Today she came to my room in the morning. Acheetah loves to come and visit Avinash (my husband) and I. Along with her brother Sahil they both spent the day running, laughing, and playing with us. Usually they are stealing my oil pastels and markers and making me pieces of art.
My husband and I are in the process of making a film of the island of Mauritius so we took a bunch of film clips today which will be in our movie when it's complete.
When I first came to Mauritius she could barely walk or talk and now she is a runner and a chatter box. It's so cute to here her spat those words out fast in Creole. Especially when she wants to tell a story.
The traditional little Hindu girl. With beautiful Indian colored skin and gorgeous black hair. She truly favors her ancestors which come from India.
Sure to never miss a day of fulfilling her customs. She is always wearing a cute little dress with dainty little sandals. Her Indian Red Thread tied around her wrist and black jewel (tika) on her forehead.
The Indian Red Thread is a native Hindu custom. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RED THREAD TIED AROUND THE WRIST It is customary for Hindus to tie a red thread - commonly called a mauli or kalava - on the wrist at the beginning of a religious ceremony. The thread is tied on the right wrist of men and the left wrist of women. The literal meaning of mauli is 'above all'. Here the reference is to the head that stands high. With the moon perched on top of Shiva's head he is referred to as Chandramauli. A person often puts on the red thread on one’s wrist when doing a ceremony, ritual or puja, such as worship to the Ganga River, a deity, or for certain blessings. The thread helps preserve or imbibe those blessings when it is tied around one’s wrist during the ceremony. The practice of tying the thread dates back to the time when Vamana Bhagwan tied this holy thread on the wrist of the progressive King Bali to grant him immortality. The thread can also be called a raksha or rakhi, and is put on the brother by the sister to show the sister’s familial love. The knots in the thread are said to hold the love of the sister when she tied the knot. Thus, the brother wears the rakhi as a sign of his sister’s love and wishes for protection. In other arrangements, the knots tied in the rakhi as the red strings are given to guests or tied around their wrists before a special ceremony or reception is also considered to hold the goodwill of those who offer it.
The meaning of the dots or jewels on a Hindu woman's forehead.The red dot is a symbol of her marriage. A North Indian woman wears a red streak on the parting of her hair. An unmarried woman sometimes wears a black dot on her forehead. This black color is used to counteract the effect of the evil eye. If a lovely young girl gets too many compliments, Indians feel that some kind of harm may come to her, so this dot repels evil influences. Modern young misses match the dots on their foreheads with the color of their saris today. This is not traditional but only a fashionable act.
Her brother Sahil sure to always tease her like a normal little 8 year old .Very protective though as he constantly watches over her. At the age of testing patience of adults Sahil is sure to make his Nannie (grandmother by mothers side) frustrated at times.
Here it is customs for them to call Avinash which is actually there second cousin Mamoon. To call me his second cousin in law they address me as Mommy Pari. When talking to their father they call him Papa. There mother they call Mom or Momma. Grandmother (fathers mother) is called Dadi.
This took a while for me to become atone to the different name title customs. I can't even tell you Dadi (my husband's grandmother by father) real name or Nannie (grandmother by mother) name. It is very disrespectful to address them by real name and unacceptable.
Today Dadi corrected Acheetah when she called my husband Avi. She is to call him Mamoon and nothing else out of the order. Last time she visited she misspoke and called me Pari and was corrected. Much the same with my husband's Aunt by marriage; Avi and I address her as Mama Mariann.
Children here are corrected by words. They are never spanked.
Simple things such as a soccer ball (which here they call a football) are great entertainment for a young boy. A cute little doll may be seen by the side of a little girl but it is not often. The thumb of little Acheetah and a simple little cloth are her favorites.
No comments:
Post a Comment