Personal Narrative-Cultural Analysis

Going to another religions place of worship was very uncomfortable for me because of my Catholic upbringing. It was always considered taboo for us to go to another church, in fact my family didn’t go to an uncle’s funeral because it was held in a Lutheran Church and that was within the Christian religion. Although I was not confirmed and am not active in the Catholic religion this stigma was still in the back of my mind. I called ahead to make sure that it was acceptable and to insure that I would not disrespect them or their religion by showing up. I know that this is a normal assignment for religion class and it would not be the first time that they hosted an observer but it was more for my piece of mind. They assured me that it would be …show more content…
The building was set on the bottom of a slope, making the globe the only thing visible driving up. The temple had two stories, on the first is the lobby and community room and the second floor was where they conducted the service. Punjabi was played throughout both floors, a whimsical almost steel/tin type sounds. The lobby had an area where we removed our shoes and those without head coverings were able to get handkerchiefs for their heads. It was quite obvious that this was a tight knit community from the greetings and conversations people were having throughout the lobby. The women were in bright colored sari’s and most of the older men were wearing turbans, which we learned could be any color. The turbans are used to manage the long hair that many Sikhs have, as long hair is hard to keep from tangling or getting unruly. The turban keeps it …show more content…
There were long rows of rugs on the ground of this room with people sitting cross legged on them eating plates of food. We were handed plates and told to eat up, there were many items to choose from; fruit salad, sweet dough pastries covered in powdered sugar, yogurt and some gravy, pesto like syrups. I had some sweet pastry which tasted like a dense churro, without cinnamon. After talking to someone he told us the food was all vegetarian, while the Sikh religion is not very strict on the diet, the idea is that those who eat meat can also eat vegetarian food, while those who are vegetarian cannot eat meat. This way everyone can take part in it. The food is provided by one of the member’s every week, and is served both before and after the mass in Langar. The idea is if you are giving substance to your mind through service you should also be given substance for your body. Going to the temple you should never leave hungry. The langar was heartier than the tea prior, there was curry and some other side dishes I did not recognize. People were gathered on the floor with empty plates as people came by and served the food. It smelled like curry, so

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