The Comanche and Europeans Lifestyles Essay Example

The Comanche and Europeans had different lifestyles. Some people think they were similar but this idea is not the case. The Comanche lived a nomadic lifestyle, and the Europeans had a monotonous lifestyle and were not all that similar. Both looked at nature, people, and their place in the world differently.The Comanche culture was more of a unique culture than European culture. When people learn about European culture, it is kind of similar to today’s society and culture. Nowadays we don’t just trade our living for what we believe in and so it makes Comanche unique. No matter what they are both different.

The Comanche culture and the European culture are different when it comes to views on nature. The Comanche and the Europeans had very different ideas of property. Europeans had set boundaries for their land while Native Americans had a spiritual view of nature.As you read the passage ‘Clever Coyote'' you can tell they believe in a more spiritual lifestyle because the things they believe in such as the “Monster” and the coyote. Comanche culture could not conceive of land ownership as something respectable and did not have private property. Comanche people lived in large plained areas with a lot of open lands and the European culture lived in colonies and they were surrounded by a river valley, mountains, and deserts. In Clever Coyote it says “...until they had scattered all over the plains.” This sentence gives you a clue that they live on open plains. Although they  both traveled differently they always got where they needed to be. People of the Comanche culture traveled by horseback and walking and the European traveled by ships. In the text “ Journal of the first voyage to America,” it states “...carrying off their goods to the mountain.”  This shows that their way of moving around is different. If they move around differently they also have to have different cultural beliefs.

 While both the Comanche and European borrowed goods and had traditions they were very different. They had different beliefs, religions, and traditions. They had different views on people. The Comanche had cultural beliefs in animals and the nature that was around them, they also believed in their children. In the passage “Clever Coyote” it states “Coyote to whom we owe the buffalo.” This shows that they have faith in their animals and they want to give them their only thing to survive because of what they believe the animals do for them. They relied on animals to eat and survive (mainly buffalo) as you can see in the “Clever Coyote” passage when it says “Poor dog” and “I bet you’re hungry”. This shows that if they have no buffalo it will be hard to survive because they relied on themselves to survive and  the buffalo. Comanche also made their own tools and clothing, unlike the Europeans. The Europeans believed in trade and discovering the new world. The Europeans had more wealth and they were more privileged than the Comanche. They liked to trade items they make or have for necessities they needed like water, tools, ropes, clothing, or food items like vegetables. This shows the differences between the beliefs and traditions ( views on people) of the Comanche and European cultures and how they are not all that similar.

The Comanche were located in The Americas and The Europeans were located in Portugal and Spain of Europe. The Comanche had a lot more open land than the Europeans had. The Europeans were on the coast of large amounts of water so trading by ships was a huge factor for Europeans. They are both different when it comes to trading because while you have the Europeans trading random things for stuff they wanted the Comanche traded valuable things that they needed to survive for other things they needed or believed in. The Europeans had imports coming in from other countries they traded goods such as fruits, animals, and animal skins. Europeans did not always have their own item to trade, they sometimes found certain items like gold in spices.  “...according as I find gold or spices in abundance, I shall determine what to do…” this sentence is showing that once they find stuff they figure out what to trade it for.  The Comanche only traded items from  buffalo and horses among the southern plains for things like food and other items. In the “Clever Coyote” passage it says “The coyote is whom we owe buffalo” which means they are willing to give up buffalo to anything that they want or believe in. Altogether they both just have different perspectives on the world and how certain things should go.

Both the Comanche and Europeans have different lifestyles. Comanche lived a nomadic lifestyle and the Europeans had a changing lifestyle and were not all that similar. They looked at nature, people, and their place in the world all differently. Comanche valued stuff in life and the Europeans just did what needed to be done for wealth or what they wanted. Both cultures just lived two different lifestyles. The “Clever Coyote” and “The Journal of the First Voyage to America” shows the different cultures and traditions of other countries and the way they view life and what they believe in. All people are different and have their own way of life. Sure there may be one similar idea but all together every culture has something different about it, and these two stories are a great way to see that!