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Flip to reveal answersName the five festivals the guide lists for Hinduism.
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All 10 Flashcards — Festivals, gender and society
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Question
Name the five festivals the guide lists for Hinduism.
Answer
Holi, Vaisakhi, Navaratri, Dasara and Divali — with regional, family and caste variations in all of them.
Question
Why do Hindu festival dates move against the civil calendar?
Answer
The calendar is luni-solar: months follow the moon and an extra month is added periodically to keep the year in step with the seasons.
Question
What is Navaratri, and why is it a good example of variation?
Answer
Nine nights devoted to the Goddess in her forms. It is observed very differently across India — as fasting and worship, as garba dancing, or as displays of figures.
Question
Why does Dasara carry two narratives?
Answer
The same day marks Rama's defeat of Ravana in much of the north and Durga's victory in parts of the east and south.
Question
Give two ways Hindu ritual gives women a leading role.
Answer
Domestic puja is very often led by women, and there are major female deities and female gurus leading modern movements.
Question
Give two restrictions the guide notes on women in Hindu ritual.
Answer
Samskaras exist for both sexes but with more emphasis on males, and upanayana has traditionally been for boys of the higher varnas.
Question
Name the four varnas.
Answer
Brahmins (priests and teachers), kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), vaishyas (merchants and farmers), shudras (servants and labourers).
Question
Distinguish varna from jati.
Answer
Varna is the classical fourfold ordering discussed in the texts; jati is the far more numerous actual birth community a person belongs to.
Question
Why use the word Dalit?
Answer
Because it means "oppressed" and is the name the communities historically treated as untouchable use of themselves. "Untouchable" names a treatment, not a people.
Question
How does the guide describe caste in India today?
Answer
As controversial within Hindu society, illegal as a form of discrimination, but in its own words "none-the-less habitual".
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Full study notes for Festivals, gender and society
Topic 2.1 hub
Rituals
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