Question from IS1, Fazekas Mihály Primary and Secondary Grammar School, Hungary
Harvest season is soon coming to an end in our country. Classes from our school often visit the Open Air Museum in Szentendre, which allows an evocative glimpse of the past, when the whole rural community was involved in the vital task of harvesting and preparing the land for the next year's crops as well as celebrating other traditional countryside activities.
We strongly believe that it is important to know how our ancestors lived. We'd like you to describe what the traditional way of life was like in your country, and how the ancient customs, techniques, recipes, crafts and tools have survived to the present day.
A) What are the traditional houses like in your country?
B) What kind of clothes did they wear?
C) What kind of tools and techniques did they use during harvest season?
D) What kind of folk customs and traditions (dances and games) can be attached to harvest festivals in your country?
Answer from IS2
Answer from IS3
Answer of part A:
The traditional lebanese house is usually a stone building with a large arch framing a vaulted ceilng on the ground floor, three arches centered over a narrow balconey on the upper floor,all toped by a steep, and a red-tiled roof;this exterior format was adapted of perhaps it's a form of villas of Venice sometime in the middle of the 19th century.Or perhaps it's a more humble house with walls of roughly-hewn stones and a timber-andmd roof with a stone roller(mahdaleh) to keep it compacted. Or it maybe an elegant palace from the late 18th or early 19th century.
Answer of part b:
Traditional lebanese clothes are still worn in some villages. These include long colorful dresses for women, and black pants and jackets for men.Men's pants(sherwel)are full and baggy from the waist to the knee, then tightly fitted from the knee to the ankle. their jackets have fancy, brightly colored, embroidered trim. some older rural men continue to wear the traditional short, cone-shaped, brown felt hat(labaddeh). most modern lebanese men , however, have traded it in for Kafeyyeh, the common arab head scarf.
Answer of part c:
The grapes picking season is the most beautiful time of year for every vineyard owner.Big baskets for gathering the grapes and wide jars to place the gathered harvestto be compressed between two large stones.In addition, olive harvest was very important in Lebanon. Olives were picked by hand one by one, then olives were pressed by hand to extractolive oil.Also, harvesting of wheat was carried manually,with the sickle. After threshing, the grain was packed into 50 kg bags to await further processing into flour.
Answer of part d:
during harvest seasons, traditional music is performed throughout different regions in lebanon, and the most famous music n such celebrations are the Mijanna , Atabbah, and Abulzolof.
also, best collector competitions take place where young girls and boys are divided into groups to compete.
Answer from IS4
Questions:A) What are the traditional houses like in your country? B) What kind of clothes did they wear?
C) What kind of tools and techniques did they use during harvest season?
D) What kind of folk customs and traditions (dances and games) can be attached to harvest festivals in your country?
Dar Bennis is a small 18th century traditional Moroccan house in the heart of the Fes medina, on a small street just off Talaa Sghira, the main business street of the medieval quarter of Fez. The house has been carefully restored over the past four years, using only traditional craftsmanship and materials. Although a modest house by Fez standards, it features hand-painted and natural cedar ceil 
One of the main advantages of Dar Bennis as a holiday rental property, compared to a bed and breakfast, maison d'hotes (guest house), or larger riad, is having the complete house to yourself. It is also older than most riads and traditional hotels available in Fez, which date to the early 20th century and are located on the outskirts of the medina. Because Dar Bennis is deeper in the medina
"This 18th-century Medina house…has been painstakingly restored. With its pocket-sized courtyard and snug salons, it would provide perfect family accommodation." Conde Nast Traveller, The Fes Guide
"Dreaming of your own 18th century house deep in the fascinating medina of ancient Fez? Delicious Dar Bennis, a doll’s house compared to grander old houses,
Zakaria Ami Driss , from IS4 Morocco.
Answer from IS5
A) The traditional houses in our country:
Mills: 
Step-roof: 
Canal houses: 
Farms: 
B) What kind of clothes do they wear:
The clothes we wore before, but now we wear it with Carnaval (Regional festival of Limburg)
C) What kind of tools and techniques did they use during harvest season:
This is a combine (machine) so we harvest the corn. The corn grains are sucked out and the platform of the machine down. The stems are used to make straw.
D) What kind of folk customs and traditions (dances and games) can be attached to harvest festivals in your country:
In Elden each year in the traditional Harvest Festival held in August, a great fair around the mill that has his origins in the agrarian tradition.
The area around the mill with different cereals sown, they are traditionally mowed and threshed in mid August . Harvesting is done by hand also. It is cut with a "zicht & mathaak" (reaping-hook), the corn is tied and a rack dredged up.
There are often exhibitions of old machines still in operation and agricultural tractors and all day there is an old crafts and crafts market.
Answer from IS6
Ukraine is a big agricultural coutry . It is rich in vast fields of black soils and harvest time in Ukraine
has always been an important holiday in Ukraine. There were a lot of colourful customs and traditions connected withthis autumn period in agricultural work which survived till now. Our ancestors lived in cosy thatched white-washed houses, the inside of which they painted colourfully .They were called "khata" and were surrounded by cherry orchards.
Ukrainian national clothes are very picturesque, imbroidered with colourful designs. Men wore wide red or dark blue trousers
Our ancestors worked hard to grow crops and in most times the main tools were their hands . They used some tools of course.
After the harvest was gethered people had a holiday called "obzinki". The word originates from the Ukrainian word
which means "gathering crops" On this holiday which is celebrated now as well, people lay tables, dance and play.
This is also a popular wedding time.
Answer from IS7
A.
The Ndebele tribe originally in the early 18th century lived in grass huts and it wasn’t until they began using mud-walled houses in the mid-18th century did these symbols begin to be created on their houses and walls.
B.
After passing through an initiation school the unmarried Ndebele girl dons the ceremonial clothing of the newly-admitted adult. The outfit consists of a skirt, with beaded apron, a beaded bodice that covers the breasts, a necklace or two, earrings, neck band with multiple arm and leg bands.
A girl just entering her teens dressed in traditional clothing. The outfit consists of a beaded bodice ad characteristic double-layered cloth skirt with neck; head, with multiple leg and armbands. This type of clothing is normally worm on special occasions like weddings or celebrations.
A young married woman with colourful beaded cloak is dressed for a dancing ceremony. The design of the beaded staff is typical of the Ndebele people. In Africa a woman’s clothing indicate wether she is married.
C.
There are no specific tools used during harvest season and harvest season is practically the whole year.
The Cape Town festival
The city-wide festival sees the streets of central Cape Town filled with performances, talks, poetry reading, concerts and exhibitions. The historic centre of Cape Town-Grand Parade-is the focus of the festival providing Grand Marquee where visitors can go to share a drink and have a meal. Another major venue of the festival is the Granary. This historic Customs House is hosting a number of music events as well as exhibitions and lectures.
We hope the information given to you answers all the questions you have.
Answer from IS8
Ukrainian villages located near the rivers occupying lands which didn't suit for arable land. In the steppe regions farm-stead settlements were built.
The main dwelling of the Ukrainians was a cob whitened house with tall roof covered with straw and cane and with edges overhanging above the walls so that they would protect inhabitants of the house from winter cold and summer heat.
Traditional Ukrainian houses
Traditional Ukrainian clothes
Answer from IS9
The answer to question A
Firstly we would just like to mention that in South Africa we have eleven official languages and most of them have different customs and beliefs. To answer all your questions, we would like to focus on mainly the Setswana speaking people, the IsiZulu speaking people and the Ndebele speaking people.
In terms of housing, the Setswana speaking people live in beautiful rondavels which is a round or oval shaped hut. They use material such as thatch, cow dung and animal skin that they have kept from the animals that they hunted before. These huts are warm and used to shelter many of the Setswana speaking people but in this day very few people still live in those rondavels. The same thing has happened to the Zulu culture but they lived in huts rather than rondavels. Their huts were made of precisely thatch and cow dung. The Ndebele speaking people also live in rondavels but they decorate their houses with beautiful patterns and that is how one can tell the difference between South African Houses.
This is a traditional Ndebele house, decorated with colourful patterns.
This is a Zulu hut.
Answer to question B
These cultures wear different clothing for instance, the Setswana speaking people wear what we refer to as Seshweshwe. The women wear these. They are made of coloured material and in most cases consist of only three colours. The men wear animal skin but in this day it is not practiced anymore. The Zulu speaking people also wear animal skin clothing although in most places they do no. The Ndebele speaking people wear a colourful gear. They also include a blanket and gold bangles.
These are Xhosa women in their traditional clothing.
These are Zulu women in their traditional clothing.
Answer to question C
People used hand made tools for harvesting and planting.
The second implement from the left is a hand made sickle used for harvesting.
Answer to question D
Well all cultures mostly sing and play traditional games. There are many of them and The Setswana and the Zulu speaking people dance to express feelings or dances that have been passed down from generation to generation. As for the Ndebele speaking people also dance though it is a much different dance compared to that of the other cultures.
Hope that answers your questions about the South African Cultures.
Remoabetswe Letlape
Shelley Turner
Nontsikelelo Maduna
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