05-23-2006, 07:47 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-elizag+May 19 2006, 07:18 PM-->QUOTE(elizag @ May 19 2006, 07:18 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->But then I remember reading something else about how the whole black=evil and white=purity view has always been around in most cultures, even in ancient Indian culture, so maybe the fair=superior perception was actually around even before the colonisation?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
About the black=evil and white=good or purity, you are wrong. That is not true in Indian cultural context. black is the auspicious color of turiya. black=absence of any colour=absense of any quality. It often signifies the highest in many hindu sects.
However desire for a fair bride may not be related to this and I'm certain that ancient concepts of hinduism has little to do with what we feel about skin colour now.
But I was just wondering if preference for fair skin was more old than colonialism or has a psychological reason given the predominant skin colour of Indians...I cannot answer.
About the black=evil and white=good or purity, you are wrong. That is not true in Indian cultural context. black is the auspicious color of turiya. black=absence of any colour=absense of any quality. It often signifies the highest in many hindu sects.
However desire for a fair bride may not be related to this and I'm certain that ancient concepts of hinduism has little to do with what we feel about skin colour now.
But I was just wondering if preference for fair skin was more old than colonialism or has a psychological reason given the predominant skin colour of Indians...I cannot answer.