Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Dussehra and Diwali Festival

Nationality: Indian
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Mumbai, India (Los Angeles, California during the school year)
Performance Date: April 21, 2017
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)
Language: Primary is actually Marathi, can also speak Hindi, Konkani, Kannada, and English

“Dussehra and Diwali both are basically celebrated for the triumph of good over evil. So, mytholoigcally speaking, there were two gods, Ram and his wife Sita. Sita was kidnapped by Raavan, Aasur as they called it, a Satan in maybe English. So now, Raavan kidnapped Sita and took her to a place where Ram had to, you know, cut down trees, go inside the forest, look for her, and then kill many people. People as in like, the bad people obviously, and then when he found Sita, he brought her home and killed Raavan. Raavan had ten heads, so he was called Dash Aasur. Dash is ten and Aasur is a devil, so Dash Aasur, as in the ten headed bad guy. He killed Raavan and that’s why we celebrate Dussehra, where we make a statue of Raavan and burn it. We burn it so that we can tell people that they need not be scared, he’s dead, and it’s the triumph of good over bad. And then, there is the festival called Diwali, which is ten days after it. It is a part of Dussehra. So, after Dussehra, you have Diwali, the festival of lights. People lite candles, like lanterns everywhere, candles everywhere, and then they decorate their houses with flowers and colors just to celebrate.”

In India, there are around fifty festivals that are celebrated all around the year. However, half of them are more regional, while the others are more nationally celebrated. Essentially, most of the festivals are known, but not all are celebrated in every state. These two in particular take place at the end of October through the first week of November.

As are a lot of their festivals, color plays a huge role in Dussehra and Diwali. For these festivals, it is more elegant than some, but still has to be colorful. You are not supposed to wear black because Indians view it to be ominous, which would go against the festival’s idea of good defeating evil.

The informant relayed this to me while we were re-shelving books in the stacks of Doheny Library at USC. She is one of my co-workers.

It is very common around the world for celebrations to revolve around their gods, but I was surprised when she described the festival being based on a myth before telling me about it. I feel that it is very uncommon for people to discuss their myths in such a way to other people, already acknowledging that others do not believe what they do. However, I found that she was more open to discussing and sharing it with me because of her approach, even though she does believe in the gods.

Holi Festival

Nationality: Indian
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Mumbai, India (Los Angeles, California during the school year)
Performance Date: April 21, 2017
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)
Language: Actual Primary is Marathi, but can also speak Hindi, Konkani, Kannada, and English

“It begins in March, so the first week of our New Year has Holi. It’s the festival of colors because in North India, like few states in the North, they say that colors make you look beautiful and initially, in medieval times and, you know, the early civilizations, they used to apply turmeric to look fairer. So, that’s how the concept of putting colors came in. Later, it got a little fancy, from yellow to green to pink and then everything. So, that’s how it is. Now, it is more of a water sport. I mean, people splashing water on each other and colors and everything. And, in India in fact, everything is closed. It is a national holiday and even if you don’t know each other, you can go on splashing water without anyone being offended.”

For the Hindu calendar, New Year begins in March. This is one of their many festivals, but this one more specifically honors color, which is very important in Indian culture. It is a very communal festival as well. There was even a celebration on the USC campus that the informant participated in with her friends.

Historically, the idea of applying colors came with the concept that being more fair was more beautiful. Since then, as she said, it has expanded to more bright colors representing individual things in Indian culture.

The informant relayed this to me while we were re-shelving books in the stacks of Doheny Library at USC. She is one of my co-workers.

Personally, I feel as if the Holi Festival has spread into American culture through the forms of “color runs,” where people run a 10k while being pelted with color. I also have seen it in one of Coldplay’s music videos, so knowledge about it is spreading quickly.

I find it interesting how much it has changed from the “original” tradition, yet that the color aspect has carried through while evolving in its own way. It is also interesting how Indians outside of India are taking the festival with them where they go, preserving their culture and allowing people to see and often participate in it with them at the same time.

Hoya Hoye Festival

Nationality: Ethiopian and Greek
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Portland, Oregon
Performance Date: April 21, 2017
Primary Language: Amharic
Language: English, Spanish, and Attic Greek

“There is a festival in Ethiopia. It’s called “Hoya Hoye.” It’s in August, which is in neḥāsē. I forgot exactly what it’s about, but the big thing that we always do is like we have a huge bonfire in our front yard, so to speak, and you just kinda like chant with like sticks, which we call “dulas” and they’re like taller than you and your like “duh duh duh” and then, you’re like “Hoya hoye, yeena geatta.” It’s a religious festival because “yeena geatta” menas like kinda like “My Savior,” so you are like praising Jesus.”

The Hoya Hoye festival is widely renowned throughout Ethiopia. It is a festival that is both very participatory within your family, but also within the entire neighborhood. Even though the houses in Ethiopia are separated by gates, people come together in celebration by banging on their neighbors gates saying “Hoya hoye” or “Salem.” It is a simple way of saying hello during the festival in a friendly way that brings the community together to celebrate.

The informant compared it to the typical American celebration for the Fourth of July, where people will have a barbecue with a lot of their family and friends coming together to celebrate. However, instead of patriotism, it is religious. For both though, there is the sense of community and connection to your culture and the people within it.

The informant explained that she would never celebrate Hoya Hoye in Oregon, where she is from, because the community and appreciation is not there. However, she has been able to go the last couple of years to Ethiopia to experience this. She explained that it was a real honor to be present at that time.

The festival usually falls between August 10th and August 20th. For the informant, it has been difficult to make it back to Ethiopia because that is when the fall semester for school begins, but she still has managed to make time for it.

The informant relayed this to me while we were sitting on a bench on the USC campus.

I find it interesting that this festival does not necessarily cross boarders of Ethiopia. With other festivals, like the Indian Holi festival, the people of the culture have been bringing it with them wherever they go, actively continuing it.

For the informant, the Hoya Hoye festival was something that she would never feel comfortable doing outside of Ethiopia. In part, I think it has to do with the lack of people to participate in it in Oregon. I also think that her being a mostly passive bearer also plays a role into why she only feels completely comfortable performing it with others who maybe understand the meaning behind it more.

Om Jai Jagadish Hare

Nationality: Indian
Age: 52
Occupation: CPA
Residence: Glendale, CA
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

Om Jaye Jagdish Hare,

Swami Jaye Jagdish Hare

Bhagt Jano Ke Sankat,

Khshan Mein Dur Kare

Jo Dhaywe Phal Pave,

Dukh Vinshe Man Ka Sukh Sampati Ghar Aave,

Kasht Mite Tan Ka

Maat-Pita Tum Mere,

Sharan Gahun Kiskee Tum Bin Aur Na Duja,

Aas Karun Jiskee

Tum Puran Parmatma,

Tum Antaryami Par-Brahm Parmeshwar,

Tum Sabke Swami

Tum Karuna Ke Saagar,

Tum Palankarta Mein Moorakh Khal Kami,

Mein Sewak Tum Swami,

Kripa Karo Bharta

Tum Ho Ek Agochar,

Sabke Pran Pati Kis Vidhi Milun Dayamay,

Tumko Mein Kumti

Deenbandhu Dukh Harta,

Thakur Tum Mere Apne Hath Badao,

Apni Sharan Lagao,

Dwar Para Tere

Vishay Vikaar Mitao,

Paap Haro Deva Shradha Bhakti Barao,

Santan Ki Sewa

Tan Man Dhan,

Sab Hai Tera Tera Tujhko Arpan,

Kya Lage Mera

 

“Om Jai Jagadish Hare” is a well-known prayer in Indian culture. It is sung often, and most often on celebratory events, like Diwali. My maternal grandmother introduced my brothers and I to this prayer when we were very young. She gave us bells to sing, and it essentially translates to listing god’s praises, asking god to bless us, and offering god foods and gifts. It’s supposed to be a happy prayer, though. Both my maternal and paternal grandmother, however, enforced the idea that this prayer was important for us to learn, and it was interesting to see that this is a prayer that breaches most of the cultures within India. My maternal grandmother speaks Sindhi, and my paternal grandmother speaks Punjabi, which are different dialects in India, but both of them sing the “Om Jai Jagadish Hare” prayer in Hindi, the overarching language, as a unifying prayer. My dad and I were talking about the prayer recently, and he was testing me to see if I remembered the lyrics from my childhood, but I didn’t. It made me upset, because it’s a large part of my childhood, but not something my family personally practices often. He then tried to remember all of it, but it’s a long prayer/song, and he couldn’t either, so we looked up the words together.

High School Spirit week

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Investment Banker
Residence: Manhattan, New York
Performance Date: 4/6/2017
Primary Language: English

Informant:

Daniel is a first year analyst at a prominent Manhattan based investment bank. He grew up in Northern California from a predominantly irish background

Piece:

 

My high school took spirit week super seriously and every single person got super hyped for it and dressed up every day. It was awesome. The whole week culminated on thursday nights when we had the annual Rock N Jock tournament which was a game of basketball with modified rules. Each player on the court dressed as a different character and had different limitations and scoring potential. Like the granny had to only shoot underhand but got a 3 points no matter where she shot from. And the traveler could travel all he wanted, but had to carry a small piece of luggage with him and wasn’t allowed to shoot. Scuba diver had to wear a scuba mask, wetsuit, and flippers, but got 5 free throws if he ever got to the line. The most important character of all though was the flamingo who had to hop on one foot whenever he was on the offensive half of the court, but got 7 points if he made any shot, 3 if he hit the rim, and 1 for just hitting the backboard. The game essentially boiled down to boxing out so that the flamingo could take shots and try to get as many points as possible. It was the best part of spirit week for sure.

Collector’s thoughts:

Once again, the idea of multiplicity and variation arises. While the game of basketball has official and standardized rules, this adaptation of the famous game also has its own set of very specific rules and regulations. While this game might not be “official” it represents a great amount to the informant. This game was the essential part in determining the winner of spirit week.