Marriage Practices of Singaporean and Hindu Culture - Literature review Example

Marriage Practices of Singaporean and Hindu Culture Marriage Practices of Singaporean and Hindu Culture Worldwide, marriage is considered as an important event in human life, but the ritualistic and cultural differences deeply influence marriage practices. For instance, the Singaporean marriage practice is a visible example for the amalgamation of different cultures. Similarly, marriage practice within Hindu culture is related to the traditionalistic approach towards marriage. Still, both marriage practices share similar aspects of Asian culture in general because marriage is beyond the alliance between two individuals and extends to the context of families. But the caste system deeply influences the marriage practices within Hindu culture, and the Chinese culture deeply influences the marriage practices within Singaporean culture. In exploring the marriage practices of Singaporean and Hindu Culture, one will ascertain that multiculturalism transformed the marriage practices of Singaporean culture, but traditionalistic view on marriage still influences the marriage practices of Hindu Culture. The marriage practices of Singaporean culture are deeply influenced by the Singaporean society’s multiracial background. For instance, people related to Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian culture reside in Malaysia and most of them possess Singaporean citizenship. Besides, they differ in their cultural practices and religious beliefs and rituals. Still, this sort of difference does not hinder them from considering themselves as Singaporeans because they know that their nation is a melting pot, with unique cultural characteristics. From a different angle of view, Chinese culture deeply influences the Singaporean society and cultural characteristics. On the other side, the government is trying its level best to sustain religious harmony and racial equality. So, this sort of assimilation can be seen in the marriage practices of Singaporean culture. Generally, marriage leads the Singaporean couple towards nuclear families. The Singaporeans with Chinese origin follow certain strange marriage practices like conducting marriages of dead youngsters, generally known as ‘ghost marriage’. Topley (1955) stated that, “Marriages of deceased persons in order to cement a social bond between two families appear to have been more common in the earlier days of immigration and I have come across no recent cases” (p.30). But now, this practice is rare in the society because modernity transformed the belief system of the Chinese Singaporeans. Still, Chinese wedding traditions deeply influence the marriage practices of Singaporean culture. For instance, wedding practices of Confucianism is still influence the Chinese Singaporean marriage practices. Besides, inter-racial marriages and cross-cultural marriages between different racial groups and cultural groups gain popularity in the Singaporean culture. So, the marriage practices within the Singaporean culture are symbolic of assimilation and amalgamation of different cultural characteristics into the core of the mainstream society. Marriage practices of Hindu culture: Within Hindu culture, marriage is considered as the second stage of human life. To be specific, the concept of marriage in Hindu culture is based upon the strong belief that marriage cannot be limited within the union of individuals (say, male and female). Instead, marriage is generally regarded as the alliance between two families. Besides, marriage in Hindu culture is with moral and ethical importance. When a Hindu attains his youth, his parents will search for a suitable bride. Vishwanath (1917) stated that, “When Shantanu had grown into a fine youth his father, according to immemorial Hindu custom, prepared to relinquish a householder’s life and retire into the forests (vana prastha)” (p.31). To be specific, elder members (father, uncle etc) take decisions in Hindu families. But this is not an easy task because they need to consider a number of factors while choosing an apt bride or bridegroom for their son or daughter. One can see that parents or other elders arrange marriages for their youngsters. Within Hinduism, this practice is not considered as an intrusion into individual freedom because family possesses an important role in Hindu culture. Besides, marriage is treated an opportunity to develop a new family, consisting of the bride and the bride-groom. Still, the elders have the right to provide advices to the new family and the same is considered as their duty. The Hindu marriages are closely related to certain rituals and customs related to Hinduism. For instance, Hindus use Panchanga to fix suitable date and time (Vivah Muhurat) for marriages. In addition, most Hindus consider marriage as an event with spiritual and religious importance because the same is the union of two souls and bodies. So, one can see that the marriage practices of Hindu culture is related to orthodoxy and spirituality. Discussion: The cultural context of marriage practices in Singaporean culture is linked with the influence of colonization, immigration and traditionalistic view. For instance, the European colonization deeply influenced the Singaporean culture, with less influence on marriage practices. But the people are not yet ready to give up their traditional values like treating elders with due care and attention. On the other side, immigration from different parts of Asia (say, China, Malaysia, and India) deeply influenced the Singaporean culture. The modern Singaporean culture is a mixture of different cultural characteristics gained from different parts of Asia. One can see that Chinese Singaporeans are interested in preserving their culture, but never hinder the free flow of Singaporean culture. Topley (1956) stated that, “According to the Taoist priest in charge of the day’s activities Cantonese ghost marriages are still by no means rare Singapore and he has been engaged to perform them by people, mainly women, of various occupations and income” (p.71). Similarly, the Tamil Singaporeans who have roots in Indian culture try to preserve their culture, but this should not be misinterpreted as the competition among different religious sects to preserve their cultural characteristics. On the other side, the Malaysians who live in Singapore have similar culture. In short, the attempt to preserve cultural characteristics transforms the cultural context of marriage practices in Singaporean society. The marriage practices in Hindu culture are different because it provides more importance to social recognition and morality. For instance, divorce is a rare phenomenon in Hinduism because duty mindedness towards one’s family hinders wives from taking independent decisions. Still, most of the domestic problems are solved by elders because they are responsible for the smooth functioning of the family. On the other side, divorce is not a rare phenomenon in the Singaporean society. Swee-Hock (2007) stated that, “It is also common to view a high divorce rate in a society like Singapore as a sign of diminishing family stability and weakening Asian cultural and social values” (p.127). For instance, there are laws to protect women from domestic violence and related problems. Besides, the government provides ample importance to the problems faced womenfolk within their domestic circles. In Hindu culture, priority is given to the wellbeing of the family as a whole and all the members are expected to be loyal to their family. Sarma (1993) opined that, “Before establishing a matrimonial relation, one must assure oneself that there is no blood relationship between the bride’s and the bridegroom’s family” (p.3). This unique structure of the division of power safeguards the family from external problems. In short, marriage practices are different in Singaporean and Hindu cultures because the former is mixture of different cultures and the latter is a watertight compartment of orthodoxy. Summing, the marriage practices of Singaporean and Hindu culture are similar is some aspects related to Asian values, but differ in multicultural and traditionalistic views on the same. Besides, the marriage practices of Singaporean culture can be considered as innovative because it provides enough scope for modernity. On the other side, the marriage practices of Hindu culture are related to the core aspects of Hinduism. In short, Singaporean culture provides importance to amalgamation and Hindu culture is not yet ready to give up its orthodoxy. Besides, Singaporean culture is ready to accept differences, Hindu culture focuses upon traditional values, and it is evident in the difference in approach towards marriage practices in general. References Sarma, Bhaiyaram. The Vivaha, the Hindu Marriage Samskaras. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 1993. Print. Swee-Hock, Saw. The Population of Singapore: (2nd Edition). N.p.: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2007. Print. Topley, M. (1956). Ghost Marriages among the Singapore Chinese: A Further Note. Man 56. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2794330 Topley, M. (1955). Ghost Marriages among the Singapore Chinese. Man, 55. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2794516 Vishwanath, P. (1917). Ancient Royal Hindu Marriage Customs. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 47. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2843411 Read More