Diwali

On Sunday our group was invited to attend a Diwali celebration at a local Hindu temple. We eagerly accepted this invitation as an opportunity to experience something new and learn more about our neighbors.

Diwali (pronounced Di-VALL-ee) is the "festival of light" -- a five-day harvest festival and beginning of the new year. It occurs at the new moon in late October or early November each year, and is celebrated across south Asia by Hindus, Jains, and some Buddhists. There are often fireworks, exchange of gifts (especially new clothes), and always lots of food. It's basically our Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's eve all at once.

Priests prostrate themselves before the altar where food was arrayed.

Although comprising just 1% of the British population overall, immigrants of Indian descent are concentrated in London, and in the urban areas of the Midlands -- Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester, and Nottingham.

Most who are in the Midlands cities are "twice moved" immigrants. They had been encouraged, in the days of the British empire in the early 20th century, to leave India and settle in east African colonies. This was an attempt to help development in places like Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania by importing a highly educated, entrepreneurial middle class. They prospered in Africa.

Priest blesses the food with lighted oil lamp.

However, when the African colonies gained independence in the 1960s, tensions between Indians and Africans came to the surface. The infamous dictator, Idi Amin, gave them 90 days to leave Uganda in 1972. Thousands fled, leaving businesses and most of their savings behind. They came here, but found it difficult to achieve the same economic status. Many highly educated professionals are now driving taxis or running small shops.

There are several Hindu sects in our neighborhood. The temple to which we were invited is one of the more conservative. During the 2-hour service, men and women sit separately, most on the floor. All of the chants, hymns, and the sermon were in Hindi. We can't say we got much out of it, but it was interesting to watch.

Arrayed in front of the room were more than 200 food dishes -- rice and curries at the bottom, "savory" items in the middle, and sweets at the top (so that one eats one's way up to heaven, or dessert!). All had been prepared on site at the temple, with women and men working all day and through the night for the previous 48 hours or more.

So after the service, the thing to do is eat! Men and women even eat on separate sides of the room (although there was more freedom to mix a bit in the middle than during the service). Everything was vegetarian, not even eggs are used, only milk. The food also contains no onion or garlic, but there were plenty of other spices, some quite hot.

Getting into the spirit of Diwali with new clothes.

Our students definitely got into the spirit of the event, especially the women, many of whom had gone shopping for Asian-style clothing. All seemed to get into the eating part! We even donated some Lutheran funds to the temple to help cover the cost of our meals, and I think we got our money's worth!