Describe a cultural product or practice and reflect upon the cultural perspective(s) it illustrates.
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Describe a cultural product or practice and reflect upon the cultural perspective(s) it illustrates.
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Teejri is practiced by Sindhi women on the 3rd day after the full moon falling in August (month of Shrawan). Married Hindu women pray and keep a fast for the health of their husband while unmarried girls/women who have reached puberty may pray for marital bliss.
The story behind Teejri comes from Hindu mythology. According to holy books the Goddess Parvati fasted and prayed fervently for the great Lord Shiva to become her spouse. Touched by her devotion, he took her for his wife. Goddess Parvati, in gratitude, sent her emissary to preach and disseminate this religious fasting among mortal women, promising prosperity and longevity with their family. Thus was born the festival of Teejiri.
The observer beautifies herself adorning her body with ornaments, dresses in bright colors and decorates her hands and feet with mehndi/henna. Moving with times indeed changed, but here is a guidelines of what may typically happen on the day of celebration.
On the eve of this day, women apply mehendi (henna) on their hands. They wake before sunrise and eat something (Asur). From then on they are not allowed to drink even water untill they have prayed to Teejri mata (goddess of Teejri). Green gram is sprouted in a plate or obtained from a mehraj (priest) and swaying of the teejri is done.
A mixture of sugar and water is poured into the sprouted beans and the ladies drink a little of this mixture. From then on, they are allowed to drink water. In the evening after sunset a puja (religious ritual) is done again and the mehraj (priest) or his wife's tells of the significance of this fast. Following this puja, they stop drinking water again till the sighting of the moon. Prasad (sweets) is then distributed and the fast broken.
While the husband's well being is considered central to the happiness of the family, it is the wife who plays the critical role behind the scenes, caring, nurturing and praying for them. These rituals recognize the strength of the woman and her inner commitment to family and happiness for ever after.
Sindhi food eaten before fasting
Korean dramas are just one of South Korea’s cultural products it has exported to gain a foothold on the international stage despite its small size.
For example, the mega-hit Korean drama “Winter Sonata,” a melodrama that was one of the dramas to pave the way, has generated revenues of more than $2.7 billion for its writers and the Korean economy.
(The famous theme song of "Winter Sonata")
To give this cultural product some context, K-dramas are just one aspect of “hallyu,” or the Korean Wave, a South Korean term to describe the surge of Korean entertainment and products on the international stage (this includes K-Pop, and the large businesses everyone’s heard of, Samsung, LG, Kia, Hyundai, etc). K-dramas is one way Korea is extending their influence beyond their small borders.
DramaFever, one of the most well-known sites that have a plethora of subtitled Korean dramas, is backed by AMC Networks, Bertelsmann, and NALA Investments, which is tied to the family that created Univision and Televisa. In recent years DramaFever’s foreign audience has increased such that roughly 85% of its over 3 million monthly viewers watching K-drama (and a few Taiwanese and Japanese available shows) are of non-Asian descent—quite a significant number!
In addition, Korean dramas have become available on platforms such as Hulu, Netflix and iTunes and judging by the comments, people are addicted. “Boys Over Flowers” and “Heartstrings” broke the iTunes Top 200 within a week of debuting and there are new deals and companies every month along with an audience ranging from young 18-35 year olds to members of the Baby Boomer generation (I suppose since K-dramas are an easy way to access a facet of South Korean culture from the comfort of their home).
(Korean dramas = romance + love squares + wacky, unrealistic situations + dramatic tension + a whole lot of 'fun')
TURKISH TEA
Drinking Turkish tea is a daily routine. I experienced this ritual several times a day when I visited Turkey. People drink tea everywhere, in the street, in restaurants, at a hairdresser.. You will even have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner... I believe Turkish people drink more tea than Brits. I was even offered a tea as a visitor to a shop.
Tea is usually served in a tulip shaped, ornate glass with two tiny sugar cubes on a saucer. It is important to serve sugar cubes with the tea rather than put sugar into a glass while preparing it. This is different from making Turkish coffee where coffee served is already sweetened. In addition to two sugar cubes, you get a small spoon to stir the tea with.
Turkish tea is usually black and it is consumed without milk. At first I thought the same tea was served everywhere but I was really surprised when I realized the variety of taste of Turkish black tea. Tea does look the same but it tastes differently. For example, tea tastes differently in Istanbul than in Bursa. Turkish tea is produced on the Black Sea coast.
When Turkish people prepare tea, it is really a special event. You will not usually find people using tea bags and pouring water into cups with a tea bag. Preparing Turkish tea is something completely different.
First of all, Turks usually use black tea leaves and not tea bags. They use caydanlik to prepare their tea. Caydanlik is part kettle, part teapot. The bottom part is basically for the boiling water while the upper part is for the tea brew. It usually takes about 20-25 minutes for the tea to be ready to drink. Turkish tea can be served in different ways, anywhere between koyu (strong, dark) and acik (light, weak) depending on how many leaves you use to make a tea. The tea produced is usually very strong, but the remaining water in the kettle is used to dilute the tea on individual basis. If, however, you prepare a very weak tea, it might be considered an insult to a person who you serve. Therefore, it is very important to know the exact amount of leaves you need to put to prepare a tea.
When drinking Turkish tea you have to hold the rim of the cup, rather than the middle portion of the glass body, or otherwise you will burn your fingers. It is the best not to fill the cup entirely, so that you can basically hold the glass without burning your fingers and minimize the heat at the top.
Interesting fact about Turkish people drinking tea is that according to a research in 2004, Turkish people consumed 2.4 kg (approximately 5 pounds) of tea per person, and United Kingdom follows with 2.1 kg (approximately 4 pounds) of tea consumed per person.
turkish%20tea.jpg
Over Spring Break I had the random opportunity of usin some of what I learned in tutor sessions with a stranger. I waled past a barbershop where two men of middle eastern descent. I looked at them and said "Salam." It was rather presumptuous and happened before I could stop it. The men's faces lit up and they replied "Malaikum a Salam." I felt good and continued on my destination. On my way back to my car, I walked past the shop again. One of the men was speaking to a woman when he saw me and motioned for the woman to have me come inside. I went in and he started speaking to me in Arabic. I had to tell him that I did not know Arabic, but that I was learning Farsi which is why I greeted him. He was in disbelief when I answered no to questions of me being Arab and Muslim. He said I look like I am and spoke well. He offered me a job as his receptionist since he had just opened his barbershop and his English wasn't very good. I respectfully declined but did take his offer to thread my eyebrows. As he threaded he told me stories of his true love and how he wished he was able to marry her instead of the woman his father chose for him. This was the first time I had ever heard a personal account of arranged marriages from the grooms perspective.
His name is Ahmed and he is from Iraq. He told me that his true love was killed in 2003 three when a house where Sadam Hussein was believed to stay was bombed. I was in a state of shock and expressed my sympathies. I couldn't believe that he felt so comfortable to share that information with me. This random interaction really solidified the power of language for me. Even though I am not fluent in his and he not mine, we were able to communicate and relate to each other; all from a simple greeting.
A very interesting aspect of Bengali culture is the method in which they eat their foods. Bengali food itself is very flavored with spices and cooked in intricate ways, requiring lots of time. In every meal, rice is a staple portion of the entire course, with fish and vegetables following.
Bangladesh, among many other South Asian countries, eat with their fingers. They do not use any form of utensils and everything is tactile- probably for a good reason. Fish dishes are popular in the Bengali culture and favorite fishes include ones such as hilsha or koi, fishes that have many small fishbones within the fish-meat. It is the custom to interact with the food with fingers by mashing the rice with the vegetables or sauce within the dishes to mix the flavors. What is interesting about eating culturally is the unabashed method in which they'll lick their fingers and clean their plates. Similar to the way some East Asian cultures value eating loudly to show their enjoyment for the food, Bengalis value licking fingers (the licking reaches the wrist, sometimes) and wiping the plates clean as an indication of how delicious the food was. Another thing Bengalis will do is chew all parts of the food until there are no juices left in things such as bones (especially fish bones) and so the result is usually messy with the remnants of the meal. While not all Bengalis eat in this manner, it is typical and not strange for people to eat in this way just as it is not strange for some to eat more neatly. There are some "elite" people that eat much more delicately, taking care not to dirty their fingers and not having their fingers barely touch the food.
In the end, every Bengali has their unique approaches to eating with their fingers- some messier and some more neat, but there is no wrong way to eat as long as you're using your fingers!
A few things to note are:
In Pakistan, as is the case in much of South Asia, drinking chai is an every day affair, multiple times a day. Chai is the
word for tea in Urdu—whereas in the United States it is a type of tea. It is hard for an American to really get the role of chai in Pakistani cultural life. The closest I can get to painting a picture is Seattle. Think about the major role in culture of coffee in Seattle. That is but a fraction of the role of chai in South Asia and Pakistan. Culturally speaking the people are much more hospitable and much less monochronic, obsessed with busyness and timeliness, focused more on relationships and people.
If you go to someone's home, you will be served chai; and your cup will be refilled over and over until you think your teeth might fall out. If in a city there will be stands for chai that you can stop by on your way to class or work.
I am a big tea drinker, but I am not a fan of overly sweet food and drink. Unfortunately, the chai in India was 1 part chai, two parts sugar—and to ask for it without sugar was like asking for a hamburger; it just seemed absurd. But in talking with my language partner, I have learned that (this may seem small, but I was pretty excited about it) it is not bizarre to ask for chai without sugar. In fact, my language partner's parents do that very thing, even at restaurants. And to top off that week's cultural lesson, we discussed how to ask for tea without sugar in Urdu.
One of the Korean cultural exposures I have had is Korean pop, also known as K-pop. K-pop recently has become very popular internationally as well. For instance, this past summer Korean pop star PSY hit song “Gangnam Style” became an international phenomenon. People were intrigued by the comic dance moves and the up-beat of the song. But before PSY became popular worldwide, there has been some essence of popularity of Korean pop music. The first Kpop song I ever listened to was DBSK’s “MIROTIC-주문”. I was exposed to Korean music with YouTube and other Korean music websites on the internet.
DBSK - MIROTIC (주문)
But Kpop itself is not a very old genre of music. It first became popular during the early 1990’s. Currently the three most popular and powerful music agencies are SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. It definitely branched from the globalization of Western culture into Korea. Recently, like many parts of the world, Western culture has been influencing various aspects of Eastern culture. Kpop was able to spread internationally with MTV, for PSY’s case, and the internet. Even recently, popular internet radio websites such as Pandora and Songza provide a K-pop station. The popularization of Korean music and other subcultures are known as the “Korean wave”. This Korean wave first began in nearby Asian countries and most recently have entered other parts. Apparently this has had a positive effect on Korea’s economy due to the increasing popularity.
Here are two other videos I would like to share. The first one is a popular song from the past year and other is one of my personal favorite Korean songs. I hope to one day listen to it without having to read subtitles and understand the meaning. But with the amount of times I have already listened to it, my goal might happen without me ever fully grasping Korean.
Aliee – Heaven (에일리)
standing EGG - Kiss
Pesakh
Passover, or Pesakh in Hebrew, is a Jewish festival that celebrates the story of the Exodus of Israelis from Egypt. It starts in the 14th day of the fourth month in the Jewish calender which is in the spring. This post will focus on the traditional meal associated with Pesakh, known as seder.
One of the important symbols of Passover is matzo, an unleavened flatbread made from flour and water only and it is not allowed to rise. It can be made in factories or by hand. The bread is made from wheat that is guarded from contamination by chametz, the things that are not allowed to be in contact with during Passover. The following are two meals that use matzo:
1. Matzah brei: softened matzo fried in egg and fat, served sweet or savory.
2. Matzo cereal: matzo boiled and served with milk and butter.
In addition, there are other foods used such as charoset, which is chopped apples and nuts in wine. Gefilte fish is fish patties or fish balls made from ground fish. Rice is also served with saffron or raisins.
Passover seder is also characterized by the procedure used while eating. First, the blessing "kadeish" must be recited while drinking the first cup of wine. Hands must be washed then and vegetables are dipped in salt water. The next step is important, which is the breaking of matzo. The Passover story is then told while drinking the second cup of wine. Hands are washed again at this stage with a blessing. Maror (bitter herbs) is then eaten, which represent the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. The main holiday meal is then served followed by a blessing and drinking of the third cup of wine. In the end, Hallel is recited, which is traditional for festivals, accompanied by the drinking of the fourth cup of wine. There are deep religious roots behind drinking four cups of wine. Finally, concluding songs are recited to test the general knowledge of children and adults.
Do you know why the bread must be unleavened?
It has a religious context. In the story of the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelis were ordered to make bread without yeast. They were also ordered to commemorate Passover by making unleavened bread to remember how God took them out of slavery in Egypt.
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