Peoples of India: the peculiarity of settlement and traditions

Located on the Indian subcontinent in South Asia, India ranks seventh in the world in terms of area (more than 3 million km2) and second in population (1 billion 130 million). This huge and picturesque country holds in its vastness a diversity of national interests and norms of conduct. Different peoples of India, living in the same common territory, are sometimes very different in their beliefs, traditions and culture.

The population of India

The population of this Asian country is extremely diverse. This is the Andamans, and Birchors, and drills, and shilohs, and dogs, and kachari, and kulu, and manipiri, and santals, and sherpa and others. The largest major peoples of India are the Marathas, Tamils, Bengalis, Gujaratis, Hindustans, Kannars, Telugu and Punjabis.

Eighty percent of India's population is Hindu, about fourteen percent are Muslims, two percent are Christians and Sikhs, and less than one percent are Buddhists.

West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and the states of Kashmir, Jammu are mostly populated by Muslim communities. In the south and north-east of the country, as well as in the city of Bombay, mostly live Christians. Punjab and the surrounding areas are inhabited by Sikhs, and the Himalayas, part of Jammu and Kashmir are Buddhists.

Common languages

The two national languages - Hindi and English - are distributed to the multinational peoples inhabiting India. Today, the total number of recognized official languages is eighteen. Of these, thirteen belong to the Indo-Aryan, one to the Tibetan and four to the Dravidian language groups.

The most common language in this country is Hindi, it is used by more than three hundred million people. And in the northern states of India, it has the official status. Also, the peoples of India speak such Indo-Aryan languages as Bengali and Oriya, Assam and Kashmiri, Konkani and Nepali, Gujarati and Marathi, Punjabi. Muslims in the North and South of India speak Urdu. Due to the presence of many Pakistani emigrants on the territory of the state of Gujarat, bordering on Pakistan, the Sindhi language is widespread here.

In the southern part of India, the Dravidian language group predominantly predominates in the population. The four languages included in its composition have the status of officially recognized. These include Teludzhu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam.

In the north-east of the state, for the most part they speak manipuli and other Tibetan languages.

Indian Traditions

It should be noted that the customs and traditions of the peoples of India are quite different from the European ones. A feature of the country is the existence of several religions: Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, which bring their own characteristics into the lifestyle of the population.

Unlike the European population in India, very rarely shake hands, and hugs and kisses do not rely at all. Welcoming each other, the Indians fold their palms together and utter the phrases "Ram" or "Namaste". It's not customary to greet women with arms. But the parents in this country are greeted with their feet at the feet.

All the peoples inhabiting India honor and respect cows. They are considered sacred animals here. Beef is strictly prohibited from eating, and even life imprisonment is threatened for killing or harming cows in this country. Also in India, very revered monkeys.

In sacred places of worship and churches, shoes are necessarily removed. At the entrance it is left for storage, or foot covers, similar to shoe covers, are purchased. In the sitting position, you can not direct the feet to other people and the altar. In India, it is also not customary to exhibit various religious attributes.

Clothes of the people of India

The people of India pay considerable attention to their clothes. Its style is conditioned by the peculiarity of culture and way of life, the diversity of nationalities and religious confessions. These features, although they affect the clothing of the population, but some common features are still present.

As a rule, it is made of light fabrics with predominance of white color. A male headpiece is a motley and diverse part of the costume.

Women, dressed in smart saris, often prefer various decorations, such as bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces.

However, the poor people of India are extremely simply dressed. Quite often their body is enveloped only by a white cloth, and there are no shoes at all.