and the Vedas Text 1.3: Aryan Civilization · In the Vedas, the Aryans appear as warriors who...
Transcript of and the Vedas Text 1.3: Aryan Civilization · In the Vedas, the Aryans appear as warriors who...
Text 1.3: Aryan Civilization and the VedasTopic 3:Ancient India and China (2600 B.C.E. - A.D. 550) Lesson 1: Early Civilization in South Asia
BELLWORK
What factors do you think led to the transition of the Aryan people from nomadic herders to farmers?
OBJECTIVES
Discuss the development of the Aryan civilization
Explain the main characteristics of the Aryan civilization
Compare and contrast the Aryan civilization to the Indus civilization
Aryan Civilization and the Vedas
2000 B.C.E. to 1500 B.C.E. a new civilization
developed after the decline of the Indus
civilization
It shaped the subcontinent for centuries to come
Aryans the Vedic Period
A number of the groups that shaped this era
spoke Indo-European languages
They intermarried with other groups and
eventually called themselves Aryans (noble ones)
Through acculturation these groups formed what
would later be known as Vedic civilization in
South Asia
Aryans the Vedic Period
The early Aryans in India built no cities and left no
statues or stone seals. Most of what we know
about them comes from the Vedas
Aryan priests memorized and recited the Vedas
for a thousand years before they ever wrote
down these sacred teachings
The period from 1500 B.C.E. to 500 B.C.E.. is
often called the Vedic Period for this reason
Aryans the Vedic Period
In the Vedas, the Aryans appear as warriors who
fought in chariots with bows and arrows
They loved food, drink, music, chariot races, and
dice games
These nomadic herders valued cattle, which
provided them with food and clothing
As they settled as farmers, families continued to
measure their wealth in cows and bulls
From Nomads to Farmers
Aryans gave up their nomadic ways and settled into villages to cultivate crops and breed cattle
Local farmers taught Aryans how to raise crops and other skilled crafts
The Aryans spread eastward to settle in the heavily forested Ganges basin
From Nomads to Farmers
By about 800 B.C.E. they had learned to make tools out of iron
Equipped with iron axes and weapons they carved farms and villages out of the rainforests of the northeast
Government
The Aryan people had a tribal political system
that later formed the basis for the small
independent kingdoms that formed in
northwestern India
Aryan tribes were led by a rajah, who was often
the most skilled war leader, had been elected to
his position by an assembly of warriors
Government
Rajah considered the advice of a council of elders
made up of the heads of families while he ruled
Rajahs often fought with one another to control
trade and territory across the northern plain
Some rajahs became powerful hereditary rulers,
extending their influence over many villages
Social Structure
Aryan society was made up of four groups of
people
Ancient Indian society was seen as needing four
classes of people to function properly
Each of these classes, called varnas,were based
on a person's ability and interest
Social Structure
The classifications were:
Brahmins - those who learn
Kshatriyas - those who accumulate power
Vaisyas - those who produce goods
Sudras - those who serve
Social Structure
Later, the society was divided by occupational
groups
During the medieval period, these ancient
divisions would evolve into a more rigid,
hierarchical system known as the caste system
People were rigidly fixed in the class or caste into
which they were born
The Rig Veda describes how the universe was
created by a divine Universal Being referred to as
Purusha
From Purusha, everything, including the planets,
air, animals, and plants came into being
The people of the four classes in society are also
said to have been created by Purusha
The Aryan Religion
The Aryans worshiped gods and goddesses who
embodied natural forces such as sky, sun, storm,
and fire
They viewed these gods and goddesses as
manifestations of a single, divine, absolute
The chief Aryan deity was fierce Indra
Indra’s weapon was the thunderbolt, which he
used not only to destroy demons but also to
announce the arrival of rain, so vital to Indian life
The Aryan Religion
Other major gods included:
Varuna the god of order and creation
Agni, the god of fire and the messenger who
communicated human wishes to the gods
The Aryans also honored animal deities, such as
monkey and snake gods
The Aryan Religion
Brahmins offered sacrifices of food and drink to
the gods
Through the correct rituals and prayers, the
Aryans believed, they could call on the gods for
health, wealth, and victory in war
As the lives of the Aryans changed, so, too, did
their beliefs. Some religious thinkers were
moving toward the notion of Brahman
The Aryan Religion
Brahman is a single spiritual power that existed
beyond the many gods of the Vedas and that
resided in all things
There was also a move toward mysticism
Aryan mystics practiced meditation and yoga,
spiritual and bodily disciplines designed to
enhance the attempt to achieve direct contact
with the divine
The Aryan Religion
The religions that emerged in India after the
Vedic Period were influenced by both mysticism
and the notion of Brahman