20 Protohistory of India and Pakistan II: Characteristics of the Indus Civilization: Society,Life-ways and Religion

Rajesh S.V.

Introduction

The period between c. 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE is generally known as the Integration Era. At the beginning of the Integration Era, most of the regional cultures of the Greater Indus region integrated into a widespread urban society, the Harappa Phase/Indus period. Pronounced homogeneity in material culture of the urban society distributed over a vast area, extensive and densely populated cities, monumental architecture, social stratification, technologically complex craft activities, existence of fulltime specialist craftsmen, transport workers, merchants, officials, peasants, pastoralists and priests, standardized weights and measures, naturalistic art expressions, use of a script and maritime trade with Mesopotamia and Egypt are the distinguishing features of this period. In the absence of a deciphered script (the written language), it was formerly thought that archaeologists would find it difficult to convincingly understand the society, life-ways, religious and polity of the Indus Civilization. Archaeological methodology has mad eit possible to draw definitive inferences from a systematic study of the large body of material culture remains unearthed from a complex variety of sites in India and Pakistan. Some the major sites include Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, etc.

2. Objectives

The chapter aims at reconstructing life ways of the authors of the Indus Civilization based on the artefacts unearthed from various sites in India and Pakistan. We will also discuss the major hindrances for the identification of social and religious institutions of the civilization.

3. Society

In the absence of sufficient tangible data, the reconstruction of social structure during the Indus Civilization is a difficult task. Various scholars who attempted to study the social organization of the Indus people argued that it was a stratified society where some sort of hierarchy existed. While, a few opined that caste system was prevalent in the society. Stuart Piggott described the Indus Civilization as a theocratic organization, in which chief priest was the ruler.

The existence of double mounds representing citadel and lower town at many of the Indus Civilization sites was interpreted as the evidence for class structured society. There is a general unanimity among researchers that the citadel served as the residence of ruling chief/elite group and the lower town was the abode of common man. However, according to B.B.   Lal, the habitation at Kalibangan was distributed in three different localities; a priestly class living in the fortified citadel, an agriculturist-cum merchant class living in the fortified lower town, and a workers class living outside two fortified areas. Excavations at Dholavira show that, the city was divided into four fortified parts viz. the citadel which was occupied by the rulers, the bailey or the noblemen’s quarters, the middle town for the agriculturists, merchants, craftsmen and traders, and the lower town for manual workers and labourers.

The evidence for the segregation of different groups in the Indus society were unearthed from Mound E at Harappa. It was occupied by craftsmen engaged in pottery production, flint knapping and shell cutting. Similar evidence was also reported from HR area of Mohenjo Daro. During the excavations at Harappa, R.E.M. Mortimer Wheeler discovered a street with stone mortars probably used for dehusking grain and pounding it into flour. Piggott recognized the area as that of slave quarters or place of government enterprise where slaves pounded cereals. Though, Irawati Karve described it as a street lived by a caste-like group who specialized in pounding cereals.

Skeletal biological studies show that the Indus population was cosmopolitan in nature. A close biological relationship between the Harappan people of Lothal and hunter gatherers of Langhnaj has been documented archaeoanthropologists. It suggests that genes may have been flowed between these two populations. According to Possehl and Kennedy, the people of Lothal are not so similar in phenotypic pattern to their contemporaries in the Indus region. A number of physical variables present in the skeletal series suggest their closest biological affinities with some of the hunting gathering communities whose descendants survive as tribal enclaves in modern India. The availability of burial goods of regional communities in Indus burials and the skeleton similarities between Lothal and Langhnaj suggest the harmonious coexistence of Harappans and regional people. However, the ethnic group of the skeletons from Cemetery R-37 and Cemetery H appears to have been the same.

4. Life-ways

The Indus people lived in cities, towns, villages and camp sites. The society was composed of merchants, nomads, fishermen, hunters, farmers, rulers, state officials, attendants, traders, shopkeepers, workshop owners, gate keepers, tax collectors, sweepers, garbage collectors, artisans, ritual specialists and other professionals. Excavations at Harappa indicate that many specialists lived or worked together in distinctive neighbourhoods in particular parts of the city.

Hoards of jewelry, bronze weapons, workshops and public structures in the Indus sites indicate the presence of merchants and shopkeepers in the society. The evidence of ceramic vessels and kilns clearly indicate the existence of potters. Faience workers and stone ware bangle producers were also lived in Indus sites. Shell working and ivory carving was other specialized work practiced by separate groups of craftsmen. Copper and bronze workers had their workshops in many of the sites. Evidences for gold, lead and silver working have been found in sites like Harappa. Stone bead making was also in vogue and it is attested by drill bits, finished and unfinished beads, bead rough outs and wastes. Stone carvers produced objects of utilitarian and symbolic function such as grinding stones, pestle stones, hammer stones, loom weights, ring stones and conical objects. Sculptural art was prevalent in cities as attested by seated animal and human sculptures of sandstone and steatite respectively.

Textile work may have been carried out in various sites and the use of cotton and wool can be identified from diverse fabric impressions found on pottery, terracotta and faience objects and cloth fragments preserved on copper objects. Though, the kind of printing and colour of Indus fabric is not clear. Carpet making was also in vogue at Indus sites as indicated by the presence of curved copper blades called razors, the specialized tool for cutting tied threads. The evidences for basket making and mat weaving using reeds and grasses can be understood through impressions on clay floors and fired clay lumps. They probably produced twisted cords from hemp or other vegetable fibers for tying bundles of goods.

The wooden doors of the city gates and windows of the brick houses were probably made by carpenters. Terracotta replicas and seal carvings clearly indicate the existence of furniture makers. Special groups of carpenters were probably engaged in the production of wooden boats, bullock carts and musical instruments like drums. The construction and maintenance of water sources, fortifications walls, gateways, drains, domestic and public structures clearly indicate the existence of well diggers, architects, brick makers and masons.

The Indus society may have amusement class of people represented by singers, dancers, actors and musicians. The line of seven figures on a seal from Mohenjo Daro may represent a line dance or ritual procession. Similarly, fragmentary stone sculpture of a male from Harappa may represent the dancer. A terracotta mask excavated from Mohenjo-daro was probably used for rituals. Only representation of a musician is noticed on a terracotta tablet from Harappa, where a drummer is shown playing a dholak style drum before a tiger deity. Other instruments probably used for amusement or ritual purposes include shell trumpet, terracotta whistles and rattles.

Terracotta animal toys found at many of the Indus sites may represent the involvement of animals in pastime activities. Terracotta toy carts pulled by movable headed bulls may represent the bull race or bullock cart race or they simply acted as children’s play objects. The dog figurines and bear figurines with collars may suggest the use of animals for fights. The trained dogs were probably used for hunting purposes. Monkey figurines from sites may indicate the use of them as pets. Though there are representations of snakes on some tablets, snake charmers are not shown in any of the tablets and it might be showing that the snake charming tradition was not prevalent during the Indus time.

Artefacts like razors, pins and pincers were probably used by the barbers or physicians. Bathing platforms identified near a well at Harappa has been interpreted as a public washing area used by the washer folks. Other specialists lived in Indus site may include perfumers, liquor and oil manufacturers and garland makers. Small faience bottles were probably used to keep perfumes where as perforated pottery may indicate the preparation of beverages.

Images of people lived in sites of Indus Civilization can be seen in the figurines made from clay and bronze. Ornaments and utensils from excavations show the varieties of materials and styles used by different social classes. The burials from various sites clearly indicate physical characteristics of the people, burial rituals, ornament types preferred by men and women and belief in life after death.

The evidence of ploughed field from Kalibangan, terracotta yokes from Nausharo, terracotta plough from Banawali and large number of archaeobotanical specimens from various Indus sites clearly indicate the importance of agriculture in the daily life of the people and the existence of peasants. The archaeobotanical evidences also speak about the seasonal cultivations i.e. monsoon (Kharif) and winter (Rabi) crops. Bullock carts indirectly throw light on the transport workers. The availability of raw materials and finished products of distant origin in various sites clearly indicate the prevalence of raw material collectors, middle man and market.

The large quantity of bones of wild animals from sites indicates hunting activities of the people. Bones of cattle, sheep and goat from various sites indicate domestication activities and use of meat for food. They might have consumed the diary products too. The animal bones with cut marks are indicative of the existence of a group of people practicing butchery. The availability of seasonal camp sites in many parts of subcontinent is interpreted as the indication of pastoral activities. The fish hooks, terracotta net sinkers, fish bones and otoliths from various sites are evidences of fishing activities of the Indus people. Arrow points unearthed from hundreds of sites point towards the existence of hunter gatherers during Harappan period. These different kinds of information provide a glimpse of the society and life ways of the Indus people.

5. Religion

Our knowledge about beliefs and rituals prevalent in the Indus society is scanty due to rarity of artefacts conveying religious significance in important structural contexts. None of the excavated sites of the civilization provided clear-cut evidence for the existence of a religious shrine or temple probably owing to the lack of proper insight for recognizing such structures or due to the total absence of them. Another major reason for the same is un-deciphered script and absence of bilingual written records. Even in the absence of a positively identified temple or a place of worship, various scholars including John Marshall argued that Hinduism had its roots in the Indus Civilization. On the basis of the discovery of so called Proto-Siva seal and phallic emblems from Mohenjo Daro, Marshall suggested Saivism as the longest living faith in the world having a history of five thousand years or more and this interpretation has been accepted globally with a few criticisms. Based on this theory, arteacts recovered from the Indus sites showing similarities to the Hindu cult objects such as terracotta female figurines, phalli, vulvas, horned deities, trees, bathing plat forms and fire altars were attested to the Indus religion.

5.1 Terracotta Female Figurines

Thousands of terracotta female figurines recovered from the Harappan sites in Sindh and Punjab regions of Pakistan have been identified as mother goddess figurines. These types of figurines are occurring in very limited quantity at the sites in India. The stylized figurines are normally represented with or without ornate fan shaped headdresses, ornaments, bare breasts, attenuated waist and short skirts. The cup shaped attachments having smoke clouds in the headdress might have used as lamps. There is no clear evidence that whether the female figurines represent the fertility cult or earth goddess. In order to connect the female figurines with mother Goddess, Marshal described a seal from Harappa depicting a nude female in upside down posture with legs apart and a plant growing from her vulva symbolically representing the production of vegetation from the womb of mother earth.

5.2 Male Figurines

In comparison to the female figurines, male terracotta figurines are less in number. The figurines are always represented in nude and some of them wear necklaces and bangles. Some of the male figurines are represented with tied long hair and beard. In the absence of clear evidences it is not viable to predict whether the male figurines represent the consort of Mother Goddess. Seated sandstone male figurine from Dholavira, seated sandstone male sculpture with cloak and braided hair or head band, seated limestone sculpture with shell inlaid eye and decorated head band and sandstone head with braided hair from Mohenjo-daro are probably representing the male gods or priests.

5.3 Priest King

An 18 cm tall white steatite sculpture unearthed from Mohenjo Daro is popularly known as priest king. It has a short beard and shaven upper lip. This fashion resembles the gods and men in ancient Sumer. The lips are full, and the broken nose was possibly of normal size. Trefoil decoration in relief is carved on the cloth which is represented over the left shoulder and under the right arm of the figurine. The hair is cropped and parted in the middle and secured by a fillet tied round the head with two long ends hanging down behind. The eyes are partially closed and are inlaid with shells and slash on the shells symbolize moderately covered pupils. Based on the partially closed eyes, a few scholars considered the figurine as representation of state of yoga. In the absence of clear evidences it is not possible to say that it represents either a priest or a king.

5.4 Deities

In one of the seals known as seal of divine adoration, a human figurine having horned headdress usually interpreted as a deity is shown standing on a tree with a praying human figurine and a sacrificial goat. Seven standing human figures depicted in the lower panel of the seal might be representing the devotees. Representation of a man holding a scimitar and a seated figure with disheveled hair on one side of the seal and other side showing female in upside down posture and a plant coming out of her vagina has been interpreted as human sacrifice to a tree spirit. A number of terracotta tablets depicting horned male or female human figurines in various contexts may have religious significance. A human figurine struggling with two tigers appears on seals from Mohenjo Daro might have some association with early representations of Sumerian Gilgamesh who assisted his friend Enkidu in the struggle with wild beasts. This instance can be viewed as importance given to deified heroes in the society. The fight between humans and animals is also shown on a terracotta tablet from Harappa. A female figurine standing on an elephant holding two felines is shown on one side while the other side depicts the killing of a water buffalo. Possibly a man, with hair tied in a bun on the back of the head, impales a water buffalo with a barbed spear. The man’s foot presses down the water buffalo’s head as he thrusts the spear into its shoulder. In later Hindu rituals, the water buffalo sacrifice is associated with the worship of Durga. A crocodile is represented above the head of the hunter. On this seal, the sacrifice takes place in the presence of a priest or deity seated in yogic position. The seated figure wears horned headdress and bangles. A seal from Mohenjo Daro popularly known as the Pasupati seal is engraved with a three headed deity wearing a buffalo horned headdress with a fan like central feature. He is seated in padmasana on a low-footed stool below which two gazelles (one is broken) are looking up. Seven designs in the form of ‘V ’ are drawn on his headgear. The ithyphallic figure is represented with bangles, wristlets and a series of graduated necklaces. On his right side, there is the representation of buffalo and rhinoceros and on the left side a tiger and an elephant is engraved. Many scholars traced its connection to vedic religion. This seated figure has been referred to as “Proto Shiva” because of its similarity to later iconography of the deity Shiva from Hindu religion. Another terracotta tablet discovered from Harappa has depiction of a drummer facing a tiger on one side and another side has Indus script and five swastika motifs. In India, even today drummer plays a major role in the rituals associated with Hindu religion. Another tablet from Harappa shows a deity in a sacred pipal tree with plumed headgear and bangles on each hand. The sacred pipal tree is interpreted as symbolic representation of a temple. A different seal representing female horned figurine attacking male horned tiger is interpreted as the Shakta (male principle) and Shakti (female principle) concept of Hindusim. A seal from Dholavira representing a horned deity standing erect between two branches of a tree each with three leaves on outer side can be connected to Hindu rituals. The seal also depict a devotee kneeling with bent right leg and left leg being drawn at the knee and the hands touching the ground before the deity. Lower portion of the seal have depiction of a standing goat facing the deity with outstretched wavy horns and upturned tail. Horned Yogi seals from Harappa with leaf headdress, bangles, multiple faces and long hair are also attributed to Hinduism. Horned anthropomorph depiction on a terracotta triangular cake from Kalibangan is also connected to Hinduism. A number of steatite seals and terracotta tablets from various Indus sites depict the scene showing a tiger looking back over shoulder at a person sitting on the branch of a tree may have some religious significance.

5.5 Omphalos, Phallus and Vulva

Though a large number of phallic objects were reported from sites of the Indus Civilization, only a few were properly carved to suggest the male organ. The vulvas are the symbolic representation of females. Omphalos or navel stones are plain column stones with flat bottom and a curved top and shaped like the Phallus but lacked the anatomical details. Possehl states that large phallic objects were meant for worship and the smaller ones were used as amulets

5.6 Zoolatry

Many scholars believe that animal worship was prevalent in the Indus Civilization. Pots from Kot Diji, Rehman Dheri and Padri have representation of a horned figurine (buffalo head) with somewhat similar human face. They probably worshipped bulls and unicorns as indicated by their depiction on seals. Many portrayals of composite animals (some with three heads) were also reported from various sites. Tigers with horns, unicorns with elephant trunk and unicorns growing out of trees are some among them. The unicorn mainly seen on the stamp seals may have been a mythical animal rather than a bull.

5.7 Dendrolatry

Plants were perhaps regarded sacred. Humans, monitoring the growth and death of trees, the sensitivity and annual decay and revival of their foliage, the elasticity of their branches, see them as powerful symbols of growth, decay and resurrection. Various seals, tablets and pottery depicting Pipal tree, banyan tree and acacia tree were reported from many sites of Indus Civilization. Sometimes they were shown in association with horned deities, composite animals and unicorn.

5.8 Sacred Motifs and Symbols

The endless-knot motif found on copper tablets and seals at Mohenjo Daro may have been a symbol of specific cult or community. In the rangoli paintings, this motif is still popular in the Central Himalayas. The intersecting circle, fish-scale design, hatched triangle, checkerboard design and the circle-and-dot motif are the commonly occurring geometric motifs on pottery. Many of these designs are replicated on seals, in shell inlay or carved on ivory gaming pieces and even on bathtubs or tiles. Swastika which marks the good beginning in Hinduism and Jainism is a common symbol of the iconography of the Indus Civilization occurring mainly on seals and sealings and sometimes together with other Indus religious themes. Various types of shell objects (ladles, bangles and inlays) and shells probably used for rituals have been reported from many sites of Indus Civilization.

5.9 Water Ablution

The bathing facilities in the houses indicate that washing and cleanliness were imperative to the Indus people. G.L. Possehl suggests that this involved both physical cleanliness as well as something of a more symbolic nature. The wells throughout the city were sources of water, essential for effective cleanliness. The drainage system and brick lined channels are evidences of their cleanliness. Elaborate provisions of drains at Kalibangan and the Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro indicate the importance of ablutionary rituals in Indus Civilization.

5.10 Fire Altars

Pits filled with ash, bones and other debris from Harappan sites like Lothal, Rangpur, Vagad, Nageshwar and Kalibangan are identified as fire altars. Although, majority of the structures identified as fire altars clearly show that they were used as hearths and kilns. Some of the structures made out of mud bricks are also identified as fire altars.

Conclusion

In this chapter, we have seen the characteristic features of Indus society and religion. Though, the truth is that until the script is deciphered or more enlightening archaeological materials found, we have to live with our limited knowledge.

Web links

• www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-neolithic-revolution.htm
• history-world.org/neolithic.htm
• dash.harvard.edu/bitstream /handle/1/12210882…
• ancientneareast.tripod.com/105.htm l
• www.coursehero.com

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