Traditional and Non-Traditional Cultures in India and the US

The Hindu then worships puja by giving flowers and fruits and finally the Hindu eats the blessed food. By following these steps Hindu believe they become closer to the deity. (asms.k12.ar.us) Hindu’s also have many festivals to celebrate their religion. Lohari is an example of one of the festivals. Lohari takes place in the winter at night in Northern India. The people build a bonfire and throw popcorn, peanuts and sesame candies into the fire. By throwing these objects into the fire it is symbolic by throwing one’s evil into the fire, and also asking for blessings for the following year. Holi is another celebration which is considered to be the celebration of the death of winter and the return on spring. (Fisher 105-106)

Over the course of history, South Asians have been mistreated and undermined within American society. This is especially evident after the terror attacks of 9/11 in which Americans shunned its South Asian Population, and reduced them to devastating stereotypes. This has created tension and hostility within the South Asian community, thus pressuring them to being more Americanized, and further creating a fixation towards becoming more white. The obsession with American culture has caused many to conform, leaving behind cultural and religious parts of their identities. It is necessary to explore the history behind the mistreatment of South Asians to understand why the change in identity such as those portrayed with Changez in The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Amir in Disgraced have occurred. These main characters of South Asian descent make it is clear that the American dream for immigrants creates a constant struggle between national and transnational identities as racism and hostility are being thrust upon them by American society.

Culture is a very vital part of the world as we know it today. There are very many different cultures all around the world. In the USA, we have a mix of all the different cultures and and family values. From the original Native Americans that inhabited America to the Middle Eastern people in Afghanistan. These people groups have brought their language, food, values, and customs with them.

1. What were the common characteristics of all Indian cultures in the New World, and what were the important differences among them?

Long before the white man “discovered” America, people have already been living here. These people are known as the Native Americans. As the settlers came to the native land, they brought firm beliefs with them that ended up causing great conflicts with the native people. It was clear that the travelers and the native people could not live among one another since the native people has their own set of values and they were much different than the white man’s beliefs. Traditional Lakota spirituality is a form of religious belief that each thing, plant and animal has a spirit.

The identities of the indigenous American societies changed in their techniques of hunting. Instead of having permanent homes, they divided themselves into groups of 15 to 50 hunter-gatherers, who would follow the great mammals, “Giant beaver, giant ground slot, mammoth, mastodon, horses, and camels”(8). But, “By about 1500 BC, people in the American southwest and Midwest had begun to cultivate some maize and squash, but only as a minor supplement to their hunting and gathering”(11). As one can tell, in the beginning, the indigenous American societies were hunter gatherers that traveled with their prey, but eventually they learned how to farm, and established permanent homes where they would farm a great portion of their food. As for the colonizing

There were several distinct cultures that existed within the United States of America during the 18th century, particularly in the early part of this century (No author, 2010). Despite the fact that European colonialists had been attracted to this land in earnest since the 17th century, there were still many tribes of the region's native inhabitants, Native American Indians, that still populated the country. Of the many cultural differences that existed between these two population groups Europeans and Native Americans the most salient was the regard that each culture had for land and its inherent value. This difference proved so influential because it was one of the contributing factors that eventually led to the displace and eventual demise of the Native American population.

“Sometimes it is impossible to know where you are headed without reflecting on where you came from. Understanding your heritage, your roots and your ancestry is an important part of carving out your adventure.” When reading from Close Range and A Radiant Curve the reader gets the feeling that both of these women have strong ties to their heritage, their roots. It is evident in Luci Tapahonso’s poem “The warp is even: taut vertical loops”. Tapahonso wants the reader to feel close to her family as she feels. “Suddenly I miss my father to. How he savored such mornings (Tapahonso 3).”

American culture is a nontraditional and individualism culture. Americans are open to new principles, ideas, and practices. Many Americans are also more concerned about themselves and their immediate family and friends. Music and television exhibit aspects of both the nontraditional and individualism culture. The focus of American culture is technology, consumers, capitalism, sports, and politics. Almost everything in America revolves around technology, such as cell phones, computers, TV, social media, video games, etc. Money seems to play a major role. Wealth is an achievement everyone wants to have, living the American dream is getting rich. Advertisements constantly convince consumers to buy products (even products they don’t necessarily

When asked on what makes someone truly American, the answer you usually get is freedom, patriotism and security. Culture, defined by the mannerism of what a person does, cannot be condensed into a simple phrase or quality. In the past, other cultures such as the African and Native Americans were viewed as a nuisance to achieving Uniformity as an American Country, and were sought out and assimilated to try to fit in with the norm of society. Heritage and tradition from other countries should remain the same, and instead of conforming, the American culture can adapt other cultures to the American Ideology. Cultural adaptation is the catalyst for innovation and originality, avoiding conflict, and promoting the culture of the American Way.

India is a captivating country full of humble traditions, lively festivals, and honest beliefs. With over 2 billion people, India has a vast array of religions and languages with Hindi being the most popular. The Hindu culture is a culture of love, respect, honoring others and humbling one's own ego so that the inner nature, which is naturally pure and modest, will shine forth (Mailerindia Infotek Limited). Hindi is a kind and peaceful religion. It is only fitting to combine a temperate religion with a humble society of people. Indians were raised to treat their elders with respect and to always be humble to guests. Strangers will great you with the utmost benevolence and friends will invite you into their home and make sure you are

Those how German or Norse there background have sometimes felt not to look more deeply into mythologies. In part it because they associated with war and in part because the Nazis trashed them in their attempt to regress to the thought patterns of an earlier time.

Just like any other culture the Indian culture had its own customs beliefs and practices. This beliefs and practices affect their lifestyles and interaction with the modern culture. One unique aspect of the Indian culture is their relation with guests. The Indians treat with high regards any guests that they host. They also hold close their economic status with preference for the wealthy status compared to the low and middle economic status. Religion is also highly held in the Indian culture. Indians hold the belief that god and goddesses are the drivers of one’s life.

Nutrition is possibly the greatest significant constituent of Indian culture. Rich of the daily unchanging and tradition in Indian paths universally the ritualistic of making and eating food. In history, females widespread their way to the local marketplaces to fill their carrier with potatoes, berries, meat, and catfish. Once amassing them the women would return home to begin ever-ending the flourishes and flour to make additional cornflower tortillas for the evening mealtime. Mexican foodstuff is attractive in wash and flavor. The fruitfulness of their cooking comes from their concern for the sensory experience of eating. It is often said that cooking is philosophy”, and to appreciate the enlargement of Mexican food it is important to know about the history of

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