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Indian wedding traditions essay
Indian wedding traditions essay
Indian wedding traditions essay
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Statement
Bride burning is becoming popular in parts of India and could be considered a ritual amongst the culture. I will discuss bride burning as a ritual and bring to light the meaning of dowry in India as well as the marriage process.
Research focus
Although dowry has been the cultural norm in India, recently, it has become a violent act. Bride burning is now seen as a ritual and is becoming more and more popular amongst the culture. My goal is to inform the public about Indian expectations in marriage.
1. If families do not have dowry to give, why do they force their daughters to get married?
2. Why has bride burning become so popular?
3. What traditions are consistent in bride burning?
Purpose
My research will inform readers of the cultural differences between western culture and Indian culture. As I was deciding which topic to write about, I came across bride burning in India as a potential topic. As I read more into it, I was in shock and could not believe this was happening to women. I feel as though not enough people know of this ritual and I would like to inform more people about it.
Plan
I will conduct my research using a newspaper article outlining the increase in bride burning. I will also use multiple academic journals that discusses dowry and marriage that I found on Anthro source. Our Bodley textbook also gave footnotes to a scholarly journal which I will also use to back up my proposal. I went on google to find anything written about the topic, I then used our Ithaca Library database and through Anthro source, I found various journals and scholarly articles on my topic. I will be taking the approach of MLA citation instead of the anthropological way of APA as I am more familiar with MLA....
... middle of paper ...
... marriage and the truth about dowry.
Bibliography
1. Delhi, Rahul. "Indian dowry deaths on the rise.” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
2. Bodley, John H.. "Chapter 9: Hinduism and Islam in South Asia." Cultural Anthropology: Tribes, states, and the global system. 5. Ed. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011. 325-326. Print.
3. Parameswaran, Radhika. "Coverage of "Bride Burning" in the "Dallas Observer": A Cultural Analysis of the “Other.” “Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 16.2/3 (1996): 69. Ithaca College Library. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.
4. Stone, Linda, and Caroline James. "Dowry, Bride-burning, And Female Power In India." Womenʼs Studies International Forum 18.2 (1995): 125-134. http://rmitchellculturalanthro.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/7/6/23767919/dowryreading.pdf. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
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This reaction paper will be on pairing number four. We watched a total of two videos for this pairing: Video one was called Marriage and Family, and video number two was called Family and Household. Both of these videos had my complete attention, as did the class discussions. I found this pairing to be the greatest attention-grabber so far. A few of the key topics that I was the utmost engaged in and would like to react to in this paper would happen to be, dowry verse bride price, the economics between a man and women in a marriage, and lastly, polygamy in marriages throughout other cultures.
For example, the links between migration and marriage that cause suspicion from immigration officials when a spouse is trying to move to Britain. To obtain a spousal visa one must complete a list of questions in determining if the marriage is real and genuine based on Western aspects of what a real marriage is. Pande states, “…government and policymakers see arranged marriage practices as posing a challenge to the very values on which the discourses of national identities in Europe are based” (p. 81). Which also includes Western-like ideals. The article states view points from feminists and postcolonial feminism, but I’ll talk about that later in my response. In her conclusion she believes that new research should be discovered on arranged marriage so that “…we can begin to understand how its various forms are employed by its practitioners to interpret and tailor-make this apparently traditional practice to suit their modern individual and collective identity positions” (p.
“Arranging a Marriage in India” by Serena Nanda is a well written, informative article aimed at sharing the view of the Indian culture on arranged marriages and also showing how much effort is put into the process of arranging a marriage. Our own culture has evolved into accepting the fact that we are all independent individuals who could not imagine having someone else make such a significant decision for us. Serena Nanda does an excellent job of using her sources within the society as evidence of the acceptance of the arranged marriage aspect of their culture.
In the article Arranging a Marriage in India, Serena Nanda, a professor of Anthropology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, writes about what she learned about arranged marriages in India from interviewing informants and participating in arranging a marriage herself. Nanda brought in some American biases about how marriage and love are “supposed” to work. She initially had trouble accepting why someone would want or let another arrange their marriage instead of seeking a partner themselves. Nanda’s difficulty understanding arranged marriages, is a result of having grown up in a culture that leaves such decisions to the individual. Furthermore, if the quotes given in the article are an indication, Nanda let her biases influence her conduct
Vedic culture seems to have conflicting views regarding its attitude towards women, specifically its attitude towards a woman’s sexuality. This conflict can be seen by contrasting the ways in which women are treated in sacrificing rituals with how they are treated in a more intimate atmosphere, such as lovemaking, which is still often treated as a ritual in and of itself; ritual regarding fertility, love, and childbirth. To represent the roles of women in ritual, Stephanie W. Jamison has written “Sacrificed Wife, Sacrificer’s wife, which is a description and evaluation of women’s roles in ritual and hospitality in ancient India.
Originally, after choosing my topic, I had planned on focusing on the traditions of Muslim marriage-- however, the more I researched the more corruption was unveiled within the sacrament. I don’t know about you all, but I find controversial things far more interesting. I would like to preface my speech by saying although many of the practices I am going to speak about are widely accepted throughout the Middle East—however, this does not make them justifiable. Like all controversial topics, there are two sides to this argument. Arranged marriages, child marriage, and polygamy are practices passed off as “traditions,” but it is my goal to shed some light on the topic. It is not uncommon for couples to marry based off caste and wealth rather than
Marriage practices vary across cultures. Every culture has its own way of conducting marriage according to their traditions and customs. Most cultures share common customs and practices, while some cultures have unique practices. Marriage refers to a social union agreed upon by the couples to unit as spouses. The union of couples implies sexual relations, permanence in union, and procreation. This research paper focuses on comparing marriage practices in American and Indian culture. There is significant difference between the two cultures in marriage practices.
When it comes to the topic of marriage, different cultures have different customs. Some of these customs have changed over the years and some have stayed the same. One type of marriage that interests me is arranged marriage and why there are arranged marriages still going on today. That is why I have chosen to write about them in this paper and discuss why they were/are an important staple in certain cultures.
Nanda, S. (1998). Arranging a Marriage in India. In P. DeVita (Ed.), Stumbling toward truth: Anthropologists at work (pp. 196-204). Illinois, U.S: Waveland Press.
During the Mesopotamia period, the first ever recorded marriage contract and ceremony dates to 4000 years ago. Woman had no rights in their marriage, even the lower class had no say in marriage, and therefore wives could not divorce unless the husband asked for it. Husbands were allowed to divorce their wife if she didn’t fulfill her duties (give birth to children.) During the Mesopotamia period, marriage was not because the two people loved each other, but because of preserving power, fathers’ of ruling class would even marry off their daughters. By doing this, it allowed the families to form alliances, acquire land, and produce legitimate heirs. Future husband, and bride-to-be’s father agreed on a contract that was a price for the maiden’s hand. If the marriage did not go well, and they divorced the father-in-law was entitled to satisfaction. The contract they made, had said, that if a child was not born, the husband got...
For instance, bride service is a type of marriage found in foraging societies. The husband is forced to work for his wife’s family for an expected amount of time in exchange for his right to marry (Nanda, Warms, 2017, p. 228). Another type of marriage is known as bridewealth, where goods are passed back and forth between the groom’s kin and the bride’s kin to solidify the marriage (Nanda, Warms, 2017, p. 228). Although, Dowry is not as popular as bridewealth, there is still an exchange of goods between families (Nanda, Warms, 2017, p.228). Dowry is widely practiced in India and represents a kind of compensation to the groom’s family for the “economic burden” of taking care of his wife (Nanda, Warms, 2017, p. 228). These three examples of marriage correlate with how the economy and financial security play major roles behind the customs that surround the
While arranged marriages are still a common practice, and some girls believe that there are benefits from the arranged marriage, some future brides feel uncertain and scared of getting married because it would mean that they would have to leave the comfort of their home. Not only that, but it is not uncommon for the family of the groom to put extra pressure on their new daughter-in-law. Everything, including her behavior, her clothing, and her housework will be under observation. Whether or not arranged marriages are the best way to create families or find love, it is interesting to see how there is not just one way to get married.
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.
Arranging a marriage for a young girl is a simple way for the family to collect dowry money. For families living in poverty this is something they looked forward to since the birth of their daughter. Furthermore, having one less mouth to feed makes supporting the remaining children less demanding on the parents. In addition to financial reasons for the practice, in times of war an arranged marriage is a way to ensure that the child bride remains safe and out of harms way. An important aspect of most religions is purity. “The very idea that young women have a right to select their own partners—that