Indian Marriage Vs American Marriage

Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli settled together in Cambridge, Massachusetts, following their arranged wedding. Ashoke is an engineer by training and has no trouble adapting to his new life. Ashima, resists all things American and pines for her family. Ashima remains silent about her feelings of loneliness, however Ashoke is aware of how much she misses her homeland. Ashima and Ashoke have been raised in traditional Bengali homes where having servants is part of the culture. At their traditional Indian wedding ceremony, Ashima circled her husband seven times. I can envision this ceremony as this practice is the same in a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony I also engaged in. There are many traditions that are cross-cultural creating an understanding among the similarities.

There are various customs and traditions for marriage in United States based on varying factors such as culture, social norms, and religion. There are no unique practices because most of practices are derived from other cultures. The marriage practices and customs revolve around wedding attire, before wedding, wedding ceremony, reception, and after wedding. White bridal dresses are worn with a veil in weddings. However, those not wedding for the first time can choose any color of bridal dresses apart from white. Before a wedding, most have bridal showers where the bride receives gifts from the guests. Preparation takes considerable time to plan a wedding. In a wedding, groomsmen and bridesmaids are included (Lilian, 2013). The bride’s father walks the bride down the aisle to indicate approval of the groom. “The typical 21st century wedding can now feature a supporting cast of stepparents, half-siblings, Dad's new girlfriend and her kids, the bride's first stepfather and his new wife, and sometimes even the bride and groom's ex-spouses” Wedding cakes are used and couples kiss as a form of endearment. Cakes are seen symbols of fertility. It is a custom for the newly married woman to

A traditional ceremony consists of feeding friends and visitors attending, the wedding ceremony would take place in the hogan with the groom and his father or uncle sitting on the west side followed by the bride and her father or uncle. Sitting beside the boy on his right side they would be positioned towards the east which was facing the door. Starting with the girl she would pour water onto the boy’s hands and he would wash them, then he would do the same to her washing her hands, this symbolized purity and cleansing. A medicine man would then pray quietly while arranging a corn meal mush decorated with pollen, they would then take turns eating the mush starting with the boy followed by the girl. Usually they were instructed to eat it all, but if it was not all eaten it would be passed to each of the boys family members so they could have a bite. Once the mush was eaten the mother of the boy would keep the basket where the mush had been and preserve it at all times, this was important to a successful marriage. Traditional weddings were held at night, but modern traditions allow them to be held in the daytime, and because of this some believe it is the reason for divorce and family problems. Once the wedding ceremony was over the couple would stay in the hogan while family and friends went home. Traditional Navajo

The Hindu people who are pictured in the video segment, Budanilkantha: A Hindu Wedding, are practicing a custom of many Hindu people. A custom is the frequent repetition of an act, to the extent that it becomes a characteristic of the group of people performing the act. Although not all Hindus participate in arranged marriages, the acts that occur during the marriage are very similar. Before the wedding takes place, the bride receives a jewel that marks the central part in her hair which is a signal of her marriage.

In the film Monsoon Wedding, Indian culture is illustrated in the practices of the traditional Punjabi wedding. The wedding in the film was arranged as is the norm in Indian culture. Thought the wedding was rushed it was not forced. Aditi wanted to be married having realised the uncertainty of her previous relationship with a married man.

In America we are known for throwing lavish ceremonies and expensive parties to celebrate the union between two people. I’ve attended quite a few weddings and participated in one during my lifetime thus far. Most weddings in the American culture follow the same itinerary.

The Islamic and Hindu religions have an array of similarities and differences regarding their customs and laws in relation to the ‘wedding ceremony’.

In arranged marriages the marriage is consummated through elaborate ceremonies presided over by a Vedic priest well versed in Vedic mantras. The marriage date is fixed after consulting the astrological charts and then invitations are sent. Before the marriage date, both the parties spend a lot of time in preparation and exchange of gifts. On the marriage day, the bride and the

If they were to meet each other without the parent’s permission, it is considered as bad manner and bad upbringing. In India, the average age to marry is 24 years old for the males and 22 to 23 years old for the females. Indian weddings are usually the longest wedding, which are held in the night time in a huge wedding hall, that includes many different rituals which are performed in front of the God and the couple promise’s each other that they will be together in a sad or a happy moment, no matter what will be the results. Even though wedding has the same meaning in every culture, the way of celebration and ceremony is different. According to iloveindia.com, the ceremony in India is about the priest, groom, bride, and bride’s parents sit beneath a mandap, and a canopy. The wedding ceremony starts off with the Kanya Daan, in which the bride’s parents give away the bride’s hand to the groom with all her responsibility. Then the couple holds hands together and start circling around a small, enclosed fire in a ritual called the mangal phera for seven times by taking a seven oaths together to spend a rest of the life to live as a one soul. The seven steps around the enclosed fire, is the vow to support each other and live happily together. Finally, the groom will apply a red powder to the center of the bride’s forehead and tie a black beaded necklace around her neck, symbolizing

In American culture the view on arranged marriages are not looked at very favorably. This is because we have grown up with the knowledge that when it comes time to marry we will have chosen our spouse of our own free will. The match will be a love match and one that is chosen through our own needs. Young men and women in India grow up with an opposite view on marriage. They know that when it comes time to marry their parents will find them a suitable mate and it will be considered scared and a lifelong commitment (Agence France-Presse.) A total of 74 percent of respondents from across India voted in favour of traditional "arranged" marriages, according to the poll by private television channel NDTV. In the Hindu faith, marriage is

Like the Gisaro, the Kaluli people partake in many other traditional ceremonies that show the reciprocity of food, labour, and duties. In marriage there is an abundance of gift-giving and labour sharing which involves both the groom and the bride’s family. When a bride is chosen, the groom must compensate the bride’s family with brides-wealth, and both sides begin to part-take in many ceremonies. (Schieffelin, p.26) One side will bring the other many fruits and meat, and then the other side will return the favour by doing the same, creating an on-going cycle of food-giving. (Schieffelin, pg. 26) Food is continuously exchanged and prepared by both in-laws because it is one of the best methods the Kaluli use to form and maintain social relations with their in-laws and family. “Food as gift or

marriages that occur in India and the United States have several dramatic differences. Marriages in India are based solely on parental decisions, whereas in the United States a marriage is based on individualism. Who, why and how the spouse is chosen, is very different in both countries. Most Americans date to discover who their future spouse is going to be, and they know the person very well before marriage. In India, dating is not something that occurs. Most individuals in India do not have any interaction with the bride or groom prior to their wedding day, therefore, they do not personally know who they are marrying (Nanda 624). Though these differences exist, pros and cons reflect on each of them.

Marriage is a significant social event in contemporary society. It is a means of building new bonds between two individuals and their subsequent families. The foundations of memorable weddings are built on those that bring often-distant family and friends together for the occasion, while dressed in their most sophisticated attire, surrounded by elegant flowers, a night of dancing, captured through the lens of an exceptional photographer. Although Hinduism and Islam are two extremely distinctive religions, their matrimonial customs do share some comparable elements, like most other cultural wedding ceremonies. In both religions, they are devotedly obedient concerning religious and cultural practices in their marital ceremonies.

Arranged marriages are set up by friends and family, and sometimes by a matchmaker that sets up the marriage. But the bride’s father has the most responsibility in arranging marriage for his daughter, and is the one who approaches the father of a potential bridegroom. Important aspects when considering a possible match are financial status, caste, and the bride and bridegrooms horoscopes matching. The role of astrology is important, and if a Hindu priest finds that the horoscopes of the potential spouses do not match, they will not marry, and must begin the search all over again (Livermore, 2009). India’s view of marriage first and then love is very different from the Western view where love comes before marriage, seems to be successful. The

In terms of marriage and weddings, there is a pure mix of cultures within the Hindu and the Malay weddings, which are