How Did Honey Affect Aboriginal Culture

In the book “ The Secret Life Of Bees “ by Sue Monk Kidd , shows a lot a

Sue Monk Kidd has carefully crafted a book rich in symbolism with special emphasis on bees. Each section’s heading features the inner workings of this communal society (Emanuel, Catherine, B. 3). An epigraph at the beginning relating to bees sets the tone for the each chapter. The first chapter epigraph states: The Queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly sense her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness.” Man and Insects.

Of particular interest is the fact that, despite the risk to native fauna and flora, honey produced by the European honey bee is a major industry

The moment the found it, a talk of a feast came to light. They started a fire and hoped to smoke the bees out or to sleep. When they got up to the hive, they got it down, but when it came down, the bees got up. Stingers flying all over the place, with people swatting their arms like crazy, was all around. By the time that it was all said and done, with faces swollen, and massive welts all over their bodies, those of who could, feasted on the hive. Endless amounts of honey for everyone to share. At the end of the night, everyone was filled full and packed away whatever else could be saved. Despite the injuries, they managed to feed themselves and still had some left over for down the road. Survival is key. Bravery drives survival. And that’s just what they all gave so that they could

Colonists Use Honeybees to Get Work Done? How many people out there thought they meant real honeybees. Down in England, (in the 1700’s) people referred “bees” as family, friends or neighbors helping to work or to get things done around someone’s household (thus the name “Helping Bee”). Lots of new settlers will gather “chopping bees”, which means whoever was in that group, go and chop down trees to clear their new land. There are “quilting bees” (for women) and “corn-husking bees” (for men). It all started out when the Germans introduced to house and barn raisings to the colonies. Neighbors and friends would all join together and build the frame of a

Honey bees thrive under the care of humans, enabling them to outnumber and endanger the feral bees in the wild. Bigger populations of honeybees competes with the smaller variety of feral bees for nectar and space. The favoritism and popularisom of honeybees and the U.S. to the world our shadows lesser known bees or the old traditions of other

The book is written by, Slotkin, Richard. Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality. New York, N.Y: Henry Holt and Company, 2005. Print. During the Great War, American Nationality and a nation struggling with inequalities came to the forefront. Slotkin concentrates his writings on the heroic African American troops of the 369th Infantry and the legendary 77th “lost battalion” composed of New York City immigrants. These brave men fought in a foreign war they didn’t even believe in; what they were really fighting for was the right to be treated equal

respected the same as any other.(p73). The healers also respected the physical environment form which all medicinal herbs and roots were taken. If something was taken a gift was always left as a sing of respect and acknowledgment- for example tobacco was commonly left when herbs were taken from the ground as a gift to the creator.(p100). I see this as an advantage to the Aboriginal people because it taught value and meaning to life-not to be too greedy as the white men soon came to be, depleting many of the Aboriginals' medicinal herbs and roots for their own use.(p99) There was one thing that the white man could not take away form the Aboriginal people - their beliefs. Even though the White man tried it was something that the Aboriginal people kept as their own. This, I see as an advantage to the Aboriginal culture because the medicinal practices were based upon these beliefs, and they could not be stolen from them.

The aboriginal Australians have survived thousands of years on what they call a hunter gather diet. The diet consists of emu, lizards, moths, kangaroo and snakes as well as berries, roots and honey which are referred as ‘bush tucker’. Seafood also had a big part in aboriginal culture, which most of the sea life was caught with spears and hooks made from branches, rocks etc. When the British settlers came in 1770 they unfortunately didn’t like or understand the aboriginal diet. So in response to this they decided to make a more familiar European diet. Sheep, cattle and other familiar European animals were introduced throughout Australia and familiar crops were planted as well. Flour was used to make bread and damper (thicker bread which was

At first, the reading passage posits that the fact that there is no remaining fossil from the actual bee illustrates that bees were not present 200 million years ago. Conversely, the professor refutes this ratiocination by claiming that there are reasons which could explain why bee fossils were not preserved. According to the professor, these fossils were preserved in resin which is a sticky material produced by the trees and these trees were rare 200 million years ago. The fact that there is no fossil from bees is not associated with their absence 200 million years ago and the paucity of these trees is the main reason.

During the past decade the presence of bee diseases, droughts and other variable weather conditions has reduced the supply of bees worldwide. In the United States for example, the past few years have seen bush-fires, droughts, the killer mite (Varroa destructor) and the Colony Collapse Disorder wreck havoc with U.S. honey crops by destroying nearly two-thirds of their colonies. This has lead to a market opportunity for other countries to sell their honey to the U.S., which happens to be the largest consumer (and 3rd largest importer) of honey worldwide.

Since the late 1990s, beekeepers around the world have observed the mysterious and sudden disappearance of bees, and report unusually high rates of decline in honeybee colonies. Bees do more than just make honey! Bee transfer pollen and seeds from one flower to another, fertilizing the plant so it can grow and produce food. Cross-pollination helps at least 30 percent of the world's crops and 90% affects our food. The sweet fruits humans eat such as, strawberries, mangoes, grapes, apples, and bananas would not be the same taste wise as they are now. We simply couldn’t live in the same world if it weren’t for the bees.

The honey bee is vital to an estimated $117 billion annual production of crops through pollination within the United States more than a half of the food that humans consume has a correlation with the bee either directly or indirectly. The USDA reports the following food products would be immediately damaged if no bees were available to pollinate:

The Aborigines were traditionally a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer society, travelling seasonally. Their intimate knowledge of the land and the seasons allowed them to predict where and when certain food items would be available. Men hunted larger game while women gathered fruits, nuts and caught small game. Theirs was a life well adapted to the harshness of Australia. The most important factor in Aboriginal life was (and is) the kinship system.

Brit Amos begins talks about the loss of foods stating that “Commercial beehives pollinate over a third of {North} America’s crops and that web of nourishment encompasses everything from fruits like peaches, apples, cherries, strawberries and more, to nuts like California almonds, 90 percent of which are helped along by the honeybees” (Amos). Honey bees are much more famous for producing honey. However, most people do not know that “the benefits of honey go beyond its great taste” (“Health Benefits of Honey”). For example, “The 3 key health benefits of honey are related to the fact that: 1. Honey is nature's energy booster 2. Honey is a great immunity system builder 3. Honey is a natural remedy for many ailments” (“Health Benefits of Honey”). It is interesting to think that something as small and insignificant as the honey bee can provide us with so many basic needs.