AFL1501 Portfolio Assignment 2021.

AFL1501 Portfolio Assignment 2021. Family Tree I have a rather small family in comparison to other Hindu families as it is common to find large Indian families in South Africa. I am called by my name – Shradha – by all members of my family which means Faith in Sanskrit. Sometimes my Grandmother calls me “Bachcha” (pronounced Ba-Cha) which means child in Hindi which shows her linguistic identity and roots as she is from India originally. My mothers side of the family consists of the following:  Aroon Mahabeer which is my grandfather. He died when I was very young so I don’t have many memories of him. I called him “Nana” which is a hindi term for your mother’s father.  Ashadevi Mahabeer –is my grandmother, I call her “Nani” which is the hindi term for grandmother from your mother’s side. My grandmother is still alive and has Shradha Sivsanker 1996-present Shravan Sivsanker 1996- present Namritha Sivsanker (Mum) 1973- Present Rajesh Sivsanker 1971- present(Dad) Ranjith Sivsanker (Ajaa) Rita Sivsanker 1946 – 2016 (Ajee) Aaron Mahabeer (nana) Ashadevi Mahabeer 1945-present (nani) Rishen Mahabeer 1975-present (Rishen mama) Ajith Sivsanker 1969-present (Ajith mama) taught me most of what I have indoctrinated regarding my culture. She is very religious and cultural and loves to pass on her culture onto her grandchildren. I have learned to speak quite a bit of hindi from my grandmother as she was born in India and is fluent in Hindi.  Namritha Sivsanker – my mother. I call her mum as it is the South African english term to call a mother which is the language I grew up learning from both my parents and schooling. My mother is a Christian woman that grew up as a Hindu but converted to Christianity a few years ago. As a child, you adopt the linguistic structures (idiolect) from your parents which resulted in learning a lot of cultural indian terms from my mother but also English terms. I love that my mother is so diverse as it teaches me to be open to learning new languages and improving my idiolect.  Rishen Mahabeer – My uncle, which is call “Rishen Mama” – the word “mama” is a traditional Hindi term for “uncle” that is used in India and South Africa. My uncle is very spiritual and teaches me a lot about spirituality and religion which impacts my linguistic knowledge and use. He has taught me a lot in terms of Indian traditional language and South African dialect. Father’s side of the family:  Ranjith Sivsanker – My late grandfather who I called “Ajaa”. “Ajaa” is a hindi term for grandfather on your father’s side of the family. My grandfather was a very wise man and often told me traditional indian folk tales with moral lessons that often consisted of the Indian Language. This impacted my linguistic identity as it allowed me to understand Hindi and my family’s cultural background which became a part of me.  Rita Sivsanker – My late grandmother who I called “ Ajee” which is a hindi term for Grandmother on your father’s side of the family. My grandmother was very “English”, she didn’t know much about the Hindu culture as she grew up with no parents. She was very universal and loved talking about different cultures and languages which impacted me greatly as I am like that today. I do not follow one religion or culture and I feel like that reflects who I am as a South African – diverse. She spoke English and learned Hindi from her husband and his family. Her idiolect was very formal and well constructed which rubbed off on me.  Ajith Sivsanker – My uncle whom I call “Ajith mama” – Hindi term for “uncle” was never very family orientated so I have hardly spent any time with him whilst growing up. I haven’t spoken to him in over 10 years but I do remember him being around when my brother and I were kids. He is a very serious person who always spoke about work and what I wanted to be when I “grow up”. I don’t feel like he impacted my idiolect in any way.  Rajesh Sivsanker – my father whom I call “ Dad” which is the common English term for “father”. I am a South African born Indian so my families dialect is quite diverse and ranges between English , Afrikaans and Hindi. My father has impacted my linguistic identity greatly as he is the person I have been around the most. My father is a well spoken English-speaking man and I have always aimed to be like him as he is my role model. We definitely do have the father-daughter bond that everyone speaks of and I admire the person he is. My father always wanted the best for my brother and I in terms of education and would push us to excel in school. He would give us a dictionary on weekends and tell us to learn twenty new words every weekend and construct sentences with them so we could understand the words clearly. This impacted me greatly as it improved my English which is why I prefer speaking in formal English rather than making use of South African slang or colloquial terms. Shravan Seth Sivsanker is my twin brother. My brother and I have, ironically, always been opposites. I call him by his name as I was raised to do so. In other Indian families, it is common for sisters to call their brothers “Bhaiya” which means “brother” in Hindi and is seen as a form of respect. My family is quite different as we grew up to be quite diverse and we don’t follow the traditional Indian culture much. We have experienced Hindu Weddings and funerals but that’s about it. I think it’s because our family is so small and we weren’t exposed to many cultural activities and we moved around often which resulted in the adoption of different dialect. My brother and I were impacted greatly by moving around often as we are now fluent in English, Afrikaans and Hindi. A Hindu marriage ceremony. I am an Indian girl who is Hindu by religion. I can safely say that my religion impacts my cultural and traditional practices. A basic definition of the term “marriage” is a legally recognized union between two people who are partners in a personal relationship.1 (English Oxford living dictionaries,n.d) In the Hindu and Indian culture it is a relationship that is legally recognized where two individuals join for life as husband and wife so that they can pursue “Dharma” (duty),” Kama” (physical desires) and “moksha” which means to “spiritually release” together. A Hindu marriage ceremony usually takes place over a couple of days and consists of many different phases. Pre-wedding traditions include the engagement party (Sagai), a Mehendi ceremony and then a Haldi ceremony. The ceremonies and tradition within a Indian marriage originate from ancient traditional Indian culture in India and carry on from generation to generation. The ceremony and language reflect who I am culturally and linguistically as I am able to understand Sanskrit and it depicts what my religion and beliefs are as well as how I live my life. A Sagai happens three days before the wedding and it consists of the bride and grooms families. It is when the bride and groom exchange rings and are formally betrothed to one another by their families. A Mehendi Ceremony is a traditional Indian custom where Mehendi (henna) is applied on the brides feet and hands in beautiful designs. It is also used to calm the nerves of the bride. It is believed that the darker the henna is in colour, the stronger the bond of love is,2 (Indian delights,2012) and therefore the henna is kept on for a long time before it can be washed off. This day also consists of dancing and singing as a form of celebration 1 English Oxford Living Dictionaries n.d 2 Indian delights, A traditional Indian wedding ceremony (2012) . A Haldi ceremony takes place a day before the wedding at the bride and grooms home. A yellow turmeric paste is applied on the bodies of the bride and groom to give their skin a healthy glow and remove the bacteria from their skin. It is a fun ceremony and everyone gets to take part in applying the paste on the bride and groom in their separate homes. The Wedding day – which is called a Vivaha in Sanskrit- is a very colourful experience. It consists of traditional foods, colourful décor and dress. Weddings in South Africa usually take place in a hall whereas in India, it takes place at the bride or grooms home. On the wedding day, the bride wears a beautiful sari called a Panetar and the groom wears a Sherwani which is a long traditional top and pants. The wedding ceremony and rituals – Grahashanti The 9 planets are invoked by name in a ceremony by the Pandit (priest who chants the marriage rituals in Sanskrit) which is called grahashanti .Blessings are received from each planet for the new couple's life with one another. This takes place before the wedding rituals begin. Sanskrit is an ancient Hindu language which is similar to hindi, I am able to understand it and speak a bit of it due to my cultural practices. It impacts who I am in the sense that I am very closely in touch with my culture and hold the values of it with great importance. I personally love that the Indian culture includes the universe in its traditions as it attaches a deeper meaning to our beliefs and practices. Kanyadan (giving away of the bride) The bride is then led to the mandap which serves as an alter for an Indian wedding , by a brother or uncle, where the groom sits with the bride's parents. The bride's parents offer their daughter in marriage in a ritual called Kanyadan. They wash the feet of the bride and groom with water, purifying them for their new life with one another. The bride and groom hold their hands open on top of each other’s, and the father of the bride holds his open palm over their hands. This signifies the father passing his responsibility of his daughter onto the son-in-law. The mother of the bride then pours water over her husband's hand, which then falls onto the hands of the bride and groom. The bride and groom then exchange garlands.