Class 9 English Unit 6: Custom and Culture: Reading I: Sky Burials

 

Unit 6: Custom and Culture

Getting Started (8 Hours)

Draw the attention of the students to the given pictures. Let them identify the customs and culture in the pictures and let them discuss about the cultures they see.

The picture 1: a tongue-piercing festival from the Newar community in Nepal. During the festival, participants voluntarily pierce their tongues with long needles as an act of devotion and to seek blessings from deities. The practice is believed to symbolize purification, endurance, and the fulfillment of wishes.

Picture 2: Buddhist monks during prayer. Buddhist prayer is a form of meditation and aspiration focused on cultivating positive qualities within oneself and expressing reverence for the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Picture 3: Bullfight in Spain. It is a controversial practice that elicits both admiration for its artistic elements and criticism for the perceived cruelty towards the bull.

Picture 4: about a Japanese tea ceremony. The ceremony, also known as "chado" or "sado," has deep roots in Zen Buddhism. It involves the preparation and serving of matcha, a powdered green tea, in a highly ritualized manner. It is considered a form of art and a means of spiritual reflection in Japanese culture.

 

Reading I: Sky Burials

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eZX6XnVVog&rco=1

Vocabulary

1.           forbidden /fəˈbɪdən/ | adjective | not allowed

2.           fascination /ˌfæsɪˈneɪʃən/ | noun | intense interest

3.           bluntly /ˈblʌntli/ | adverb | directly

4.           site /saɪt/ | noun | location

5.           ritual /ˈrɪtʃuəl/ | noun | ceremonial act

6.           stone slab /stəʊn slæb/ | noun | flat stone piece

7.           stumbled /ˈstʌmbld/ | verb | tripped

8.           translation app /trænzˈleɪʃən æp/ | noun | app converting languages

9.           thrilled /θrɪld/ | adjective | very excited

10.       profound /prəˈfaʊnd/ | adjective | deep

11.       stormed /stɔːmd/ | verb | moved angrily

12.       scarlet /ˈskɑːlɪt/ | adjective | bright red

13.       hood /hʊd/ | noun | head covering

14.       gruesome /ˈɡruːsəm/ | adjective | horrifying

15.       stride /straɪd/ | noun | long step

16.       impatient /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/ | adjective | unable to wait

17.       swarmed /swɔːmd/ | verb | moved in large numbers

18.       frenzy /ˈfrenzi/ | noun | wild excitement

19.       pulverize /ˈpʌlvəraɪz/ | verb | crush to powder

20.       mallet /ˈmælɪt/ | noun | hammer

21.       omen /ˈəʊmən/ | noun | prophetic sign

22.       reincarnation /ˌriːɪnkɑːˈneɪʃən/ | noun | rebirth

23.       mere /mɪə/ | adjective | only

24.       calmness /ˈkɑːmnɪs/ | noun | tranquility

25.       maturity /məˈtjʊərɪti/ | noun | full development

26.       intelligence /ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒəns/ | noun | mental ability

27.     engrossed /ɪnˈɡrəʊst/ | adjective | absorbed

A.   Choose the words from the box that match with the given meanings from a-h.

forbidden            fascination           profound                gruesome frenzy                  pulverize             omen                      engrossed

a.      profound: very great

b.     frenzy: a state of great activity and strong emotion

c.      gruesome: very unpleasant and filling with horror

d.     forbidden: not allowed

e.      omen: a sign of what is going to happen in the future

f.       fascination: very strong attraction

g.     engrossed: involved in something with whole attention

h.     pulverize: to make something into a fine powder  

B.    Write True for true statements and False for false ones.

a.      Foreign visitors are welcome to see Sky Burial rituals. False

b.     The visitors are not allowed to take photos of the rituals. True

c.      The vultures took more than fifteen minutes to finish the entire corpse. False

d.     The Tibetans perceive the body as a vessel for the soul. True

e.      The youngest son of the writer was busy with his toys. True

f.       The author visited the burial sites with his wife and three children. True

C.    Answer these questions. (Answers only)

a.  The author visited a traditional Tibetan Buddhist Monastery to experience the culture and traditions of the region and to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism.

b.     The author saw a group of people carrying out a sky burial on the hill.

c.      The author gave the iPad to his youngest son so that he will not see the horrific scene of feeding vultures with human flesh.

d.     The Rogyapa, the body breaker, was a man wearing a dark robe and a hood that covered his face. He was carrying a mallet and a knife, and he had a solemn and focused expression on his face.

e.      The body breaker broke the bones into smaller pieces and mixed them with yak milk and barley flour after collecting them. The mixture was then given to the vultures.

f.       If the vultures do not come to take the remains, it is considered to be a bad sign in Tibetan culture. It indicates that the deceased person was not a good person and his soul may not rest in peace.

g.     The author felt proud because they were able to learn a lot from the experience of visiting the tradition Tibetan Buddhist Monastery.

Pronunciation

Pronounce the following contracted forms with the correct way and ask the students to follow.

aren't /ɑːnt/                    isn't /ˈɪzənt/                     wasn't /ˈwɒzənt/

weren't /wɜːnt/               haven't /ˈhævənt/            hasn't /ˈhəzənt/

hadn't /ˈhædənt/             don't /dəʊnt/                   doesn't /ˈdʌzənt/

didn't /ˈdɪdənt/               can't /kɑːnt/                    couldn't /ˈkʊdənt/

mustn't /ˈmʌsənt/           won't /wəʊnt/

 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmeNGtRegvM&t=1s 

 

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