Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women
started by Simcha 3 mnths agoReplies
Queen Bee posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths ago- Reply
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sara Boji posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoBut now in the so called modern India, the emphasis should be on educating common man on hygeine and enforcing civic laws.
Seva posted (SB) Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths ago>>> It was a whole package, socially sanctioned, not to get to close to a menstruating female, including for a man / husband not to have sexual relation with her during that condition.
Btw, are you in favor of overworking a woman physically and mentally during menstruation, or having sexual relations with her during periods?
sara Boji posted Re:(SB) Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths ago"Btw, are you in favor of overworking a woman physically and mentally during menstruation, or having sexual relations with her during periods?"
====> No.
If a man helps his wife when she is sick or physically weak, that is wonderful. And any man who has a shred of decency will do at least 50% of house cleaning, cooking and laundry etc; he will at least not let his wife do house chores when she is physically or mentally weak.
But preventing a woman from entering a kitchen to help herself with a glass of water is assinine.
BTW most of the fellows who insist their wives stay out of kitchen do not seem to help their wives on other days either.
.
About cleanliness,my personal observation of some Tamilian's,who worked with me , my friends,people i see in train's &buses in south India, irrespective of cast/religion is that ,cleanliness is poor. That is not a general statement,my observation could be limited to few and many Tamilians posting here might not fall into the poor category.
Recently I have visited a Tamilian friend of mine, whom i thought ,u know ,living in Usa for 10 years & hence might have changed ,nopes still the same , sacks of rice on the living room,&serving rice with hands to guest etc etc.
Vandana.
Is the example that you cite below related to the above ?
> Recently I have visited a Tamilian friend of mine, whom i thought ,u know ,living in Usa for 10 years & hence might have changed ,nopes still the same , sacks of rice on the living room,&serving rice with hands to guest etc etc.
This took place in Usa or in India ?
No, they r different .
The tamilian friend is now in Usa ,lived here for the past 10 years.
Pardon me 4 the confusion , i was on phone .
Was it plain rice? Were they living in an apartment ? Was it in NYC?
The friend is NJ, not in an appartment .Yes it was plain rice.
She was an aged 'grandma', serving lemon rice , emptying the container, to the children on their 3rd round I think ,as they loved it and they were hungry !! as well, I suppose.
I also had noticed her drinking water in a stainless steel tumbler without contact to her mouth/lips and she was very careful in not mixing that tumbler with the rest of the vessels, which suggested she was very conscious of hygiene.
And I did eat her food unaffected by this.
I said apartment because they were living in one that was too cluttered it seemed, perhaps due to lack of space, which explains the storing of "ponni'" rice bags in the living room.
In many temples, even in USA, you notice 'prasaad's are 'handed out' with fingers in them.
Ponniyin Selvan posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoHave you eaten dosas ?. Do you know how the "dosa mavu" is prepared?. I doubt if people use spoons to mix the "urad dal" and "rice" even in hotel. I guess people just use their hands.
I recently visited a doctor friend of mine. His wife jokingly said the "dosa mavu" comes better only when her husband mixes it as he brings all the bacteria/germs from the hospital.
. But rice doesn't need to be fermented before consuming.
Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoJokes apart the Doctor's Kai is punniyam seidha kai. In lots of houses, when the daughter-in-law contaminate the milk by adding a spoon ful of buttermilk to make the curd for the next day, it tastes sour. My late Mother and my wife are experts in contaminating milk to make absolutely fresh curd. Like wise the Idli/Dosai Mavu when they mix it, it swells overnight, and the idli turns out to be Malligai Poo and the Dosai melts in the mouth. Some people are really gifted that way. That is why in Tamil we have a saying Kai Punniyam. We have to put a really heavy weight over the lid of the vessel, in which the batter is allowed to ferment, otherwise it will overflow the container.
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
eeeeeeww. VP- Stuff made outta those over-fermented frothing batter would be most acidic, sour and inedible, don't you think? -unless your taste buds are heavily desensitized.
Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoBade Miyan, depends upon who eats what? I am yet to eat idli or dosai at my home which is sour to taste. We have a special preparation for really sour Dosai, but since I don't like it, it is seldom prepared.
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoKOKKEE :
Normally one does not invite darkness after switching off the light.
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoServing rice with bare hands, even plain rice? and that too is the US of A. Wah re Wah? My landlady then has some friends who are close to her heart. An I. A.S Officer's wife, she has this obnoxious habit of serving every thing except the liquids with her bare hands. Twelve years ago, when I went to their home for lunch, this was her practice and even yesterday it has not changed. I bolted from their dining hall, giving some excuse or the other and even now when they bring in plate loads of Bakshanams to our home, we discard it and do not eat it. WE as you all know are Kerala Pattars and this lady is from Kummanam or Mayavaram in Tamilnadu. And it tells. Incidentally, my grand son who is less than three years old uses an adult fork to put the cut papaya pieces into his small mouth.
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
>>this lady is from Kummanam or Mayavaram in Tamilnadu. And it tells.
Hmm...the biases and prejudices we carry!!!
BTW, I was just curious since usually white rice is served hot and it would be difficult to do it with bare hands.
Factoid 1 - All vadais and appalams, jaangiri's and assorted other items are always served with bare hands in tamil weddings.
Factoid 2 - I have heard horror stories of pizza delivery guys in US who are pizzed off with low tipping households that they actually spit or do worse (think pants) on cheese pizzas when they deliver the next time around.
-kummonathhan!
Factoid 2 - I have heard horror stories of pizza delivery guys in US who are pizzed off with low tipping households that they actually spit or do worse (think pants) on cheese pizzas when they deliver the next time around.
Thanks! I just ate a bowl full of Yogurt, and now it is asking me to come out. Did you have to cheese in that factoid? 
Did it taste better?
gyanputra posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoIt would be stupid to conclude that eyes and untouchables are same or their rights are suppressed etc.
Touching anybody without a good reason is stupid, recently a medical study established that a load of bacteria were found in the cell phones, mouth, toilet floor and toilet seats - so taboos against touching very personal objects parts of other people without good reason.
There is a right way to do each karma and millions of wrong ways, to a moron or philosoppher believing in equality for all social actions these appear to be equivalent but in reality there are really only one or two good ways and others are less useful ways. If a situation is examined in great detail , then there is only ONE perfect way to handle it - this uncanny skill to do things the right way or nealy the right way is called Yoga; Yoga karmsu kaushlam- it is the skill and requisite action in works.
Sex is great among parners with good healthy relationship and merely another way to contract diseases for others; mechanics is the same but scriptures recommend only the best practices. Scriptures also require that karma be undertaken with full zest but without attachment to the fruit- thus karma is mandatory under all conditions, performing karma in the right way or in the most practical and nearly right way is the best thing to do.
Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoWhy this clubbing of Tamilnadu with Kashmir? Lighting candles is purely a Christian concept. The Tamils never use candles for religious purposes. Since the Tamil ladies from Tamilnadu take a head bath only once in a week, that too on Fridays, Fridays are considered a good day for visiting the temples. At least on Fridays the Tamil Ladies are clean from head to foot.
Depending on their physical health, the Tamils keep their homes clean from top to bottom. It has nothing to do with their religious bent of mind. Right from their childhood they have been taught Cleanliness is next to Godliness. The concept of "unclean" is again a function of the mind. We Keralite pattars, consider not washing the genitalia after urinating an unclean habit. But in western countries after defecating wiping the rectum with a paper tissue is considered clean.
Once upon a time, five days from the onset of the "periods" for a woman was considered unclean. Now it is no more. Menstruation is a bodily function. Like urinating, defecating, spitting out the phlegm, or mucus running down the nose and dripping (a runny nose). If and when the body wants to discard certain unwanted things from the system, we just allow it to happen and clean ourselves after the event. But in the case of menstruation it is combined with blood and a foul smell. Hence the appellation "unclean". Personally in our religious functions, I as the head of the family have never differentiated between females with periods and females without periods. I leave it to them. After all, we are all god's Creations, and he jolly well understands the limitations of human beings. You may not know. There is a temple in Kerala, where the stone idol of the Bhagawathi has periods occasionally.
"The specialty of the Chengannur Bhagavati Temple is that the deity gets menstrual period, a phenomenon that is not heard of in any other temples. This phenomenon still continues. The priest performs the daily ritual of changing the clothes worn by the deity. If upon inspection, there are signs of bleeding, the priest sends the petticoat to the traditional residence of the temple Tantri (female priest) to confirm to be the blood of menses. This stained petticoat is then sold to the public as a blessing from the deity. The shrine remains closed during the three days and the fourth day is celebrated as the festival called the 'Thripoothe Arattu'. "
Here the temple remains closed for three days. Because the Nambhoodiris are not allowed to clean the idol. So, the Devi herself is "unclean".
We have a period of ten days as "Valamai" and ten days as "Pelai" after the birth and death of an individual in the family. These are known as days of "Asauca" . And this is applicable to all Gotra Dayadis.
I do 't know anything about the Kashmiri rituals and social customs, in spite of the fact that we have a Kashmiri daughter-in-law.
This is just the beginning. You will get more information from other posters in response to my post.
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoSimcha :
Women in Periods and Temple Entry.
What you read below is from the Thaliyola - A scientific approach to Indian Customs, Observnces & Practices. by Dr. Venganoor Balakrishnan. published by Addone Publishing Group, Thiruvananthapuram.
Thaliyola.
"Indian Tradition, prevents women from entering temples and making prayers during their menstruation.. Men should not be blamed for this for it is not a discrimination imposed on them. On the other hand, it is part of concern and recognition for them.
In olden days women were given exclusive bed and room to stay during their menstruation. The period was counted as days of impurity and she was not allowed to go near medicinal plants. Why?
The body temperature of women during menstruation varies and if they visit the temples during these days, it can have an ill effect on the idol inside the sanctum sanctorum. It is in order to avoid this adverse effect on the sanctified idol who may lose their divine grace, this taboo was observed.
It is scientifically proven that the presence of women in menses cause death of silk worms in the fields. Silk worms cannot bear and survive a sudden change in temperature and a woman in periods being at a lower body temperature can transfer her low body temperature to the surroundings and thereby cause the death of these delicate worms. So also is the sanctity of the idols in the temples. "
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
peacegazer posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agoDo you believe this hold true today?
Vaidyanathan Pushpagiri posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths agouLLam enbathu aamai
athil unmai enbathu oomai
sollil varuvathu paathi
nenjil thoongi kidapathu meethi.
deivam endraal athu deivam
athu silai endraal verum silai thaan...
undendraal athu undu...
illai endraal athu illai
illai endraal athu illai....
thaneer thanal pol eriyum
senthaNalum neer pol kuLirum
naNbanum pagai pol theriyum
athu naaL pada naaL pada puriyum..
athu naatpada naatpada puriyum...
Now can you answer with empirical data, that silk worms die due to a sudden change in their ambient temperature?
Regards.
Rajaputhran.
peacegazer posted Re:Queries about Tamil and hindu beliefs and customs regarding women on 3 mnths ago