CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH ASIA: INDIA

o ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: HOW HAS PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AFFECTED WHERE PEOPLE HAVE SETTLED IN SOUTH ASIA? o LEARNING TARGET: IWBAT EXPLAIN HOW INDIA’S CULTURE IS UNIQUE. o FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT(S): WHAT ARE THREE ASPECTS OF CULTURE IN INDIA?

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH ASIA: INDIA BELLWORK WRITE DOWN ANYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT CULTURE IN INDIA REMINDER, ASPECTS OF CULTURE INCLUDE: SOCIAL ORGANIZATION, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, LANGUAGES, ARTS AND LITERATURE, RELIGION, FORMS OF GOVERNMENT, ECONOMIC SYSTEMS, FOOD AND CLOTHING, MUSIC AND DANCE

CLASSWORK TOGETHER, read about population patterns on page 607 Write and answer the following questions in your notes: 1. What two ethnic groups are most Indians descended from? 2. What six religions are found in India? 3. What two areas in India are the most densely populated? 4. Do most Indians live in rural or urban areas? 5. What are the three largest cities in India?

MUMBAI FUN FACTS Ganesh Chathurti, A 10-day Hindu festival occurring every year somewhere between mid August and mid September, is one of the largest street festivals in the world, joined by millions of people. Commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Krishna, the highlight of the Dahi Handi Festival involves groups forming human pyramids with the sole aim of breaking a clay jar filled with curd, suspended high in the air, for prize money amounting to hundreds of thousands of rupees. If you want to mail an international package from India, you will need to visit a "Package specialist" at certain major post offices in the city, a man who sews your parcel in a cloth sack, sometimes sealing it with a wax stamp, a process that could take more than an hour.

CLASSWORK TOGETHER, READ ABOUT HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT ON PAGE 608. WRITE AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN YOUR NOTES: 1. What is the caste system? 2. What are the Vedas? Who wrote them? 3. What are two beliefs of Hindus? 4. According to Buddha, why do people suffer? 5. What three empires ruled India? 6. Which European country controlled India? 7. When did India gain independence?

CASTE FUN FACTS 1. Top caste: the Brahims: made up of scholars, priests, teachers, judges, and landowners. They were know as the Brahmin caste or Brahmins. 2. The Kshatriya: Kshatriyas were the warriors. Rulers of towns and cities mostly came from the Kshatriya caste. Any decision they made, however, could be overuled by a member of the Brahmin, the caste above them. 3. The Vaishyas: Vaishyas were skilled farmers, merchants, and craftsmen. They might not be the top leaders, but they were certainly a respected part of society. 4. Bottom caste: the Sudras: the Sudras were the unskilled workers. They might find a job on a farm or a non-skilled job in a home or business like cleaning. They were the bottom caste. 5. The people without a caste, the untouchables: there was one other social rank in ancient India. People who were born into this social rank were called untouchables. These were the people who were considered the lowest in society in Hindu India, so low that they were not part of the caste system. They had no rights. If they had a job at all, other than begging, it was a degrading job that no one else wanted to do. If your parent was an untouchable, so were you. Untouchables could not move up or marry out of their social rank.

CLASSWORK TOGETHER, READ ABOUT CULTURE ON PAGES WRITE AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN YOUR NOTES: 1. Until what age are children required to go to school? 2. How many official languages does India have? Which is the most spoken? 3. What is the most common religion in India? 4. What two popular epic poems combine Hindu religious and social beliefs? 5. What is the name of India’s film industry? 6. What is the typical marriage and family style found in India?

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT WHAT ARE THREE ASPECTS OF CULTURE IN INDIA? REMINDER, ASPECTS OF CULTURE INCLUDE: SOCIAL ORGANIZATION, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, LANGUAGES, ARTS AND LITERATURE, RELIGION, FORMS OF GOVERNMENT, ECONOMIC SYSTEMS, FOOD AND CLOTHING, MUSIC AND DANCE