HUMA 2440 term 1 exam review Week 1 Section 1: India – An Overview * „Local‟ name: Bharat * Gained independence in 1947 * Capital is New Delhi * Official languages Hindi and English Section 2: Chronology and Maps * Gangetic Valley 1000-500 BC Maurya Empire under Ashoka 268-233 BC India 0-300 AD Gupta Empire 320-500 Early Middle Ages 900-1200 Late Middle Ages 1206-1526 Mughal Empire British Penetration of India 1750-1860 Republic of India 1947 Powerpoint notes Varna – caste (colour). Primarily Hindu societal concept Class /= caste. Is a set of social relations within a system of production (financial). Caste, conversely, is something you‟re born into. * as caste barriers are breaking down in modern India, class barriers are becoming more prominent. * first mention of caste differences are in the Rig Veda, which may have referred to main divisions of ancient Aryan society * the Rig Veda mentions a creation myth “Hymn of the Primeval Man” which refers to the creation of the universe and the division of man into four groups of body parts (below under section 3) * outsiders consider caste to the be the defining aspect of indian society. Megasthenes and Alberuni both focus on that when they analyze the culture. Jati or jat – subcaste. these have distinct names like “Gaud Saraswat Brahmins”. Dalit – untouchable Dvija – twice-born: part-way through a non-sudra person‟s life, they go through a „spiritual birth‟ which is their „second birth‟, called the upanayana, where the initiated then wear a sacred thread Hierarchy – different types of ordered ranks systems. i.e. gender hierarchy is male > female, sexual hierarchy is heterosexual > homosexual * rank can be inherited at birth (from father) * one‟s birth/rebirth is based on one‟s deeds in a past life Endogamy – marriage within own caste Commensality – can only eat with jati members Jatidharma and varna-dharma – one‟s duty in a caste or subcaste (lower castes must serve higher castes) Jajmani system – patron-client system of land owning and service/artisan castes. No longer prominent in modern India Karma – a sum of all an individual has done in the past and is currently doing and will do in the future: affects one‟s rebirth (what caste you‟re born into) Purity and pollution – concepts relating to different castes, which justifies one‟s caste. A Brahmin is more „pure‟ than a Sudra. Sudras are more „polluted‟ than other castes “Important themes in lecture”: relationships b/n fundamental values like hierarchial ranking and Indian social structures like caste, family, community * what role do these social structures and hierarchial constructs play in ancient, medieval and modern indian culture? * contrast outsider/insider view of indian society * consider the implications of caste on modern Indian society. political equality vs. social inequality? * last 10 slides should be studied: points of detailed inquiry and speculation – good for exam preparation. Week 2: Hierarchy and Social Structure Section 3: Religions on File * Main castes/varnas/colours: Brahmins (priests) – the mouth – white Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers) – the arms – red Vaishyas (merchants, husbandmen, craftsmen) – the thighs – gold Sudras (unskilled workers) – the feet – black Untouchables (labor) * Vishnu has 10 incarnations, and holds a conch shell, disc, mace and lotus * Shruti (revealed scriptures) - Vedas: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda * Smriti (traditional scriptures): Laws of Manu, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas Section 4: Stories from Buddhist Birth-Stories (Jataka Tales) * All of the tales are told in a frame narrative * Is Buddhist (religious) in nature * It‟s believed that the Buddha explained/commented on events happening around him by telling of similar events that had occurred in his previous births – and he used these stories to communicate * Western stories were borrowed from Buddhist stories * Have stanzas in the middle of stories to explicitly communicate a lesson Section 5: More Jataka Tales * Shakuntala Jataka Tale is in here. Powerpoint notes (look at week 3‟s powerpoint notes) Week 3: Folk Tales & Social Values Sections 6 & 7: Panchatantra – Social Values, Folk Tales * Panchatantra. Secular. Written by Vishnu Sharma. Overlaying narrative is that a wise scholar agrees to teach a king‟s stupid boys all aspects of life in a short period by telling them lots of stories. The teachings are broken up into 5 parts: 1 – estrangement of friends 2 – winning of friends 3 – of crows and owls 4 – loss of gains 5 – rash deeds These stories have further stories in them (the bull and lion …) and are filled with lessons. * Inherently sexist against women (reflective of patriarchal values of the time) Powerpoint notes (applies to week 2 as well) Katha(taka) – stories/narrative fiction Jataka tales – stories that convey religious teachings of the Buddha to his disciplies, later used to spread teachings of Buddhist from 500 BCE. * Buddha lived from ca.563-480 BCE Pali – sacred language of Buddhism (like Hindu‟s sacred language, Sanskrit) Panchatantra – see above. Nitishastra – instructional text that contains rules/lessons for leading a good life Frame narrative – story within story Champu – literary form that includes both verse and prose (like Jataka tales or Panchatantra) Vetalapanchavinsati – five and twenty tales of the genie written by Sivadasa in Sanskrit. King Vikramaditya (vikra = valour, aditya = name of the sun) encounters an evil monk (frame story) Major themes of these stories: * rules for good conduct * ideal of just and brave king * deceit and ruse (for good and bad ends) * weak characters outsmart stronger ones * humans trick gods *importance of practical wisdom *role of women (patriarchal values) *importance of order in society *concepts of honor among kings, warriors, husbands, women * The importance of folktales is that they are telling of values/society at the time. * Jataka tales have been represented in architecture carvings * Buddhism is more egalitarian (absence of caste system) * Panchatantra influenced a lot of western literature. Uses animals as characters a lot * (a lot of the powerpoint summarizes the events/preamble/premise of each book) Week 4: ..? notes/readings covered maybe combined with week 3? … Week 5: Representation of Women in Early Indian Literature powerpoint notes: * heterodox sects Buddhism and Jainism emerged in Northern India in the 6th-5th century BCE. * heterodoxy – not agreeing w/accepted or orthodox beliefs * collective authority (elders and chiefs) was surfacing as an alternative to the orthodox model of hereditary authority * oligarchy – a small group of people having control over a country * gana-sanghas – same as above. Assemblies of people of equal status (chiefs/leaders) that reach agreement through consensus and voting * an increase of wealth and agriculture in the 5th-6th century BCE led to a bigger gap in wealth between the rulers and the ruled. This led to more people questioning the validity of orthodox rule, further paving the way for the emergence of heterodox sects * hegemony – leadership/dominance of one group (e.g. Brahmin hegemony) * Buddha and Mahavira founded new religious traditions. Both were Kshatriyas and from regions that had “republican” chiefdoms (more egalitarian) * Buddha founded Buddhism and Mahavira founded Jainism * samsara – transmigration of the soul, rebirths * karma – the result of actions or deeds that influences rebirths * right conduct – doing good deeds released the soul from rebirth… * nirvana(Buddhism), moksha, mukti(hindu) – all meaning the release of the soul from rebirth, ending suffering * the new heterodox sects introduced the idea of reaching enlightenment without the need for intermediaries such as Brahmin priests or rituals * ahmisa – non-injury to all living things. especially challenged animal sacrifices brought out by Vedic and Brahmin tradition * 4 noble truths – Buddhist concept: life is full of suffering (dukkha), this suffering is caused by desire and greed, overcoming desire is the path to enlightenment * eightfold path – Buddhist concept: a path to reach nirvana. Right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, awareness, concentration * 3 principles of Samadhi (concentration), panna (wisdom) and sila (morality) * 3 jewels/authorities of Buddhism: * acceptance of the Buddha * acceptance of the Dhamma (rules and teaching) * acceptance of the Sangha (ascetic community of monks, nuns) * Buddhism was antagonistic towards women: nuns were not allowed to be part of the Sangha (ascetic community) * Patriarchal ideologies still took over Buddhism in the 6th century BCE * importance of the Therigatha * earliest known anthology of women‟s literature * carried over as oral literature over 400 years * first written down about 80 BCE * theri – respected, revered females; senior nuns. gatha – song/poems * was a compilation of rarely recorded expressions of women‟s experiences and feelings in their own words (not portrayed by men) * nuns come from many backgrounds (lowest caste or highest cast, young or old) * Therigatha contains religious material * revealed domestic suffering and patriarchal chokehold on daily life of women * a lot of songs emphasized “freedom” from hardship, suffering, inferiority – as well as from rebirth * changes from Buddhism * improvement of status of women (allowed to become nuns) * more egalitarian * use of local languages * incorporated heterodox concepts (like ahmisa: good deeds) * Jainism * founded by Vardhamana Mahavira (Great Hero) 540-468 BCE,