A Comprehensive Analysis of Four Cultural Elements in Bolivia: Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Bolivian culture, examining four key elements: family patterns, communication styles, health beliefs and practices, and death and dying procedures. It highlights the importance of family in Bolivian society, discussing the roles of men and women, and the prevalence of machismo. The report details the official language (Spanish) and other indigenous languages, communication norms like greetings, posture, and punctuality, and the preference for indirect communication. It also explores health practices, including infant mortality rates, access to biomedical care, and the role of traditional healers like the Callawaya. Finally, it describes death and dying practices, including household shrines, rituals during All Souls and All Saints Day, and funeral rituals such as washing the body, preparing the casket, and sponsoring masses. The report draws on various studies to provide a detailed analysis of these cultural aspects.

Running head: FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Introduction:
Bolivian culture is seen to be very diverse. This is mainly because of the origins of the
Bolivian people. The Bolivian society mainly includes people of the Spanish origin along
with the descendents of the colonisers, indigenous groups from the region of the Andes as
well as the mestizos (Jones et al., 2014). It is the fifth largest country in South America and it
has the multitude of different areas and cultures. However, many of the aspects of the culture
are still undiscovered. Great diversity exists in the Bolivian customs as well as traditions and
this depends on which part of the country, the individuals are in and the social classes they
belong. This assignment would mainly discuss the four important elements of culture of the
nation, which are health beliefs and practices, family patterns, communication style as well as
death and dying procedures.
Family Patterns:
Studies are of the opinion that the basic as well as the rural domestic unit in the family
culture of the Bolivians is the household. This household may be in the form of single family,
nuclear family comprising of the husband, wife and children or the extended families. These
households are often seen to provide more importance to the bilateral kinship and the tracing
of the kin can successfully link through both the mother as well as the father (Moraes et al.,
2014). Households are often seen to include different categories as well as generations of kin.
Males are usually seen to be the representative of the household in the different public affairs
and the women are seen to control the kitchen, hearth as well as the household budget.
Another study had described families of the Bolivians as the axis of the social life and
the structure. Family members are seen to be very tight knit and in the rural areas, many of
the families are often seen to live together in one house only. The extended family also called
as the “familia” acts as the strong support and the network system. Roles within the family

2
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
are very traditional and machismo is a concept which prevails in the family culture. Wives
are usually provided the responsibility of managing the domestic duties and the husband acts
as the breadwinner (Villaroel et al., 2014) . Machismo mentality is often seen to translate into
the feeling of make superiority and a strong sense of humour that means maintaining dignity
at all cost. As machismo is very strong in the nation, women are seen to be considered as the
subordinate. Studies say that this aspect puts restrictions on the social work of the women as
well as on their work behaviours.
Work opportunities for women are limited and the salaries received by women are
much lower than that of the men even in the same position. Women are expected to do the
cooking, cleaning and child rearing. Roles of women in the soecity depend on the social
standing as women in the bid cities are expected to work. This is mainly to help in the
improvement of the economic situation of the family (Smith & Kessler, 2018). Women on the
countryside are expected to be in charge of house and educate and care for children and do all
cooking and cleaning.
Studies suggest that once married, family lives in Bolivia vary from couple to couple
and they are expected to have children, divorce is quite rare among them. Most of the
families are seen to have two to four children, the man is expected to support the financial
stability for the family, and the women would raise children (Therborn, 2014).

3
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Fig: Families of Bolivia
Source: (Therborn, 2014)
Communication styles:
Spanish is the main and official language of the nation. 39 other languages are spoken
by the people living in different regions and some of the examples are seen to include the
Aymara, Chiquitano, Chiriguano and Guyara. About 50% of the population is seen to be
comfortable in speaking of their own indigenous language as their mother tongue. The
Bolivian Spanish is seen to be the result of admixture with the indigenous rivals from region
to region (Rizek et al., 20140. Therefore, the vocabulary as well as the pronunciation is seen
to vary depending on where the individual is from the nation of Bolivia that is whether they
are from highlands of they are from lowlands.
Handshake is found to be the most common form of greeting and direct contact is also
quite usual. When an individual meets another individual, they are mainly seen to greet each
other with “buenos dias" (good morning), "buenas tardes" (good day), or "buenas
noches"(good evening). People with an informal relationship treat others much warmly and
they are also seen to embrace or pat each other like that on the shoulders. Women are seen to

4
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
kiss on the cheek as matter of greeting with close individuals. Unlike that of the
Europeans, the Bolivians are seen to use both the surnames of their mother and father with
the surname of the father being used during communication. Bolivians are seen to stand very
close while they are conversing (Paniagua et al., 2017). Correct posture while sitting as well
as standing is noticed. A slumping posture is seen to be considered as rude.
Punctuality is not much important in this culture and guests can arrive 20 to 30
minutes late. However, corporate cultures prefer punctuality during business meetings.
However, meetings are seen to rarely start on time. Deadlines are not considered to be of
much significance. An interesting aspect is noticed during communication at the time of
dining and entertainment. The guest should decline the first offer for food and should wait
until the host is seen to insist (Hoffmeester et al., 2017). The food should neither be touched
nor eaten with fingers. Even fruits need to be eaten with knife and fork.
Indirect style of communication is mainly preferred over the direct style. The people
of the nation are seen to be very polite and they tend to be more on the formal side during
communications. Researchers are of the opinion that it is better to avoid any confrontations
and thereby maintain composures at all the times (Porter, 2016). Loud voices in the public
communication spaces are looked down upon with the exception of being in bars and discos.
Studies are of the opinion that relationship building is significant in the nation of
Bolivia and therefore, initial meetings mainly focus on the establishment of trust and learning
little amount of information about each other during communication. It is important to have
one side of the business cards to be translated into Spanish and no force should be done to
reach conclusions and decisions makings in the meetings as Bolivians consider meetings to
be a relaxed sessions of discussions and exchanging ideas. Therefore, impatience during
communication can affect relationship development (Timmer et al., 2015) .

5
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Fig: Communication in Bolivia
Source:
Health Care beliefs and practices:
The nation is seen to have one of the highest mortality rates of infants in South
America. This is seen to be 68 to 75 per one thousand live births. The main causes that lead
to child as well as infant mortality are seen to include respiratory infections, malnutrition and
even diarrhoea. Studies have found out that about almost 30% of the infants in the nation
under the age of three suffer from chronic malnutrition. One of the reasons that contribute to
the issue had been discussed and debated in the nation (Bujan, 2015). Most of the people
particularly in the rural areas as well as in the people living in the low-income countries
surrounding the large cities lack access to basic medical biomedical care. Therefore, the
family members as well as the other kin mainly care the sick people.
Many people of the nation are partially seen to understand and accept Western
biomedical ideologies as well as healthcare. Studies have shown that healthcare practices and
healthcare beliefs often include the western medicine along with typical Andean elements.
The traditional medicinal practices are often seen to revolve around the ritual along with

6
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
ritual practitioners. These are seen to include the the different diagnostic specialists as well as
curers, herbalists as well as diviners. The most common among them who are widespread are
the Callawaya of La Paz. They are found to be an itinerant group of the traditional healers.
They are mainly seen to live in the mountainous area of the north of La Paz called the
Bautista Saavedra region. They are mainly the members of the Mollo culture and are the
direct descendents of the Tiwanaku culture (Heckert, 2017). These doctors are mainly
naturopathic healers and are considered to be good keepers of knowledge of science. They
remain well aware of the pharmaceuticals properties of vegetables, minerals as well as
animals. They can use about 300 herbs and are quite familiar with 600 herbs. They are also
seen to conduct a ceremonial dance before leaving their home to heal the sick.
Divination, rituals as well as different form of ritual sacrifices are considered to the
important in the treatment of illness. They are seen to use coca leaves along with alcoholic
beverages and even guinea pigs. Studies have suggested that traditional medications attach
significance to the social as well as supernatural aetiology of the illness as well as death.
These had contributed to different types of strained social relations as well as witchcraft
along with the influence of the malevolent spirits. Researchers have identified dozens of
illness categories along with many psychosomatics. Many of the curing rituals were also seen
to emphasize reciprocal as well as balanced rituals with the deities. The deities are fed and
offered drinks for the dissipation of illness (Doughty, 2017).

7
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Fig: Callawaya of La Paz function with their herbal medications
Source: (Heckert, 2017)
Death and dying practices:
Studies show household shrines as well as rituals taking place during the All Souls
and All Saints Day on 1st and 2nd November. This refers to the fact that dead forms an
important part of the socio-cultural universe of those individuals who are living. During the
time of celebrating this solemn festival, people in Bolivia are seen to prepare ritual tables that
are called as mesas and have food and drink. These are offered to the souls of the recently
deceased people as they are expected to visit their kin (Sives, 20180. This visit can be
explained as the returns that remain intricately associated with the powers of reproduction
especially during the times of the planting seasons. Researchers stated that the funeral rituals
mainly includes the washing the body as well as the clothes of the deceased. It also includes
purchasing as well as preparation of the casket along with the marshalling of large quantities
of coca, drink and food for the all night wake and subsequent burial. It also involves
sponsoring four masses within the next year.

8
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
The first day after the death of an individual, the body is usually placed at a home and
then numbers of chairs are placed against the wall resulting in the formation of a large circle.
Families are seen to stay entire time along with the body. Visitors are seen to come and return
during the entire day. They are seen to come and pay their respect and then take a seat on one
of the chairs. Hosts of the families serve drinks as well as meal. The breakfasts and meals are
served in the same room where the body remains (Yates, 2017). The following day starts with
the humeral talk that might be conducted at the home or at the cemetery and visitors are seen
to attend the symmetry to watch the casket get buried. Because of limited spaces in the
symmetry, there is a practice of the body being cremated and exhumed after ten years. This
helps in making room for future burials. Therefore, the culture of buying plots ahead of death
is not practiced so that not to waste any time of the 10 years time each of the family gets.
The catholic tradition dictates that the family members have to wear black for the
entire next year. They also need to hang flowers as well as ribbons over their front doors.
However, other researches also state many important facts that had evolved over time. Every
Bolivian families are different and that not every families prefer same type of funerals. The
funeral practices are in turn governed by different factors like religious traditions as well as
cultural factors along with cost and personal preferences (Eeckhout & Owens, 2015). These
are the important factors that help on determining whether the funeral programs will be
elaborate or simple, religious or secular, public or private, and where it would be held in the
nation.
The type of funeral described above is called the Traditional’, Full-Service Bolivia
Burial Arrangements and are quite costly. The other form is the direct Bolivian Burial
arrangements. The dead bodies are buried shortly after death using a simple container and no
viewing or visitation is involved. No embalming becomes necessary. Only a memorial

9
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
service is held at the graveside or later. These are less costly than the traditional funeral
described above.
FIG: Traditional’, Full-Service Bolivia Burial Arrangement
Source: (Eeckhout & Owens, 2015)
Conclusion:
From the above discussion, it becomes clear that Bolivia is indeed a nation with
diverse culture. It practices several customs and traditions that are important for people to
know in order to understand their cultural preferences, traditions as well as inhibitions. The
culture analysis would help individuals at workplace to correctly identify the cultural aspects
of Bolivian people and develop cultural awareness to work with people effectively from
Bolivia.

10
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
References:
Buján, R. M. (2015). Gendered motivations for return migrations to Bolivia from
Spain. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 13(4), 401-418.
Doughty, C. (2017). From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death.
Hachette UK.
Eeckhout, P., & Owens, L. S. (2015). The Impossibility of Death: Introduction to Funerary
Practices and Models in the Ancient Andes. Funerary Practices and Models in the
Ancient Andes: The Return of the Living Dead, 1-11.
Heckert, C. (2017). Blaming machismo: How the social imaginary is failing men with HIV in
Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Medical anthropology, 36(2), 157-169.
Hofmeester, K., & van Nederveen Meerkerk, E. (2017). Family, demography and labour
relations.
Jones, R. C. (2014). Migration and Family Happiness in Bolivia: Does Social Disintegration
Negate Economic Well‐being?. International Migration, 52(3), 177-193.
Moraes, M. R., Ríos-Uzeda, B., Moreno, L. R., Huanca-Huarachi, G., & Larrea-Alcázar, D.
(2014). Using potential distribution models for patterns of species richness,
endemism, and phytogeography of palm species in Bolivia. Tropical Conservation
Science, 7(1), 45-60.
Paniagua, N. Z., Bussmann, R. W., Hart, R. E., Moya, A. H., Ortiz, G. S., Ortiz, M. V., ... &
Chávez, B. M. (2017). Traditional knowledge hiding in plain sight-twenty-first
century ethnobotany of the Chácobo in Beni, Bolivia. Journal of ethnobiology and
ethnomedicine, 13(1), 57-57.

11
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Porter, L. M. (2016). The behavioral ecology of callimicos and tamarins in northwestern
Bolivia. Routledge.
Rizek, C., Georges, I., & DA SILVA, C. F. (2014). Labour and migration patterns: the
clothing industry and Bolivian migrants. In Socio-Economic Insecurity in Emerging
Economies (pp. 64-75). Routledge.
Sives, K. (2018). Maternal health as a human right: health care system innovations to reduce
inequities in maternal health in Bolivia, Nicaragua and Guatemala 1990-
2018(Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh).
Smith, A. R., & Kessler, M. (2018). Prodromus of a fern flora for Bolivia. III.
Selaginellaceae. Phytotaxa, 344(3), 248-258.
Therborn, G. (2014). Family systems of the world: Are they converging?. The Wiley
Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families, 1-19.
Timmer, M., de Vries, G. J., & de Vries, K. (2015). Patterns of structural change in
developing countries. In Routledge handbook of industry and development (pp. 79-
97). Routledge.
Villarroel, E. K., Mollinedo, P. L. P., Domic, A. I., Capriles, J. M., & Espinoza, C. (2014).
Local management of Andean wetlands in Sajama National Park, Bolivia: persistence
of the collective system in increasingly family-oriented arrangements. Mountain
Research and Development, 34(4), 356-368.
Yates, D. (2017). “Community Justice,” Ancestral Rights, and Lynching in Rural
Bolivia. Race and Justice, 2153368717713824.

12
FOUR ELEMENTS OF CULTURE