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Hindu communities are found in several countries of South America, but they are most strong in Guyana and Suriname. There are about 400,000 Hindus in South America, chiefly the descendents of Indian indentured labourers in the Guianas. There are about 270,000 Hindus in Guyana, 120,000 in Suriname, and some others in French Guiana. In Guyana, Hindus form a majority of the population. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...
The term Guianas refers to an area comprising three different countries in the north-eastern part of South America; Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname. ...
Jump to: navigation, search A Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural systems of Bharat (India) and Nepal. ...
Jump to: navigation, search A Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural systems of Bharat (India) and Nepal. ...
Hinduism in Guyana About 84% of the East Indian immigrants were Hindu, and their dominant sect was the Vaishnavite Hinduism of Bihar and North India. Some 30 percent of the East Indians were from agricultural castes and 31 percent were from low castes or were untouchables. Brahmins, the highest caste, constituted 14 percent of the East Indian immigrants. Status differences were attached to castes, and rituals varied with caste status. The higher castes worshipped the classic pantheon of Vishnu and Shiva. Vaishnavite Hinduism remains the predominant religion of the Indo-Guyanese , although it has been considerably modified. Vaishnavites are followers of Vaishnavism in which Vishnu or His avatars are worshipped as the supreme God. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Bihar ( बिहार in Devanagari) is a state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. ...
The Indo-Gangetic Plain is a rich, fertile and ancient land encompassing most of northern and eastern India, the most populous parts of Pakistan, and virtually all of Bangladesh. ...
Jump to: navigation, search This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
Jump to: navigation, search A Brahmin (pronounciation is Brahmann )is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ...
During the indenture period, the East Indian caste system broke down. Hinduism was redefined, and caste-distinguishing practices were eliminated. Christian missionaries attempted to convert East Indians during the indenture period, beginning in 1852, but met with little success. The missionaries blamed the brahmins for their failure: the brahmins began administering spiritual rites to all Hindus regardless of caste once the Christian missionaries started proselytizing in the villages, hastening the breakdown of the caste system. After the 1930s, Hindu conversions to Christianity slowed because the status of Hinduism had improved and discrimination against Hindus had diminished. Jump to: navigation, search As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ...
Jump to: navigation, search 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
Orthodox Hinduism stresses the festivities accompanying religious rites. Festivals may last several days and are usually held in times of crisis or prosperity. Because the sponsor of a festival provides a tent and feeds a large number of guests, orthodox Hindu rituals require considerable outlays of money. A Hindu family has difficulty fulfilling ritual obligations unless it has accumulated a surplus of cash.
Since the late 1940s, reform movements have caught the attention of many Guyanese Hindus. The most important, the Arya Samaj movement, arrived in Guyana in 1910. Arya Samaj doctrine rejects the idea of caste and the exclusive role of brahmins as religious leaders. The movement preaches monotheism and opposition to the use of images in worship as well as many traditional Hindu rituals. Arya Samaj (Aryan Society or Society of Nobles) is a Hindu reform movement in India that was founded by Swami Dayananda in 1875. ...
Jump to: navigation, search 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Caste distinctions are all but forgotten among Guyanese Hindus. In the plantation housing of colonial British Guiana, it was not possible to maintain extended households even if the kin were available. Considerations of caste became less important in choosing a spouse largely because there were so few women among the East Indian indentured workers. Jump to: navigation, search Caste systems have existed throughout history and throughout the world, but the most well-known caste system today is the Indian Varna system. ...
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana. ...
An elaborate wedding is a necessary affirmation of the social prestige of a Hindu family, as well as a major ritual in the life cycle. The Indo-Guyanese family tends to be organized through male lines. Extended-family members do not necessarily share the same household, but they often live near each other and may engage in economic activities together. A young couple typically lives with the husband's family for several years, eventually establishing their own cooking facilities and later their own home. Three-generation households with males at the head are not uncommon among the Indo-Guyanese (in contrast to Afro-Guyanese practice).
Hinduism in Suriname The story of Hinduism in Suriname is broadly parallel to that in Guyana. Indian indentured labourers were sent to colonial Dutch Guiana by special arrangement between the Dutch and British. Hindus today comprise some 27-33% of the Surinamese population, or about 118,000 people.
See also An Indo-Caribbean is a person of South Asian origin who lives in the Caribbean, or the descendant of such a person. ...
Hinduism is the leading single religion of the Indo-Caribbean communities of the West Indies. ...
References The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Library of Congress, Jefferson building The Library of Congress is the unofficial national library of the United States. ...
The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA), freely available for use by researchers. ...
Jump to: navigation, search 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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