Being Raised in a Hindu Family in Srilanka and Canada

1765 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Culture Norms Impact Society

For my Anthropological observation study, I will be writing about my culture which I will be familiar with since I have a greater understanding. And also I will be able to analyze some aspects based on my observations that I have received throughout my life. I was born in Srilanka in a Hindu family and lived there for twelve years, until I came to Canada. I would like to write about Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus, that I have observed so far in Srilanka and Canada. I will be focusing on family relationship and social life. In this essay Ill argue that Tamils culture has changed in Canada over time and why it is important to adapt to a new culture in a different country. As we studied in lecture, the culture of a particular community is meaningful only when we study them in their context. If we study them outside of the context, they do not have any cultural value or meaning. The culture of Srilankan Tamils contains many traditions and customs. Customs and rituals have been part of the society from generation to generation and some are relatively new. Most of these customs are connected with everyday life for most people in the social and religious circle and they are considered desirable and constructive. I would like to discuss some of the course readings such as Adam Ashforth’s Madumo: A man Bewitched, Durham Deborah’s Soliciting Gifts and Negotiating Agency, Evan Pritchard’s The notion of witchcraft explains unfortunate events, Rosaldo Renato’s Grief and a headhunter’s rage and Geertz Clifford’s Deep play. Srilankan Tamils has ancient and modern cultures diverse from family to family. We can generally say that families and family obligations play an important role in the life of most members of the community. Families’ carries out fu... ... middle of paper ... ...uld be reciprocated. Canadian Tamil’s gift giving has changed greatly. Most people are giving gift cards or what their relative need at the occasion, such as for a new home people would buy futures or cooking utensils etc. I can say That Tamils gift giving is not a similar concept to Deborah Durham’s gift giving in Botswana where people will not keep track of the gift received or given. In Tamil communities people sometimes keep book with all the received gift detail and when the time comes it is reciprocated immediately. I would definitely say that, we can apply Tamils gift giving is every similar to Marcel Mauss’s idea of exchanging gifts as concluded that the exchanging gifts have major significance since it resulted in the formation of respect between the giver and receiver. The respect came from the honor of giving a fit and the moral obligation to reciprocate.

Show More
Related

  • Religion Ethnography Essay

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    1.) Intro: I decided to focus my Religious Ethnography on a friend whom I recently have become close with. Adhita Sahai is my friend’s name, which she later told me her first name meant “scholar.” I choose to observe and interview Adhita, after she invited me to her home after hearing about my assignment. I was very humbled that she was open to this, because not only was it a great opportunity for this paper, but it also helped me get to know Adhita better. I took a rather general approach to the religious questions that I proposed to the Sahai family because I didn’t want to push to deep, I could tell Hinduism is extremely important to this family. Because this family does not attend a religious site where they worship, I instead listened to how they do this at home as a family instead.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Hero's Walk

    419 Words  | 1 Pages

    J. Eng. Lit. Cult. becomes merely “Street” as (does) Lingayat Street, Mudliyar Street and half a dozen others in Toturpuram” (5) in a gesture of egalitarianism whose effects are literally, as well as symbolically, disorientating. The sense of displacement is compounded by changes that have occurred on the street itself over the last few decades- “instead of the tender smell of fresh jasmine.... in scented sticks and virtue, instead of the chanting of sacred hymns the street had become thud with the haggling of cloth merchants and vegetable vendors, (and) the strident strains of the latest film music from video parlours” (5-6). The incursion of these loud and nestling registers of cultural change into the sanctuary of Sripathi‟s study mirrors more significant assaults on his sense of traditions including most worryingly, the refusal of his children to lead the lives he has imagined for him: his daughter Maya has broken off her engagement to an Indian man to marry a Canadian with whom she now lives in Vancouver, and his son Arun has rejected a tradition job in favour of a career as an environmental activist. Sripathi responds to the affronts by ceasing to communicate, literally, in the case of Maya, with whom he has stopped corresponding, and figuratively, with Arun and the rest of his family, through a retreat into an increasingly self enclosed world. The narrative traces the gradual expansion of his consciousness, a process initiated by Maya‟s death in a car

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Stereotypes And The Changing Family

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    Families have greatly evolved from the times a woman's only job was to have children so they can work on the farms. Once, women were considered a burden by their father giving a dowry to their husbands, letting the men to control the women, keeping them as a trophy wife or property. Today women are given equal treatment and can occupy any job and be the boss of many men. Families today are very have been dramatically altered over the years with the stereotypical mom and dad not being the only family dynamic. In today’s society, parents vary depending on their sexual orientation, the impact technology has played in families, and purpose a family has been altered.

    Read More

  • Dorothy Lee Individual Autonomy And Social Structure

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article “Individual Autonomy and Social Structure,” by Dorothy Lee, a comparative method is used to understand various cultures in order to resolve conflicts that we experience in our Western society. The key social problem Lee is addressing in this article is the conflict between personal autonomy and cultural framework. She believes that Western culture lacks integrity and human dignity and this can be amended by looking at practices in the Wintu Indians’ culture. This essay will show how social structure and personal autonomy can coexist by examining the Wintu Indians’ language structure.

    Read More

  • Cultural Diversity in the Armenian Community

    2126 Words  | 5 Pages

    Family on the other hand is the everyday living environment within which spirituality and historicity are applied and lived out. ‘Family’ in the Armenian community refers to more than the family of origin or the nuclear family. Instead, it includes both of these along with all of the extended family and even the small surrounding community. These family ties are much more important and influential in the decision making process than would initially appear, therefore, they must be acknowledged and understood. All Armenians may not uphold the same spirituality, historicity, and family values, however, they would still approach life’s decisions based on these cultural categories.

    Read More

  • Native American Family Research Paper

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some limitations of this study include the small sample size (n=31). This study also focuses specifically on one culture, so the findings may not be able to be applied to other cultures. This study does however provide information about American Indian culture that may not have been available otherwise.

    Read More

  • African American Culture Research Paper

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    The article about Indian culture is from IOR, an intercultural training organization. The article mentions Indian civilization's historic roots, and also speaks to the culture's dedication to tradition. Indians collectively define themselves through their roles within the family, follow hierarchical patterns, and take a polychronic approach to time. This extends into their communication styles, as people value

    Read More

  • Racial And Ethnic Characteristics, Family Structure And Culture

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this paper, my focus will be on Racial & Ethnic Characteristics, family structure and Culture. Some of the things that I will be talking about throughout my paper will be the different things from my generation and my parent’s generation as well. The reason why having a family is a major thing is because you can always enjoy time with them and share anything that you feel like is important with them. They will always be ready to hear anything their child has to say. It is not really hard to stay with them like someone that would leave their family over a small argument because they can always get over it regardless. Family is one and your only place where your life begins and love never ends. In order to create a family, you have to work for it to make it perfect, in order to be a good example of that whole society.

    Read More

  • How Have Gender Roles Changed Over Time

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ideas and views of families have changed drastically throughout time. Along with these changing views, so have the ideas of why they exist. These changes have been driven socially, politically and culturally that vary based on different ages, races, genders and societies that a person identifies with. To observe how some of these ideas and attitudes have changed over time, I conducted a survey that helped address ideas, feelings and meanings of family.

    Read More

  • The Significance of Family and Kinship

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most important and essential things that everyone must have in order to live a great and joyful life is family. One must follow values to be successful in life, and one must also support their family to keep that success advancing toward the future. In David W. McCurdy’s article, “Family and Kinship in Village India,” it discusses the significance of how a successful family is formed by tradition, preparation, and patience. The article describes how kinship has the power to arrange marriages successfully, make families unite and assist each other, and teach and help one another agriculturally or economically.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Two Cultures

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every culture has several similarities and differences that impact the way they do things. Several of these cultures have distinct traits and traditions that make them differently from other cultures. I believe these differences make each culture different and unique. The two cultures that I have chosen to compare and contrast with each other is Kenya and India. In this paper I will discuss the similarities and differences in each of the culture’s families in context, marital relationships, and families and aging. These are important aspects of these cultures and to examine them will give me a better knowledge of both of these cultures.

    Read More

  • Music in Culture and Society

    2060 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Study of Ethnomusicology - Thirty-one Issues and Concepts [Book] / auth. Nettl Bruno. - Champaign : University of Illinois Press, 2005.

    Read More

  • Social institutions

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the years there have been many social institutions that have made a dramatic impact on society; none more important than families. In today’s modern industrialized societies, families carry out basic necessities that other social institutions cannot. Different skills such as responsibility can also be acquired from families where it can be applied to everyday life. Furthermore families in the past needed to be the most important social institution to ensure their survival. Since the pre-industrialized era, families are considered the most important social institution because they provide for our basic needs, teach us to acquire new skills, and assure our survival.

    Read More

  • Indian Culture Analysis

    2229 Words  | 5 Pages

    When people look at a culture on an average day, people only tend to see broad generalities, usually elements that are stereotyped and seemingly always mentioned in connection with that one culture. A similar habit applied to anthropological studies sometimes. It’s easy to forget how complex one apparently cohesive culture can be approached from. This class as a whole approached India and culture from many sides, and it helped me see the benefits of studying a culture from as many different perspectives as possible to get a thorough analysis.

    Read More

  • Family Health And Social Care

    2098 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout intensive review of literature, It has been realized that the family is considered as the essential social foundation due to its important functions of creation and socialization and because it is found, in some forms, in all societies. Family, as a term, is utilized in everyday language whose meaning is analogous with the culturally and historically specific social practices to which it denotes. The family is also considered a universal social life of particular culture and eras. Its activities have an impact upon the maintenance of the social structure of the society, of which it is a part, focus on biological and demographic structures (Vasundhra, 2008).

    Read More

More about Being Raised in a Hindu Family in Srilanka and Canada

Open Document