The Tradition of "passing the Bangle"

The Tradition of "Passing the Bangle"

Many families are fortunate enough to learn about their ancestry through objects, traditions, and stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. Some of us neglect to seek out any information about the past; however, this was not the case for me. Even before reading the articles, I had always placed an emphasis on knowing my family history because I come from a rich culture with many traditions that I wish to continue.

In the interview with Diane Bell, Bell pointed out that "there was very little known about what women were doing because it had been mainly men working with men and recording second hand or third-hand what it was that women had done." (Gamber) Before reviewing the transcript for this video clip, I never took an interest in knowing the origin of history. Men have traditionally recorded history so when reading textbooks or watching videos, we are learning history through a man's perspective. I, and many others, have overlooked the fact that history has been told from a man's point of view and there is another whole side that could possibly alter history.

Throughout history men have been given/handed the role of being superior to women. This is because "men work from a base of unacknowledged privilege," and by default they have the power to oppress women (McIntosh). Historians traditionally have relied on other sources to tell history. Diane Bell, an anthropologist, collected her information by interviewing and observing people, specifically women. From her research she became aware that "there were ways in which women established relationships down the generations, mothers to daughters to granddaughters, that escapes the writing of history; that's not necessarily part of the history of big political movements, that you couldn't track through wills in terms of what gets bequeathed one generation to the next, that women stories transferred skills and memories were kept alive through these objects" (Gamber). Even though not every person's name gets mentioned in written history, from Bell's findings one can conclude that everyone has some role in history and is represented by the skills, objects, traditions, and stories that are passed along. No one gets forgotten about and it's through these stories that one's existence is kept alive. Many times when memories are being made, without anyone even realizing it, an important fact about history is also passed along to the next generation. For example, when a daughter cooks with her mom, she is learning how to cook instead of just talking about cooking. When a particular recipe gets passed along to the next generation, there is a tendency to recollect and share the origin of the memory, and hence, no one is ever forgotten about.

When those who have been erased are made visible in the historical records, it helps us get a better understanding of their past. It helps resolve some of the "why" questions that arise and helps us understand ourselves better. For example, I have a habit of saying "Jai Shri Krishna" before driving a car. I picked up this habit from my mom who picked it up from my dad's mom. The significance of this is to say God's name before driving so God knows to protect us from any danger while we are in the car. If I did not question my mom of why this was said before driving, I would have not understood the full meaning behind the phrase. Now, the next time when I say the phrase, I am not saying it for the sake of saying it, it's more of me believing it. By saying this I realize how important religion is in my family history. It will help me in the future to create a bond between my kids and their great grandmother whom they never met.

In one of Bell's interviews a lady had pointed out, "You know, the trouble for women is they just fall off the family tree." What she meant by this is that once women were married they did not keep their last name so telling stories and passing down artifacts was a way of linking people of different generations. As Bell sums it up perfectly, "the past informs our present and provides a framework for the future..." (Gamber)

As mentioned earlier, I have always placed an emphasis of knowing my family history, and I guess this is because throughout my life my parents have verbally told my sister and I stories about our family and they continue to do so till this day. While growing up, my dad placed an importance on family unity and in fact, he did maintain relations with all my relatives. My dad picked up this trait from my grandmother who maintained relationships with all our distant relatives, even those that could not even be considered part of the family tree. From this example, one can assume that there are stories always to tell when dealing with a large family. Normally, a conversation between my dad and I would go something like this:

My dad would tell a story that involved relatives I have never heard of or even met. So naturally I would say, "Dad who is 'x'?" My dad usually responds with an explanation of how we are related to "x." Usually, the explanation is long and gets confusing so to make my life simpler, I make everyone my aunt, uncle, or cousin.

So as you can see throughout my life, by having such conversations with my mom and dad has always kept me interested in learning about my family. Relatives are getting mentioned which keeps them very much part of my family. No one really loses existence in the "Mehta Family." So one day I am sure I will pick up the trait from my dad and share the stories with my kids just like my dad has with me and my sister.

To get further knowledge about my family, there has been a habit to pass along some kind of object from generation to generation and if there is not an object to be passed, then there is always a tradition that