This is a group project on the study of the business superstitions and mentalities of both Indians and Chinese.

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Choy Wai Hoe                                                                Anthropology Project

                                Project Write-up/Overview

This is a group project on the study of the business superstitions and mentalities of both Indians

and Chinese. All the research in the project is jointly done by four persons – Lee Jrande, Ayush

Agawal, Viknish Krishinan Kutty and me, Choy Wai Hoe. The first part of this paper is an

anthropological study of Viknish’s origins. It will cover the place where his grandparents came

from, its culture and people, the history and the linguistic background of the place. The place that

will be explored is the state of Kerala in the southern most part of India. The language used is an

Indian dialect called Malayalam.

Viknish’s grandparents came from Kerala, a small state in the south-western part of India. The

state capital of Kerala is called Thiruvananthapuram. His maternal grandparents came from a

town called Paravoor which is close to the capital city and his paternal grandparents came from

another town called Vadagara. This town is situated on the Malber highlands – which means that

his paternal grandparents were highlanders! Kerala is a place quite isolated from the rest of India

by mountain ranges and highlands with a long coastline facing the Arabian Sea. In fact the early

ancestors of Kerala came across the Arabian Sea from Yemen in the region of Middle East. The

people of Kerala are a mix of Aryans and Dravidians. Both are different groups of people who

settle very early in Kerala.

Viknish’s caste or family name is Kathiru. It belongs to the Vaysha or Merchant caste, which the

name suggests that all the members are traders and merchants. In Kerala, just as in the rest of

India, the caste system has been a very vital and necessary element in the survival of the society.

The caste system is just like a body with the various different castes acting as the head, hands,

legs and other parts of the body. Each caste has a specific role such as the merchants, the workers,

the scholars or spiritual leaders, the administrators and soldiers. Without these castes working

together like a body, society would literally fall apart.

Traditionally in Kerala, sons and daughters followed the name of their mothers. This explains

why women in Kerala enjoy a comparatively high social status. This is very surprising,

considering that the common perception of Indian culture holds that women are low-class beings,

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treated with very little respect. Furthermore, children in a family were traditionally looked after

and taken care of by the relatives, not the parents. Usually, a man would be responsible for the

well-being of his niece or nephew.

Kerala also has quite a colorful and traditional mix of art and culture. Art forms like the ancient

Indian form of martial art, Kalaripayattu is considered to be the origin of Chinese martial arts,

more specifically the Shaolin martial arts. Kathakali is the oldest form of a dance and musical

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