented in clothing, food, governments, buildings, celebrations and many more areas. These things are the products of culture but they are not culture in themselves.
What creates culture? The influences on a person’s culture vary from person to person. Some of the Influences that create culture are the gender of a person, their family make up, where they go to school and where they live. Their religion and language they speak and the food they eat are all major influences on creating their culture.
What is my cultural identity? Everyone has their own personal cultural identity made by history, their home country, I also have a cultural identity created by my family, my language and the food we eat. Part of my cultural identity has been created by my mum's side of the family. They migrated from Holland which means they're Dutch and that means I’m half Dutch. I did research about the Netherlands and here is some of the information I found.
General Information The Netherlands is a small country on the North Sea of Europe, and is surrounded by Belgium and Germany. The Netherlands (which is another name is Holland) has a democratic government. King Willem-‐Alexander is the head of state, but the monarch’s duties are mostly ceremonial. The monarch signs all the bills that are passed by the parliament and appoints government officials upon the advice of various government bodies. The Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces and about 35 percent of the people of the Netherlands live in two coastal provinces-‐ North Holland and South Holland. The three largest cities are in these provinces-‐ Amsterdam-‐ the capital, Rotterdam – the largest port in Europe and The Hague, which is the seat of government & where the International Court of Justice sits.
Population The Netherlands is the fourth most densely populated country in the world (after Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan). There are approximately 16.8 million people (in 2013) in a land area of 41,526 square kilometers. New Zealand is comparison has 4.47 (in 2013) with a land area of 268,680 square kilometers.
The Land The Netherlands is very flat and has no mountains and only very small hills. The highest point in the Netherlands is Vaalserberg at 322m compared to New Zealand’s highest point Aoraki/Mt Cook at 3,754m. (In Wellington, Mt Kaukau is 445m high). Only 50% of the land in the Netherlands is 1m above sea level or more. Most of the areas below sea level are man-‐made, made by peat extraction or land reclamation. Since the late 16th century, large polder areas are preserved through elaborate drainage systems that include dikes, canals and pumping stations. Nearly 17% of the country's land area is reclaimed from the sea and from lakes. Much of the country was originally formed by the estuaries of three large European rivers: the Rhine (Rijn), the Meuse (Maas) and the Scheldt (Schelde), as well as their tributaries. The south-‐western part of the Netherlands is to this day a river delta of these three rivers, the Rhine-‐Meuse-‐Scheldt delta.
Water Water is a regular feature of the Netherlands. The lowest point in the Netherlands is Zuidplaspolder at -‐6.7 (which means it’s lower than sea level) compared to New Zealand’s lowest point is on the Taieri Plains (north of Dunedin Airport) at -‐2m. Originally to guard against floods, villages were built on man-‐made hills called terps. Over the years terps were connected by dikes and the dikes grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century windmills had come into use to pump water out of areas below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating polders.
Education The Dutch education system is ranked as one of the best in the world, and the Dutch population is highly literate. Education is compulsory and free for students between the ages of 5 and 16. Schools are divided into public, special (religious), and general-‐special (neutral) schools. The Netherlands has 13 Universities in total. Of the 13, 8 are State Universities.
Religion The Dutch constitution guarantees freedom of religion for every resident of the country, and all the major faiths of the world. About 45% of the Dutch people say that they are Christian, and about 40% of the Dutch people say they don’t believe in God.
Traditional Clothing The wooden shoe, clog, is well known Dutch footwear. Traditionally clogs were made of wood, shaped like a usual shoe and painted black. Although traditional costumes vary slightly between regions many of the main features are similar. Women wore a fitted top with long loose (usually dark coloured and pleated) skirt and with a multi-‐coloured or striped apron over the top. They also tended to wear peaked or winged caps frequently made of lace. White caps were usually worn on Sunday over the weekday cap which was often black. Men wore black double-‐breasted jackets with long, baggy trousers with silver buckles and buttons. The shirt was often a bright colour or striped with a straight collar and fastened with gold buttons. Men’s hats were either dark beret or cap style or straw boater in white or bright colours. This is a photo of my grandmother, when she was a child with her mother and her younger sister, in traditional Dutch clothing.
Language Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by about 23 million people as a first language—including most of the population of the Netherlands and about sixty percent of that of Belgium. Dutch is a relative of German and English. Many Dutch words have crept into the English language such as smuggler, reef, keelhaul, waffle, coleslaw and cookie.
Architecture Dutch architecture in older cities and towns is known for its tall and narrow houses with stepped gables. This happened during the 17th century because the law allowed houses to only be 3 windows wide. Many people in the Netherlands live in apartments and do not have gardens.
How cultural identity of the Netherlands expressed Art Paintings produced in the Netherland’s golden age are treasured around the world. The most recognised Dutch artists are Rembrandt, Veermer & van Gogh. Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-‐1669) painted scenes of religious and historical importance with people being an important element of his work. His best known work is The Night Watch and Man in a Golden Helmet. This is The Night Watch. The painting is note-‐ worthy for three characteristics: its large size (363 cm × 437 cm), the use of light and shadow, and the perception of motion.
Johannes Vermeer (1632-‐1675) specialised in in interior scenes and female figures. His well-‐known works include The Milkmaid and Girl with A Pearl Earring. Vincent van Gogh (1853-‐1890) painted scenes of Dutch peasantry and landscapes. His well-‐known works include The Potato Eaters, Irises, Wheat Field with Cypresses, and The Starry Night. This is The Starry Night. A painting of a scene at night with 11 swirly stars and a bright yellow crescent moon. In the background there are hills, in the middle ground there is a moonlit town with a church that has an elongated steeple, and in the foreground there is the dark green silhouette of a cypress tree.
Music Traditional instruments are the accordion and barrel organ. Traditional Dutch music is known as Levenslied. Typically the songs have a simple melodies and rhythms. Jan Sweelinck is most famous Dutch classical music composer. Dutch musicians were amongst the first musicians to use early instruments to play modern music. Today, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra is famous for this type of performance. The Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra is the most well-‐known traditional Dutch orchestra. Music today: Internationally, André Rieu is a very successful Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-‐playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu and his orchestra have performed throughout Europe, in North America, Japan, and Australia. Many of their recordings have gone gold and platinum in many countries, including 8-‐times Platinum in the Netherlands.
Sport Football and speed skating are national sports. Cycling and water sports are also popular. Dutch athletes have won many Olympic medals in skating, cycling and swimming.
Food In the Netherlands in their meals they like many vegetables and not much meat, usually lunch and breakfast in the Netherlands is bread with topings, dinner is usually meat and potato. The Dutch diet is reasonably high in carbohydrates and fat, the usual Dutch diet has many dairy products. In the course of the twentieth century this diet changed and became much more cosmopolitan, with most international cuisines being represented in the major cities. This is a picture of the cheese market in Alkmaar, Alkmaar is a town in North Amsterdam. Some well-‐known Dutch cheeses are Edam, Gouda and Limburger.
Festivals & Holidays Carnaval Carnaval is celebrated in all parts of the Netherlands but the more lavish celebrations are in the south of Holland. The first day of Carnaval (the start of Lent) is six weeks before Easter Sunday. Carnaval officially begins on Sunday and lasts three days. Although in recent years the feast usually starts on Friday or Saturday and in some places on Thursday (Ouwe Wijven). Traditionally a Carnaval feast was the last opportunity to eat well before the time of food shortage at the end of the winter.
Kings Day Kings Day is April 27 (unless the 27th is a Sunday in which case it is celebrated on the 26th) which is King Willem-‐Alexander’s birthday. Often Kings Day or Queens Day is celebrated on the actual birthday of the King or Queen unlike Queen’s Birthday in New Zealand which is the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s birthday rather than her actual birthday.
Sinterklaas Sinterklaas is the equivalent of Saint Nicolas (Santa Claus), Sinterklaas is celebrated from mid-‐ November through the evening of December 5. The Sinterklaas celebration in New Zealand is the equivalent to Christmas and it’s their Christmas celebration. Sinterklaas has a white horse and is accompanied by zwarte piet (Black Peter)
Case study investigations of Dutch culture being expressed in NZ Montfoort – Eloise van Wynbergen I was interested to find out how the Dutch culture is expressed in New Zealand. Eloise runs a food caravan specialising in Dutch food. I met her at the Sunday Chaffers Street Market. The following is what we talked about. Eloise’s father is Dutch and immigrated to New Zealand when he was 21 in the 1950’s, with a brother and a friend, because there were more job opportunities for them in New Zealand. He came to New Zealand by boat and it took 6 weeks. He came from Montfoort (place in the Netherlands) from a family of 12 where they had a farm with cows & horses in Holland. When he arrived in NZ he started farming in Taranaki and married a New Zealander and had a family. There many differences between the Netherlands and New Zealand, the biggest changes for Eloise's father were, that there was more space, not as many people, cheaper to live in New Zealand, more job opportunities, but sadly not much family. Eloise had been traveling in Europe and enjoyed the markets in the Netherlands, and as she loved to cook and bake thought it would be a good business opportunity back in New Zealand. Initially she tried general baking but found it was more successful to specialise in Dutch baking to differentiate her business from others in the market. Eloise's favourite food is croquettes. A croquette is a bread crumbed roll usually containing meat. Eloise usually has cultural food from the Netherlands at Christmas. Eloise expresses her Dutch culture by her business 7 days a week, and she get her recipes from her Aunties in Holland. After my interview with Eloise I bought some Ollenbollen which are traditional Dutch deep fried doughnuts (usually served on New Year’s Eve). Ollenbollen are ball shaped with no hole and have raisins & cooked apple in them. I had mine with icing sugar and caramel sauce – they tasted good.
Case Study Tulip Sunday In early spring the Wellington Botanic Garden does a display of tulips, today this is part of the spring festival and incorporates Tulip Sunday. Tulips can be seen and enjoyed from mid-‐September to early October. Research from Wellington City Archives found that the first Tulip Day was on 16 October 1944 and has been held annually since. At its height it was reported that some 70,000 to 100,000 bulbs were planted in some years although these days it is more likely to be around 25,000. The Botanic Tulip Sunday 1948 (Courtesy of Friend of the Garden History book notes in 1948 Dutch Wellington Botanic Gardens Inc.) Government donated tulip and hyacinth bulbs by way of giving thanks to the people of New Zealand for sheltering children during World War II, an event commemorated by a seat plaque in the Sound Shell Lawn presented on 27 September 2009. The Dutch Society still assists during Tulip Sunday with food and music. I met with David Sole the Manager of the Botanic Gardens, we talked about Tulip Sunday at the Botanic Gardens.
The Curators organise the tulip display, it is a team effort. The Main Garden Curator comes up with a design on paper which is then shown to the rest of the gardeners for their input. They then show the idea to Neil who has lots of experience about what will look good. E.g. When the Rugby world cup was hosted by NZ they did a design where the tulip beds had different world flags of the countries who participated in the Rugby world cup. Usually all the gardeners plant the bulbs together – that’s about 15 people and they plant them over a couple of weeks because it’s pretty hard work to plant bulbs. Usually they plant about 26,000 bulbs but last year one of the beds suffered from blight (a plant fungus) so this year they won’t plant bulbs in that bed so only about 23,000 bulbs have been planted this year. Each year they plant new bulbs which come from van Eeden Tulips in Invercargill. When the displays are finished the bulbs are lifted from the beds and are donated to various groups who use them for fundraising. Mr Sole is ultimately responsible to make sure everything goes right, but on Tulip Sunday itself he mainly gets to enjoy the day and his biggest job might be to introduce the Dutch Ambassador (who often gives a small speech) and the Mayor. He has been at the Botanic Gardens for 12 years. He started as a gardener for WCC and then left and started his own landscaping business. He came back to the Botanic Gardens in 2003.
Me & David Sole
Me by one of the tulip beds about 4 weeks before Tulip Sunday 2015 – the flowers are just starting to show
Speelgroep Background: While doing my research I found a Dutch playgroup that is run out of the Dutch Club in Lower Hutt. The playgroup has mainly pre-‐school children. The goal of this playgroup is to keep the Dutch language and culture alive. A typical morning has Dutch songs and stories and everyone speaks Dutch. I went to visit the playgroup on Friday 4 September and met Joyce and her 3 year old daughter, Philene. Joyce and Philene started coming to the playgroup nearly 3 years ago, when Philene was a young baby. Joyce enjoys the company, and has found that it is nice to talk with other mums and they all tend to speak in Dutch. All the parents in the group all want to expose their children to Dutch outside the home and this playgroup is good for that. The children see other adults and children speaking Dutch. Joyce expresses her Dutch culture by: • • • • •
Coming to the Dutch playgroup because she thinks it is important for Philene to hear more Dutch; At home they speak Dutch and English; Food they eat such as pancakes, croquette; Celebrating Sinterklaas; and Her style of parenting -‐ she finds that she is stricter and tends to hover more than other New Zealand mothers that she has met.
The main things that Joyce most misses from the Netherlands are Dropjes (licorice), family and snow at Christmas time. She finds it strange to see fake snow at Christmas time. However, she doesn’t miss the Netherlands as it is very crowded. She likes the space in New Zealand and the amount of nature. Joyce and her husband wanted to travel overseas and explore the world. They tried living in Asia for a while but always knew that they would probably end up in either Australia or New Zealand. They tried Australia for a year but her husband did not like it, so they came to New Zealand. They started in Auckland but then her husband got a job in Wellington. They both like Wellington because it is a compact city and it is easy to get around. They like New Zealand because of the space and nature and that you don’t need to travel far to find different areas.
Me, Joyce & Philene
Me and some of the children playing at the Speelgroep
deMolen, Foxton De Molen is the Dutch word for windmill. The idea of building a windmill in Foxton was the dream of two Dutch immigrants, Jan Langen and Cor Slobbe. deMolen cost almost $1,000,000 which was funded through donations. The windmill was opened in April 2003 and makes flour, which is sold. deMolen is run by The Foxton Windmill Trust Inc and its purpose is to: • Provide funds for the maintenance and upkeep of the iconic windmill (deMolen) • Attract visitors to Foxton • Provide local employment deMolen is a public monument to all Dutch immigrants that came to New Zealand from Holland. Inside the windmill were displays about how deMolen was built, about windmills in the Netherlands and information about Foxton. I surprised to find out deMolen was 5 stories tall, and the top cap of the windmill moves around to get different wind angles. I saw where the grains are put into the mill-‐stones and where the flour comes out.
I walked around the 2nd floor balcony and saw the large ship-‐style wheel which is used to turn the blades into the direction of the wind. We had lunch at the Dutch Oven café next door and I tried poffertjes. Poffertjes are a traditional Dutch batter treat. Resembling small, fluffy pancakes, made with yeast and buckwheat flour. I like poffertjes.
Conclusion During this investigation I have shown you what the true meaning of culture is and all my findings, also through this investigation I have met with some Dutch people who have immigrated to New Zealand and I listened to their stories of why they immigrated to New Zealand and how Dutch culture is part of their lives. Not only have I met some very interesting people who all have different and unique ways to express Dutch culture but I have gone to some rather interesting places that express Dutch culture. I have been able to reflect on the way that Dutch traditions help keep culture alive when living in a different country.
Methodology I have charted the my plan of my investigation which shows what I based my questions and information on, how the investigation would happen and how what I did related to my topic.
Bibliography Books Countries of the World – The Netherlands – Roseline Ngcheong-‐Lum Welcome to my Country. Welcome to the Netherlands – Simon Reynolds/ Roseline Ngcheong-‐Lum Websites
http://www.ranker.com/list/best-‐olympic-‐athletes-‐from-‐netherlands/voteable http://www.friendswbg.org.nz/newTULIPS.htm https://en.wikipedia.org http://demolenfoxton.org.nz/ Interviews Where: Chaffers Market Who: Eloise Where: Botanical Gardens Who: David Sole (manager of the Botanical Gardens) Where: Dutch Speelgroep, Lower Hutt Who: Joyce Places I visited DeMolen, Foxton