Cultural Anthropology: An Analysis of a Hindu Marriage Ceremony

This assignment provides an analysis of a Hindu marriage ceremony, approached from a cultural anthropology perspective. The student, who is also a part-time employee and a cultural anthropology student, attended the ceremony of a colleague and uses this experience to examine the rituals, customs, and cultural significance of Hindu weddings. The paper discusses the student's access to the event, ethical considerations regarding the study, and the feasibility of conducting research within the context of the ceremony. The student also highlights the potential for gaining insights into various aspects of Hindu society, such as the roles of family, women, and the importance of marriage. The assignment emphasizes the student's interest in cultural anthropology and the opportunities for learning about different cultures and customs.

Running head: CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

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Marriage, in many cultures, is taken as an important part of the life and the beginning of a
family is considered auspicious in many religions and customs. Marriage in hindu religion is
considered an important part of a person’s life, harmonizing two individuals for an ultimat
eternity so that they can pursue dharma (truth), artha (meaning) and Kama
(physical desires) (Takhar, 2014). The ceremony taken in the respective assignment is a
“hindu marriage ceremony”. A hindu marriage ceremony or a hindu wedding is characterized
by its colorfulness and unique celebrations that stay up to several days. The bride and the
groom’s houses are decorated with beautiful flowers and people gather together to carry out
sumptious feasts which exhibits the togetherness of the Indian culture and the eastern
civilization (Salamone, 2019). The hindu marriage ceremony that I have attended is the
marriage function of my colleague who works with me as a sandwich artist at Subway.
Access to the community or ritual
Since the hindu marriage ceremony is of my colleague who is a hindu, therefore, i have
accesss to the hindu marriage ritual. Often, the Indian hindus, in their marriage ceremony,
invites their relatives, friends and colleagues. It is a form of mannerism to show affection
towards them and make them understand that they are important to them. The people invited
in the marriage ceremony often indulge themselves in merry making and festivities (Van de
Velde, 2013). A hindu marriage ceremony or a hindu wedding is characterized by its
colorfulness and unique celebrations that stay up to several days. The bride and the groom’s
houses are decorated with beautiful flowers and people gather together to carry out sumptious
feasts which exhibits the togetherness of the Indian culture and the eastern civilization. Since
i am the colleague of the person who is going to get married, i have access to the ritual. As a
guest, i have access to the food, drink and beverages that are served in the hindu wedding
apart from the gifts and other fun and frolic activities that are carried out in the ceremony.
The guests who are invited in the marriage ceremony are treated well as they are provided

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with a lot of food, festivities, clothes and jewellery. When i went to the marriage ceremony
that typically lasts for several days, i have been provided with the most delicious sweets and
buttermilk which are the traditional cuisines of the Indian hindus.
Is there enough time to study the event?
Before beginning to answer the question, i should introduce myself first. I work as a
sandwich artist at Subway apart from my studies. This is a part time job where i am enrolled
into and i find my life to be pretty interesting with part time job and a degree course in
cultural anthropology. Apart from my work and studies, i have a lot of time with me which i
spend by reading different types of books to gain knowledge from various fields. The core
area of my interest is to learn different cultures and religions all over the world. I am also a
caregiver to my parents. I think that i have got enough time to study the event of “Hindu
marriage ceremony” where i have been invited. Since childhood, i have had the desire to
learn more about different culture and customs across the world. That was the main reason
that i took cultural anthropology as my academic subject to pursue after my schooling. I
believe that i have enough time to study the event as i can study about it properly by carrying
out researches with the help of internet and other books from the libraries and information
centers.
Is it ethical to perform the studies in space?
Cultural anthropology is the branch of anthropology that is concerned with the study of
human societies, their cultures and their cultural developments (Rapport, 2014). It is the study
of cultural variations among the different communities of the human civilization and the
reasons behind such variations or similarities. Cultural anthropology has become an
important discipline of social science that needs to be promoted and propagated in every
schools, colleges and universities. I believe that it is completely ethical to perform a study

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about the respective event “Hindu marriage ceremony” for me partly because i am a student
of social science and partly because i have a keen interest in cultural anthropology as well.
Anthropology is important for the well being of the society because it tries to understand the
human nature and its evolutionary characteristics to determine what is favorable and what is
not for the current and the futuristic human society (Kottak, 2015). So, i personally believe
that it is completely ethical from my part to study about the whole hindu marriage ceremony
where i have been invited to. Apart from being a guest and a friend of the groom, i can carry
out my own researches about the different customs and rituals that the hindus follow in their
marriage ceremony to understand the hindu society better. Through the active research, i
would be able to understand the liberalism and conservativeness of hindus, the position of
women in the hindu society, the importance/ unimportance of marriage among the hindus and
the significance of family and togetherness in the hindu society.
Can i get the permission to observe the event?
I believe that the colleague (the groom of the hindu marriage) is a good friend of mine and he
will cooperate with me if i ask him permission to observe the whole event and take interviews
of some of the people in the ceremony to understand the dynamics of the ceremony better. I
believe that, as my colleague knows that i am a student of cultural anthropology apart from
being a part time employee at Subway, and also about my passion to learn new subjects and
aspects related to anthropology, i am confident that he would definitely allow me to carry out
my investigation, research and survey in the ceremony apart from being an active guest.

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References:
Kottak, C. P. (2015). Cultural anthropology: Appreciating cultural diversity. McGraw-Hill
Education.
Rapport, N. (2014). Social and cultural anthropology: The key concepts. Routledge.
Salamone, F. A. (2019). Routledge encyclopedia of religious rites, rituals and festivals.
Routledge.
Takhar, S. (2014). Hidden desires: Hinduism and sexuality. In Queering religion, religious
queers (pp. 267-284). Routledge.
Van de Velde, T. H. (2013). Ideal marriage: Its physiology and technique. Butterworth-
Heinemann.