When conducting research on the subject of culture there are so many places to study and, try to understand. I have chosen the culture of India. This culture is so far away from the United States that I couldn’t help but study it. The following are little facts from the website http://www.indianmirror.com/culture/cul8.html
“India has almost an equal number of men and women and almost half of the women belong to the uneducated category.”
“The Indian girls mostly prefer arranged marriages, by their parents and they take it naturally to deliver babies in the coming year.” “In earlier times mostly boys were preferred to girls, as raising girls, giving them education and then giving a hefty dowry seemed impossible.”
“An Indian woman is best depicted wearing flowers on her hair, with colorful bangles on her wrists and sporting a lengthy sari neatly tucked in.”
This is the culture of the Indian women so it’s completely normal for them to follow this way of life, they don’t know anything else. As it says above, most girls’ prefer to be set up in an arranged marriage. In the U.S., statistics have shown that arranged marriage just doesn’t exist.
More Indian cultures are as follows provided by the website:
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/india-country-profile.html
In relationships in India they all involve hierarchies. In schools, teachers are called gurus and are viewed as the source of all knowledge. The patriarch, usually the father, is considered the leader of the family. The boss is seen as the source of ultimate responsibility in business. Every relationship has a clear- cut hierarchy that must be observed for the social order to be maintained. And they respect this way of living. This is how they grow up so it’s nothing out of the ordinary for them.
. Religion, education and social class all influence greetings in India.
. This is a hierarchical culture, so greet the eldest or most senior person first.
. When leaving a group, each person must be bid farewell individually.
. Shaking hands is common, especially in the large cities among the more educated who are accustomed to dealing with westerners.
. Men may shake hands with other men and women may shake hands with other women; however there are seldom handshakes between men and women because of religious beliefs.
Dining Etiquette
. Although Indians are not always punctual themselves, they expect foreigners to arrive close to the appointed time.
. Take off your shoes before entering the house.
. Dress modestly and conservatively.
. Politely turn down the first offer of tea, coffee, or snacks. You will be asked again and again. Saying no to the first invitation is part of the protocol.
Table manners are somewhat formal, but this formality is tempered by the religious beliefs of the various groups.
. Much Indian food is eaten with the fingers.
. Wait to be told where to sit.
Guests are often served in a particular order: the guest of honour is served first, followed by the men, and the children are served last. Women typically serve the men and eat later.
. You may be asked to wash your hands before and after sitting down to a meal.
. Always use your right hand to eat, whether you are using utensils or your fingers.
. Leaving a small amount of food on your plate indicates that you are satisfied. Finishing all your food means that you are still hungry.
If an Indian women chooses not to listen to what her husband, father, or any male telling her to do something that is communicating with her has to say, then she shall be punished. This would be considered a limit of culture.
I hope you find this interesting and enjoyable! I can’t believe how different cultures are from what I know, and this is just one!
I found this extremely interesting. After reading this I felt like I had a sense of what Indian culture is like. One thing that stuck out to me in particular was that Indian girls prefer arranged marriages. I would assume they prefer them because that is all they have ever known, so it doesn’t seem the least bit odd to them. I think that shows how much India girls trust and value their parents opinions. You mentioned that the father of the family is usually considered the leader. I think here father’s are somewhat the leaders of their families.
I was surprised to read that you said the children are served last. I am not to surprised about the women serving the men and waiting to eat later on. I don’t know if it is an American norm or just a norm for me but I always make sure everyone is eating first before I sit to eat. I also was surprised about leaving a little food on the plate to show you are full. I know I grew up cleaning my plate.
In this culture of India they have learned to have complete trust in their families to engage in an arranged marriage, but, it does not allow for the girls to have a mind of their own, they will never be able to make their own adult decisions because they go right in to the husband being the boss of the family. I know in the U.S. the fathers may be considered the boss but it seems to be more equal and fairly divided between mom & dad. Dinner table rules were interesting to me, since I remember when I was growing up we couldn’t leave the table unless out plate was empty, but, that is also part of parents upbringing and house rules or even religion. I think the culture in India is very strict in that you feel as though you have to watch your step in situations to be considered obeying the rules of the bosses in their roles.
Reading this I couldn’t believe marriages were arranged. I wouldn’t like that because you really don’t love the person. I also agree with Gina. It does seem like you have to be careful on what you do. It seems like women have no rights, I don’t like that.
One of the interesting things about arranged marriages is that they don’t show lower levels of marital satisfaction than marriages by choice.
Here is some research that supports this:
Meyers, Madathil, and Tingle (abstract)
Yelsma and Athappilly (abstract)
In my quick review of the research, I did find one article that shows some increased marital satisfaction for people who chose their own spouse, but the results are complicated and not absolute. Allendorf and Ghimire (entire article)
Very interesting topic! I worked with some people from India and one couple moved here after an arranged marriage. They are still happily married and have several children together. From what I understand many of them know exactly who they will marry at a young age and it is just normal for them.
This is very interesting to me. In the society that we live in it is hard to even imagine that other cultures function this way. Many things about this stick out for me. Children eat last? So far from what we do, most women here would make sure our children are cared for before any other. The marriage thing is interesting just because I can not imagine having my parents pick my spouse. But, surprisingly enough, it seems that marriages like this last a lifetime, yet marriages here where we choose our own partners fall apart like the sanctity of marriage means nothing.
As for the way the women dress, that is interesting also, I know that I have seen Indian women in such attire and they are so beautiful! Yet women in our society seem to wear next to nothing thinking that they look good and end up not having nearly as much self respect or respect from others.
Etiquette when eating is interesting also, we have so many different pieces of silverware that other then the general rule of starting on the outside and working your way in, I personally have no idea what to do with all of those untensils. Yet, if I ate with my fingers people would look at me like I was crazy or uncivilized. The first time I went for sushi the lady came to the table with a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth, I had no idea what that was for, when explained that it was to wash my hands I was almost offended at the thought that she thought my hands were dirty.
Interesting blog. Everything that they do is pretty much the opposite of what we do here in the U.S. Women seem to take the backseat and it is an accepted practice. And as far as not listening to a male telling a female what to do or be punished? Yikes! I can not fathom that happening in our crazy culture.