Hinduism 1500 B.C.E.- 1900 B.C.E.
By: Ashley Cloer, Phoebe Bumsted, and Amanda Farzad
Hinduism Temples
Golden Temple: India
Victoria, Mahé: Africa
Malaysia: SE Asia
Trinidad: Caribbean
Maps and Charts
Map of Hinduism spread
P.I.R.A.T.E.S- India • Politics- • Leaders acted as leaders of religion as well as
leaders of the civilization.
• Intellectual-
• writing disappeared around 1550 b.c.e. due to the destruction of the Indus Valley region.
• Religion-• Religious bathing.• Karma determined incarnations. • Varuna kept universal order as a sky god.• Sacrifice was used to a god.• Brahmin priests lead rituals and sacrifice.• When Hinduism evolved, the gods began to
appear in disguises.• Temples.
• Art and Architecture- • baked brick with flat roofs. • Single or double storied. • Precious stone jewelry for religious adornment.
• Technology- • animals such as sheep, pigs, and zebus
were used in sacrifice. • Cartography and furnace to make
ceramics used in religion.• iron tools
• Economy-
• Became Indo-Europeans after the Indus Valley fall.
• Traded religious items.
• Society- • Strict social divisions based on religious
beliefs. System of Varna- Brahmin(priests and scholars), Kshatriya (warriors and officials), Vaishya (merchants, artisans, and land owners), and Shudra (peasants and laborers).
P.I.R.A.T.E.S- Africa • Politics-• The Pharaoh looked over religion in the
civilization and was believed to have been a god sent from heaven to rule over the area.
• Intellectual-• Egyptian Hieroglyphics as earliest form of
writing to use pictures to communicate many ideas-some relating to religion.
• Religion-• Heavily believed in an afterlife and divine right of kings.• Offerings were used to try and please gods as much as
possible.• God statue displayed in the middle of a temple.• Temples as a place for gathering, feasting, and
celebrating; not necessarily direct worship.
• Art and Architecture-• Hut circles, burial chambers, roads, and traces
of irrigation found. • Art found such as paintings and sculptures that
heavily depicted life after death related items.• Buildings built mostly for commemorative or
religious purposes.• Great pyramids construction began.
• Technology-• Medicine procedures were used such as
cleansing • Glass, linen, paper, ink, waterclock, geometry,
calendar, and alphabet were invented or created.
• Economy-
• Trade of items (some religious) made up the majority of the African society.
• Society-• People played instruments such as the sistrum
for personal enjoyment and also to play in religious ceremonies.
• Amulets worn by most to keep away bad forces.
P.I.R.A.T.E.S- Caribbean • Politics-• Deity worshiped and ruled over the land.• Had supreme control in religious aspects
over Caribbean area.
• Intellectual-• Epic poems and stories told to keep the
religion alive even when they had nothing when the migration occurred.
• Religion-• Lesser practice of caste system.• Hindu temples.• Healing and other rituals were practiced
by the newly migrated Hindus.• Gathering for celebration and other
events.
• Art and Architecture-• Hindu temples first created for place of
gathering.
• Technology-
• Economy-
• Many worked on sugar plantations and in other areas to make money to earn their lost religious and ritual materials back.
• Society-• Indians were allowed to practice their
culture in their new area. • Indians migrated to the Caribbean which
led to the initial spread in the area. • The Hindu caste system was changed and
people were able to lose their status.
P.I.R.A.T.E.S- Southeast Asia• Politics-• The belief in Hinduism increased as
various empires rose in the area.
• Intellectual-• Religious missionaries brought over and
somewhat created early forms of a language based on Sanskrit.
• Religion-• Religious rituals adapted from earlier
religions such as rituals dealing with water and other various materials.
• Art and Architecture-• Religious adornments were cast from
Bronze.
• Technology-• Religious weapons used in ceremonies
and other rituals.
• Economy-• Trade routes made from India to
Southeast Asia which bridged the religious culture over and India impacted the area greatly.
• Society-• Missionaries and other word of mouth
brought Hinduism to the area.
Regional Comparisons• In Africa and in India, each had a main leader that also acted as the
leader of the religion. • India believed in reincarnation and Africa believed heavily in an
afterlife.• Southeast Asia, Africa, and India all believed in religious rituals.• Each economy was heavily based on trade and religious items were
sometimes traded.• Africa, India, and Southeast Asia each wore jewelry or amulets that
had some religious meaning behind them. • Each had missionaries and other ways of mouth brought Hinduism
to each of the civilizations.• Trade was able to help bridge the Hinduism religion to other areas
and were true for each of the regions.• The Hinduism modeled in the Caribbean somewhat relaxed the
caste system where as India stayed true to the system.
Hinduism Chronology• The Aryans moved into India in 2000 BCE, and this was the beginning of
Hinduism.• The Vedic Age lasted from 1500 to 500 BCE.• During this age, the Vedas, a group of Hindu religious texts, were written.• The ideas of karma and reincarnation were formed and recorded in the Vedas.• Hinduism was derived from the Aryan's Vedic religion in the forth century CE.• The four Vedas were called Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva
Veda.• The Upanishads, another group of religious texts that are related to the Vedas,
were written around 800-400 BCE.• There are many Upanishads and some have been written fairly recently, but
thirteen can be identified as the main Upanishads.• The Upanishads contain the major Hindu ideas of karma, reincarnation,
Nirvana, and the soul.• Hindu epics and puranas (Hindu stories that focus on a specific deity) were
written from 500 BCE to 1000 CE.• Teachers and their students broke off and formed new sects of Hinduism from
550 to 450 BCE.
Chronology- cont.• In 320 CE, two main branches of Hinduism could be identified: Vaishnavas and Shaivites.• Indian merchants spread Hinduism to southeast Asia, and it was adopted by the leaders
of those areas.• In the 5th century BCE, Buddhism and Jainism were founded in India.• Chandragupta I formed the Mauryan dynasty in 320 BCE, and it lasted until 185 BCE.• Chandragupta I married to ally with Lichchhavi and expanded his empire from the Ganges
to Prayaga (Allahabad today) by 321 CE.• Chandragupta II conquered many smaller tribes and spread his empire to the north.• Ashoka, an important emperor of the Mauryan empire, was Buddhist, but recognized
Hindus as equals.• The Gupta empire lasted from 320 to 500 CE.• The Gupta empire developed new advancements in the building of temples.• Devotional movements in Hinduism spread from 600 to 1600 CE, which weakened the
spread of Buddhism.• Islam grew near the Ganges at the end of the 12th century CE, which weakened Hinduism
in this area.• Portuguese missionaries spread Christianity in India in the 1540s.• Britain began to take power in India in 1720 CE, and this increased the spread of
Christianity through India.
Change Over Time• The Aryans developed the Vedic religion, which was the basis for
Hinduism. Many important religious texts were written during the Vedic Age, and these texts, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, contained beliefs that were fundamental to the Hindu religion, including karma and Nirvana. From 550 to 450 BCE, teachers and their followers branched off to form new sects of Hinduism, and in 320 CE, the two major sects were Vaishnavas and Shaivites. Hinduism spread through southeast Asia through merchants. Chandragupta I and II both contributed to the expansion of the Mauryan Empire, and with it, Hinduism. Ashoka, a major emperor of the Mauryan Empire, was Buddhist, but he tolerated Hindus as equal people. The Gupta Empire developed to techniques for the building of Hindu temples. Hindu devotional movements contributed to the spread of Hinduism, but the growth of Islam near the Ganges hindered it. Christianity reached India in the 1540s through Portuguese missionaries, and it continued to grow with the colonization of India by the British.
Change Over Time- Cont.
• Hinduism, which could be the oldest religion in the world, still makes up about 80% of India’s population. The introduction of other religions such as Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity did not affect the spread of Hinduism drastically. Its roots in the arrival of Aryans make it a sturdy and popular religion, and the spread of the Mauryan and Gupta Empires only helped Hinduism to spread further.
Role that Hinduism plays in today’s world
• Most aspects of Hinduism haven’t changed since it was created.• The only aspect of Hinduism that has changed is the Caste System. There
were four different castes. The highest caste consisted of priests. The warriors and rulers made up the second caste. The third caste were merchants and farmers. The laborers made up the lowest caste.
• The aspects of Hinduism that haven’t changed are Karma, reincarnation, and Nirvana.
• Karma is the belief that every action, thought, or decision has a result. This result can be either good or bad. The result will come in either this life or a next one. Which bring us to reincarnation.
• Reincarnation is the belief that a soul will be reborn into different bodies. The soul will go through multiple births, deaths, and rebirths.
• Nirvana is the goal of all Hindus. This is when the soul is released from the reincarnation cycle.
Sources- Bibliography• Textbook (The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History)• http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/timeline.htm• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas• http://hinduism.about.com/od/scripturesepics/a/upanishads.htm• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_India• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puranas• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266312/Hinduism/8970/The-history-of-
Hinduism#toc8970• http://www.suite101.com/content/hinduism-and-the-aryan-influence-a8025• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gupta_Empire• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_India• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt#Agriculture• http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/africa/economy/index.htm• http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/seasia/geness.html• http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/africa/people/index.htm• http://www.my-world-guide.com/upload/foto/169/thumbnails2/hindu_temple.jpg• http://www.thermorocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/goldentemple.jpg• http://www.amazing-trinidad-vacations.com/east-indian-culture.html• http://www.ualberta.ca/~rchladny/photo/malaysia/images/hindu_temple.jpg• http://www.guyanajournal.com/hinduism_caribbean.html
Jobs of Group Members
• Ashley Cloer- P.I.R.A.T.E.S and regional comparisons.
• Phoebe Bumsted- Chronology and change over time.
• Amanda Farzad- Pictures, charts, graphs, and role in today’s society.