HISTORY. Subject : History (For under graduate student) Lecture No. & Title : Lecture 4 Religious Beliefs, Practices & Script

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1 HISTORY Subject : History (For under graduate student) Paper No. : Paper-I History of India Unit, Topic & Title : Unit- 4 Topic- 2 Indus Civilization Lecture No. & Title : Lecture 4 Religious Beliefs, Practices & Script Harappan Civilization Architectural Patterns, Indus Script, Religion and Social Organization The town planning and architectural patterns of the Harappa civilization were remarkable. There exist, however certain misconceptions about Harappan town planning. The general view is that all the Harappan towns were built of baked bricks. But there is evidence that mud and mud brick constructions were also in existence there. Another commonly held idea was that all Harappan cities were basically divided into two parts the acropolis or the citadel

2 to the west and the lower living areas of the community on the other side. But this kind of segregation of space is to be found only at Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and Kalibangan, and not at sites like Allahdino, Amri, Rupar, Rojdi, Lothal or Kolask. So far as grid planning was concerned there is another misconception that all the Indus urban centres showed uniformity in this field. There is grid planning no doubt at Mohenjo Daro, but G.L.Possehl has pointed out that this matter is subject to certain limitations. He remarks that in the case of Mohenjo Daro, the first street, considered to be the north-south thoroughfare can be made out. The second street can also be confirmed but so far as the northern and southern east-west streets are concerned, he feels that no definite opinion can be taken on the basis of archaeological evidence. Many of these streets had dead-ends, while some were not as well aligned as it has been made out to be. Further one comes across quite some streets and avenues which have walls encroaching on the streets that get narrower and narrower. This should not stand in the way of praising the features of the Harappa cities. Jansen who has worked elaborately on

3 the urban architecture points to the construction of platforms as a splendid achievement. Another interesting feature of Harappan town planning was the construction of brick-lined well. The layouts of many of these wells were done when the original platform was laid out. These wells continued unchanged throughout the Mature Harappan phase and show a remarkable continuity. The area covered by each well and the average distance between each of these wells is consistent, therefore denoting the expertise of the Harappans. An elaborate drainage system is evident in Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, Kalibangan, Nausharo and Lothal. At Mohenjo Daro for instance there are drains at all levels of the site, consisting of street drains as well as drainage systems in the houses, which were connected to the street drains. Some say that the bathing facility found in Mohenjo Daro, had a ritual aspect to it, while others say that it was meant for the exclusive use of the elites. Still others have doubts about both these inferences. The Great Bath was basically a water tank enclosed by brick paved walls, galleries and colonnades. The water tank had an area of 12 X 7 square

4 miters and a depth of 2.4 miters. On the outside of the tank there was a covering of about three centimeters thick bitumen to make it water proof. There were two staircases on the opposite sides of the Great Bath leading to the bottom of the tank. The layout of the Great Bath is very interesting. There were rooms on the north and east of the Great Bath, with one of the rooms containing a well which was possibly the source of water for the Great Bath. It appears that the water was changed from time to time. The nature of its planning suggests that it was meant for some ritualistic purpose. Mohenjo Daro also provides the best examples of domestic structures. The houses consisted of rooms regularly spaced out and closing in on one or more courtyards. These courtyards were used for more than one purpose. The fact that workshop debris, and manufacturing debris have been found from parts of the courtyard, indicates that some kind of household production may have been carried out there. The courtyards were also used for cooking purposes. The houses were very solidly built, with walls of a meter to two meters thickness. Construction of windows is doubtful though

5 some scholars have spoken about it. Some have also discussed about the prevalence of staircases which possibly led to an upper storey. There existed large houses of about three thousand square meters with about twenty rooms closing in on a courtyard. Apart from them there were sixteen two-roomed quarters which were called the Coolielines by Wheeler. Mohenjo-Daro had a number of special buildings. It had a citadel or fortress with high walls and towers for defense purposes, and within this were the Great Bath, the pillared hall, elite residences and the Granary. The nature of the huge platform with twenty-seven small kilns, arranged in three rows of nine each, and separated by narrow passages, have prompted scholars to conclude that it was a granary. A similar structure at Harappa has further supported this opinion. The pillared hall is another important structure. It has twenty thick pillars arranged in four rows of five each and has been called the palace of the elites. One of the most spectacular archaeological revelations in recent times is the site of Dholavira, on the Kadir island in

6 the great Rann of Kutch. It is surrounded by an outer fortification wall made of mud-brick with a veneer of stone blocks on the outer face, with imposing bastions, and two major gateways in the middle of the northern and southern walls. Within the outer walls, there was a small castle area, and a larger middle town to the north. A lower town lay to the east. Dholavira has certain features similar to the Harappan system. There is also substantial evidence of habitation outside the fortification walls. Several large deep water reservoirs and cisterns, lined with stones and having lime plaster have been found in the lower town as well as the citadel, possibly to stores precious rain water. The lower town gives evidence of houses where craft activities like bead making, shell working and pottery were carried out. The cemetery area outside the city walls reveal rectangular pit burials lined with blocks of stone but no skeletal remains. These may have been memorials to the dead. Thus Dholavira displays all the features of Harappan town planning. Most of the buildings were made of mud bricks. Mohenjo-Daro is often taken as the type-site and although there are other sites which do not fall into this pattern, Dholavira displayed

7 certain unitary features of urban planning which ties it to the Harappa system. Harappan Script The Harappan script is still undeciphered. A total of over three thousand seven hundred inscribed objects have been found at Harappan sites. Most of the writing appears on seals and sealings (seal impressions) on copper or bronze implements and pottery. There are no real alphabets, but three hundred and seventy-five to four hundred signs, known as logo-syllabic. When the script is on a seal it could denote the name and designation of the owner. When there is a pictorial emblem then it may have been referring to the lineage or ancestry or the social origins of the individual. Rectangular copper tablets with writing and animal motifs have been found in Mohenjo-Daro. Harappan potters sometimes inscribed letters onto pots before they were fired. Personal possessions like bangles, bone-pins, tools and gold jewellery were also sometimes inscribed. Although the script remains undeciphered, yet its discovery is of great significance.

8 Harappan Art Art can be defined in many ways. The modern definition is that it is an expression of a creative skill. It is indeed an expression of skill but in ancient times it may have also been a livelihood for some. Animals form the chief items of representation in art, though there is also depiction of foliage in pottery. Carvings of animals like tiger, rhinoceros, bull, snake, antelope, gharial and elephant have been observed on steatite seals and they display brilliant craftsmanship. Animal figurines, mainly made of clay and faience, have been found but the workmanship is not of a very high order. The bull is the most important item among these clay figurines. Apart from these, some bronze and stone figures of buffalo and goat have been found. Human figurines of clay or faience were not as nice as those in stone or steatite. The style of the stone bust of a male figure, that has been labelled a priest-king, displays superior craftsmanship. The bronze female figurine that became famous as the dancing girl (a term used by John Marshall), and that of

9 several animal figurines were made according to the lost wax process. Apart from these, other small female figurines have been found but they display a greater degree of stiffness than that of the dancing girl. Most of these items have been found from Mohenjo Daro. Religious System It is difficult to interpret the nature of religion practiced by the Harappans. Sir John Marshall tended to look for elements of Hinduism into whatever evidence had been found in The steatite seal discovered at Mohenjo-Daro, shows a male horned figure, sitting in a yogic posture, surrounded by four animals (elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo and tiger) which had been interpreted as a prototype of Shiva, also known as Pashupati. Such interpretations however are no longer acceptable. Shireen Ratnagar has remarked that these figures may have been associated with some sort of religious system, but they cannot be viewed as being connected to later day Hinduism in any manner. Closely linked to the religious system of any society is the nature of burial and post-death rituals. The Harappans

10 generally buried their dead. There is some evidence of post cremation or symbolic burials i.e. burials where there are no body parts. The Harappans buried the dead with the heads pointed to the north. There are many grave goods associated with burial like pots, ornaments, and tools, which indicate that they may have believed in life after death. But it is not possible to come to any conclusions about religious symbols and concepts by mere dependence on depictions on pots, seals or tools. There is no doubt about the fact that the Indus Civilization had some kind of a belief system. But with such insufficient data linking it to any present religion may not be warranted. For all we know the artifacts at the Harappan Civilization may have had some other significance of which we are not yet aware. There are numerous figurines which have been interpreted as the Mother Goddess, associated with fertility by some. However the nature and context of these figurines have prompted others to say that there does not seem anything strictly religious about these figures. The terracotta figurines

11 that have been found may have been used as votive offerings, or even as part of domestic rituals. It is interesting to note that these figures do not appear on Harappan seals or tablets. There are figures on some seals where there is a combination of human body and animal head, tail and hooves or a combination of animal and human torsos suggesting some sort ancient society belief, the nature of which remains a puzzle. The Great Bath was probably the scene of an elite or public ritual activity involving ceremonial bathing. A triangular terracotta cake found at Kalibangan, has a carving of a horned deity on one side and an animal being dragged by a rope on the other which seems to suggest animal sacrifice. The most striking evidence suggesting ritualistic practices comes from the seven fire altars found on the citadel mound at Kalibangan, which contain cavities for ash and terracotta cakes, with a clay column rising from the centre, along with remains of bones. One of the interesting features of this civilization is the widespread depiction of animals on seals and other material

12 objects. Apart from bulls most of the animals which are represented are wild animals, like the tiger, rhinoceros, gharial, and elephant. It seems to suggest the prevalence of Shamanistic rituals. The horned mythical beasts that appear in many of the seals are open to multiple interpretations. There are seals where the inscription is on one side and on the opposite side there are mythical horned figures dressed in leaves or the depiction of some animals, which may have had some religious implications. Certain items like ivory rods with dot and circle incisions and miniature tablets and ornaments made of terracotta, faience or shell could have been used as talismans. The depiction of drums on some of the seals, and cylindrical perforated jars may have had some religious associations. There is also a seal of a horned figure with a row of seven figures with long braids standing in front, which may have indicated some kind of spirit associated with religious beliefs, while the figures were probably representing past beliefs. All these formed a part of the religious beliefs of an ancient society, but our knowledge remains vague due to the nature of available sources.

13 There is no unanimity among scholars regarding the nature, social organization or structure of Harappan society. The absence of deciphered written evidence is no doubt a major handicap, and inferences have necessarily to be made on the basis of archaeological evidence. The people who lived within the Harappa culture zone comprised villagers and city folk, and included occupational groups such as farmers herders, fisher folk, merchants, sailors, administrative officials, ritual specialists, carpenters, masons, well diggers, boat makers, menial workers and of course rulers. The level of social differentiation may not have been as great as in Mesopotamia, but differences in house sizes and hoards of jewellery do indicate differences in social and economic status. If a social organization was based on the existence of some hierarchical arrangement or class segregation then it must have operated through some controlling authority. Regarding the nature of political organization, if there was any, some scholars have concluded that there was a state; while others have said that it was a proto-state. Though there is a debate

14 on this, it is quite evident from the well planned towns, the drainage system, the universal style of pottery and weights, and the widespread use of distinctive seals that some kind of a controlling mechanism and authority must have existed, although it is not possible to infer how it worked. The existence of citadels in fifteen of the Harappan sites seems to indicate a hierarchy of seats of power among the towns, beyond which nothing can be said with certainty. Shireen Ratnagar has suggested that there may have been a political system based on tribal foundations. Until the script is deciphered nothing more conclusive can be said about the nature or quality of the socio-political organization.