In this essay I will be identifying and discussing Diwali as a Hindu festival in relation to sociocultural influences such as westernization and globalization within the South African context. In order to unpack and answer the question, we need to understand these important terms. The term sociocultural is “used to describe the differences between groups of people relating to the social class and culture in which they live” (Definition of “sociocultural” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press) and “used to describe the differences between groups of people relating to the social class and culture in which they live” (Definition of “sociocultural” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press). “Westernisation is a cultural transformation whereby Western ideas on things are adopted by other societies. Normally it's associated with capitalism, freedom of thought and expression, and more and more with American cultural entertainment and lifestyles” (William Bellamy 2016, Is there a difference between westernisation and globalization?, Quora, 9 July 2016) whereas “Globalisation, on the other hand, refers to a closer integration of people in both culture and more practical concerns like transport and products. Inevitably there is some overlap with Westernisation, but it's easy to see that in a few decades people will be confusing it with Sinasation or Indianasation instead” (William Bellamy 2016, Is there a difference between westernisation and globalization?, Quora, 9 July 2016).
Diwali or Divali is from the Sanskrit word dipavali meaning row or series of lights. The Sanskrit words dipa which means lamp, light, lantern, candle, that which glows, shines, illuminates or knowledge and avali which means a row, range, continuous line, series. The religious centrality of Deepavali fluctuates provincially inside India, with different gods, customs, and imagery related with the celebrations. One religious essentialness joins it to legends in the Hindu epic Ramayana, Diwali being the day Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman achieved Ayodhya after a long outcast where Rama's armed force of good vanquished demon king Ravana's armed force of evil. Numerous Hindus connect the festival with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity and the spouse of Vishnu. The beginning of the 5-day Diwali festival is expressed in some prevalent contemporary sources, states Pintchman, as the day Goddess Lakshmi was conceived from the beating of astronomical sea of drain by the Devas (gods) and the Asuras (demons) – a Vedic legend that is additionally found in a few Puranas, for example, the Padma Purana; while the evening of Diwali is the day Lakshmi picked Vishnu as her significant other and they were hitched. In the eastern districts of India, Hindus connect the festival with goddess Durga or her furious symbol Kali (Shaktism). The goddess is viewed as the image of triumph of good over ev...
