Cultures and Customs of India Text Review

Cultures and Customs of India. Carol E. Henderson. 2002. Westport,Conn.; Greenwood Press, 210.

The primary topic of Cultures and Customs of India is to provide the reader with general knowledge and understanding of India. Through reading this book, I was able to learn more about the food, art, religions, customs, dance, and life of the Indian people. This book is a very effective “first read” for me because it covers a wide range of material and does not go too in depth in any single area. This is nice to get a broader, more general sense of the people before concentrating on one specific area of study. The anthropologist doing the research for this book wants the reader to have a general understanding of Indians in all areas of life. While many of the topics discussed in this book could potentially be entire books, the author summarizes the information into short chapters to provide a wide overview.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. I think a lot of that enjoyment comes purely from the fact that I understand and have a special interest in these people more than other people groups that I have studied. Having gone to India, and preparing to go on another trip back to India makes the material much more relevant. Because of this I am able to grasp and take in more that is written than I most likely otherwise would. I particularly enjoyed reading about the chapter on “World View.” I think I enjoyed this chapter so much because it explains what it is like to grow up Indian, and the way these people see the world and their role in it. I think by being able to understand these things, it makes understanding the rest of the Indian culture a little easier. For example, I continually kept on being brought back to the statement about the West and how we divide up the natural and the supernatural into individual categories, but in India, the natural and the supernatural are intertwined. Realizing and understanding this, I was much more able to understand why so many things—dress, food, dance, etc.—have so many sacred symbols and meanings to them. This chapter really provided information like this for me, which really helped me understand why the Indian people do some of the things they do.

While I was reading the chapter on “Women, Marriage, and Family,” I was honestly a little skeptical over the information provided by this chapter. I realize, and am by no means questioning the fact that women in India are oppressed. I know that arranged marriages happen, I know that women are not seen as equal, but I thought there was a great deal of improvement occurring in this area. According to this chapter, the situation is still quite dire. The chapter also mentions that India is one of the few countries in the world that has had a woman as the head of the state. If this is the case, I struggle to understand how a woman could hold this position, and yet the oppression of women is still so massive. Maybe part of this is my ignorance, and I assume that because things are better than they were, there is less of a problem today. Maybe that is an incorrect assumption on my part. I am still skeptical that perhaps the author is painting a grimmer picture than is actually true—if I could I would love to discuss this further with Henderson. I’m not entirely sure, but hopefully through further reading throughout this semester, I will find out what other anthropologists have to say about the subject to see how it compares with the way Henderson describes the women.

Another reason I really enjoyed this reading, is because it brought back many memories for me of the past trips I have taken to India. Not only does it bring back memories, but it also reminds me of things that I had forgotten all together. Some of these instances involve smaller, insignificant memories, but I really enjoyed this about the book. While the author is describing the dress I was able to visualize the outfits worn by the men and women. And the chapter on food was quite vivid for me. For the most part, I am not a huge fan of Indian food—so some of these descriptions weren’t quite as positive for me! I had completely forgotten about the anise (the seed that tastes like licorice) that is offered after a meal is finished. I realize this is nothing huge to know or even understand, but it was still fun to have the book jog my memory. While reading the chapter about festivities—Ganesh’s birthday, Ramadan, and the idols that are made to be drowned in the Ganges River—I was reminded of the idol factory that I visited in Calcutta. I can still vividly see the idols that were over six feet tall and elaborately designed and constructed. They were aesthetically beautiful and it is still amazing to me that they are created with the intent of being destroyed.
I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons. I enjoyed being reminded of India and the things that I have seen and experienced in the past. More than this though, I am excited about what is going to happen this summer. I am excited about what I am going to see and experience, and the greater knowledge I will have of these things before I see them. I think because of the understanding I’ve gained from this book, along with the other information I am going to absorb throughout the semester, I will be able to appreciate the people and things I see even more. It is always so much more beneficial when a person is going somewhere and that person has a knowledge or history of the place he or she is visiting. I am so thankful that this is going to be the case this coming summer. Understanding the importance of the supernatural in everyday life, understanding the role of women, understanding the world view, understanding the religion—all of these things and more will enhance the experiences I will have this summer.