1. Biggest Religions and Cultures
1.1. Hinduism - is a religion and dharma regarding the way of life. It consists of fundamental principles such as the Vedas, Castes, Moksha(the goal of an individual soul), and Karma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EICcU9oN-s
1.1.1. Vedas - most ancient Hindu scriptures that contain sacred hymns, philosophies, guidance on rituals for priests. It also contain concepts about the Universe, planets, and advanced mathematics.
1.1.1.1. Rig
1.1.1.2. Yajur
1.1.1.3. Sama
1.1.1.4. Atharva
1.1.2. Castes - a system introduced in Hindu culture which follows the ideas that every individual holds a place in their society.
1.1.2.1. Brahmins
1.1.2.1.1. The Priests: responsible for imparting and maintaining sacred knowledge.
1.1.2.2. Kshatriyas
1.1.2.2.1. Warriors and Monarchy
1.1.2.3. Vaisyas
1.1.2.3.1. Farmers and Merchants.
1.1.2.4. Shudras
1.1.2.4.1. Servants and Sharecroppers
1.1.3. Moksha and Karma
1.1.3.1. Moksha
1.1.3.1.1. Moksha is the end of death and rebirth cycle. This is the goal of every hindu: to attain Moksha.
1.1.3.2. Karma
1.1.3.2.1. Karma is a concept which illustrates that benefits effects and harmful effects are a result from past actions carried out in a soul's past life.
1.1.4. Present-Day Applications
1.1.4.1. Ayurveda
1.1.4.1.1. The Vedas behold knowledge which encompasses medical techniques as well. Ayurveda is believed to be the oldest and most holistic whole-body healing system which stems from the Vedas. It's philosophy is predicated on eating minimally processed food and to follow Ayurvedic diet and medicines properly. It has been so effective at the point that it has relieved some symptoms of deadly diseases such as cancer. In 2013, over 240,000 American adults had utilized Ayurvedic medicine and its influence has only been on the rise ever since.
1.1.4.2. Astrology
1.1.4.2.1. Astrology is another concept which was introduced in the Vedas. It is the study of planets in motion, birth charts, and synastry. It's science streches beyond the physical. Modern Astrology had been founded by William Allan
1.1.4.3. Yoga
1.1.4.3.1. Yoga is not only spiritual but rather an aesthetic discipline of Hinduism that stems from the Vedas. Today, 36 million Americans practice yoga and the Yoga industry earns 80 billion dollars in revenue worldwide.
1.2. Islam is the religion of the Muslism who's ideas are predicated from Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgP_OSOS3IA
1.2.1. Quran - central text of Islam, accepted by Muslims to be a divine revelation. It is broadly viewed as the best work in traditional Arabic writing and is organized into 114 sections or suras.
1.2.2. Traditions
1.2.2.1. Every day, muslims do the five-time daily prayer while facing to the city of Mecca.
1.2.2.2. There is an annual holiday known as Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which entails a month of prayer, reflection, and most importantly fasting.
1.2.2.3. The Hajj - an annual islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims. It is a mandatory religious duty for the people of the Islamic religion that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime.
1.2.3. Present-day Implications
1.2.3.1. Politics
1.2.3.1.1. Islam had been the driving force of monarchy, trade, etc. in the Sub-Saharan Region. It's popularity has grown at an immense rate. There are over 1.2 billion Muslims or approximately one quarter of the world. In the U.S., the muslim populations now outnumbers the Episcopalians.
1.2.3.2. Language and Mathematics
1.2.3.2.1. As Arabic ideas had spread across Europe, it's language had grown as well. In modern English, words such as "admiral" had developed from "amir-ar-ahl", meaning chief of transport. In Mathematics, al-Khwarazmi had come to be known as the "Arabic numberals". He authored many books which include concepts such as quadratic equations, etc. The word "algebra" is also derived from the Arabic origins from the word al-jabr, which means to restore or complete.
1.2.3.3. Medicine
1.2.3.3.1. Ibn Sina, a persian scholar had authored "The Canon of Medicine" which described how to properly quarantine and testing new medicine. Hospials were developed during the Islamic Golden Ages as well.
1.3. Sikhism - was established by Guru Nanak around 500 years ago in a an area called Punjab and based upon the teachings of Guru Nanak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=925fZ4WKISo
1.3.1. GOD
1.3.1.1. Sikhs believe that there is one god, known as the Wahegru, who created everything. This is symbolized by the symbol Ik Onkar.
1.3.2. Adi Granth
1.3.2.1. The Adi Granth is the sacred scripture of Sikhism, a religion of India. It contains 6,000 hymns of a multitude of Sikh Gurus.
1.3.3. Present-day Implications
1.3.3.1. Gurus
1.3.3.1.1. These leaders of the religion almost function like a missionary by spreading their religion across the globe. These people are generally maintain friendly with other religions and have scraped the idea of a caste system.
1.3.3.2. Women's Rights
1.3.3.2.1. Sikhism encourages its followers to participate in trade and agriculture, and promote women's rights . Guru Nanak allowed Women to attend sermons along with men uplifting them to a status higher than what occurred in Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.
1.3.3.3. Economic Implications
1.3.3.3.1. Sikhs generally consisted of poor agriculturists, artisans, and petty shopkeepers. However, this changed after the rise of Guru Anjan, who realized his people should take an adventurous approach to life. Thus, he encouraged them to take part in trade in addition to agriculture. This change had brought upon a new class of people.
2. Food & Holidays
2.1. Food
2.1.1. The British empire, a colonizer of the Indian subcontinent, traded spices in India, and historically built different Military Hotels. These hotels were scattered around places in Bombay (Mumbai) and served varieties of foods to different soldiers. Now, these hotels are seen as public dining spots that often offer unique Indian foods.
2.1.2. Ethnic Identifiability
2.1.2.1. In all four corners of India, food and spices are used as a trademark of different ethnic groups, societies, families, and religions. Hosting 16 different languages, 6 religions, and hundreds of different cultures - different Indian foods are specific to only certain parts of the country. Upper caste, known as Brahmans and Jains usually feast on non-vegetarian cuisines. They also usually try to stay away from salty and garlic-heavy foods, as they are seen as impure and unhealthy.
2.1.3. Colonization
2.1.3.1. British
2.1.3.2. Mughal Empire
2.1.3.2.1. The Mughal dynasty brought a new array of foods, spices, and recipes to the Indian subcontinent such as: poultry, fruits and crops. Specifically, Cardamom, which is a heavily utilized spice by Indian culture today, was brought to India by the Mughal Empire. Biriyani, a marinated dish of spices and meat which are cooked together in cauldron, is a trademark Indian food that was originated from the wives of Mughal soldiers. As malnourished soldiers were fighting on frontiers, their wives mixed numerous spices and ingredients in one boiling pot with meat to serve to their husbands, originating Biriyani.
2.1.4. Globalization/Effects on Industries
2.1.4.1. Although only 2.3% of Indians are Christian, many different regions of the subcontinent celebrate Christmas much differently than the Untied States. For example, instead of using pine trees they use banana and mango trees to decorate with ornaments. Additionally, South Indians light lamps on their roofs to symbolize that God is the light of the world, and tribes in North-West parts of India write folk stories and sing carols for the entirety of the week.
2.1.4.2. India, the economic powerhouse that it is, has inevitably globalized its food to appealed to foreign industries. Different American food companies such as Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and KFC have now adopted various Indian-influenced dishes on their menus. Furthermore, Indian mega companies such as SWAD, Haldiram, and Patak have expanded the 182 billion dollar Indian food market to be one of the most consumed foreign food brands in the United States.
2.2. Holidays
2.2.1. Indian Christmas
2.2.2. Diwali
2.2.2.1. Diwali, the most celebrated Indian holiday, symbolizes the good defeating the evil. Historically, the Hindu god - Rama- defeated an evil demon named Ravana. On the 1st and 2nd day of Diwali, Hindus pray to the god of wealth: Lakshmi. On the 3rd and 4th day, people pray at the temple and exchange gifts.
3. Art and Architecture (Daksh's wing)
3.1. Mughal
3.1.1. Art
3.1.1.1. The use of inlay, or ‘Pachchikari’ art was a staple of Mughal architecture, a technique where patterns and scenes are created by putting material of different colors and types into depressed areas in a base layer, creating vibrant designs. The most famous example of Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal, is widely known in part because of its widespread implementation of intricate inlay art.
3.1.1.2. Mughal art generally tended to revolve around the actions and lives of the Mughal emperors, as well as scenes from their courts. This was mainly due to the patronage system used in the creation of art in the Mughal era, where wealthy patrons (usually emperors, princes and other nobles) commissioned artwork from painters and other artists, resulting in the art usually focusing on the patron.
3.1.2. Architecture
3.1.2.1. Mughal architecture rose to prominence beginning in the 16th century, with the conquests of emperors such as Babur and Akbar expanding traditional Muslim and Muddle Eastern styles architecture into the Indian subcontinent. Mughal architecture mainly featured in the construction of religious, military, residential and leisure structures. Featured prominently in Mughal architecture are large, open spaces, use of bulbous dome ceilings, and high and vaulted gateways and halls. Minarets in Mughal religious architecture also tended to be tall and slender, in contrast to wider and shorter minarets found in other parts of the world. The Taj Mahal, a structure created in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his late wife.
3.2. Hindu
3.2.1. Architecture
3.2.1.1. Hindu architecture is primarily religious, used in the creation of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples and monasteries. Hindu architecture revolved around the implementation of "garbhagriha", or inner sanctums, with the rest of the building built around this central chamber. Also featured was the use of towered ceilings, in contrast to domed ceilings found in Mughal and sometimes British architecture. Hindu architecture is also believed to have been widely used in secular structures prior to the 16th century, although many such structures are believed to have been lost to time.
3.2.1.2. Hindu architecture is also unique in that its instructions on how to construct buildings, and details such as proper proportions and locations, are given by religious texts known as "vastu shastras", which are based on folk ideas of how rooms and spaces are used in relation to each other, and what designs and combinations are best suited to maintaining good fortune and wellbeing.
3.2.2. Art
3.2.2.1. Hindu art within religious structures focused primarily on carvings and sculptures, rather than the inlay art typically found in Mughal buildings.
3.2.2.2. Hindu art tends to focus on religious depictions, through literature, paintings and sculptures. For example, most poetry is written about religious topics, such as the gods and their doings. Additionally, Hindu art often depicts scenes from scriptures and epics, such as the Ramayan and Mahabharat.
3.3. British
3.3.1. Art
3.3.1.1. British art in India was largely an echo of European styles, with the traditional European "schools of art" becoming prominent. British art saw the introduction of European styles, such as watercolor and oil painting, into the Indian art landscape.
3.3.2. Architecture
3.3.2.1. British colonial architecture arose after the British colonization of South Asia in the 19th century. British architecture was differentiated by a very formal and rational approach, often integrating symmetry and proportion as the core of designs and structures. British architecture saw the use of a variety of materials depending on location and function - for example, the Indian Presidential Palace, originally known as the Viceroy's House, was built by the British primarily using various types of sandstone, as that was the most common construction material available in the area.
3.4. Modern
3.4.1. Architecture
3.4.1.1. Modern Indian architecture is largely based off of the evolution of British colonial architecture, combined with modern styles from Europe and North America. For example, Indian cities have increasingly turned to developing skyscrapers and western-style high-rise apartment buildings, for space and efficiency considerations.
3.4.2. Art
3.4.2.1. Modern Indian art has largely amalgamated to trends and styles found around the world, with styles such as postmodernism and realism also finding traction in India. These styles have also been incorporated to produce art from traditional sources, such as religious texts, but made using modern techniques and styles.
4. Shuban's Section
4.1. Three Cultural "Actions"
4.1.1. Habit - repetitive act an individual performs
4.1.2. Custom - repetitive act of a group, it becomes a characteristic
4.1.3. Material Culture - a collection of social custom
4.2. The Two Types of Activities
4.2.1. Daily Necessities - how a group of people achieve a home or shelter
4.2.2. Leisure Activities - arts and recreational activities
4.2.2.1. Music
4.2.2.1.1. Indian Folk Music - Ancient Indian Music
4.2.2.1.2. Indian Popular Music - Written for the Majority of the Population
4.2.2.2. Indian Music and Dance
4.2.2.2.1. Dance
4.3. Folk and Pop Culture
4.3.1. Pop/Popular Culture - Product of developed countries. Something that the majority of people would like, it impacts everyone.
4.3.2. Folk Culture - Relates to things in the past. Sometimes, historians don't fully understand the origin of the idea or thing.