HINDUIS

M
Prepared by: Andrea C. Quimequime, Lpt
 HOLY DAYS, HOLIDAYS,
FESTIVALS

Holi – a spring festival. It

recalls the pranks that
Krishna (the 8th avatar of
Vishnu) played as a young
man. People light
bonfires, play tricks, and
throw colored water on
each other.
 HOLY DAYS, HOLIDAYS, FESTIVALS

Diwali, a festival in the fall between

October 15 and November 15, when the
sky is at its darkest before a new moon.
There is no school, kids receive
presents and eat delicious food.
Families light lamps called diyas to
welcome Prince Rama (the 7th avatar of
Vishnu) and his wife home after their
defeat of the evil demon Ravana. (We
will read about this defeat in the epic
poem The Ramayana)
 RITUALS
1. Thread ceremony –
at adolescence,
males learn about
Hinduism then wear
a thread around their
chests to show their
devotion
 RITUALS
2. Weddings – traditionally, Hindu
couple’s parents arrange their
marriage so that the bride and
groom come from the same area,
belong to the same caste and speak
the same language. They also
check with the Horoscopes. The
bride wears special jewelry and a
red sari. Her hands and feet are
decorated with henna.
 RITUALS
3. Funerals – each
family has a burial
site – a fire is built,
body is placed on
logs, songs and
prayers happen, and
the body is burned.
According to Hindu funeral customs, the
body remains at the home until it is cremated,
which is usually within 24 hours after death.
The ashes are typically scattered at a sacred
body of water or at some other place of
importance to the deceased. At the service,
referred to as a wake, mourners may dress
casually.
 MAIN BELIEFS
Hindus strive to follow dharma. Dharma is
the “right” path in life: good deeds, duty
towards God, society, family and themselves.
Karma – what goes around comes around
Eventually, after living many lives, Hindus
finally break free from the cycle of
reincarnation when they have done enough
good deeds.
 KARMA
 Good and bad points earned through one’s behavior, that
accrue throughout their life and affect what caste they are born
into in the next life.
 REINCARNATION

 Hindus believe the soul does not die with the body.  Instead,
the soul casts off the body like old clothes and is reborn into
another life.  The law of karma rules this process of
reincarnation.  If a person does good deeds, he will be reborn
as a person in a better position.  If he does bad, he might be
reborn as an animal or insect. Eventually, after hundreds or
thousands of lives, the individual soul can break free and be
reunited with the supreme spirit Brahma.  This release from
reincarnation is called moksha.
MOKSHA
CASTE SYSTEM

Indo-Aryan
SANSKRIT LANGUAGE

Sanskrit belongs to the Indo-European

family of languages. It is one of the three
earliest ancient documented languages
that arose from a common root language
now referred to as Proto-Indo-European
language: Vedic Sanskrit ( c. 1500–500
BCE). Mycenaean Greek ( c. 1450 BCE)
and Ancient Greek ( c. 750–400 BCE).
DRAVIDIANS
 CASTE SYSTEM
A caste system is a class structure that is
determined by birth. Loosely, it means
that in some societies, the opportunities you
have access to depend on the family you
happened to be born into. The phrase caste
system has been around since the 1840s,
but we've been using caste since 1500s.
 CASTE SYSTEM

The caste system is the

Hindu social and
religious hierarchy,
created a few thousand
years ago. Traditionally,
a person's caste is
determined at birth and
channels them into
that caste's occupation.
BRAHMIN
KSHATRIYA
VAISHYA
SUNDRAS
PARIAH