Cover not available
Article published In:
International Journal of Language and Culture
Vol. 8:2 (2021) ► pp.323–345

Cultural Conceptualization of Tamil Hindu Marriages

| University of Malaya

This study investigates the cultural conceptualization of marriage among Tamil Hindu communities in Australia and Malaysia. The Hindu cultural schema of marriage relates to the physical, social and spiritual aspects, and language acts as the central aspect of the cultural cognition of the community. Data is based on a variety of sources, particularly focus group discussions, translated verses from Hindu Holy Scriptures (Vedanta), and personal interviews. Findings show various cultural schemas entrenched within the marriage schema, particularly Vedic Astrology, Sacred Invocation and Blessings, which are shared knowledge among community members. The cultural schema of marriage (or vivaha) that is instantiated in the Vedanta considers marriage a religious obligation (Dharma). It is during social interactions that the cultural metaphors associated with marriage are discussed. marriage as a thousand-year crop and marriage as a journey are metaphorical expressions that illustrate the traditional worldview of the Tamil Hindu community.

Keywords: marriage, Tamil Hindu thought, cultural conceptualizations, schemas, metaphors, community
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The framework
  • 3.Data source
  • 4.The conceptualization of marriage
    • 4.1Sacred invocation sub-schema
    • 4.2Vedic astrology sub-schema
  • 5.Metaphors
    • 5.1Marriage as a thousand-year crop
    • 5.2Marriage as a journey
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Reference
Published online: 29 June 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijolc.18010.sha
References
Achari, S. R. R.
n.d.). The Hindu Sacrament of Marriage. India: Simha Publications. Retrieved from [URL]
Ayer, V. A. K.
(1987) Hindu Sastras and Samskaras (4th ed.). Bombay, India: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P.
(1977) Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction. Power and Ideology in Education. pp. 487–511. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Brewer, P. R., & Wilcox, C.
(2005) Trends: Same-sex Marriage and Civil Unions. The Public Opinion Quarterly. 69(4), 599–616. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carr, D., Freedman, V. A., Cornman, J. C., & Schwarz, N.
(2014) Happy Marriage, Happy Life? Marital Quality and Subjective Well-being in Later Life. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(5), 930–948. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dempsey, K.
(2001) Women’s and Men’s Consciousness of Shortcomings in Marital Relations, and of the Need for Change. Family Matters, 581, 58–63. Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS).Google Scholar
Dunn, C. D.
(2004) Cultural Models and Metaphors for Marriage: An Analysis of Discourse at Japanese Wedding Receptions. Ethos, 32(3), 348–373. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gottman, J. M., & Silver, N.
(2015) The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert. New York: Three Rivers Press.Google Scholar
Kecskes, I.
(2015) Intercultural Pragmatics. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kohm, L. M., & Groen, K. M.
(2005) Cohabitation and the Future of Marriage. Regent University Law Review, 17(20), 261–278.Google Scholar
Kövecses, Z.
(2005) Metaphor in Culture: Universality and Variation. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010) Metaphor: A Practical Introduction. (2nd ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M.
(1980) Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Luibheid, E.
(2008) Sexuality, Migration, and the Shifting Line between Legal and Illegal Status. Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 14(2–3), 289–315. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lutzer, E. W.
(2010) Truth about Same Sex Marriage. Chicago: Moody Publishers.Google Scholar
Malcolm, I. G., & Rochecouste, J.
(2000) Event and Story Schemas in Australian Aboriginal English Discourse. English World-Wide, 21(2), 261–289. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McKellin, W. H.
(2017) Grounding and Relational Schemas in Managalese, Papua New Guinea. In F. Sharifian (Ed.), Advances in Cultural Linguistics. (pp. 335–372). Singapore: Springer Nature. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Menski, W.
(1998) Sati a review article. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. University of London. 61(1), 74–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nebashi, R.
(2011) Role Schema and its Modification: Stereotypical Images among Japanese, Chinese and Americans. Journal of Information and Communication Studies, 10(11), 51–61.Google Scholar
Nishida, H.
(1999) A Cognitive Approach to Intercultural Communication Based on Schema Theory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 23(5), 753–777. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2005) Cultural Schema Theory. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about Intercultural Communication. (pp. 401–418). Thousand Oaks: California, Sage Publications Inc.Google Scholar
Polzenhagen, F., & Frey, S.
(2017) Are Marriages Made in Heaven? A Cultural-Linguistic Case Study on Indian-English Matrimonials. In F. Sharifian (Ed.), Advances in Cultural Linguistics. (pp. 573–605). Singapore: Springer Nature. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Quinn, N.
(1982) ‘Commitment’ in American Marriage: A Cultural Analysis. American Ethnologist, 9(4), 775–798. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1987) Convergent Evidence for a Cultural Model of American Marriage. In D. Holland & N. Quinn (Eds.), Cultural Models in Language and Thought. (pp. 173–192). New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Quinn, N., D’Andrade, R., & Mathews, H. F.
(2005) Finding Culture in Talk. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Radden, G., & Dirven, R.
(2007) Cognitive English Grammar. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rig Veda verses
In S. R. R. Achari. The Hindu Sacrament of Marriage. India: Simha Publications. Retrieved from: [URL]
Russell, P. & Shearer, A.
(1978) The Upanishads. Great Britain: Wildwood House Ltd.Google Scholar
Satapatha Brahmana
In S. R. R. Achari. The Hindu Sacrament of Marriage. India: Simha Publications. Retrieved from: [URL]
Sharifian, F.
(2011) Cultural Conceptualisations and Language: Theoretical Framework and Applications. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2013a) Cultural Linguistics. In C. A. Chapelle (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. English Books. 31. (pp. 1590–1596). London: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
(2013b) Globalisation and Developing Metacultural Competence in Learning English as an International Language. Multilingual Education, 3(7), 11. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015) Cultural Linguistics. In F. Sharifian (Ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Language and Culture (pp. 473–492). New York/London: Routledge.Google Scholar
(Ed.) (2017) Advances in Cultural Linguistics. Singapore: Springer Nature. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shearer, A., & Russell, P.
(1990) The Upanishads. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Sperber, D., & Wilson, D.
(1987) Relevance Theory. In L. R. Horn, & G. L. Ward (Eds.). Handbook of Pragmatics. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Steen, G. J., Dorst, A., Herrmann, G., Berenike, J., Kaal, A. A., & Krennmayr, T.
(2010) Metaphor in Usage. Cognitive Linguistics 21(4), 757–788. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Strauss, C., & Quinn, N.
(1997) A Cognitive Theory of Cultural Meaning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Su, L. I.
(2002) What can metaphors tell us about culture? Language and Linguistics, 3(3), 589–613.Google Scholar
Taittriya Brahmana
In S. R. R. Achari. The Hindu Sacrament of Marriage. India: Simha Publications. Retrieved from: [URL]
Taylor, S. E., & Crocker, J.
(1981) Schematic bases of social information processing. In E. T. Higgins, C. A. Hermann, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Social cognition. The Ontario Symposium on Personality and Social Psychology. 11. (pp. 89–134). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Tejomayananda, S.
(1994) Hindu Culture: An Introduction. The Hindu Culture Series. Bombay, India: Chinmaya Publications.Google Scholar
Trosino, J.
(1993) American Wedding: Same Sex Marriage and the Miscegenation Analogy. Boston University Law Review, 73(1), 93–120. Retrieved from: [URL]
Xu, Z.
(2014) A Cultural Linguistics Approach to Asian Englishes. Asian Englishes 16(2), 173–179. DOI logoGoogle Scholar