Topic started by Krishna (@ cache-rl07.proxy.aol.com) on Sat Sep 14 14:43:56 .
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HI all,
The Dravidian and Indus Valley civilisation was culturally far in advance of the Aryan invaders.’
http://www.greenhead.ac.uk/beacon/religious_studies/essay.htm
(a) Consider the archaeological evidence that might support such a point of view.
(b) Which religious aspects of this civilisation persisted or re-emerged after the Aryan invasion.
(a) The archaeological excavation of the area of the Indus Valley began in the 1920s with the discovery of two sites, Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, ‘mound of the dead’. Evidence suggests that the Dravidian civilisation was established by 5000 BC and reached its peak about 2500 BC. Sites have been excavated at Kalibangan, Lothal, Sutkagan-dor and others. Various artefacts have been uncovered which show an ideographic script, but this has yet to be deciphered. However, Asko Parpola claims to have made significant advances in recent years. Still, the only evidence for the Dravidian way of life comes from archaeology.
What has been discovered suggests a highly developed culture and life in the cities. These were well constructed and organised, suggesting that there was a municipal government, as does the discovery of granaries. Archaeological evidence shows that Mohenjo Daro was rebuilt several times following heavy flooding. Their building technology was advanced, as most houses had two storeys and private bathrooms and the bricks display a uniformity of size. Trade and agriculture formed the basis of the Dravidian culture, there was probably a strong merchant class and weaving, pottery and metalworking all seem to have been practised.
Many religious artefacts have been discovered, including seals, amulets and terracotta figurines possibly depicting goddesses which may demonstrate the presence of a mother goddess cult, which was common in contemporary cultures of the ancient Near East, for example, Egypt. The roles of the mother goddess were usually to promote fertility and protect the dead. Since the Dravidians buried their dead with grave goods, it would appear that they believed in an after life.
A significant image found was that of a three faced male figure, possibly a god, seated in a yogic position, surrounded by plants and animals; possibly showing meditative practices. A most important discovery was that of the Great Bath. It was concluded that this could not have been simply for hygiene as houses had their own bathrooms. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the bath served religious purposes, perhaps for ritual cleansing. It has been suggested that the small antechambers surrounding the Bath were used for sacred prostitution, a common feature of mother goddess cults, although Basham considers this idea tenuous. The brick platforms found at the Bath may have been used for fire sacrifice, as they are similar to a ritual areas discovered at Kalibangan which appear to have been utilised for this practice. Certainly, from archaeology, it is possible to suggest that Dravidian state religion involved temple rituals and possibly animal sacrifice.
Evidence shows that the civilisation was in decline about 1750-1250 BC, but the Dravidians may have met with an abrupt end, as groups of bodies have been found where they apparently fell, the victims of violent deaths.
Aryan tribes entering India from the Northwest may have caused these deaths. Three possible theories have been suggested for the appearance of these people on the Indian subcontinent: the Aryan migration thesis, the cultural transformation thesis and the modified Aryan migration thesis. Whichever theory is correct, the Aryans were a nomadic people, and may have originated in the Far East of Russia, forced westwards by some natural disaster. They were a warlike people and overcame the already vulnerable Dravidians.
They spoke an Aryan language and wrote in a script that was to develop into classical Sanskrit and can therefore be translated. Their texts therefore reveal much about their culture. The main books were the four Vedic Samhitas, the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas. These reveal that the Aryans had very different religious beliefs from the Dravidians.
Their gods were male and reflected their lives as wanderers and warriors. These gods included Indra, the warrior, Verethragna, the god of victory, and Agni, the god of fire. The Aryans personified abstract concepts and had hymns to wind and time. Vedic gods were described as living in mansions and personified, with human attributes and activities.
Dumezil has suggested that the Aryans had a tripartite society, the three classes being the priests, the Brahmins, the warriors and rulers, the Kshatriyas and ordinary tribesmen, the Vaisyas. This patriarchal society was ruled by the sabha or tribal assembly, the leader of which was an elected raja. Aryan religious practices centred round fire sacrifice or yajna and it was the Brahmins who performed the sacrificial rites. The hotar, adhvarya and udgatar priests used the hymns of the Rig Veda, the formulae of the Yajur Veda and melodies of the Sama Veda respectively in rituals. Eventually, the rituals became more important than the gods they were intended to please, and so complex that priests became a professional class upon whom survival depended.
The Aryans appear to nave created a fourth class called the Shudras, made up of the dasas or ‘dark-skinned ones’. These were probably the Dravidians and they performed the menial and servant tasks for Aryan society. Whether the Aryans were culturally superior though is debatable. Both peoples appear to have had complex religious beliefs and, although the Indus Valley people were urban and settled, this does not necessarily mean that they were culturally more advanced than the Aryans. However, in terms of technology, the Dravidians were certainly sophisticated and had enjoyed a more settled existence than had the Aryans by the time the latter arrived on the Indian subcontinent. The Aryans were obviously more advanced militarily than the indigenous people were, if the Aryan migration thesis is correct. It is therefore difficult to say anything with any certainty regarding the superiority of one culture over another and is a practice of which modern scholars should be wary.
(b) The principle of female spiritual power was a Dravidian trait that persisted in India after the Aryans became the dominant force. The female Harappan deities became the consorts of the Aryan gods and Shaktism remains an important aspect of Indian religion today. Fire sacrifice was a ritual the Aryans practised before their entry into India but if suggestions are correct regarding Dravidian religious ritual, then this, and animal sacrifice, are elements that persisted. This is also the case with ritual purity, practised by both cultures.
The urban nature of the indigenous people also affected the Aryans. Although they never lived in as large cities as Mohenjo Daro, they settled into village life and communal practices. Whatever the social structure of the Dravidians, they were assimilated into that of the Aryans.
If the three-faced god is the prototype of Shiva in his role as Pashupati, Lord of Beasts, then an Indus deity became one of the greatest Vedic gods, making a syncretic identification with Rudra, an Aryan storm god, and has survived for millennia into modern day Hinduism. The idea of fertility associated with Shiva and the mother goddess persisted in Aryan religion. The Vedas say that the dasas worshipped the phallus and the lingam became the symbol of Shaivism. There was certainly some assimilation of Dravidian religious beliefs and practices by the Aryans and modern Hinduism is partly a reflection of the merging of these two cultures centuries ago.
Agavirual agatri arivoli peruga!!!
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