Arrival of the Aryans

A fair skinned people that originated somewhere near the Caspian and Black Sea region

They were semi-nomadic, living in tribal communities and herding sheep,

goats and cattle with a little farming on the side

They were able to cover great distances because they had horses and light, spoke-wheeled chariots

They were warlike and glorified fighting

The society was very male dominated and probably very hierarchical

They had no writing, but spoke a language which we now call “Proto

Indo-European”

Who were the Aryans?

Who were the Aryans?

For reasons we don’t know, they spread out of their homeland from c. 2000 BC They went southeast into Iran and eventually over the Hindu Kush into India They went west into Anatolia, Greece, Italy and as far as England and Ireland As they moved, their language spread – it is parent language of many major

world languages today (guess which)

Archeologists believe they crossed into the Indus Valley around 1500 BC

This is around when the Indus Valley Civilization was declining

Did they destroy Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa? Or did they just take advantage of a society already on the decline?

After 1500 BC, they began to settle in the Indus region and gradually spread across the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the east

Sanskrit Latin English

Matr Mater

Pithr Pater

Bhrathr Phrater

Naama Nomen

Sarpa Serpentem

Barbara Barbaria

Dwar Doru

Danta Dentis

Maha Magnus

Raja Rex

Makshikaa Musca

Mrta Mortis

Guess the Meaning

The Vedas When the Aryans arrived in India they didn’t have a written language

Instead, they passed down their teachings orally from generation to generation in the form of stories, poems, epics and other wisdom literature

This oral literature was maintained by Brahmin priests; each Brahmin family had a section and were responsible for keeping an exactly copy in memory

At some point, they developed a written language, which we call Sanskrit, and wrote everything down in “books of knowledge” or Vedas

So we call the time from 1500 BC – 500 BC the Vedic Period.

The Vedas are the foundation of later Hindu religion and philosophy

Religious Beliefs Blend of polytheism and monotheism – many gods but all

considered different aspects of a single divine force

The gods were mainly good and helpful; if something bad happened, it was the work of demons

Some of the most important gods were:

INDRA (king of the gods; god of war and thunder)

AGNI (god of fire; killed demons; messenger to other gods)

VARUNA (god of rivers/rain; all seeing; protector of law)

But there were many others

These and most other gods were male

Religious Rituals

Religious practice put a big emphasis on sacrifices called “YAGNA”; the sacrifices were very complicated and some took a year to prepare

Another practice was to drink “SOMA” which might have caused hallucinations

The priests would also chant thousands of different “MANTRAS” which praised the gods and gave people special powers

Religious Beliefs

Creation myths – everything came out of one seed, including gods and people

Was Vedic Hinduism the religion of the Aryans or did it come from the Indus Valley people? Probably both.

From now, we should probably call them Indo-Aryans

Eventually, the religion evolved into today’s Hinduism, but we’ll learn more about that later

Social Hierarchy (Varnas) Brahmins = priests

only ones allowed to study and teach the Vedas

Kshatriyas = warriors and villages chiefs were

they could study the Vedas but not teach them

Vaisyas = artisans, merchants, and farmers

they could not study or teach the Vedas

Sudras = servants

they did the jobs that no one else wanted

A person was born into a varna, socialized only with other members of their varna, married in their varna, and died a member of their varna; they could not move up or down within the system

Wealth was determined by how many cows you had, so they couldn’t be eaten

Cows are still considered holy today

Mooo!

Other Epics and Religious Texts

MAHABHARATARAMAYANA

UPANISHADS