Being Raised in a Hindu Family in Srilanka and Canada

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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.

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