18 ARYANS CAME TO INDUS VALLEY

Aryans Invade, Conquer and Make War in the Indus Valley

aRound 1500 BCE, rainfall in the Indus Valley region increased again, making the Indus Plain better able to support life. It has been estimated by various scholars that between 1500 and 1200 an illiterate, pastoral people migrated from the northwest, perhaps across the steppe lands of what is now central Russia, through Afghanistan, through the Khyber Pass and onto the Indus Plain. These migrants were to be called Aryans and to be classified as Indo-Europeans, their speech related to modern European languages except Basque, Finnish and Hungarian.

With the Ayrans, modern India was to be divided mainly between two language families, one Indo-European and the other Dravidian.

The Aryans had a horse culture, and no evidence exists of horses among the many representations of animals of the lost Harappan civilization. It is believed by some that like other pastoral people, the Aryans were warriors. They had two-wheeled chariots like the Hyksos that they packed away on carts pulled by oxen

The Aryans were familiar with prowling and hunting with bow and arrow. They enjoyed chariot racing, gambling and fighting. Like other pastoral peoples, men dominated the women. Like the pastoral Hebrews each family was ruled by an authoritarian male. And each Aryan tribe was ruled by a king who felt obliged to consult with tribal councils.

Aryan tribes spread out across the Indus Valley region. They warred against local, non-Aryan people, and they settled in areas that provided them with pasture for their animals. They grouped in villages and built homes of bamboo or light wood – homes without statues or art. They began growing crops. Their environment supplied them with all they needed, but, responding to their traditions and perhaps impulses, tribes warred against each other – wars that might begin with the stealing of cattle. The word for obtaining cattle, gosati, became synonymous with making war. And their warring grew in scale, including a war between what was said to be ten kings.

Gradually, Aryan tribal kings were changing from tribal leaders to autocratic rulers. They had begun associating their power with the powers of their gods rather than the approval of their fellow tribesmen and had begun allying themselves with priests. And, as in West Asia, kings were acquiring divinity. By taxing their subjects, these kings could create an army that was theirs rather than an instrument of the tribe. These armies formed a horse-owning aristocracy and were sometimes led in combat by the king, who identified himself grandly as a warrior.

he Indus River is surrounded by green. The Khyber Pass is at the top and left of center

When the Indo-Europeans called Aryans arrived in the Indus Valley they were illiterate. They enjoyed gambling and they drank and sang around their campfires. And like other pastoral people, they were storytellers. They had sacred hymns, myths and oral history – stories that expressed their desire to please the gods. Like the Hebrews, they had a father god of the heaven, sky and atmosphere: Dyaus Pitar (sky father). They had a male god of thunder and rain called Indra, who also was a god of that other disturbance: war. Indra was also called the "breaker of forts." And Indra was what the men thought a man should be: a warrior with courage, strength and energy who, like they, enjoyed drinking and making war. They had a god called Agni who was fire. They believed that Agni hungrily devoured the animals that they sacrificed in their rituals of burning. These sacrifices were performed by priests to obtain from their gods the gifts of children, success in war, wealth, health, longevity, food, drink or anything else that contributed to their happiness.

These Indo-European speaking people had a hymn about creation. It described the world as created, of course, by something they understood: birth. They believed that their father god, Dyaus Pitar, the embodiment of sky, had mated with his own daughter, the goddess that was earth.

They were creative in their storytelling and a later version of their creation theory developed, as follows:

In the beginning was nothing, neither heaven nor earth nor space in between. Then non-being became spirit and said: "Let me be!" He warmed himself, and from this was born fire. He warmed himself further, and from this was born light.

The Indo-European speakers had a story that described humanity as having been created with virtue and everlasting life. According to this story, the gods were concerned that humanity would become gods like themselves, and to guard against this the gods plotted humanity's downfall. The gods talked Dyaus Pitar into creating a woman who lusted after sensual pleasures and who aroused sexual desires in men. According to this story, the world had become overcrowded because humankind lived forever like the gods. So Dyaus Pitar decided to make humankind mortal, and he created the goddess Death – not a goddess who ruled over death, but death herself. This creation of mortality for humankind pleased the gods, for it left them separate and of a higher rank than humans. According to this story, Dyaus Pitar proclaimed that he did not create the goddess Death from anger. And the goddess Death was at first reluctant to carry out the task assigned her, but she finally did so while weeping. Her tears were diseases that brought death at an appropriate time. To create more death, the goddess Death created desire and anger in people – emotions that led to their killing each other.

The Dravidians

The Indo-Aryan peoples were preceded by the Dravidians, who may have been part of the Indus Valley Civilization. Linguists, anthropologists, geneticists, and historians have hypothesized that the Dravidian people must have been widespread throughout India, including the northwest region. The Dravidian people developed a separate language called Dravidian, which is still spoken in modern-day Southern India.

Source: Boundless. “The Indo-Aryan Migration and the Vedic Period.” Boundless World History I: Ancient Civilizations-Enlightenment. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 11 Jun. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-i-ancient-civilizations-enlightenment-textbook/early-civilizations-in-the-indian-subcontinent-4/indo-european-civilizations-24/the-indo-aryan-migration-and-the-vedic-period-104-13205/

The Vedic Period (c. 1750-500 BCE)

The Vedic Period describes the period in Indian history during which the Indo-Aryans settled into northern India, bringing with them their specific religious traditions. Most history of this period is derived from the Vedas epics, which were composed by the Aryans in Sanskrit and are the oldest scriptures in Hinduism. Vedic culture was centered in the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent, and spread to the Ganges Plain after around 1200 BCE.

Source: Boundless. “The Indo-Aryan Migration and the Vedic Period.” Boundless World History I: Ancient Civilizations-Enlightenment. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 11 Jun. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-i-ancient-civilizations-enlightenment-textbook/early-civilizations-in-the-indian-subcontinent-4/indo-european-civilizations-24/the-indo-aryan-migration-and-the-vedic-period-104-13205/

Early Vedic Period (c. 1750–1000 BCE)

The Indo-Aryans in the Early Vedic Period relied heavily on a pastoral semi-nomadic economy, with limited agriculture. They raised sheep, goats, and cattle, which became symbols of wealth. These Indo-Aryans were organized into tribes and regularly clashed over land and resources. The Indo-Aryans preserved collections of religious and literary works by memorizing them and reciting them orally from one generation to another in their sacred language, Sanskrit. The Rig-Veda, one of the Veda epics, was likely composed during this time. The Rig-Veda contains several mythological and poetical accounts of the origin of the world, hymns praising the gods, and ancient prayers for life and prosperity.

Late Vedic Period (c. 1000–500 BCE)

After the 12th century BCE, Vedic society transitioned from semi-nomadic life to settled agriculture. After 1000 BCE, the development of iron axes and ploughs enabled the Indo-Aryans to settle the thick forest on the western Ganges Plain. The agricultural expansion led to an increase in trade and competition for resources, and many of the old tribes coalesced to form larger political units. The Indo-Aryans cultivated wheat, rice, and barley and they started new crafts in carpentry, leather work, tanning, pottery, astrology, jewelry, dying, and vintnery.