Tag Archives: diwali

Text:

On recounting familial traditions, my brother illuminated a practice our grandfather adheres to during Diwali, the quintessential festival of lights in Northern India. Amidst the festivities, a peculiar custom is observed: the search for lizards on the exterior walls of the home. These creatures, typically mundane and unnoticed, are sought after on Diwali night as harbingers of good fortune and wealth.

Context:

This ritual, as my brother narrates, unfolds each year without fail, where our grandfather would lead us on an expedition to discover lizards clambering on the walls. The belief holds that spotting these reptiles during the luminous celebration signifies impending prosperity. Intriguingly, this auspicious omen is exclusively tied to Diwali night — it is as though the lizards emerge from their concealment solely for this event, or perhaps our perception of their presence is heightened by the belief’s gravity. On all other nights, these lizards retreat into obscurity, going unnoticed by my brother and the rest of the family.

Analysis:

The practice of seeking lizards on Diwali night can be classified as a folk belief, deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric of the celebration. It’s a manifestation of the principle of sympathetic magic, particularly homeopathic, wherein the appearance of a creature is symbolically linked to prosperity. Just as Frazer discussed the symbolic use of objects in rituals to influence outcomes, the spotting of lizards is a physical representation of welcoming abundance. In Larry Danielson’s exploration of religious folklore, he notes that such traditions often emerge within communities, not through institutional decree but via the organic spread among individuals — a sentiment that resonates with our grandfather’s personal endorsement of this custom. The lizards’ nocturnal visibility on Diwali may be seen as a confluence of belief and tradition, where the collective spirit and heightened energies of the festival could cast everyday occurrences in a mystical light. The specificity of the timing underscores the contextual significance of the belief — it is not the lizards themselves but their association with the festival that carries weight. This belief, ephemeral as the festival itself, is a reflection of hope and the human tendency to seek signs of future prosperity in the world around us, an embodiment of collective optimism that momentarily transforms the mundane into the auspicious.

Story of Diwali

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/26
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

Background: The informant (A) is the 20 year old daughter of two Indian immigrants. She has lived in the US her whole life but visits relatives India with her family often and celebrates many Indian holidays in the US with Indian friends and family in her area.

A: Basically Ram’s wife gets kidnapped by Ravan, and then Ram crosses an ocean to reach her in Lanka, and in Lanka he kills Ram and is able to take Sita back home. So that’s like… the day of Diwali. It’s in like October usually I think?

Me: What do you guys do on Diwali?

A: We light a lot of um… tea lights? These little lights called “diyas”. It’s technically 5 days long but on the actual like….main day we put on Indian clothes and have like…a big family dinner. And we worship the goddess Lakshmi.

Me: Why do you worship Lakshmi?

A: She’s the goddess of wealth….I don’t know really know why but we just worship her on Diwali because she just symbolizes wealth and prosperity. And also we clean the house and make it really spotless…Lakshmi’s supposed to come and bless your house once it’s clean. That’s why you light all the candles too, for her.

Context: This story was told to me over a recorded FaceTime call.

Analysis: The informant grew up in America rather than in India itself where Diwali is a national holiday that everybody celebrates and is involved in. So, I assume there are parts of this celebration that are changed when celebrating away from the mother country. She wasn’t entirely certain about specifics of the origin story, traditions, and parts of the religion, as she isn’t a particularly religious person. This story and her celebrations not only demonstrate the concept of Diwali in the context of India, but also the experience of a first generation immigrant. Aspects of the culture evolve to accommodate the fact that they no longer reside in a community where not everyone celebrates the same holidays and some items may not be available in their location. These myths and stories are not simply known by everyone around them, they are known and told by the immigrants themselves (in the informant’s case, her parents). This changes the significance and meaning as the informant grew up surrounded by others who did not know the same stories or have the same beliefs.

Diwali

Nationality: Hindu/West Bengali
Age: Early 50s
Occupation: Nutritionist
Residence: South Florida
Performance Date: March 17, 2019
Primary Language: English

Context:

The informant – RB – is a middle-aged Hindu woman, originally from West Bengal, India. She now works as a nutritionist in South Florida, and is one of my mother’s closest friends. The following happened during a conversation in which I asked her to tell me about some of her favorite Indian folklore, particularly about holidays and celebrations.

Piece:

Diwali is called the Festival of Lights. This is kind of associated with on of our mythologies, which is Ramayana, where Rama, who is a prince, was sent to exile for fourteen years. Rama’s father was a king, married three times. By rule, what happens is the eldest son is successor to the throne. But, what happened was, the middle wife goes to the king, who in the past helped him a couple of times, and the king had said, “I want to grant you two wishes, since you took such good care of me.”

And she said, “I don’t need anything now, but when the time comes, I’ll ask you for my wishes.”

So when her children grew up, she went to the king and said, “Now you have to grant me my two wishes.”

So the king goes, “Okay, tell me what you want me to do.”

She says, “I want you to send your oldest son to exile for fourteen years, and I want you to make my son the king.”

The king was very upset, he’s like, “That is unheard of – you cannot do that.”

But she says, “You said you would grant me two wishes, those are the only two wishes I have.”

And the oldest son, who was very respectful of his father, says, “You know what? If that’s what you had promised her, I don’t mind. I’ll go into exile for fourteen years, and I’ll come back after that.”

So he goes into exile, and there are a whole bunch of stories about what happens when he’s away. But, the day that he comes back to his kingdom after being in exile, the whole country was lit up with diyas to welcome him back, since he was such a good person. And that’s the day we also – since it was believed that, when he comes back to the kingdom, there will be wealth and prosperity – worship the goddess of wealth, since it is believed that, on Diwali, that is the day that wealth and prosperity will come to your house.

So you will see all Hindu households light candles, exchange sweets, exchange gifts and clothes: it is a huge time of celebration. There is one thing we also do, and it is kind of related to your Halloween. We also light a lot of fireworks that day, because we say we are scaring away the evil with the fireworks; and we are welcoming the good by welcoming the candles and the diyas.

 

(Later, after asking about the religious nature of the holidays)

 

RB: We call it religious, but they are more social religious than just religious, because it all involves inviting people, having dinners, lunches, dressing up, having music and dances. There’s a lot of culture that is associated with these festivals, so it is not that you’re just in the temple, reciting hymns or chanting. That is a very small part. It’s all about dressing up, looking good, and eating food. That is how we keep in touch with each other. At these festivals, at these religious ceremonies as we call it, we go visit each other. We keep in touch with each other and socialize with each other. I think we use it more for socializing and less for religion, which is how it should be.

One thing I want to clarify is that Hinduism is not a religion. It is mostly a way of life. And that is why you can’t be converted to Hinduism: because, either you are born one or you’re not. And if you are born one, you are taught the way of life since you’re born. But, you can still marry into it. We do not require people to change their religion when you marry, because we just think that when you come to a Hindu household, you will learn the way of life. Hinduism does not require that you go to a temple everyday, or pray everyday. They just teach us that everything should be a part of your life: that you clean your house and take care of each other, etc.

 

Analysis:

It was very interesting to hear how RB views Hinduism – not as much of as a religion, but more as a culture and lifestyle. Hearing the mythologies of these holidays with this context explains why there is seemingly more variation in the ways people tell these stories. It seems as though Hindus really value large social gatherings, and will use religious holidays as excuses to throw large social celebrations. It seems that the point of many religious occasions is much more social than it is religious. I feel that this is likely the result of a seemingly much more inclusive and accepting religion, that values socializing and lifestyle over religious and social boundaries.

Diwali

Nationality: Indian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: India
Performance Date: 3/10/2019
Primary Language: Gujarathi
Language: English

“Diwali, the festival of light as we call it in India, is one of the most renowned festivals in the Indian culture. Diwali is a symbolic victory of light over darkness and to celebrate this my family surrounds our house with lamps to honor the light present in our lives which has guided us to where we are. The fun part of the festival is the fireworks. We celebrate Diwali with a lot of fireworks and decorate our house with new things. Diwali is more than a mere festival for us because it signifies a renewal and letting go of the past and welcoming the future with hope.”

 

This particular interlocutor has celebrated Diwali his entire life, and he mentioned that he remembers celebrating Diwali throughout his childhood. Because of its popularity throughout the entirety of India, it was hard for him not to acknowledge its presence, not that he would want to. He stated that this is one of his favorite holidays because of the grand celebratory acts and the happy disposition of the general public in his community. This is also a time in which one is able to reflect and project their wishes for the future, something he does with the utmost sincerity and unwavering faith.

When light prevails over darkness, in most cases, people generally rejoice in its victory. The Diwali festival utilizes this light and joy to celebrate how good is much more powerful than evil. The various lights, especially through the many lamps, represent this victory while also providing hope for those who feel they are consumed by darkness. One who is immersed in so many lights would not be able to sulk in their troubles for very long. The lights also serve to guide, as the interlocutor mentioned, leading people toward a stronger and better path while also redirecting those who are astray. In this sense, the myriad lights protect, uplift, and guide. The fireworks also contribute to this uplifting as well, symbolizing the pockets of kinetic joy that surprises all humans. Though their duration is limited to mere seconds, they bring about lasting joy that is unforgettable. By way of this, Indian culture is revealed to prize moments of exultation in the midst of darkness; this also illustrates the incredible resilience that is present in Indian culture.

Bandi Chhor Divas- A Sikh Holiday

Nationality: Indian American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Performance Date: April 24, 2017
Primary Language: English

Informant is a USC student from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her family practices Sikhism, one of the major religions of India that is practiced primarily in the Punjab region in the Northwestern part of the continent. This holiday is one of the main reasons that the Sikhs celebrate the larger Indian celebration of Diwali.

What’s the story behind the holiday?

“This is the reason why Sikhs celebrate Diwali. So basically, a long time ago, the Muslims put 52 Hindu princes, into a prison because they would not convert to Islam. So, Guru Har Gobind, 6th of the 10 major Sikh gurus, went to the Muslim emperor and asked him to release the princes from captivity. The emperor agreed on the condition that only those who could hold onto the guru’s clothing as he walked out would be set free. The guru, being very wise, attached 52 threads to his clothing so that each of the princes could hold on and be set free. The holiday was established as part of the Diwali tradition to celebrate the freeing of the princes.”

How is this holiday celebrated?

“It’s a festival of lights just like Diwali. The temples are all lit up and people leave candles all over their houses, as a way to direct the princes back home. People at home will pray and set up shimmering lights, and it’s an important time for prayer and being with family. At larger festivals, people will shoot fireworks and hang lights everywhere.”

 

Collector’s Comments:

I had known before that Diwali was a very large holiday in India, but I did not realize that the different religious groups had different reasons for celebrating the same holiday. This story is interesting because it involves multiple religions of the Indian continent, showing that these religions are aware of the other belief systems around them, and that the associations are political as well as spiritual.