Beliefs in the North and South - Regional Variations

Discussion in 'Madhya Pradesh' started by satchitananda, Jul 26, 2012.

  1. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    [JUSTIFY]Was watching a serial today. Not that there was anything I had not seen before. But one point struck me and that led to a string of thoughts.

    There was a scene in which the bride on the day of her wedding drops her sindoor ka dabba. She is very upset as she considers it as Apashagun (ill omen). It reminded me of a time when I was at home and I dropped one dabba of kumkum and was very upset that my mom would get annoyed me for having created a mess. My aunt who was there comforted me saying that if one spills kumkum, it means there is going to be a wedding in the family. I don't know how true this is, but for certain the contrast between beliefs in the north and south struck me rather starkly.

    That line of thought led me to another - in the South, Karthik swamy is considered to be married and Ganesha is single. In Maharashtra, on the other hand, Karthik Swamy is single (women are not allowed to enter his temple on Parvati hill in Pune) and Ganesha has two wives - Riddhi and Siddhi.

    It would be really nice if we could discuss different beliefs here. It is nice to know the different traditions and culture in different parts of our country, given the diversity in which it can be considered to be almost a continent in itself.[/JUSTIFY]
     
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  2. BandanaSen

    BandanaSen Bronze IL'ite

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    Dear Satchitananda,
    Thanks for starting this nice thread.
    I am a Bengali settled in New Delhi. To the best of my knowledge, in Bengal too, Ganesha is considered married. In fact Lord Ganesha is considered married to the Banana tree. During Durga Puja it is mandatory to place a young banana tree near the Ganesha idol. A white saree with red border is wrapped around the banana plant. This is the Kola-bou or banana wife. This is one reason why banana is considered an auspicious fruit and used in almost every puja.
    Lord Kartik is considered the senapati or the commander of the army. He is unmarried.
     
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  3. sushmasrivastav

    sushmasrivastav Bronze IL'ite

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    Hi Bandana
    It is true that in Durga puja pandals in New Delhi I have very often seen "something" wrapped in a saree with red border near the Ganesha idol. On asking, I have been told that it is the Kola-Bou. Thanks for enlightening me with the story.
    Yes, banana is considered an important fruit for all religious ceremonies. In fact, I attended a marriage of a couple from Kerala. The bride was weighed in bananas.
     
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  4. Mriduala22

    Mriduala22 New IL'ite

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    Hi
    Well, India is a land of diversity. Different communities have their own traditions. Even the dialect of a language has a variation every thousand kilometres or so.
    I would like to contribute to this. In Tamil Nadu, it is common for girls to get married to their maternal uncles. Infact it is considered shubh. This totally taboo all over North India and large part of Eastern India.
    Didn't I tell you that India is a country of diversities?
     
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  5. soumya234

    soumya234 Platinum IL'ite

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    Hi Satchi never knew Ganesha had 2 wives.Interesting:).I don't know much about North/South beliefs but I heard a interesting thing @ Hanuman. In Thai Ramayan, Hanuman has a lot of girlfriends:rotfland falls in love too:)
     
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  6. Shanvy

    Shanvy IL Hall of Fame

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    satchi,

    this should go to the general discussions...let us hope helen moves it..

    coming to the kumkum, even in tn, there are different sects that think differently..to be precise i have heard Tb say it is very auspiscious,(kalyanam/good news) while others feel it is bad.

    I am told that the breaking of mirror is bad luck, while i also remember one lady who used to work (tribal) say it was luck..

    it is more like the story of the cat in the sack i suppose.

    And mahabharatha,ramayan and other mythological stories have different variations in different region, and i assume it could be because it was orally told and many details got added and subtracted in the process.

    Even in south, the banana is considered a bride and peepul is the bridegroom??
    .
     
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  7. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Bandana,

    that is really interesting to know. Bengali customs also sound very interesting. I find them interesting because this is one place where female deities are given so much importance and respect. :)
     
  8. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Yes, Mridula, that is what makes India so interesting. Is marriage within the close family totally taboo in North India?
     
  9. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Soumya,

    just in lighter vein, I had heard a joke saying Lord Ganesha who was single in the South was travelling to Mumbai on the Dadar-Chennai express. He was pretty impressed with the beauty of Maharashtrian women and so he got himself two wives. But yes, I do wonder how there are so many versions of the same mythological and religious figures, like Shanvy says, sometimes within the same region.
     
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  10. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Shanvy,

    The bit about the mirror is news to me. I had always thought a cracked mirror was an ill omen. Well, this bears out the statement - Indian culture is a very diverse one and one lifetime is barely enough to figure out the various beliefs that make the rounds of the country.
     

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