Family Arranged Marriages in India Versus Self-Arranged Marriages in the United States
Family arranged marriages in India versus self-arranged marriages in the United States
Marriage has been defined in numerous terms by different cultures. The factors that play into creating a successful, happy marriage are viewed differently by people in different cultures. Family arranged marriage has been the tradition in Indian culture. Modernization, globalization, and urbanization have brought about the concept of self-arranged marriage from Western cultures, such as the United States. Despite these efforts, family arranged marriage still outnumbers marriages of love or self-arranged. According to Devika Chawla in her essay on Hindu arranged marriages, 95% of all Hindu marriages in India are still arranged (2007). Nice job of introducing this informationCultural relativism suggests that each culture should be understood in terms of the values of that culture and not judged by the standards of another (Miller, 2007). Under cultural relativism, the United States and other Western cultures can gain a better understanding why family arranged marriages work in India. Nice job here! The Hindu culture of India, which constitutes of one of the oldest religions in the world, has been practicing arranged marriages since ancient times. Hindu marriage is derived from laws that come from 3,000 year old hymns known as Vedas and Smritis, from the Vedic and Epic age of 4000 B.C.-1200 A.D. (Chawla, 2007). Under these laws and scriptures, marriage was seen as a religious rite and duty, required by all human beings for the wealth of the community. Many male interpretations of the Hindu scripture outlined four main aims for Hindu life. These aims are: dharma, artha, kama and moksha (Kapadia, 1958; Lipner, 1994). Citation formats look great!Some of these aims had similarities to Freud’s psychosexual theory on personality where the ego works to balance out the impulsive desires of the id and the moral responsibilities of the superego (Boyd & Bee, 2006). Kama is similar to
Marriage has been defined in numerous terms by different cultures. The factors that play into creating a successful, happy marriage are viewed differently by people in different cultures. Family arranged marriage has been the tradition in Indian culture. Modernization, globalization, and urbanization have brought about the concept of self-arranged marriage from Western cultures, such as the United States. Despite these efforts, family arranged marriage still outnumbers marriages of love or self-arranged. According to Devika Chawla in her essay on Hindu arranged marriages, 95% of all Hindu marriages in India are still arranged (2007). Nice job of introducing this informationCultural relativism suggests that each culture should be understood in terms of the values of that culture and not judged by the standards of another (Miller, 2007). Under cultural relativism, the United States and other Western cultures can gain a better understanding why family arranged marriages work in India. Nice job here! The Hindu culture of India, which constitutes of one of the oldest religions in the world, has been practicing arranged marriages since ancient times. Hindu marriage is derived from laws that come from 3,000 year old hymns known as Vedas and Smritis, from the Vedic and Epic age of 4000 B.C.-1200 A.D. (Chawla, 2007). Under these laws and scriptures, marriage was seen as a religious rite and duty, required by all human beings for the wealth of the community. Many male interpretations of the Hindu scripture outlined four main aims for Hindu life. These aims are: dharma, artha, kama and moksha (Kapadia, 1958; Lipner, 1994). Citation formats look great!Some of these aims had similarities to Freud’s psychosexual theory on personality where the ego works to balance out the impulsive desires of the id and the moral responsibilities of the superego (Boyd & Bee, 2006). Kama is similar to
References: Basnal, R. (2007). India’s Remix Generation. Current History: Journal of Contemporary World Affairs, 106(699), pgs.168-172 Boyd, D. & Bee, H. (2007). Lifespan Development (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Publishing Inc. Bumiller, E. (1990). May you be the mother of 100 sons: A journey among the women of India. New York: Fawcett Columbine. Chawla, D. (2007). I Will Speak Out: Narratives of Resistance in Contemporary Indian Women’s Discourses in Hindu Arranged Marriages Retrieved July 20, 2008 from Research Library database, ProQuest. Kapadia, K. (1958). Marriage and family in India. Calcutta: Oxford University Press. Kodackal, B. (1998). Arranged Marriages in India. Retrieved July 31, 2008 from http://members.tripod.com/~Berchmans/arrange.html Miller, B. (2007). Cultural Anthropology (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Mulatti, L. (1995). Families in India: Beliefs and realities. Journal of Compartive Family Studies, 26, pgs 11-25 Myers, J., Madathil, J. & Tingle, L. (2005). Marriage Satisfaction and Wellness in India and the United States: A Preliminary Comparison of Arranged Marriages and Marriages of Schwimmer, B. (2002). Bride Wealth. Kinship and Social Organization: An Interactive Tutorial. Retrieved on July 22, 2008 from http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/marriage/bride_wealth.html Vanita, R. (2004). “WEDDING OF TWO SOULS”: Same-Sex Marriage and Hindu Traditions. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 20(2), pgs