Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Lucky day inquiry - I will go to India to study soon. It is said that there are many sects there. What should I pay attention to when studying and living there?

I will go to India to study soon. It is said that there are many sects there. What should I pay attention to when studying and living there?

India is called the kingdom of cattle. Cattle are the most sacred animals in this area. When driving on the road, be careful not to hit a cow, and don't wear cow products into the temple. At the same time, it is best to avoid taking pictures of cows as much as possible. India has a special habit. If you tilt your head or shake your head when answering other people's questions, you must not make a mistake, which will cause unnecessary trouble. Hindus in India practice caste system, and it is also extremely important to inquire about the caste class of local people.

Don't touch the child's head. People in India and other places don't want others to touch any part of their heads, and they don't like to touch others. They believe that the head is the highest part of the human body and the most sacred part of the human body, especially the head of a child, which is regarded as a place where gods stay. Therefore, touching is not allowed under any circumstances.

You are welcome to be invited to dinner. In the Indian concept, everyone should share it when eating, and it is stingy and impolite to eat alone. So Indians invite people to dinner, not because of hypocrisy, but because of sincerity. It is certainly unpleasant to refuse people who are thousands of miles away.

Don't eat with people of different identities. Nepalese in India attach great importance to identity. If they have different identities or belong to different classes, they can't sit at the same table. Nepalis who eat together have similar class divisions. At home, they value identity more than anything else.

There is a rule in Thailand that you are not allowed to buy alcohol after 2 am, otherwise you will be fined by the police. In New Delhi, India, Tuesdays and Fridays are public holidays, and the first day of each month is Prohibition Day. Even people with great powers can't buy wine these days.

In the Buddhist countries in Southeast Asia, if tourists make reckless moves towards the Buddha statues and monks in temples, they are regarded as tourists with some unknown interests. They were punished for sitting astride the Buddha statue and taking commemorative photos. They should not put the souvenirs of the Buddha statues they want to take back on the ground, because although the Buddha statues bought in Buddhist countries belong to them, they must pay tribute to them. For example, if it is a plaything, it should be placed at will or moved roughly.

be born

Traditionally, India prefers boys to girls, because parents must prepare a generous dowry when their daughters get married. Without it, her daughter cannot get married. This is indeed a huge burden for poor families.

When an Indian gives birth to a daughter, he will clap his hands to show that he has nothing. However, if it is a son, it is very different. People in the family will beat gongs to celebrate, indicating that in the future, sons can take a large dowry when they marry.

On the national customs of India

Back in the city, Pony took everyone shopping. In the car, he was already "full of mouth" (Cantonese, meaning hard lobbying) to introduce how expensive Indian perfume is and how good tea is. Si Mazhao's heart is well known. Everyone knows what he thinks. Just looking. Buy a little if it suits you. In fact, the perfume he brought to Indian shops was very expensive. A small bottle costs 15 dollars. There are roses, jasmine, lavender and sandalwood. Buy five and get one free. God knows if it is extracted from natural materials introduced by Xiaoma.

Dinner was eaten in an antique hotel in Delhi. The hotel is decorated with old British colonial cars, old tables and chairs, photos and lamps. First of all, I went upstairs to see a song and dance performance. The projector introduces the various nationalities in India in turn. Every time one is introduced, which nation's song and dance will be performed. The actors are four women and two men, although the images of the actors are almost the same. Half an hour's performance, music and dance are ok, and happy foreigners are very happy. After the performance, everyone went downstairs to eat Indian food, including roast chicken, curry, pancakes and so on. To be honest, it's not very delicious. As for many people's concern, if you go to India, you can't drink Indian water. Drinking it will cause diarrhea. According to my whole feeling, there is no. Maybe I haven't really drunk the water of Ganges.

On the way back to the hotel, Pony answered everyone's questions. For example, schools in India say that education is compulsory, but management fees are charged every month. Public schools charge 65,438+00-65,438+000 rupees. Of course, different schools charge different fees. But private schools are very expensive, 2-3,000 rupees a month. The educational system in India is six years in primary school, four years in junior high school, three years in senior high school, thirteen years, and then universities. When it comes to Indian wedding customs, Pony said with a smile that India is still arranged by parents, and she didn't know who her bride was before she got married. Indians get married before they fall in love. He said that there is no such thing as divorce in Hinduism. Indians only get married once in their lives. When a woman marries someone, she will stay with a man for life. No divorce. Married women can easily tell that there is a little red dot makeup on their eyebrows. It is said that all women whose husbands have died must wear white clothes all their lives, and can't wear jewelry. There are also free marriages, but not arranged marriages. Many marriages end in divorce. In remote areas of India, in the past, women married their husbands, and after their husbands died, they were "double martyred" when they were cremated. Some mother-in-law and daughter-in-law burned the bride because she didn't have enough dowry. Pony admitted that it happened in the past, but he didn't know whether it was thrown in or jumped into the fire by himself. But Pony has repeatedly stressed that "it did not exist after the 1980s". Speaking of the population of India, Pony smiled. He said that Hinduism and many other sects do not have family planning. India now has a population of nearly 1 1027 billion. According to the official statistics of India published in 2002, the population of India is about 1027 billion. ) It will soon surpass China and become the most populous country in the world.

The way for Indians to celebrate the birth and safe growth of their children is to go to the temple for "Puja Ceremony", sing prayers and then have dinner with relatives and friends.

After Indian children are born, parents will find someone to read their divinations. Children's names are mostly taken from heroes or gods. The date of birth of children is especially important because it can determine their future marriage partners.

funeral

After the death of Hindus, the cremation ceremony was held at the altar by the river. After the death of Hindus, their families will wrap the bodies in yellow or white silk, then put them on two bamboo stretchers and carry them to the crematorium on the river beach in the form of a parade.

Traditionally, the task of carrying the deceased to the crematorium should be undertaken by family members, but now most people have given it to specialized personnel. In India, people who specialize in funeral affairs are regarded as untouchables with the lowest caste status.

Generally speaking, the funeral ceremony is very simple, but wealthy families may invite musicians to play in front and March in a vast procession. Before cremation, the eldest son of the deceased must walk around the body three times with an oil lamp. When the cremation pyre is lit, the eldest son of the deceased must shave his hair, leaving only one in the back of his head, and then bathe himself in the river. After cremation, the ashes of the deceased will be swept into the river, which means that the soul has left the body and gained freedom.

wedding

Indian wedding is the representative of social status and the most important ceremony in life. When Indian youth reach marriageable age, their parents will look for people with the same social class, language, region and background, and stars can cooperate.

Weddings in India are quite complicated. Before marriage, both parents will discuss the dowry through the priest who acts as a matchmaker. Only after the woman has promised the amount of dowry provided by both men and women can the two sides choose the auspicious day of the zodiac and start preparing for the wedding. The day before the wedding, the bride must follow the traditional make-up method, and start oiling, bathing, changing clothes, combing her hair, applying eyeliner and lip sand, and painting red on her feet, red on her forehead and black moles on her chin. Then, she will paint Hannah's pattern on her hands and feet with plant dyes, then spray perfume, wear jewelry and hair accessories, and finally dye her teeth black, chew betel nut and apply lipstick, which is considered a success.

On the wedding day, the groom came to the bride's house on a white horse. At this time, the woman's family has set up a fire altar, and relatives and friends of both sides pray around the fire altar in the auspicious mantra recited by the priest. After that, the bride walked to the altar surrounded by her companion, and the priest tied the bride's sari and the groom's scarf together, representing a long-term marriage.

An Indian wedding dinner was held at the bride's house. A couple sat at the wedding reception and received blessings from relatives and friends. On the night of the wedding, the groom spent the night at the bride's house and married the bride home the next day.

Liturgy (worship)

Puja is a Hindu ritual that worships only God. Puja ritual must be performed by a priest. During the ceremony, believers will decorate the statue and carry it out of the temple to celebrate, and offer flowers, coconuts, tika powder and other offerings. Finally, the priest held an oil lamp and performed "arati" in front of the idol.

In the process of "Alati", believers gently cover the lamp in the priest's hand with their hands, and then touch it on their own eyes, which means accepting the power given only by God.

Usually, after the worship ceremony, believers can get some sacrificial flowers, tika powder or water, which is called Prasad. So in India, as long as you see Indians worship from temples, almost all of them are painted with red or white powder on their foreheads.

Traditional dress

In India, people's religious belief, race, class and region can be seen from different costumes.

Male headscarf

Most Indian men wear headscarves, which are called Muslim headscarves. There are many ways to wrap headscarves, among which Sikh male headscarves have specific styles.

Traditionally, Sikhs have grown up with hair, beards and headscarves. The style of children's headscarves is relatively simple, and only black cloth is tied into a bun shape. The headscarf style of adults is more complicated. First of all, long hair must be tied into a bun with black elastic band, and then wrapped into a headscarf with a piece of cloth about 3 meters long. The style is regular rows on both sides. Sikh headscarves are colorful, and some people even match the colors of their clothes.

Most Indian men wear loose tunics and Dhoti. Men in Rajasthan are all wrapped in a piece of white cloth, and the cloth towels on their heads are diverse in patterns and bright in colors.

Women wear saris.

The traditional dress of Indian women is sari, which refers to a piece of cloth with a length of more than 15 yards, which is put on and wrapped around the body. Indian women are good at using skills such as tying, encircling, tying, wrapping, wrapping and wearing. This has made a different change in Sally.

The sari of women in Rajasthan is very short and only covers their heads, but it is brightly colored and embroidered with gold and silver. The tops of women in Rajasthan are a bit like the collarless dresses of China Impatiens, and the lower part is a long skirt with piping and floor.

The way Sally dresses.

The traditional dress of Indian women is wrapped in a 3-meter-long cloth called sari. Indian saris are dressed in a variety of ways. Different races, different regions and different beliefs have many different colors, different textures and different ways of dressing. When Indian women wear saris, they wear short-sleeved tights (Choli) above their navel and a straight petticoat (Ghagra) below, touching the ground.

The most basic method of wearing sari can be divided into the following steps:

1. First pull out the left end of the sari cloth and stuff it into the petticoat head on the right.

2. Wrap the sari cloth around the lower circumference from right to left for about three or four times.

3. Then, use sari cloth to fold it into four folds at the right front and stuff it into the skirt.

4. Then wrap the rest of the cloth around the right armpit from the left rear and put it on the left shoulder.

5. Finally, put the sari cloth directly on your shoulders or head.