Zulu Kingdom Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Zulu Kingdom - Research Paper Example Shaka was an illegitimate son of king Senzangakhona and he was responsible for allegiance that resulted into massive wars with the neighboring communities. As a young man, he joined the army of Dingiswayo and soon became a high-ranking commander. With the Dingiswayo army behind his back, he led aggressive missions that resulted in the expansion of the Zulu kingdom. The rural Zulu community adopted different modes of subsistence for their survival. This paper will therefore, discuss the effects of Pastoralism, Kinship, Sickness, and healing, Beliefs and Values of the Zulu community. The Zulu community relied on the natural vegetation to feed their animals. The vast grasslands provided good grounds for these activities. Men and boys were supposed to graze the cattle in open field while women tilled land to produce crops. This means that transhumance Pastoralism was practiced in the Zulu land. The community mainly depended on their animals that were supplemented with the food grown by their women. A herder was considered mature and able to make serious decisions on where to graze without any consultation. He was also expected increase his herd aggressively through all possible means. Men from the same locality grazed together in small groups that were based on mutual relationship. In the Zulu community, Large Herds of cattle were not only considered as a source of income but also prestige, power, and respect. This is because the bigger the herd the more one was considered brave. Pastoralist conquests were frequent and in most cases, herders emerged gained victory over the farming communities. This increased their respect in the community. For example, Mongols, who were horse herders, were given great tribute for centuries after winning such battles. According to O’Neil (2011), the Zulu community gained a lot of fame from such battles in the 1830s before the British army defeated them in 1879. A very unstable economy characterized Zulu community. Herds of cattle are biological assets that are prone to change making it difficult to determine their future value. They can only be measured using the fair value method of measurement with many underlying assumptions. A biological asset undergoes the process of growth, reproduction, ageing, and procreation. In this case, there is no clear market set for such assets and there are no guidelines to determine how long this should be reviewed. According to Hlaciuc, et al (2008), â€Å"The measurement of biological assets is less reliable than the fair value method since sometimes the coupled products and coupled costs can generate situations where inputs and outputs are not correctly defined.† With these limitations in the measurement of a biological asset’s value, it was difficult for a Zulu person to define the value of their assets at a particular time. During the dry season, the Zulu’s economy suffered great losses due to animal deaths resulting from lack of water and feeding foliage (Leeuwis, 2000). Some contagious diseases like yellow fever and anthrax could wipe out an entire flock. This means that their economy, which was based on herds of cattle a major source of income, was unstable. Movements in search of pasture too contributed to the unstable economic status e xperienced by the Zulu community. Pastoralist’s communities did not build permanent residence since they relied on temporally seasonal shelters, which implied that the community realized little developments. A brave soldier from the Zulu community had to increase their cattle to gain power and prestige over the other community. This resulted into endless battles that caused political instability in the region stagnating economic developments. The first qualification of a herder

Doubt Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Doubt - Movie Review Example The film is set in 1964 at St. Nicholas school, a Roman Catholic School in the Bronx, New York and most of its students are children of Italian and Irish immigrants. They would have great faith in their Church and would never question or doubt anything about mother Church. In the movie, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a young priest, delivers an important sermon on flagging faith which creates suspicions in Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep). In his sermon, Father Flynn concentrated on the nature of doubt and noted that doubt, like faith, can be a unifying energy. Sister Aloysius, the strict principal of the school discusses the sermon with her fellow nuns and asks them to find the reasons behind the behaviour of Father Flynn for preaching about doubt. Following this, Sister James (Amy Adams), a young and naive teacher, grudgingly reports a private meeting between Father Flynn and the school's only black student to Sister Aloysius which creates awful suspicion in the principal. Th erefore, one of the central scenes in the movie is the one in which the cheerful, fair-haired Father Flynn preaches a sermon about sharing doubts with others in the community. Father Flynn's appeal to the importance of doubt becomes relevant in the context of the Roman Catholic School in the Bronx, where most of the students are children of Italian and Irish immigrants who would have great faith in their Church and never question or doubt anything about mother Church. However, in a reflective analysis of the theme of doubt in the film, it becomes lucid that the students' trust to the church is because of their nave faith and some doubt in faith would have been preferable, as such doubt of mother Church was possible back in 1964. Through the story of a confrontation between the priest and the nun at a Catholic school in 1964 New York, the film Doubt by John Patrick Shanley establishes the importance of doubt in deepening the nave faith in Catholic Church. Father Flynn, who is the chaplain at St. Nicholas Catholic school in the Bronx in 1964, is a strong believer in the winds of change that are sweeping through the country with integration and through the Catholic Church with Pope John XXIII. Through the character of Father Flynn, the film emphasizes the positive value of doubt in the life of a believer of the Catholic Church, and the winds of change that were sweeping through the Church in 1964 suggests the possibility of a doubt of the mother Church. "He has an easy and relaxed manner with the kids; as a preacher, he enjoys shaking his congregation up. In the opening scene of the film, he speaks about the positive value of doubt in the life of a believer: 'Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as ce rtainty. When you are lost, you are not alone.'" (Brussat and Brussat, 2009). Therefore, the character of Father Flynn makes a vital point by suggesting the positive value of doubt in the life of a believer and the winds of change that were sweeping through the Church suggested by Father Flynn allude to the possibility of a doubt of the mother Church in 1964. The students at St. Nicholas Catholic School, who are children of Italian and Irish immigrants, have great faith in their Church and would never question or doubt anything about mother Church. In fact, their trust in the Church is too nave and there is great positive value of