India is shrouded in a coat of mystery with its long-standing history of culture. One of the most fascinating part about India is the folklore and superstitions; beliefs. Below are some examples of such beliefs:
Hindu Belief
The goal of a Hindu is to reach ‘Nirvana’, which is the release of the soul from the seemingly endless cycle of rebirths. The Hindus believe themselves to have an eternal life cycle, therefore they believe in reincarnation. The form a person will take in the next life depends on the ‘karma’ one has accumulated in the past life. They also believe in the existence of three-in-one god known as “Brahman,” which is composed of: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer).
Living with cobra
Shetpal is a tiny village in Sholapur, Maharashtra, otherwise known as ‘cobra village’. Each house has a resting place for cobras in a raft of their ceilings. Another remarkable fact is there has been no case of a cobra-bite in that village till date.
Dropping babies from a tower
Baba Sheikh Umar Saheb Dargah temple is located in Musti village in Sholapur, Maharashtra. There is a 500 years tradition of throwing infant babies off a tower of 50 ft height as it is believed to be a blessing for the baby. The locals claimed that no babies were harmed.
Marrying to dogs
Some tribes in eastern India believed that marriage to dog can ward off omen and bring luck.
The local barber can help a person in India find a spouse.
A barber may seem like an implausible matchmaker, but they perform a major role for the following reasons:
· Family will normally have the same barber for generations.
· Barber has connections with other families.
· Information about potential spouse can be obtained with the assistance of barber.
Speaking of weddings, there are a number of traditions practiced in India and arranged marriage is one of them. India still keeps to the tradition of arranged marriages despite being much modernized in some aspects. Marriages blossomed out of love or otherwise known as "love marriages" do occur in India, but it is not their custom. It is an established truth that a person's family will have a say in selecting the matrimony spouse. It is essential that the marriage choice is attentively planned out as divorce is not accepted in India. Some sought-after traits looked for in both genders are: corresponding level of education, similar cultures, distance/close parental cities, identical religions just to name a few. This often results in an interview process where photos and meticulous details about the potential spouse are provided. Customary, the bride and groom are not permitted to see each other until the wedding day. However, in these changing times, a small courtship would be made under the attentive eyes of the guardians.
A marriage is often accompanied by the dowry as like in Chinese’s tradition and every other country imaginable. The dowry system was initially something respectable in purpose and supplied for the independent wealth of the user in a time when the user is improbable to labour outside of the home. However, it has become more of a ‘bride bargaining item’ in India. In which case, the bride has to come up with a respectable dowry in order to attract any suitors. There have been cases of the abused of the dowry system. In countries that frowned on divorcee, husbands have been known to demand for more dowries on the account of a divorcement or dowry death. In other cases, dowry is used by the family and the bride does not benefit from it.
Below is a video on dowry death.
Etiquettes
India is a rather conservative country, therefore it is vital to be dressed properly. Revealing clothes, especially for women, is definitely not advisable. Appropriate attires are: knee length Bermudas, tee shirts, long or quarter length skirts, capris and jeans.
Indian temple etiquette specifies that no shoes on entering the premises. The same applies to certain churches in India as well. It would be expected of one to follow similar protocol in house of certain cities.
Indian culture and tradition also prohibits any form of unnecessary physical contact, especially between a man and a woman, in public. It is best to greet someone with their title instead of a handshake or hug.
Tilak (Tika)
Tilak is a ceremonial mark on the forehead between the brows as it is deemed to be the seat of hidden insight, cerebral attentiveness, and is vital for worship. Dotting of the coloured mark denotes the pursuit for the 'opening' of the third eye, which is used to become one with Brahma. It is generally used as a blessing, greeting or auspiciousness. The Tilak is typically prepared out of a red vermilion paste (kumkum) which is a blend of turmeric, alum, iodine, camphor etc.
Namaskar
Namaskar or Namaste is the most fashionable type of salutation to welcome or bid farewell in India. To do a Namaskar, both palms are placed together and placed below the chin, adjacent to the chest. It is understood that both hands represent one mind, or the self meeting the self; while the right hand embodies higher nature, the left hand indicates worldly or lower nature.
Below is a video featuring snippets of some of the traditions in India.
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