Erika Gilroy, Department of Anthropology

Introduction

Social changes currently taking place in India are primarily a result of the Indian government’s efforts to promote technological industries, introduce family planning programs, and provide greater educational opportunities to a larger number of its people. The major effects of these reforms are the movement of an increasing number of Indians from villages to cities in order to find employment, the shift from a dominantly agricultural society to one of urban industry, and the increasing number of Indians who seek, and for the first time are given, the opportunity for an education. While such reforms may be changing many of the outward aspects of Indian life, they have not disrupted the traditional cultural practices of the Indian home. Government and economic reforms continue to advance in India without disrupting the traditional social order-primarily because Indian women find ways to participate in modern institutions without throwing time-honored traditions and domestic roles to the wind. The traditional domestic roles and practices willingly performed today by urban Indian women serve as a constant, or stabilizing force, for a traditional country that is pushing its way into the developed world.

This study focuses on the roles and practices of Indian women because they are the ones who have the most to reconcile between traditional and modern society. For the first time in their history, Indian women may attend schools and universities, achieve professional positions, and hold political offices. Most middle class, urban women are now expected to be educated, proficient in English, and trained for a profession; however, they are also expected to be home-loving, adept at cooking, and capable of performing all household and child-related chores. I have selected five aspects of domestic life which I feel demonstrate how women’s roles maintain traditions amidst change. These areas include; women’s clothing, food, chores, superstitions, and marriage rituals. My observations were gathered in a middle-class neighborhood in Coimbatore, one of Southern India’s rapidly growing industrial cities. The results of my research have been prepared and presented as an Honors thesis to Brigham Young University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with University Honors.

Dress

The fact that many Indian women who hold prominent positions in business or politics continue to wear the traditional Indian saree is a reflection of their commitment to tradition as well as to change. The differences between men’s and women’s grooming styles in India is important because of the messages they convey to society. Men’s clothes are marked by straight, bold lines. An ironed, buttoned up, collared shirt presents to the eye a dozen or more straight lines which are continued by either slacks or the skirt-like lung/. Men’s clothes are often dark or neutral in color and bold in pattern. These features are essentially masculine and communicate authority, directness, forcefulness, and strength (Horn 1981:164). However, a wrapped saree presents to the eye a combination of off-set, or angled lines, mixed with pleats and folds which cause the saree to flow as a woman walks. Saree material is very pliable, usually sheer, and often decorated with small patterns or details. All of these features symbolically communicate delicacy, gentleness, and submissiveness (Horn 1981: 165). These characteristics define the respectable Indian woman. In India, a woman with a Ph.D. and a professional career would not contradict the traditional social order as much as would a woman who refused to wear a saree. The commitment to tradition which women convey through their dress helps to maintain intrinsic cultural values In a society which Is slowly moving from an ancient way of life to a more modern one.

Domestic Chores

Although it is becoming more common to see women working in the public sphere, men are not as easily allowed into the woman’s realm within the home. While many Indian women now take jobs outside their home in order to afford the high cost of urban living, their primary role is still that of homemaker. In Indian culture a woman undergoes a series of transformations in her lifetime: from daughter to wife to mother. Moving from one role to the next is marked by significant changes in personal power and status. When marrying into her husband’s family a woman is expected to adapt her tastes and preferences to those of her husband. Her influence in the home is negligible. Yet with time and through the bearing of children she becomes the senior matriarch In the home and her influence is then quite significant. Indian men are often quite unfamiliar with the kitchen, most domestic chores, and child care. If extra help is needed in the home, it is much more common for a servant to be hired to prepare meals or wash laundry than to have the husband pitch in. Even in an urban setting where many women work full time, they still judge themselves and are judged by those around them according to their capabilities in performing domestic chores.

Food

In India, food serves a variety of different social and symbolic purposes, such as signaling the acceptance of an individual into the community, defining social roles within the home, and building relationships among those who are eating together. While not usually recognized for the symbolic power it carries, food is one of the most enduring transmitters of cultural values. Food preparation in India is a reflection of a woman’s capabilities and concern for her domestic role. The types of meals I was served by families in Coimbatore were an indication of my relationship with the matriarch of the home. If I had been Invited to eat but had not previously met the woman of the house, I would be fed an elaborate feast with meat dishes. If I was somewhat familiar with the woman, I could expect a fine meal with a smaller assortment of dishes. In homes where I had eaten many times, and had a close relationship with the matriarch, extra dishes were not prepared: I would eat what was normally prepared for the family. It became apparent that if I were a stranger to the family, the woman felt more pressure to assure me through her cooking that she was a “fine Indian lady.” The preparing and serving of food is still one of the most common ways for a woman to show respect and deference to her family and guests, and to perpetuate the ancient customs and values of her culture.

Superstitions

Indians understand their world through a relatively complex ordering of what is pure and what is defiled. Tyler (1973:78) writes that Impermanent pollution (differing from the permanent pollution associated with one’s caste) “arises from the normal functions of everyday life and can be removed by purification.” Many of the superstitions I became familiar with through my research fall into a structured pattern of rules regarding domestic practices. For example, there are criteria for leaving or entering one’s house, or for divining the consequences of what has come in or out of one’s house. The belief and perpetuation of these superstitions tie Indians to the past and are a manifestation of the ancient traditions which carry over to an increasingly non-traditional society. While some of these beliefs appear to be common sense, others are impossible to understand without considering the role the beliefs collectively fill in their attempt to order, or purify, an essentially unordered, or dirty, world (Douglas 1966: 2). Superstitions are an integral part of maintaining an “Indian” world view despite the bombardment of modern or Western ideas and philosophies.

Arranged Marriages

Marriages in India are less the coming together of a man and a woman who love each other and are more an alliance between two families who hope to fortify their social position through the union of their children. The way a marriage is arranged and carried out is a reflection of the importance of the joint family tradition, even among families who have lived in urban, nuclear family settings for a generation or more. Arranged marriages establish and maintain traditional domestic roles more powerfully than any other social practice.

The joint family system is maintained in theory when parents arrange the marriage of their children, even though few urban families actually live together as a joint family. Many thousand-year-old customs are kept alive by the arranging of marriages. The practice of using horoscopes to ensure a compatible wedding match enforces the belief that one can control or predict the events of one’s life by an appeal to the stars. The practice of completing a dowry is reflective of old customs and values and is maintained for the security the traditions bring into a modern society, despite the fact that the practice is now illegal. Because many parts of the urban marriage ritual are more symbolic than functional, every marriage union reestablishes the importance of the ancient values in this culture.

Conclusion

Traditional roles and beliefs are not being forgotten in India, despite the many modern reforms that have been implemented by the Indian government in the last few decades. Although many areas of India are no longer traditional agrarian, joint family settings, Indian culture still thrives in industrial, urban, nuclear family settings. The balance between old and new worlds is primarily sustained by women who maintain traditional domestic roles while exploring new educational and professional opportunities. By wearing the traditional Indian dress, preparing and serving food in the traditional way, managing all of the domestic chores, adhering to local folklore and superstitions, and following marriage ritual traditions, Indian women maintain ancient cultural practices in the midst of a rapidly changing society. These domestic practices demonstrate how, despite modernizing reforms, traditional Indian customs and beliefs will always be a part of the culture.

References

• Baker, Hugh D. R. 1979 Chinese Family and Kinship. Columbia University Press, New York.
• Douglas, Mary. 1966 Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, New York.
• Douglas, Mary (editor). 1984 Food in the Social Order: Studies of Food and Festivities in Three American Communities. Russell Sage Foundation, New York.
• Horn, Marilyn. 1981 The Second Skin: An Interdisciplinary Study of Cloth! ng. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
• Ramu, G. N. 1991 “Changing Family Structure and Fertility Patterns: An Indian Case.” Journal of Asian and African Studies. 26 (3/4): 189-206.
• Tyler, Stephen. 1973 India: An Anthropological Perspective. Waveland Press, Inc., Illinois.