eHRAF Tutorial: Browse Cultures
by Christiane Cunnar,

Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) at Yale University

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Browse Cultures: Overview
The Browse Cultures menu consists of an alphabetic culture name index and a list of cultures organized by regions and countries. In Browse Cultures you can access the Culture File with its File Description, File Table of Contents (TOC) with its documents, and the Cultural Summary.

Browse Cultures: A-Z culture name index
This alphabetical index contains all the common names and ethnonyms of cultures and ethnic, indigenous, immigrant and minority groups. Ethnonyms (Figure 2) is an anthropological term that refers to the alternative names of a culture. While one culture may have only one ethnonym, some cultures have many different alternative names and spelling variations. For example, Peigan, Pikunii, Siksika, and Blood are just a few of the many different ethnonyms for the Blackfoot, a Native American group, located in in northwestern Plains of the United States.

The Importance of the  OWC culture code
It is sometimes difficult to keep track of all the the different ethnonyms for a particular culture. In this A-Z index, the alpha-numeric code to left side of a culture name is the OWC culture code ( Figure 2) and is derived from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC), an extensive culture classification system. A printed version of the OWC (6th revised edition, 1983) is available at HRAF. The OWC culture code helps in identifying all the alternative culture names for a particular culture.

Each letter and number of the OWC code signifies a geographic location. For example, the first letter of the OWC culture code NF06 is "N," which identifies the Blackfoot as being located in North America. It is useful to know the meaning of the first letter because it helps you identify the region of the culture.

The first letter for the OWC Culture Code represents a major region of the world:

Now, let's turn to Browse Cultures By Region as sometimes you may want to know which cultures represent particular regions of the world.  

In the home page of the eHRAF database click on the Browse tab, located in the blue, horizontal bar  to enter the default Browse Cultures: A-Z Index. Click on the letter P and scroll down the list of culture names to find the culture name "Pikunii" (see Figure 2). In the "P" list find any other culture name containing the OWC Culture Code "NF06." 

Figure 2. Excerpt from A-Z culture name index in Browse Cultures

Color Change Indicating Alternative Culture Names
In the A-Z index when you click on any culture name a Culture File opens up.  For example, clicking on the name "Pikunii" opens up the Culture File for "Blackfoot" (see Figure 3).  The Culture File always will list the "common" culture name for a particular culture, in this case  the "Blackfoot." 
When you return to the A-Z index (from the Culture File) you will notice that all culture names with the OWC Culture Code "NF06" have changed color (usually to purple). The changed color system helps you  track the various alternative names for a culture.


In the eHRAF database, you will notice that two culture names in the "P" list contain the OWC Culture Code "NF06"--Peigan and Pikunii.  Click on "Pikunii, NF06" to open up the Culture File.  You will notice that culture is called "Blackfoot" rather than "Pikunii." This is because the "common" culture name is Blackfoot and the alternative culture name is "Pikunii" (see Figure 3, below). To return to the A-Z Index click on your Internet browser's Back button. Notice that any name containing the OWC Culture Code "FQ05" have changed to purple (see Figure 2, above).

Figure 3. Excerpt from the File Description of the Culture File for "Blackfoot"

Browse Cultures by Region
In Browse Cultures by Region the cultures are organized by regions and by countries. Cultures often appear in several countries because they cross political boundaries. 

Information in eHRAF is mostly covers societies and cultures studied by anthropologists, which are mostly pre-industrial or peasant (e.g., Blackfoot, Pashtun).  Also covered are some North American immigrant groups (e.g., Italian-Americans, and some countries (e.g., Korea).  

It is important to understand that the Browse Culture by Region list displays all the cultures currently included in the eHRAF database.  You may not find a culture or country for a particular region, but please be aware that this culture list changes in the spring of each year (usually April) as more cultures are added. Arguably the most valuable aspect of eHRAF is the unique ability for researchers to conduct cross-cultural research and being able to quickly access data through a uniform method, namely the use of the OCM subject codes (to be discussed in Browse Subjects). 

The Browse Region by Culture list  serves as good reference when you navigate around the database or when you perform searches.  I therefore recommend that you print the Browse Culture by Region list and keep it handy when using the database (but replace it in the spring of every year) .

You will notice that some culture names have the phrase “Probability Sample File” to the right of the name. This refers to the 60-culture Probability Sample was designed by HRAF to provide primary descriptive information on a representative sample of the world's traditional and peasant cultures. 

In the eHRAF database, scroll up the A-Z culture name index and click on Browse Culture by Region (in the left-hand margin, see Figure 4).  Once in the Browse Culture by Region list slowly scroll down and to familiarize yourself with with the regions, countries, and especially the names of the indigenous and ethnic groups. Also pay attention to the alphanumeric OWC Culture Codes, especially the to the first letters representing the various major regions.  Scroll down to the region "North America" and the "United States" and locate the Blackfoot culture name. Click on Blackfoot, NF06 name (see Figure 4) to enter the Culture File.

Figure 4. Browse Cultures by Region list in Browse Cultures

How does a culture makes its way into eHRAF?
Click here if you are interested in finding out the selection process of a culture for eHRAF. 

This ends the Browse Culture section.  We now explore the Culture File (mentioned briefly in the beginning of the section)  in more detail.

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eHRAF Tutorial Index
   Introduction
   Browse Cultures
   Culture Files
   Documents
   Browse Subjects
   Text Search