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| A picture of Viki and some friends dancing at a cultural event |
I thought the application of cultural hybridity would be perfect for what I want to find out about the Asian Indian culture.
The concept of cultural hybridity consists of the combination of assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization. This creates a “salad society” where the cultural group maintains its distinctions but also blends in with the host society (Martin & Nakayama, 2009) .
In assimilation, the people try not to maintain a cultural identity that would cause them to be isolated from the new culture. The host cultural group can force assimilation on the new cultural group, thereby causing a “pressure cooker” type of society. If assimilation is voluntary, it creates a “melting pot” society (Martin & Nakayama, 2009) . Integration is when new cultural groups try to find a balance between maintaining their cultural identity and interacting with the host group (Martin & Nakayama, 2009) . Voluntary separation is when groups choose to avoid blending in with host groups (or any other group different from their own). If separation is not voluntary, it is considered segregation, where groups are forced to live apart from each other (Martin & Nakayama, 2009) . Marginalization is when the culture group exists in the middle grounds, or in the margin between cultures. That is, they don’t try to keep their cultural identity but they don’t try to blend in with the other cultural groups either (Martin & Nakayama, 2009) . They’re just kind of stuck in the middle.
One’s cultural identity is formed based on their social cultural context, which could include what neighborhood they’re in, social class, religious affiliations, etc (Ibrahim, Ohnishi, & Daya, 1997) . Moreover, someone’s identity involves their ‘sense of belonging’ with other members of the group, whether it is with their own cultural group or a different one (Ibrahim et al., 1997). Moving into and adapting to new environment is hard because people who have spent their lives in a different country have to learn a new language and adapt to new social roles and expectations. They must make cognitive, attitude, and behavioral changes (Kalavar & Van Willigen, 2005) .
For example, an Asian Indian person could experience difficulties in assimilating because of their cultural values. Such values include humility, filial piety, a sense of obligation towards elders, etc (Kalavar & Van Willigen, 2005) . In America, the people are individualistic and assertive; they focus on achievement and mastering their environment (Kalavar & Van Willigen, 2005) . The stark contrast between the two countries’ values creates problems when someone tries to blend in with their new community, thereby decreasing the chances of them wanting to assimilate and creating a hybrid culture.
However, there are some changes in America that Asian Indians can’t ignore. Their households become “multicultural;” that is, each generation becomes increasingly separated from their root culture and has a much different set of cultural experiences (Kalavar & Van Willigen, 2005) . It is thought that their root culture gets compromised and even ignored while in America (Kalavar & Van Willigen, 2005) .
When asking my Asian Indian friend about her experiences as a Hindu child in America, she recognizes that her parents are far more traditional than she is, but she still tries to maintain a connection with her heritage (Bhakta, 2011) . In the article by Kalavar and Van Willigen (2005), it is stated that Asian Indians in America put more effort into being Indian; being Indian “takes time.” I asked Viki about this, and she agreed. She has to allot time to participate in traditional Hindu dances and be active in the Hindu culture (Bhakta, 2011) . Another grey area for Viki is speaking her native tongue; she stated that her parents speak fluent Hindi but she cannot. This creates somewhat of a division in the household. Her parents are, in a way, separated from the larger cultural group while she has managed to integrate herself in both cultural groups. Viki speaks English just fine and has some problems speaking Hindi, but tries to balance both cultures.
However, because her parents struggle with English, it is harder for them to balance the American culture with the Hindu culture that they’re so accustomed to. As I’ve learned, the concepts alluded to by researchers such as Kalavar and Van Willigen can be applied to Hindu culture even though their original studies were performed with Indian participants. By that I mean to say that broader, more general trends can be applied to and seen in more narrow cultural groups.
Perhaps in the future, the Hindu culture can be further studied by talking not only to Hindu youth but older generations. This way, we would be able to get a better grasp on how easily or how difficult it is form a hybrid culture. Communicating with the Hindu culture would probably be best facilitated by keeping in mind that although the Hindu youth are Americanized, they still identify with their root heritage. Using my friend Viki as an example, she strongly identifies with her Hindu culture yet also considers herself American, and that is how she wants people to see her. Having said that, I think that communicating with Hindus (or anyone of a different culture than your own, for that matter) would be most effective if we don’t see someone as purely American or as purely Hindu (or whatever culture the other person may be). We must keep in mind that they are a bit more complicated than that. They maintain both American and Hindu values and traditions, and could possibly show you a few things you never knew before.
Bhakta, V. (2011, October 25). Being Asian Indian in America. (L. Le, Interviewer)
Ibrahim, F., Ohnishi, H., & Daya, S. S. (1997). Asian American Identity Development: A Culture
Specific Model for South Asian Americans. Journal of Multicultural Counseling &
Development , 34-50.
Kalavar, J., & Van Willigen, J. (2005). Older Asian Indians Resettled in America: Narratives about
Households, Culture and Generation. Journal of Cross Cultural Greontology , 213-230.
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2009). Intercultural Communication in Contexts. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
