Comparative Arts

Indian Civilizations and Southeast AsiaOctober 6, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=872LRkujZ3E

South Asia and Southeast Asia played important roles in early trade routes, both land routes and maritime - both regions were connected to China, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Mediterranean

These early global connections can be seen in the religion, arts, literature, architecture, culture, etc in these regions

India vs. South Asia – what is the difference?

Ancient South Asia• Ancient cultures emerged in what is now

Pakistan and India in the Indus Valley during the Bronze Age, 3300-1900 BCE

• Scholars estimate there were over 500 cities in this region at its peak

• The people had a written language, although it has not yet been deciphered

• Millions of bricks were taken from ancient cities by the British to create a foundation for the railroad they built in the 1800s

• Locals also used ancient bricks for their homes – the destruction of early cities limits our understanding of early Indus civilization

• The word Hindu derives from Sindhu, the Sanskrit name for the Indus River

Indus River Valley Civilization

Many seals have been excavated in the Indus Valley, 3000-1500 BCE

They feature a written language that has not yet been deciphered

Mohenjo-Daro

The best preserved city in the Indus Valley.

Mohenjo-Daro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdGbamPgf8o

Ancient society in South Asia

• Several major world religions emerged in India: Hinduism and Buddhism (as well as the Sikh religion)

• The origins of Hinduism are unknown, believed to date back as early as 1500 BCE

• Society was extremely hierarchical and people were divided into five castes: (from highest to lowest)– Brahmin – priests and scholars– Kshatriya – rulers and warriors– Vaishya – artisans and merchants– Shudra – unskilled workers– Untouchables – so scorned that they were not even considered a caste

• The caste system is now banned but is still important in many aspects of social life (esp. marriage)

Religion and religious texts

• Two major world religions emerged from South Asia: Hinduism and Buddhism, which challenged Hinduism’s hereditary class structure, or caste system

• Like ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and Mesopotamia, Hinduism has a pantheon of gods and goddesses who have special purposes– However, unlike these other religions, these gods and goddesses are

believed to be different manifestations of the one essence of everything

• Hinduism has multiple religious texts, written in Sanskrit:– Vedas– Upanishads– Bhagavad Gita– Mahabharata

Hindu beliefs• Hinduism is formed from various traditions and has no single

founder or founding moment (unlike Christianity, Islam or Buddhism) – believed to emerge around 1500 BCE

• Hindus believe in reincarnation and the notion of karma, a system of moral cause and effect in which one’s current life was determined by one’s actions in previous lives

• Hinduism is considered to be the oldest living religious tradition• Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and

Islam – more than 1 billion followers• One is re-born until all karma is shed and one reaches moksa

(liberation, release, freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth, everlasting happiness and peace – referred to as nirvana in Buddhism)– Upon moksa, atman (the soul) united with the cosmic spirit

• The cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth is called samsarahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKE7enkhZyo

Major Hindu GodsBrahmin (the creator), Shiva (the destroyer) and Vishnu (the preserver)

Ganesh, elephant god of prosperity, one of the most popular Hindu gods

Incarnations of the Hindu god, Vishnu

Vishnu as depicted in Indonesian wayang kulit, or shadow puppet theatre

The Hindu epics have been performed in Indonesian wayang kulit for over 1,000 years, even after most Indonesian converted to Islam in around the 14th century

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVN-Df2Hatc

Gods and goddesses featured on temples tell stories from the Hindu religious texts

Unlike in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, Hindu gods and goddesses continue to be worshipped

Hindu temples

Hindu temples – modeled after the holy Mount Meru, abode of the gods

The Srivijaya Empire

Hindu temple, Bali, Indonesia Hinduism in Southeast

Asia

•Spread from India to what is now Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Cambodia in around 200 CE•only the island of Bali, Indonesia is still predominantly Hindu•Hinduism adapted to local culture and was expressed through local artistic traditions

Ramayana• One of Hinduism’s holy texts• Depicts the duties of relationships and portrays ideal characters:

ideal servant, ideal brother, ideal wife, ideal king, etc• Tells the story of Prince Rama (an incarnation of the Hindu god

Vishnu) and Sita – Sita is out in the forest and is kidnapped by Ravana, the evil demon king– Rama tries to get her back– After many adventures and battles, he gets Sita back but questions her purity– Sita must undergo ‘purity’ tests to determine whether she has been loyal to

Rama while kidnapped by Ravana (!)

• The Southeast Asian versions of the Ramayana differ from the Indian ones: new characters, different ending, also used as entertainment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMdE3fbBp_0 Ramayana dance, Indonesia

Ramayana wayang kulithttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fVxPoRu2bw&feature=related

Buddhism• emerged in the 5th century BCE in what is now northern India, some say southern Nepal•Buddhism spread throughout the Indian subcontinent and beyond•The two main types of Buddhism are Theravada and Mahayana

Location of followers of Buddhists today

Prince Siddhartha: The Buddha

• Siddhartha was a prince in Lumbini, India / Nepal (563-483 BCE) and was raised to eventually become the king

• After his birth, an astrologer prophesized that Siddhartha would either become a great king or renounce the material world to become a holy man

• His father tried to shelter him, but Siddhartha ventured out of the palace and four sights transformed him: an old man, a sick man, a corpse and an ascetic holy man

• Siddhartha abandoned his royal life to take up a spiritual quest• Studied with famous religious teacher• Sat under Bodhi tree to meditate until enlightenment

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LfOl0iRdu8&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-nKJFJakW0&feature=related

Key beliefs of Buddhism• Buddhism emerged in part as a response to the hierarchical nature of

Hinduism, the many powerful Hindu priests, and the lack of opportunity to reach release from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth in one’s lifetime

• Buddhism does build on Hinduism and there are many parallels between the religions (reincarnation, same ultimate goal but difference paths to reach it, karma, yoga as connected to religious beliefs and practices, moksha/nirvana)

• Buddha preached the Four Noble Truths:– Life is Suffering– This suffering has a cause, which is ignorance– Ignorance can be overcome and eliminated– The way to overcome ignorance: follow the Eightfold Path of right view, right

resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration

• The Four Noble Truths are Buddha’s recommendation to his followers as to how they can quell their desire for material things (the root of all suffering) and reach nirvana in their lifetimes

• A Buddha is someone who has reach near total enlightenment but who has vowed to help others achieve Buddhahood

Buddhist architecture

• The key type of Buddhist architecture is the stupa, a mound-like structure containing relics of the Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship

• Buddha’s remains were cremated and distributed to eight stupas • The emperor Ashoka dug up the remains and distributed them to

thousands of stupas

Great stupa, Sanchi, India

Stupa at Sarnath, India – oldest stupa in the world

Stupa in Sri Lanka – one of the original eight

What are some distinctive features you notice about the Buddha’s body?

What differences can you observe between these Buddhas?

Not actually a Buddha!

Budai, an eccentric Chinese Zen Buddhist monk, not a depiction of Buddha

Unlike Buddha, Budai is not tall and slender

Ashoka: The Great Buddhist King (273-232 BCE)

• A warrior kill, appalled by the carnage he inflicted on the battle field

• After seeing a monk walking among the dead, he was moved to decry violence and spread the teachings of the Buddha

• This was the main period in which Buddhism spread

• He erected over 8,400 Buddhist shrines and monuments, including his famous pillars

The spread of Buddhism, thanks to Ashoka