Cultural Diversity
Senior 6 · English
Cultural Diversity
Lesson 4 of 4
25 min
Let's begin
Describing a cultural practice well is a test of two skills at once. You must be accurate, so that a reader could picture the event in the right order, and you must explain, so that a reader from elsewhere understands why it matters. A list of activities ("we dance, we eat, we go home") does neither. This lesson shows how a descriptive composition does both.
Written by an imagined S6 student about her own village. The national facts (the date and purpose of Umuganura) are official; the village details are one family's experience.
First Fruits: Umuganura in Our Village
On the first Friday of August, while the rest of the world goes to work, Rwanda stops to give thanks. Umuganura, our national harvest day, is a public holiday, and in my village in the Southern Province it is the one day of the year when everyone, from the oldest grandmother to the newest baby, gathers in the same place.
Preparations begin days earlier. Each household sets aside a share of its best harvest: sorghum, beans, maize and, in our village, sweet potatoes. On the morning itself the women arrive first, carrying baskets on their heads, and the food is laid out on mats under the large tree beside the cell office. The young men set up the drums, which are soon heard across the valley.
The ceremony opens with speeches. An elder recalls how, in the past, the first sorghum of the season was offered before anyone else could eat, and the village leader reports on the year's achievements: a new water point, a class that did well in the national examinations, three families who have moved into better houses. Then the sharing begins. Children are served first, usually with milk, which in our culture stands for plenty and good health. Neighbours who quarrelled during the year are expected to eat from the same basket, a quiet way of saying that the harvest belongs to everyone.
By the afternoon the drums have taken over. Groups of girls perform the graceful umushayayo, arms spread like the horns of cattle, while the boys answer with the leaping intore. Visitors often ask why a harvest festival includes reports on water points and school results. The answer, I think, is that Umuganura celebrates every kind of harvest, not only the one that grows in the fields.
When the sun drops behind the hill, families walk home with empty baskets and full stomachs. For one day, at least, the whole village has been a single household.
| Para. | Job | Technique to notice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Names the practice, its date and why it matters | A contrast as a hook (while the rest of the world goes to work); facts in the first two sentences |
| 2 | Preparations, in time order | Sequence: days earlier, On the morning itself, soon; present simple for what happens every year |
| 3 | The central event and its meaning | Explanation: which in our culture stands for …; a quiet way of saying that … |
| 4 | Entertainment, and a question an outsider might ask | Sensory detail (graceful, leaping, arms spread like the horns of cattle); answering the reader's question |
| 5 | A closing image that sums up the meaning | Contrast (empty baskets and full stomachs); a final metaphor (a single household) |
Definition
| Purpose | Language | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What happens every time | present simple, active and passive | The food is laid out on mats. The women arrive first. |
| Order of events | First, · Days earlier, · Once …, · While …, · After that, · By the afternoon, · Finally, | Once the speeches are over, the sharing begins. |
| Explaining a meaning | stands for · symbolises · is a way of … · The idea behind this is … | Milk stands for plenty and good health. |
| Explaining a local word | an appositive, or a relative clause | isombe, a dish of pounded cassava leaves, … |
| Contrast past and present | used to · in the past · today · nowadays | In the past, the first sorghum was offered before anyone ate. |
Worked example
From flat to vivid. Improve: "Then there is dancing and it is nice."
Result: "By the afternoon the drums have taken over. Groups of girls perform the graceful umushayayo, arms spread like the horns of cattle, while the boys answer with the leaping intore."
Worked example
Explaining a term for an outsider. The sentence "We ate umutsima." means nothing to a reader who has never tasted it.
Result: "We ate umutsima, a thick paste made from cassava or maize flour, with a bean sauce."
Tip
Show the meaning, then name it. "Neighbours who quarrelled are expected to eat from the same basket" shows reconciliation before the writer explains it. One well-chosen detail explains more than a paragraph of general praise.
Warning
Umuganura (Thanksgiving) Celebrations Highlights 2016, from The New Times Rwanda (about 3 minutes). Note what people eat and drink, who takes part and how the day is organised: the kind of detail a descriptive composition needs.
Practice
| Checklist for a descriptive composition | ✓ |
|---|---|
| A title, and an opening that names the practice and why it matters | |
| Events in a clear order, with sequence words | |
| At least three sensory details | |
| Every local term explained for an outsider | |
| The meaning of the practice explained, not just the actions | |
| Present simple (active and passive) for what happens every time | |
| A respectful tone, with no belittling words or false generalisations | |
| A closing sentence or image that sums up the meaning |
Further reading
Sources and credits
