I had a Tamil classmate and a Sikh teacher in primary school but I cannot recall much about my primary school by now. My secondary school was a SAP school, which only offered Chinese as our Mother Tongue (the only non-Chinese in my school was my Malay classmate who spoke Mandarin and my English Literature teacher whom I did not dare to approach unless necessary). Junior College was slightly better – I had an Indian friend in my CCA but we did not really have much to talk about. This background gave me little chance to interact with people of other ethnic groups.
My first visit to my tutee’s house was greeted by a peculiar scent, which I quickly got used to. However, I still have not mustered enough courage to find out the origin of the scent, in case I asked my question in a rude manner. My tutee’s family did prayers in the evening, or listened to their mantra on the television and she was really nice to ask me if that was all right with me. It showed her sensitivity and respect for my religion despite her young age. Sikhs do not fast, do not have restrictions on their food, but some are vegetarians or do not eat beef. I had an opportunity to see what their maid cooked for dinner and got to see homemade chapati and curry by her maid. Yummy (no tasting though)!
Sikhs are one of the ethnic groups in India, with Hindus making up majority of the Indians. Many people often confuse them with Tamils or Indians. Sikhism is their religion, as compared to Hinduism, which more people are familiar with. Their language is called Punjabi, which has similar words as Hindi, but totally different writing. Sikh men carry the word “Singh” (which means lion) in their names, while Sikh women carry “Kaur” (which means lioness or princess) in their names. Sikhism believes that all persons are equal, especially equality of the sexes. Sikhs can be differentiated from other ethnic groups by the iron (or steel) bangle they wear on their wrist, which they got from the temple. However, such bangles can be bought easily and worn by many people as fashion accessories.
After spending so many lessons with my tutee, I have learnt a lot about Sikhs, and it developed my curiosity in knowing more about other religions and cultures. (I just want to clarify that we chatted about all these during the breaks I gave, not during lessons.)
Each step we take in our lives adds on interesting events to our memories and experiences that enriches our lives.
The following is a video on Sikhism. It introduces the five items that are essential to baptised Sikhs. For more information, check out the website http://www.projectnaad.com/wp-content/uploads/leaflets/five_ks.pdf
Enjoy!
4 comments:
Hi jiayi!
I think that was a really really interesting post.
I don't know if it is just me, or is it that many people are ignorant about the Sikh culture? Everyone (hopefully!) is familiar with the malay, chinese, eurasian and indian cultures, but because the Skihs form such a small population here, i think many people do not understand their culture.
I think you have played your part in improving intercultural behaviours in this sense because you made a conscious effort to find out from the other culture their specialties. You have also been very considerate and mindful especially about the smell you mentioned. Instead of criticising and making ignorant comments, you have tried to overcome it by finding out its source.
My best friend is indian muslim, so I learnt alot about the indian culture and the muslim beliefs through her. It also really helps that people are always very willing to explain their cultures and introduce people into their circle of life.
well done!
Hello Jiayi,
This is a rather interesting post.
There is a Sikh temple near my place and on several ocassions, I do see Sikhs walking past the stretch of roads near my place to the Sikh temple. I notice that as they walk past my place, a few eyes of the general public would roam about and they gave me a feeling that they view them as a minority.
I agree with Yuyin with regards to the point of you making an effort to know your student better. This is what each and every Singaporean should do in order to minimise inter cultural conflicts that can hurt the nation badly.
A cohesive and well written post!
Binglin
Hi Yu Yin!
My student definitely helped me a lot by being open and willing to talk about her culture.
Often, the problem of insufficient understanding of other cultures arises because of little effort made by the individual to take the initiative. On the other hand, the problem in intercultural communication may also be due (like what you have said) to the unwillingness of the person to introduce others to their culture and way of life.
I believe that if both parties are willing to make the effort, there would definitely be better understanding of each other's cultures.
Cheers!
Dear Binglin,
I agree that our eyes tend to give our thoughts away. Even though I think it is rude to stare, sometimes I cannot help looking at people who are different from me out of curiosity. This stare is a problem and can trigger conflicts if the party being stared at noticed and was uncomfortable with it.
Because Singapore is a multicultural society, we have to be careful with what we say to avoid conflicts. However, we may be too cautious at times until there is no communication at all. It is certainly an art to grasp the balance!
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