SHEEN KHAAL IN PASHTOON CULTURE: In Pashtoon culture, sheenkhaal is blue permanent beauty mark in the form of dots. That are generally tattooed between the eyebrows, above the eyborws, on the chin and on the cheeks of the young Pashtun women and girls. This custom is at first applied as a way to protect ones-self from the evil eye. It used to be very common for Pashtun women to have sheenkhaals but nowadays it is only seen on old and very old women or the nomads or Kochi women. In Pashtoon families sheenkhaal is still seen as very beautiful nowadays when sometimes girls and young ladies make temporary sheenkhaals on their faces and cheek on special occasion. Sheenkhaal is sometimes also used as a medical treatment for pain in the body …show more content…
Through this custom Pashtoon help their poor neighbors and the person who takes refuge with them and want to settle down with them. There are various benefits ashar. Under the Ashar the villagers build their and their poor neighbors and other villagers Houses. In this way they take part in constructing the houses in the village. In agriculture they help each other in the labour during the work in the fields. If a villager join hands and plough his lands, such assistance is rendered at the time of funeral and marriages also. In tribal areas apart from Khan or malik, the religious Mullah and Syed also have a great hold. In the villages the Mullah and his pupils living in the village mosque have to be fed by the villagers every day. A student of the mosque used to goe to the door to door to villagers for “Zeera” to collect bread and curry for the other pupils. The villagers come out and give whatever he has cooked for …show more content…
On occasion of the Howkrah the “Walwar” (the money to be paid by the father of the boy to the girl’s father) money is specified. In accordance with the elders decision the groom’s parent agree to pay in cash the specified amount to the bride’s parents on the day of marriage. Some amount is paid in advance while rest of the money is paid on the marriage day. The father of the girl demands a huge sum of money from the father of the boy. The father of the boy and other relatives present on the occasion request him to reduce the amount for sake of God, sake of Prophet and other saints. The father of the girls on their request and for God’s sake and Prophet and other saints cuts down the amount to some extent. In some cases the father of the boy requests on reducing the amount for the sake of their dead forefathers too. Nevertheless, the amount is brought down to a reasonable level within the range of the boy’s father. Whenever the walwar amount is settled, some sweets and drinks are served to the people on the occasion.(Afridi:2002) “The practice of Walwar has sometime been criticized as a sort of business transaction or selling of the girl. This criticism is based on ignorance of problem of the tribesmen. As per Afridi’s statement in the Pashtoon society the walwar does not mean that the girl is sold out like a marketable commodity or she is an “economic asset”. Actually, idea is to provide some financial relief to the girl’s parents
Art originally in earlier cultures had a different purpose. Currently people create art for an aesthetic purpose for others to view in galleries, theaters, or museums creating distance for the audience. Initially art was created for purposes other than aesthetics, and people participated and interacted with the art and artist. This intertwined relationship between humans and art is especially seen in the Dineh and Wilbiri cultures. These two groups created drypaintings. People in both these groups directly interacted with the paintings instead of viewing them from a distance. Currently, there is a sense of distance instead of interaction. In these groups, humans participated directly with the artist and the art itself. In both these cultures, the people touched the drypaintings to evoke a response from the holy spirits. This physical interaction and participation with the dry paintings is termed contagion. The Dineh and the Walbiri both practiced contagion in different ways in order to evoke holy spirits because of similar religious beliefs, but their purpose for eliciting assistance from the Gods was different. Through contagion, both these cultures come into contact with the holy spirits.
There are some interesting historical fiction/fantasy books written about the Pictish king Bridei, by Juliet Marillier, and well worth the read if you are interested in this mysterious race. While we do not have much direct evidence of their lifestyle, the novels show a people with a great respect for the Gods, for hospitality, for the wisdom of the elderly, and the creations of their skilled artisans. They held wells and rivers sacred, and carved stones with curvilinear designs – which, if you’ve ever tried to work with stone, you will know is NOT easy. Some aspects of the religion (in Marillier’s books, at least) are very dark to our modern-day sensibilities, but I believe them to be likely in the Bronze and Iron Age beliefs, as there are dark aspects of the world that could not then be explained.
The head of the household has the authority to arrange marriage contracts for the members of his household (Barth-1961). Before the wedding, the groom’s family must pay a milk price which is written in contract by a non-tribal ritual specialist known as a mullah (Barth-1961). The milk price is the payment for the girl and the domesticated equipment she expected to bring along with her, along with the milk price the grooms expectations are to provide his girl with gifts at all calendrical events, the performing of various bride services and minor favors to his parents-in-laws (Barth-1961). After all transactions are cleared, the newly married couple will start their own
The wife 's desires for a girl also can be unselfish in their eyes by saying they are protecting them from a life of poverty since they had not yet had a son who could provide their prosperity. “Dowry deaths” are also an age old tradition that is a custom for the religion. But with the heavy problem of gendercide, the government outlawed the use of a dowry. But since tradition is so heavy and rich it still happens. The families want to live up to expectations and even if it is not “required” it still looks good for a family to compensate the other in a social standing. The problem with this is that they still see females as burdens even though there is no requirement to provide a dowry. It is the age-old tradition to give a dowry that is hurting the females. The old ways need to be adapted, and the culture itself needs to understand that it is okay not to provide a dowry. This is the only way change for females can come and ensure them a success and longevity in their
This trend was heartbreaking but it is also a reality. Marrying Darya was not new to her father but a secure way to pay off a debt. “I’m not going! I’m not going” (119). Forcing a child to marry is a human waste and cheap sorrow. Marrying girls at a young age is the way to settle debts and improve family’s finical situations. This business deal is unprecedented and unjust. Selling a daughter to pay off a debt is not acceptable or normal. Despite the terrifying story of the opium brides, the bigger issue is the reason behind the debt.
What to do? The issue of abused and homeless women is one that has recently been brought to the forefront of social issues in Pakistan. Abuse, most often begins after marriage. According to local traditions, once a girl’s baraat (wedding procession) enters the husband’s house, only her janaza (funeral pyre) should leave. Loyalty and devotion to the husband and his family come above every thing else. When family support is pulled away, the girl is then at the mercy of her husband. This total control of the girl’s life sometimes leads to her death. Often times it leads to abuse. The girl cannot return to her father’s house for fear of dishonoring him and so continues to suffer. In some cases she may chose to run away therefore igniting her husband’s anger that then is left with no choice put to pursue and kill her to redeem his honor.
The first difference between American culture and Indian culture is marriage. A wedding is a great social event in our society, which establish a new bond between two individuals and families. Marriage is a joyful occasion with plenty of music, dance, partying and merrymaking. It also brings together a long-lost friends, relatives and acquaintances. In India, the parents choose the mate for their child, which is called an arranged marriage. In most cases, the bri...
As many as 50 percent of men in Afghanistan take young men as lovers. Bacha Bazi is usually performed in secret to avoid any type of punishment. The government understands that it is happening but fails to do anything about it due to the citizens beliefs and religions. The eldest citizens are defending their belief that it has occurred for centuries, and they are completely accustomed to it, so why would they change it? But Bacha Bazi is not the only abuse occurring.
Parents would arrange their daughter marriage due to poverty. The bride’s family would receive a dowry, basically trading girls for money. Again, girls were burdens and the parents used child marriage as a relief... ... middle of paper ... ... irls a bright future.
Weddings are an important rite of passage for both of these faiths and both Hindus and Muslims place heavy emphasis on their wedding ceremonies. Another similarity these two contrasting faiths share in terms of their marital customs is that both Hindus and Muslims spend extravagant amounts of money to ensure that there is a high level of entertainment, amusement and inspiration in their weddings. As well, both Hindu and Muslim ceremonies are family oriented resulting in large weddings. Also, like any wedding, regardless of faith, the extent of how lavish the wedding is and the cost depends on the class of the family. Generally, wealthier families spend excessive amounts of money to have a wedding that is both extravagant and displays the wealth of the family. Whereas, families that are low class generally tend to just meet the minimum requirements that are needed to arrange a wedding. Hindus and Muslims commonly use live instrumental bands as their musical entertainment for their weddings and usually incorp...
According to McCurdy, the main ways that kinship organizes “Bhil” society in Ratakote, India are the terms used to refer to them, the responsibilities that they have toward one another, and the importance of marrying them off properly. Marriage plays a big role in life for the Bhil’s of Ratakote. The Bhil’s follow their tradition of arranging marriages. They feel that by arranging marriages, both of the families of the bride and groom will benefit in many ways. To them, marriage constructs alliances between the families, lineage, and clans. It also gives social strength and security to the families, and their personal reputations depend on the quality and number of their allied kin.
He then mentions cultural traditions in Mongolian weddings such as the groom searching for his bride under a bed of one of the neighboring gers, the preparation of the bride’s family for the bridal breakfast and the groom’s family for the evening feast; that indicates that each family is both trying to show their excessive generosity, care and luxury to the other family. In addition to that, he shows that it was a custom for the sisters of the bride to serve both families with liquor and to make sure that everyone from the bride to the furthest guest are at their absolute comfort and satisfaction. Every Mongolian guest was supposed to give out a song related to weddings even the shyest of them all would have no problem in reciting as the others will accompany him/her later on in the following verses. Another tradition was that each guest had to drink as least three bowls of airag.
Almost every culture around the world have the idea of bringing together households in marriage. In the United States, this a coupling of two people who will start a life on their own. In India, a marriage is more than two people falling and love and getting married. Family, religion and casts play a role for the future bride and groom. The Indian culture’s weddings have different traditions when it comes to proposals, ring traditions and ceremonies not only for the couple but for the families as well.
Child marriage is a popular practice in India and Middle Eastern countries. It is defined as “a formal union before the age of eighteen” (unicef). In some cases the husband can be more than twice the age of the young girl. The median age of women at the time of their marriage is starting to increase, although this primarily includes women in higher income families. Seen as taboo in western countries, the practice is common in rural towns in places like India and Yemen. As a result of the marriage many young girls get pregnant, which is a serious health risk due to their underdeveloped bodies. The practice of child marriage takes away a young woman’s right to an education and also poses serious health risks.
For the past few decades bride burning has been a major problem in India, it is also effecting the social life of the country. In 1961 the Dowry Prohibition Act officially stated that demanding a dowry was illegal. Punishments can vary from lifetime imprisonment to death. In the early 1990’s the reports of burning wives had increased dramatically. It started in the mid 1980’s, where there were around 400 reports on bride burning yearly. By the mid 1990’s the reports increased up to 5,800 reports yearly. The reasoning behind demanding a dowry, and killing off your wife if she doesn’t come through to give you one, is simple: people want money, they see all of these favourable possessions others have and they want them for themselves.