General Information about Item:

• Customary folklore: tradition
• Language: Hindi
• Country: India

Informant Data:

The informant is a Hindu woman from India who celebrates Diwali.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: The informant lives in India and celebrated Diwali last month. She prepared the house and organised the materials necessary for the pooja.
• Cultural Context: When God in the form of a picture or idol is brought into a house, the God is thought to reside there. So people clean and decorate their houses in preparation.

Item:

Images of her house after it has been cleaned, showing lit diyas, rangolis (chalk designs) and flowers that are used as decoration/ornamentation.

Associated File:

Transcript of Associated File:

• “We clean the house to welcome Lakshmi into our home and bless us with knowledge and wealth.”
• “Neighbours and guests come over to attend the pooja and we keep the house clean for them. In Hinduism the concept of atithi devo bhav (guest is equivalent to God) is very important so you must have a clean, well decorated house when people come to visit.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant was curious about Dartmouth

Collector’s Comments:

Informant also talked about how Diwali reaches the common masses and how people gather to pray at public temples

Collector’s Name:

Yohann Curmally

Tags/Keywords:

India, holiday, Diwali, Customary folklore