Essay on, Nuer Journeys, Nuer Lives

Nuer journeys Nuer Lives is an ethnography written by Jon D. Holtzman. In this book Holtzman examines contemporary migration to the United States through a case study of the Nuer of Sudan, whose traditional life , according to Holtzman, represents one of the most important cases in the history of anthropology. The book attempts to juxtapose elements of Nuer with new developments arising from the immigration of many other Nuer to the U.S. in the 1990s as refugees from civil war in southern Sudan. In this essay I will attempt to answer five significant questions about the ethnography, give examples and show the reader why the Sudanese Nuer refugees are an important cultural example of a foreign group of people with a significant cultural difference to us trying to adapt to our own culture here in the United States.

(1)The first question we will examine relates to how the Nuer became refugees in the first place and more specifically, how they came to decide on Minnesota. There are many contributing factors to examine when trying to answer this question.  Sudan is ripe with military conflict between the southern forces and the northern forces of Sudan. There are many reasons for this constant and unfortunate war. Religious, social, political and economic differences all contribute to the continued aggressions between the territories and put pressure on villages even if they try to remain neutral. Villages are constantly put in the middle of the conflict and innocent lives are often lost. To escape this horrible war many Nuer villagers travel long and dangerous distances to find themselves in cramped, dirty and violent refugee camps.  Some of the time, refugees travel throughout the African countries for years trying to find a safe haven before they end up in Europe or the United States. (pg 15-24) But why Minnesota? For the most part the reasoning is simple, wages are better in Minnesota for someone with little education and the jobs themselves are more plentiful. One other contributing factor is that many of the previous Nuer refugees that found a place in the United States were already there. The number of Nuer refugees in Minnesota is a important factor to consider. Nuer refugees are a very community oriented group of people, having more people you can relate to also makes it easier to adjust and gives a refugee someone they can talk to and help and be helped.  It lessens the language barrier and makes adapting easier when you have someone who can show you the ins and outs of our society. (pg 34-35)

(2)One of the more significant cultural changes the Nuer had to adapt were gender roles among their households. In Sudan the gender roles are clearly defined at a young age, boys begin to learn that they are primarily responsible for the well being of the cattle while the females cook, clean, milk the livestock and take care of the home. (pg79) The men and women of Nuer villages live separately on sprawling homesteads, however in the United States they are forced to live together in houses or apartments. (pg. 81). Another important Nuer practice is childbirth, in Sudan the husbands do not attend the birthing process and use midwifes to give birth in their homes. This practice is widely discouraged and nurses would try to convince the women to have their children in hospitals. They gathered women and showed them tapes of the child births and the hospitals, at one point a men entered the film and the Sudanese women showed fear and humor at this. Some of the women became hysterical and it wasn’t until they gathered a Sudanese man who spoke English to explain the husbands did not need to be present that they calmed down.(pg. 82-83) Another aspect of everyday gender roles changing is the fact that wives and husbands simply have to cooperate more, our culture expects married households to work as a team. Husbands have to learn to cook and clean and wives have to learn to take on more responsibilities. Many Nuer couples recognize this and make strides to adapt. There is an example in the book of a Nuer man coming home form work and finding his dinner was not prepared. He asks why and she says that she could not cook and watch her video. The man cooked for himself in the end but as a way to shame his wife. In this interaction he drew on both cultures. In one way he felt it was unfair tha the had worked all day and she had not cooked, not that it was her duty as in Sudan. On the other hand he cooked to shame her and make her feel bad, a Nuer reasoning. (pg 86-87)

(3). In Africa the size of a herd of cows and their health is a sign of wealth among herdsmen. In the United States social stature is often dictated by the make and model of a vehicle. Because of this Nuer have humorously said “ In African we have cows: here we have cars.”.  In my opinion this is a accurate portrayal of the United States idea of wealth and stature. In the United States those in power and with wealth often drive cars that are unnecessarily expensive just to show that they have the means to do so. A surgeon will drive a convertible, while a construction worker will drive a truck. A shiny fast car does nothing to help the surgeon in his field of practice but since he has the means to afford it, he owns it, while a construction worker uses trucks as a means to assist his occupation. A tuck can haul tools and equipment, for a construction worker to own a truck is practicle, but shows that he is lower on the social ladder.

(4)Nuer refugees faced major challenges when making the move from Africa to the United States. The move was largely positive but they still had some trouble adapting to our way of life. The act of providing warm meals escaped many refugees who had never used a stove or microwave before. One such incident happened to a man and his wife who had just moved to the United States, forgetting what their sponsor had taught them they had no means to cook for themselves, a neighbor came by to offer help and because of fear of strangers and warnings of other refugees he tuned him down. They went through the majority of the day without food; it wasn’t until the man came back with a bible in hand that they allowed him to help.(pg32-33) In Africa Nuer villagers, tell time by the activities of the day. At a certain point it will be time to milk, , when the sun is at a certain point, days are counted as sleeps. This has made it difficult for Nuer refugees to maintain a schedule and meet people or go to jobs at the required time often coming in late. One other example of the challenges is the use of money. To most Nuer’s the importance of money is a small thing to consider, however here, money is all important to survival. Just making and saving enough money to get by is a task for many Nuer.(pg 54-55)

(5)  The local residents in Minnesota have been generally welcoming and kind to Nuer refugees. In one specific example, a friendship mentoring program was established to to promote interaction between Nuer and American teens. In one specific incident a party was held, soon both the Americans and the Nuers where dancing and playing together with no prodding from the adults. (pg103)Although there are often contradictory opinions, one oman Linea has stated that the Nuer are genuine people, but another American, earl says that they were simply trying to take advantage of him.  It is obvious that the opinion are generated independently and not taken as a whole. (pg 107-108) Americans seem to for the most part be accepting of the Nuer and have a interest in their culture.  Americans quickly came to the aid of refugees, churches donated clothing, the church soon ran out of room because there was more clothes being given than being taken by the Nuer.(pg110) However it is not only the Nuer who have benefited from this cultural exchange. Minnesotans are often voice fully thankful for the opportunity to experience the cultures and enjoy the meeting and sharing of values. An Amrican woman, Kelly began to work with the Nuer through her church. Soo she became so interested that she increased her involvement with the Nuer. She soon made contact with one of the leaders of a major rebel faction. She traveled to Sudan soon after and was able to actually meet with both a Rebel leader and a government official. This has allowed her to experience cultures and brought a feeling of satisfaction to her.(pg129)

The Nuer refugees can only be seen as a great addition to our own culture. There is some innocence to them that is lost on us, It is only my hope they do not become so ingrained in American culture that they loose what it is that makes them special. I feel that the Nuer have a lot of insight on human nature to offer if we would only continue to simply sit and listen to them. America is often called a melting pot of cultures, I believe this to be true, but it is often the case that after generations of immigrants have lived here they become watery in substance, holding only a image of their once great cultures. As a Irish American my culture is important to me and it sometimes angers me to see my ancestral practices and rituals turned into drunken revelry.  If we want to understand them and help them adapt, then it is us who must change the way we view other cultures, not in fear or mirth, but in understanding and compassion.