 BOMBAY; BUDDHISM; CASTE SYSTEM; COLONIALISM; HINDI; HINDU; IMPERIALISM; MUMBAI; THIRD WORLD.
Like China, it is 4,000 years old or more. India is about one-third the size of the United States and contains nearly four times the number of people. Unlike their Chinese counterparts, which will advertise Hunan or Sichuan on the storefront, Indian restaurants in the United States are less likely to advertise regional variations. An important distinction, however, is between south and north. North Indian cuisine uses more dairy products such as yogurt, as well as chilis, saffron and nuts. It also favors the “tandoor,” a cylindrical clay oven. South Indian cuisine places a greater emphasis on rice and there is a wide variety of biryani, or rice-based dishes. And while all regions (including western and northeastern) have vegetarian dishes, South Indian cuisine, especially in American restaurants, may have a greater variety of non-meat dishes. There are also important differences from the cuisines of Pakistan and Bangladesh, but all three countries may be advertised on one menu. It may make more sense, at least in the United States, to speak broadly of South Asian Cuisine, so intermingled are the influences within and outside India, especially Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore.
Caution. Refers to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, but not nearby Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). Some say term has a colonialist connotation. See BURMA; CAMBODIA; COLONIALISM; IMPERIALISM; LAOS; MYANMAR; THAILAND; VIETNAM.
Independent from the Netherlands in 1949. Archipelago between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Three times the land mass of Texas. Capital: Jakarta. Largest Muslim nation (Muslim traders from India in the 12th century spread the religion). Population: 248 million (2012 estimate). Proportion of population younger than 15: more than one-quarter. Faith: Muslim (86 percent), Christian (9 percent), others (2000 estimate). Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay) English, Dutch, numerous indigenous dialects. Ethnic groups: Javanese (41 percent), Sundanese (15 percent), numerous others (2000 census). Literacy: 90 percent. (Source: World Factbook.)
Many have two names, but having only one name is also common. Muslims have complex name rules.
Caution. Synonym for mysterious, but considered a racially charged adjective. See also CHARLIE CHAN; CHINA DOLL; DRAGON LADY; EXOTIC; FU MANCHU; ORIENTAL; PROVERBS, Chinese fondness for; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
INTERNMENT, Japanese and:
During World War II, the incarceration of 120,000 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of them U.S. citizens. They were ordered to sell their homes and businesses, usually at a steep discount, to whites and then move to “relocation centers.” The last internees were released in 1946. Some advocates urge the use of “incarceration” instead of internment as a more accurate depiction. See also ANGEL ISLAND; EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066; JAP; PEARL HARBOR; YELLOW PERIL; YELLOW SKIN.
Caution. An interview subject may speak limited or otherwise inadequate English. Use of another member of the family as an interpreter can yield flawed translations. A daughter, for example, may hesitate to completely translate her mother’s words or the daughter’s vocabulary (in English or the parent’s native language) may itself be limited. If deadline permits, have an independent native speaker listen to a recording of the original interview. See CHARLIE CHAN; DIALECT; FU MANCHU; INSCRUTABLE.
Sometimes thought of as part of the Middle East, although not an Arab country. Iran is nearly 3000 years old. In the classical world, it was the Western image of Asia. Herodotus chronicled the Greco-Persian Wars of the 5th century B.C. Much of the premier collection of fairy tales, “The Thousand Nights and One Night,” is set in Iraq and Iran. In Farsi, the Persian language, it means “Land of the Aryans,” or Nobles. Not an Arab ethnic group, but much cultural interaction with Arabia, so Iran is often thought of as part of the Middle East. In many ways, the center of Shia schola