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India
& Pakistan: Culture
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 Cultures
--India: religion and language / women / Bombay and slums / Krishna and India Diaspora / musical
examples
--Pakistan: culture, religion and language
Races
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| Cultures |
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India:
Religion
and Language
(1)Hinduism
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Hindu Gods
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Sexuality among gods; images
Close-up of the scupltures
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Sun Temple, also called Black Pagoda, in the outskirt of Puri 《國家與人民》66
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An image of Shiva in Varanasi; Linga, the pallus of Shiva, is a symbol
for him which is enshrined in almost every of his temple. (《國家與人民》55) |
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(Shiva,《國家與人民》n.p. )
Hinduism-
1. no founder; the Vedas
(four books) as the holy books
2.many
gods, among which the three most
important are Brahma (the creator of universe); Vishnu, its preserver,
and Shiva, its destroyer.
3.caste
system, intricate rituals
to see more photos, go to Image
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位於德里的揭摩。瑪斯積德清真寺(Jami Masjid or
Congregational Mosque)
印度最大的回教寺 《世界風物誌20》38(More
info)
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古德柏明那 (Qutb
Minar, 15 kilometers to the south of Central Delhi)
印度最早的回教建築，十三世紀左右才完成。塔高７１公尺，柱上面有可蘭經章句的浮雕。《世界風物誌20》42; more info
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(2)Islam
1.Koran (可蘭經) & one God
2.Muhammad as prophet
3.equality, brotherly love
Kathakali
dance, in Kalala.
The most mature form of dance in India. The dancers, all
male, play different roles of superman, demon, ordinary men and women.
Wearing heavy and colorful makeup, they tend to identify with their
role. (See images below.)
Language
The people of India speak 14
major languages and more than 1,000 minor languages and
dialects.
Hindi is the official language of India. It is the native language of
about a third of the people, but many speak Hindi as a second language.
. . . In 1965, English was dropped as an official language and became
an "associate" language. However, it is still commonly used in
government.
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Women
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Sati Stone (Jodhpur
Fort): in memory of those women who burned themselves to death
after their husband died in a war.
Left:
Widow on fire
Source: : Narasimhan,
Sakuntala. Sati: Widow Burning in India. New
York: Doubleday. 103.
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Women, Islam, and
Hijab
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"Among Muslim women, the
debate about hijab takes many forms. Many believe that the veil is a
way to secure personal liberty in a world that objectifies women.
Several women have argued that hijab allows them freedom of movement
and control of their bodies. Understood in such terms, hijab protects
women from the male gaze and allows them to become autonomous subjects.
Others have argued that the veil only provides the illusion of
protection and serves to absolve men of the responsibility for
controlling their behavior" (from "Women, Islam, and
Hijab") |
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Bombay
and Slums
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The cities of
India have terrible slums. Thousand of slum dwellers sleep in the
streets because they have no homes. Others live in shelters made
of scraps of wood or metals. Most India slum buildings have at
least one whole family, and often more, living in a small room. .
. . Many of these areas have no public sanitation at all. In the
early 1970's, the Indian government began replacing many slum buildings
with low-cost public housing.
(Left) Bombay, India's
largest city, has more than 8 million people. Modern high-rise
apartment and office buildings stand in parts of thei city, but most of
Bombay's people live in crowded slums. (World Book
vol 10, 100)
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Krishna
and India Diaspora
摘自
《印度界的世界》。西貝兒•夏塔兒著。楊玫寧譯。台北：城邦，民國八十八年。 provided by Dr. Pin-chia
Feng
Krishna
. . .
在《薄伽梵歌》中，克里希納是一位救世神以及創生和管理宇宙的神。當克里希納說他為了拯救他的信徒而入世時，其他的救世主角色便已顯明誤。
有修，正義式微、不義橫行時，我將顯現我自己。為了衛護善人、毀滅
惡者，為了建立正義，我在每一世代誕生。（摘自《薄伽梵歌》4.7-8）
在這一段中，克里希納解釋化身（avatara）教義。印度文「avatara」這個字的意思是「降凡、化身」。世界出
現問題時，神即化身為人，來到人世間，以重建秩序。因此，克里希納不僅是有修的戰車御者，還是至高無上的神，一個創造、維繫並毀滅宇宙的神。(58)
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印度移民
印度在現代共有兩波的移民潮；
第一次是發生於十九世紀和二十世紀初期。在十九世紀間，印度人因
渴求工作機會而移居緬甸、斯里蘭卡、馬來西亞、南非、斐濟群島和西印度群島。到了西元一九二
O年代，約有二百萬印度人居住在海外，其中多數住在英國殖民地和屬地。大多數的印度移民為勞工，
儘管受到歧視、教育設備不足和高死亡率，他們在新的環境中仍能夠蓬勃發展。通常他們住在少數族裔社區中，依照家鄉的傳統習俗過日子。他們建立印度教的寺
廟，並且聘請祭司（不一定是婆羅門）來此進行傳統的祭儀；在此進行的儀式包括早先描述的所有民間習俗。
以中產階級和受過教育的城市新貴為主流的第二波移民潮，在西元一九六O年代波瀾突起並一直持
續至今日。這些城市佬移民至美國、英國、加拿大以及新加坡等亞洲經濟中心。他們均為專業人
士、醫生、工程師和電腦程式設計師，移民海外尋求經濟，因為印度國內的就業機會不足以讓所有的大學畢業生適才適所。與來自東歐和東南亞的難民移民不同的
是，這些中產階級的印度人無一落腳於種族貧民窟。他們移居至郊區，他們的子女就讀於附近的好學校。這類移民通常很快就在他們新遷居的國家中躋身中產階級之
列，這是因為他們受過良好的教育並能講英語。居住在美國的印度人已被認為是美國歷史上最成功的移民族群。
在新土地的最初幾年，他們致力為經濟成就打拚，並不擔心宗教生活
之便利的缺乏。不過，他們確實感覺到一種文化認同的必要性，因而建立起無數可供印度人聚會的「文化中心」。
在西元一九六O年代，在印度移民社群中，分享印度認同的深切體認超越了所有印度地方性的文化歧異。倘若一個文化中心播映一部孟加拉電影，即使一個人聽不懂
孟加拉語也會欣然見到有這樣一個機會，可觀賞與「印度」有關的電影。
隨著移民開始撫養子女，他們更深切感覺到宗教場所的必要。宗教是向他們的下一代
傳承文化價值的媒介，而許多印度人關切他們的子女可能會感染西方社會的惡習，甚或被引導改信基督宗教。在印度，宗教教育的重責大任落在祖父母的肩上。祖父
母引導年輕的下一代前往當地的祭壇和寺廟祭拜，並告訴他們有關聖人和諸神的故事。但祖父母這一代一般不存在
於移民家庭中。更有甚者，住在一個僅有寥寥信徒的國家去認識該宗教，和一個住在宗教已融入生活的每一部分的國家是截然不同的。西方國家沒有
慶祝印度教的國定假日，沒有雲遊四方的「苦行者」，也沒有四處遊歷的說書者訴說、傳誦偉大的印度教史詩。因此，為人父母者必須想出如何向他們的孩子解釋印
度教傳統，然而他們當中大多數人從未實際想過，如何為在不同文化環境長大的下一代界定這傳統。
寺廟成為保存傳統的重鎮。
但即使印度移民社區開始為建廟募款，他們也同時做許多的改變，以適應新的生活環境。最初的寺廟改建自現有的建築物，通常是教堂。之後，印度社區募集到足夠
的捐款，才陸續興建傳統型態的印度境內寺廟。這些寺廟有許多部分地模仿贊助它們興建的印度境內寺廟，但它們卻不帶有特別的地方性色彩。為了迎合不同的印度
教移民族群的需要，寺廟中供奉著許多不同的神，而不是一尊主神和祂的侍從。因此，經常可看見濕婆和毘師孥並
列，旁邊圍繞著許多女神和地方神祇。(126-7)
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Musical
Examples
Religious music:
- Qawwal (classical
spiritual music of Sufism)
1. "Man Atkeia Bekparwah De Naal";
2. "Sab Vird Karo Allah Allah"-- by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (from
Pakistan);
Songs
- "Petition to Ram" (a
variety of muscial cultures)--by Jai Uttal, Indian born in New York
Musical Instruments:
- "Balinese Fantasy" -- by
Zakir Hussain (an Indian percussionist)
- "Two Lovers" by Ali Akbar
Khan "Two Lovers" uses Sarod, a 25 metal-stringed
intrument carved from a single piece of wood, and is based on a
folk song from the Indian desert province of Rajasthan.)
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Pakistan:
culture, religion and language
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Muslim rituals,
such as group prayer meetings, play an important part in the everyday
lives of most Pakistanis. About 97 percent of
the nation's people are Muslims. |
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Various
cultural and Language Groups
A number of cultural groups live in various parts of Pakistan.
Each has its own customs and characteristics. ....
Language is the chief difference that divides the various
cultural groups. Although Urdu is the official language, less
than 10 percent of the people speak it as their primary language (World
Book 78d).
Punjabis, such as the woman
on the right, form the largest group. The man is a Pushtun from
the North-West Frontier Province.
(Left) Most Pakistani cities and Towns have outdoor market places
called bazaars, where shoppers can buy food,
clothing, and other products.
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| Races |
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Plurality,
or unity in diversity, has always characterized Indian life and
thought.
It is a country with 950 million people who speak more than 1,000
languages and dialects and support more than 20 political
parties.
Religious Periods:
- Vedas 吠陀 or Brahmanism 婆羅門教
(1500B.C.-500B.C.)
- Bhuddism (500 B.C.-11th.C.)
- Hinduism (4th C.-16th.C)
- Mixture of Religions
(14th.C-19th. C)
- Recent Religious Reformation
(18th C-)
Now about 83 percent of the India
people are Hindus, and about 11 percent are Muslims. The
next largest religious groups, in order of size, are Christians, Sikhs,
Buddhists, and Jains.
The differences in their
races (and languages), castes and religions are often causes for
conflicts.
The Caste system
The
ancient culture of India was based upon a system of social
diversification according to spiritual development.
Four orders of society were recognized based upon the four main goals
of human beings and established society accordingly. These four groups were the Brahmins, the priests or
spiritual class; the Kshatriya, the nobility or ruling class; the
Vaishya, the merchants and farmers; and the Shudras or servants.
These four orders of society were called "varna", which has two
meanings; first it means "color"; and second it means a "veil". As
color it does not refer to the color of the skin of people, but to the
qualities or energies of human nature. In ancient
India, these divisions were not based on birth but based on
qualifications.(The Hindu Universe)
The majority (about 80%) of
Indian society is broken up into about 2000 castes which can be further
broken down into endogamous units which are called subcastes, the total
number of these units in India is estimated to have been 75000 at its
peak, and still about 43000. (Races in
India)
The Untouchables. . . , have their own traditional
professions and their own subcastes. Those professions involve too much
pollution to be performed by caste Hindus:
(1) dealing with the bodies of dead animals (like the sacred cattle
that wander Indian villages) or unclaimed dead humans,
(2) tanning leather, from such dead animals, and manufacturing leather
goods, and
(3) cleaning up the human and animal waste for which in traditional
villages there is no sewer system. (Caste System 1, 2 )
To oppose this unfair
treatment of the untouchable, Gandhi called them "Harijans," the
"Children of God"
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