Henna is a very popular natural hair dye. It is made from the dried leaves of the southern Lavsonia plant. Since ancient times, henna has been used not only for cosmetic purposes, but also for medicinal purposes, and now, with its help, wonderful red, reddish or golden chestnut shades are given to hair. This natural dye is brought to us from Iran or India. Depending on the country of manufacture, its characteristics vary slightly.
Types of henna
Lavsonia, from which the dye is made, grows throughout the Middle East and even in North Africa. In different climatic conditions, this shrub exhibits some features. They give reason to attribute the dye obtained from it to several types, however, not very different from each other.
Iranian henna- the most frequent guest on the shelves of our country. It is a pale green powder that is diluted with water. It gives the hair a beautiful copper-red color, and when basma is added to it, more dark shades. A cold tone when stained with henna will not work, but if you need a warm golden gamut, then you should prefer this natural dye to chemical paints. It will cover the gray hair, give brightness and heal the hair. More than one generation of women noticed that after staining with Iranian henna, the curls become surprisingly shiny, lively, and dense. It is quite simple to paint with it: 100 g of powder will be needed for medium-length hair. He needs to be torn apart warm water to a creamy consistency and thoroughly coat the hair. You can leave the dye on your hair for a long time, at least for three hours - it will not harm. Only then should you rinse your head very thoroughly to get rid of plant particles.
Indian henna less common, more expensive, and considered more beneficial for hair (said to be less drying). In addition, it is more thoroughly crushed, and the powder is very fine, so it is more convenient to use it. In a diluted form, it is better distributed through the hair. And the most important difference between Indian henna is the richest color range, from pale golden to chocolate brown and almost black. The method of coloring it is exactly the same as that of the Iranian, and it brings about the same benefit to the hair.
Comparison
By by and large, these natural dyes are one and the same. Then how does Iranian henna differ from Indian?
Color spectrum
The main difference between Iranian and Indian henna is a smaller palette of shades. If you do not use any additives, then the first one will color the hair copper-red, and the color saturation will depend on the natural tone of the hair. Indian henna is another matter. There are seven shades in her palette, in addition, she is colorless. Such henna is used if you do not need to dye your hair, but to treat it.
Consistency
For many, the texture of the powder matters. A finer grind of Indian henna will avoid some of the difficulties when applying it to the hair and rinsing it off. However, both Indian and Iranian henna are good for their safety for the hair itself and the scalp, have a restorative effect and help to get a rich, rich, warm color. So it's hard to make a mistake here.
More than an estate, almost a synonym for Indian society - the word "castes" stuck to the mass idea of India, along with elephants, maharajas, Mowgli and Rikki-tikki-tavi. Although the term itself is not from Hindi or Sanskrit, but is borrowed from the Portuguese and means “breed” or “origin”.
However, through Latin (castus - “pure”, “immaculate”), the origin of the term can still be traced to the antiquity common to the Hindus with the Romans and the Portuguese: to the Proto-Indo-European *kas-to - “to cut”. Indian society is neatly "cut" into professional-ethnic "slices". Or is it still not so accurate?
Rhythm of Indian life
The original name of the caste - "jati" ("genus", "class" in Sanskrit) - can mean the category to which the creature belongs, depending on the form of birth and existence. With regard to traditional Indian music"jati" - something like "squares" that make up the rhythmic cycle. And in Sanskrit versification - poetic size. Let's transfer such an interpretation to society - and we will get a rhythmic "cut", in accordance with which social life moves.
The concept of caste-jati is easily confused with the concept of varna ("color") - the original foundation of Vedic society. The first "sociologist", according to the Mahabharata, was the god Krishna. He divided the people into four classes, according to material nature and its three qualities-gunas, from which human activities originate.
Depending on the predominance of one or another guna, each person belongs to one of four varnas:
Brahmins (priests, scientists, guardians of spiritual culture, advisers);
- kshatriyas (warriors - rulers and aristocrats);
- Vaishya (businessmen, merchants, merchants, artisans);
- Shudras (servants, people engaged in "unclean" labor).
How many times was born?
Representatives first three Varnas are also called “twice-born”, because at a young age they undergo initiation, that is, “spiritual birth” as full-fledged members of society. Most likely, the Indo-Aryans brought the established varna system with them during their penetration into Hindustan in the 2nd millennium BC.
In the Rigveda and later texts there are indications that initially belonging to the varna was not hereditary, but was determined for the individual in accordance with his natural qualities, abilities and inclinations. Accordingly, the barriers to changing varnas during one's life, as well as to intervarna relationships (including marriages), were fairly transparent and flexible, if they existed at all.
Among the rishis (legendary Vedic sages, that is, Brahmins belonging to the Varna), one can find both a native of a family of Kshatriya warriors (Vishwamitra), and the grandson of a fisherman, that is, a Shudra (Vyasa), even a former robber (Valmiki, author
"Ramayana"). Even the Shudras were not forbidden to participate in rituals and study the Vedas.
How is the division into jati different from the division into brahmins and sudras
In the vast territories of the peninsula (the mastery of which took more than one century), the Aryans discovered many autochthonous tribes and nationalities on different stages development: from the descendants of the highly developed Harappan civilization to semi-wild hunters. All this motley population, called contemptuously “Mlechchhi” (“savages”, “barbarians”, almost “animals”), had to be put in their places so that it would form into a semblance of a single society. These processes are accompanied by the advance of the Aryans deep into Hindustan (XIII-XI centuries BC), the change of the shepherd's way of life to the sedentary, the strengthening of the power of kings and priests, as well as the transformation of the Vedic teachings into Hinduism.
The very diversity of ethnic groups, languages, stages of development, beliefs did not fit well with the strong, primordial and God-given system of varnas. So, little by little, the natives were inscribed into the emerging pan-Indian society in a different way. Almost every territorial-ethnic group turned out to be voluntarily-compulsorily tied to a certain social model, which also consisted of a type of activity and religious and ritual prescriptions. This, in fact, became known as "jati".
The highest levels of the hierarchy - the jati, corresponding to the varnas of the brahmins and kshatriyas that make up the "know" - the conquerors, of course, staked out for themselves. The process more or less coincided with the ossification of the varna system: “color” began to be inherited, hence the transition to endogamy and other restrictions on intervarna communication.
The degradation of the original varna concept is explained by the strengthening of the power of two higher varnas especially the Brahmins. The latter achieved an almost god-like status “by birthright” and held in their hands the entire spiritual side of life.
Naturally, the elite made every effort not to let into their ranks arbitrarily capable "low-born". The barriers between the jati were facilitated by increasingly stricter ideas about the "purity" and "impurity" of professions. The notion was instilled that compliance with the achievement of the four key objectives human life(dharma, artha, kama and moksha) is impossible outside of jati and that it is possible to climb the social ladder only in the next life, subject to strict adherence to caste in the present life.
It is not surprising that the gradual decline in the status and enslavement of women belongs to the same period of Brahmanism. Representatives of different varnas made sacrifices in different seasons and various patron gods. The Shudras now did not dare to address the gods directly and were deprived of access to sacred knowledge.
Even the dialects spoken by the heroes of later classic dramas, they immediately give out the origin of each: commoners get magadhi, singing commoners - Maharashtri, male kings and nobles - sacred Sanskrit, noble ladies and humble old men - exquisite shauraseni. "Divide and conquer" is not Caesar's idea.
Varieties of people
The phrase "Muslim caste" (like "Christian") is essentially an oxymoron. The very provisions of Islam reject the division of people into grades and order the caliph to stand in prayer on a par with any fellow believers, including the poor and slaves. It is no coincidence that after the conquests of the Great Moghuls, representatives of the lower castes, including untouchables: new faith automatically raised their status, taking them outside the caste system.
However, India is a country of paradoxes. The descendants of the Turks and Arabs who came with the Great Mughals formed the “ashraf” (“noble”) caste and to this day they look down on the “ajlaf” - the descendants of the Hindus who converted to Islam. The Arzal caste, similar to the Hindu untouchables, did not take long to form, and off we go: today in some States of India there are dozens of Muslim castes.
What really unites people within each jati is not so much a profession as an idea of a “common dharma”, that is, a destiny. This partly explains the seemingly strange requirements for representatives of one caste or another: a blacksmith must certainly be able to work as a carpenter (and vice versa), a hairdresser must be able to woo and arrange weddings. At the same time, say, a “potter” is not one jati, but several, with a division according to specialization and a corresponding difference in social status.
Caste and gender prejudices in India are bursting at the seams. .
Hindus, Hindus, adherents of the religion of Hinduism, common in India, as well as in some other areas the globe, where the Indians emigrated (on some islands of the Indian Ocean, in the countries of South and South-East Asia, in Africa, Fiji, Guyana). With great differences between the sects of the Hindus, they are united by a number of common religious dogmas, features of culture, way of life, observance of caste restrictions (see Castes). I. is sometimes called the entire population of India (Indians), but this use of the word is incorrect.
Indians, a term denoting the entire population of India (see India, section Population) regardless of national, religious, racial or caste affiliation (including immigrants from India living in other countries). In Russia, until the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. in relation to the inhabitants of India, the name "Indians" or "Indians" was common. After the term "Indians" began to be applied to the indigenous population of America, the inhabitants of India began to be called borrowed from in English the word "Indians". But, since it is more correct to call Hindus only followers of Hinduism, referring this name to the entire population of India is unlawful, since part of it professes other religions - Islam, Buddhism, etc. TSB
Please do not confuse these concepts! because, firstly, this indicates illiteracy, secondly, the absence of a religious culture, and thirdly, it is misleading regarding real characters your story,
Swami Vivekananda
"The Importance of Vedanta for Indian Life"
When talking about our nation and religion, the term "Hindu" is often used. This term needs some explanation precisely in connection with what I mean by Vedantism. "Hindu" - originally - the name given by the ancient Persians to the river Sindhu. In Persian, the Sanskrit "s" always becomes "h"; thus Sindhu became Hindu. As you know, the Greeks found it difficult to pronounce the sound "h" - they released it completely. Because of this, they began to call us Hindus, Indians. From ancient meaning the word "Hindu" is now gone: in the past it was used to refer to peoples living on the other side of the Indus River, but today these peoples no longer belong to the same religion. Among them, in addition to the Hindus themselves, there are Mohammedans, Parsis, Christians, Buddhists and Jains. On the one hand, it would be logical to call them all Hindus (in the literal sense of the word), but their different religious affiliation does not allow naming them collectively.
http://www.vedanta.ru/library/vivekananda/vedanta1.php
According to our own information, in addition to Hinduism in India, the following are common:
Islam-Muslim (especially Bombay, there are enclaves in Kashmir, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala)
Buddhism (Himachal Pradesh, Kerala)
sikhim - locally, where there is money, weapons and glory
Jainism (seen in Bombay, Maharashtra and Karnataka)
Christians (most in Kerala, fishermen and many southerners of Tamil are also Christians)
there are also Zoroastrians, Jews, local shamanic and very strange cults
African and Indian elephants belong to the elephant family and are descended from an ancestor who lived several million years ago. Today they are not only different types, but also to different genera under the same . The genus of African elephants is presumably divided into savannah and forest elephants, it is also possible to single out East African elephants, but biologists have not yet unambiguously resolved this issue. The Indian genus has only one modern look called the Asian elephant, the rest of the representatives of this genus became extinct.
Distinguish by appearance elephants - inhabitants of Africa and India - quite simply, if you know a few characteristic features. First of all, this is the size - African elephants are taller, larger and heavier. They grow up to four to five meters in height, stretch up to 7.5 meters in length, and weigh about 7 tons. Their Indian counterparts rarely measure more than 3 meters and longer than 6.5, and weigh about 3 tons.
African elephants are wrinkled and their skin appears rougher. They are darker in color sometimes to brown, while their Indian brothers are grey, with smoother skin covered with small hairs.
It is very easy to distinguish elephants by their ears: in Africans they are huge, larger than their heads, reaching a length of one and a half meters. They have a rounded shape, stick up a little and are widely spaced on the sides. Indians cannot boast of such large ones: they are modest, a few tens of centimeters, angular and pointing downwards, with a pointed end.
Representatives of the African species walk with a straight back, in some elephants the backbone is even slightly concave. And for the Asian species is characteristic arched back, which makes them seem sad and drooping compared to their stately comrades from Africa.
Other differences between African and Indian elephants
Differences of different people are manifested not only in appearance, but also in behavior and lifestyle. For example, Africans eat mainly branches and leaves on: therefore they are taller and have more long legs. Indian animals are more likely to search for food, they do not necessarily have to be larger.
They also differ in character: Indian elephants are more friendly
Perhaps, in every person lives a passion for travel. With the development of relations between countries, tourism has become one of the income items for the budget of any state. Europe, Asia, East, America, China - currently travel agencies offer tours to all destinations.
Those who wish to travel to incredible India for the first time spend hours collecting information on the Internet about food, living conditions, etc. And sooner or later the question arises: "What is the right way to say - Hindu or Indian?"
For an answer, it suffices to turn a little to history, to the study national composition, brief acquaintance with the question of the religion of this unforgettable country and directly to the inhabitants of this state.
Which is correct: Indians or Indians
India is a country with more than 1.3 billion people who are representatives of a huge number of nations: Hindustanis, Bengalis, Telugu, Marathas, Punjabis, etc. The people of India themselves call their country Hindustan or Bharat. official languages are Hindi and English.
Therefore, it is logical to call any inhabitant an Indian. Surprisingly, for the inhabitants themselves or lovers of this country, the question "Indians or Hindus, which is correct?" does not arise. After talking a little with the local population, every tourist will find confirmation of this. Any other person born and living in India will be called Indian man.
In which case - Hindu
If we consider the population of this state from the point of view of religion, then representatives of Hinduism, Islam, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, etc. live on the territory. Each representative of these religions can be called an Indian, because they are mostly born and live in India.
However, when asking a local resident about religion, you can hear the answer: "He is a Muslim, Sikh, Hindu."
It is at this moment that it is worth turning to the thousand-year history of India. Initially, "Hind" had Persian origin and denoted the valley of the river Indus. After the Muslim invasion of the lands of Hindustan, the word "Hindu" or "Hindu" appeared, which was used to denote "infidels." Perhaps, already in those days, a dispute began: "But what is the right thing: an Indian or a Hindu?" The meaning of this word was finally fixed by the British. That is what the inhabitants of Hindustan were called, making exceptions for Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Jains, thereby uniting all other representatives of religious and philosophical trends.
Thus, we can conclude that a Hindu is a follower of Hinduism, regardless of his place of residence (Hinduism subsequently became widespread on other continents).
Who are Hindus
However, even "Hindu" is not quite an accurate, colloquial and outdated name. The fact is that in 1816, the social reformer and philosopher Ram Mohan Roy first used the term "Hinduism" in his speeches. Subsequently, the Indians began to use the concept of "Hinduism" in the struggle for independence. And for equality with other religions. Therefore, the word "Hindu" appeared, which more accurately and correctly refers to the followers of the religion of Hinduism. That is his story.
Therefore, if you try to understand the question "what is the correct name - Indians or Hindus?", Speaking about the inhabitants of the country and not focusing on religion, you should use the word "Indian". If the conversation is about religions, it is recommended to clearly define belonging to a faith and call a Hindu, or rather a Hindu, only representatives of Hinduism, but in no case Muslims, Sikhs or representatives of other faiths. locals very friendly and peaceful, but they are very emotional and sometimes touchy. They will not inflict bodily harm, but the sediment from communication will remain.
We hope that those who read this article will no longer have a question about whether they are Indians or Hindus - how to call them correctly.
