Facts About the Culture of Russia
In our world, there are hundreds of different countries and cultures with their own rules, traditions, and beliefs. Many people consider Russia as a drab, faraway, and dark country. However, this is not true as Russia is a hospitable country with a rich culture, interesting traditions, and kind people. This country is most famous for its literature – the beautiful rich heritage of ancestors. Russian classic literature has answers to almost all eternal questions that concern every generation: love, friendship, life and death, honor, freedom.
Russian writers such as Chekhov, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy are famous all over the world for the wisdom and life they had put into their novels and stories. The distinguishing feature of Russian literature, according to Groskop (2018), is that it “is full of gloomy people” (p. 2). Russian literature is also rich with stylistic devices and expressive means that make many books sound like a song.
One more key component of Russian culture is folk dancing. It is undoubtedly an art of expression, of emotions, of connection with nature. People dress in colorful traditional costumes and dance in the most important celebrations and holidays. Traditional food is considered to be another key component. Every country is rich with its interesting recipes and unusual dishes, which are cooked from local products and surprise foreigners with their distinct and unusual taste. Russian cuisine is known all over the world and has some dishes that people from other countries admire. Russians cook borscht, sweet-and-sour cabbage, solyanka soup, golubtsy, Olivier salad, and blini.
As for me, I know about Russian culture and traditions from documentaries, entertainment programs, TV news, and books. Many YouTube bloggers make short, interesting videos about Russian people, their habits, and tourist attractions. Media undoubtedly affects people’s understanding of Russian culture, and I should say that it affected my understanding in a good way. I became interested in this country and started searching for more information. I have never been to Russia or met any Russians, so I am involved in this country’s culture just because of reading and watching about it.
The mistake the media makes is that they spread many stereotypes about Russia that most people believe in. According to Hinton (2019), “a stereotype involves negative or pejorative terms” about other people and nations (p. 32). For instance, I used to believe that Russian people are humorless, unfriendly, and never smile. Then, I have watched some interviews with Russian people, some videos about them and realized that this stereotype is wrong. Also, I was told that it is always winter in Russia, and people drink a lot of vodka and beer. Now I know that this is too exaggerated information, and I want to know even more about this country’s values. There are many ways to do that, but I would like to meet a Russian, talk to him or her, and discuss their country.
Facts About the Nepali Artifact
Every culture has essential and unique artifacts that have been known for centuries and were invented by ancestors. For the culture of Nepal, one of the essential artifacts is a singing bowl that can miraculously affect people. The past and history of singing bowls are rather mysterious, and now it is hard to learn about their origin. Written information about them practically does not exist because their story began long before the dawn of modern civilization.
According to Butler, South, and Stables (2018), the first singing bowls were made in Mesopotamia more than 5000 years ago. In fact, singing bowls are considered one of the oldest crafts in the history of humankind. All over the world, singing bowls may be called differently. For instance, “sound bowl,” “meditation bowl,” “Buddhist singing bowl,” “prayer bowl,” and even “healing bowl.” This artifact is essential for my own cultural identity as it reminds me of my homeland’s history and traditions. When I see or use a singing bowl, I feel that I belong to the country I was born in.
These bowls are often used in religious and spiritual rituals in order to invoke meditation and relaxation. Also, it is said that they are used to heal and treat many different diseases with sound therapy (Butler et al., 2018). The sound made by singing bowls creates a kind of energetic medicine that is believed to fix those frequencies of the mind, body, and soul that are broken. When one plays these bowls, they create a unique sound, a centering effect that synchronizes the human brain’s right and left sides.
They have a wonderful ability to bring peace and calmness to the listener. In spite of the true origin of singing bowls, they have been used for various purposes throughout history – alternative healing, meditation, music, and religion. Nowadays, they are used as a popular tool for music therapists, sound healers, and people who practice and teach yoga all around the world. This is a good thing because it shows that people do not forget the past but appreciate and honor it.
References
Butler, S., South, M., & Stables, D. (2018). The rough guide to Nepal. London, United Kingdom: Apa Publications.
Groskop, V. (2018). The Anna Karenina fix: Life lessons from Russian literature. New York, NY: Abrams.
Hinton, P. R. (2019). Stereotypes and the construction of the social world. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.