Social and Religious Life of the Harapan Civilization Explained

all right good evening students I hope I'm audible shanil abiram Nores aazar here good

evening right so in our last lecture we were talking about life

within the harapan civilization and we had already talked about

there economic life we had noted the important developments with regards to agriculture

trade Commerce craft production Etc now let us talk about their social

life right social life what kind of a

society existed was the society a completely flat one or was there economic

stratification economic stratification was clearly visible it is easy to discern the distinction between the rich

and the poor on the basis of the differences in the

houses the graves the urban morphology

the distribution of material

remains Etc there exist both palatial several roomed Bungalows as

well as single roomed apartments there exist both elaborate Graves with extremely valuable materials

buried along with their occupants and ordinary Graves there is a clear distinction

between the ruling class quarters and the uh ruled class quarters upper town and Lower Town there exist a clear

distinction in the distribution of material resources in the upper town and the Lower Town items of higher value are

found in which town upper town and of lower value from the uh Lower Town

right at the same time the degree of

inequality was it comparable to other bronze civilizations or was it relatively

lower degree of inequality relatively low L the society was more

egalitarian why are we saying this yes yes that uh burn bricks were used

for the construction of the houses of both the elites as well as the common people what did the composition of the

society look like was it homogeneous or diverse diverse there coexisted in the harapan

cities multiple races or ethnicities along with

multiple FES right can we make any announcements with

regards to the status of women in society they it appears

that women enjoyed relatively higher status or lower status in

society relatively higher status in the

society Q because of the discovery of large numbers

of mother goddess idols and

seals that means female is predominated right however

this particular understanding has been challenged by recent scholarship modern

Anthropologist that simply the deification of women is no guarantee of women enjoying a high status in society

even during the early medieval and medieval periods there were very powerful Hindu goddesses right but did

actual Indian women experience the same kind of respect in society no they were treated quite poorly right

so this particular aspect has been challenged more recently

further the social culture of the haran people what did it reflect did it paint the picture of constant

conflict or relative peace relative peace because from the archaeological findings

there is no evidence to indicate that in order to maintain control over a particular region some other people had

invaded it or knocked down important structure killed people so there is no evidence of a great battle ever having

occurred during the harapan civilization internal Warfare battle strife and if such a Strife is not

happening what does that tell you social bonds within the harapan society were they weak and superficial or were they

strong strong social bonds to so there was strong social

and cultural unity and the society valued cooperation more than

conflict right what does this tell us about the nature of the harapan society and

culture Progressive cosmopolitan regressive and wall off

insular Progressive all this points towards the existence of a

progressive assimilative and Cosmopolitan culture this fact is further driven

home by evidence which supports the presence of extensive internal

and external trade could this have been possible if the harapan people had been hostile to

Outsiders and other cultures possible so these are the things that we can get to know about the haran society

from the archaeological remains give the heading social life what could have been the reason for

the fortifications if there was Peace So reasons may have been different security is the most obvious reason but more

importantly more important than that may have been the need to demarcate clearly the distinction between the ruling class

and the ruled class so it may have been an ideological tool used by the ruling class to separate themselves from the

ordinary class of people and to ideologically enforce their domination right so that may have been another

Factor clear all right social

life the haran society was a stratified one was a stratified

one with clear demarcation with clear demarcation between the rich and

poor between the rich and poor full stop sub

Point Merchants Traders and the political

Elite and the political Elite constituted the upper echelons constituted the upper echelons

e c e l o NS upper echelons of the society next a

point on the other hand on the other hand Craftsman laborers and

cultivators constituted the common class constituted the common classes constituted the common

classes Mak a point this stratification is clearly visible

this stratification is clearly visible in the types of houses

Graves Urban morphology and distribution of material remains Urban

morphology and distribution of material remains left behind Left

Behind material remains left behind by

the left behind by the harant next main point

while distinct iic classes existed while distinct economic classes existed

comma the level of economic inequality the level of economic inequality seems to be much lower

seems to be much lower in relation to other bronze

civilizations such as Mesopotamia or Egypt such as Mesopotamia or Egypt we stop

the point unlike those

cultures comma the haran elite the harapan elite did not construct

Grand monuments such as palaces

temples and pyramids and pyramids next up Point instead

instead comma the fair distribution of wealth the distribution of

wealth was reflected in the widespread use of burnt

bricks of burnt bricks comma the availability of high

quality sanitation and drinking water services to Ordinary People the access to high quality

sanitation and drinking water services to Ordinary People comma extensive town

planning and high degree of literacy indicated by indicated Ed

by the widespread use of script indicated by the widespread use of

script next main point the haran society the haran society appears to be

a diverse one appears to be a diverse one composed of several ethnicities composed of several

ethnicities cultural groups and religious communities and religious

communities right so it was a diverse Society next Point main point it appears that women

it appears that women enjoyed a place of prominence enjoyed a place of

prominence in society in Society due to

the large number of mother goddess idols and seals

full stop sub point

however comma modern anthropologists modern anthropologists argue

that the simple belief the simple belief in female Dees does not necessarily

indicate necessarily indicate the simple belief in female duties does not necessarily

indicate favorable conditions favorable conditions for

women for women okay next main point the haran society the haran

society was a remarkably peaceful one was a remarkably peaceful one full

stop there is no archaeological evidence to suggest to

suggest internal Warfare among Harens for gaining control for gaining

control for gaining control sub point this points to this points

to strong bonds of Social and cultural

Unity of social and cultural Unity among Harens among

Harens full stop next Point additionally comma this indicates this indicates the existence

of an elaborate and efficient ient an elaborate and efficient political

system which did not rely which did not rely upon

Force to gain control or to maintain control to maintain control so there must have been other

mediums for exercising control such as ideology or religion or maybe inter dependence on trade or maybe uh kinship

and kinship kinship and kinship ties Etc or maybe uh economic inter

interdependence factors probably political Unity or stability facilitate rather than the use of force but this at

the same time also indicates the presence of strong social and cultural uh bonds of unity between The

Harens last main point all these things all these things indicate that

the haraan society was a progressive

open and Cosmopolitan society and Cosmopolitan Society full

stop supp Point without this without

this comma the herens would never have

had the flourishing trade never have had the flourishing trade that they

enjoyed with the Mesopotamians with the Mesopotamian Ians and other foreign

cultures and other foreign cultures now details about their social life what about their religious

life what were the characteristics of harapan religion it seems to be a combination of

animism and fertility cult were any sacrificial rituals

involved yes religion philosophical one or materialistic one was there any single dominant religion

or multiple faiths coexisted pluralistic society does religion seem to be a private

Affair or something which was observed publicly private Affair why because from all these sites we have

not found any public temples or shrines okay huh gods and goddesses but we do not know

for certain what those images represented secondly for religion to be a public Affair you must have public

places of worship also now all the places of worship inside the household right and

it were these items of public use or for private use private use items artifacts articles

right all these were could probably be found either inside the household of a private individuals or on their

person these kinds of things we'll find right does there appear to be any state

religion no so there was the state was secular have images or Idols of gods and

goddesses been found from the haran cities mother goddess Idols pasal mother

goddess mask of a hor these kinds of things have been found so Idols or

religious icons existed but we do not have any clear

indication of idol worship even in homes or in temples whenever

Idols are woried how are they woried or some garments or flowers or something is offered

right all these things leave behind their mark on those Idols right L from none of of the idols of the

hares have any such marks of worship been discovered burn marks in these kinds of things are known to us

right was the harapan religion a completely rational one or did there exist superstitious beliefs and

practices also suti belief in

spirits charms and spells is also evident from several of the graves

totemic items such as amulets have been found Tavis then

did The Harens believe in the afterlife in the concept of life after death yes okay these are the features write

down sir great bath for ritual bathing can't make Rel can make religious might be public Affair in certain Pockets but

we don't know on which occasions this kind of ritual bathing took place was it actually ritual bathing associated with

religion or religious bathing associated with some political structur maybe bathing these kinds of things

right regarding idol worship if there have if there have been found no remains of any marks of worship does it

necessarily mean that there was no idol worship absence of proof is not proof of absence after all yeah you are right and

in fact this has been a major cause of debate between historians RS Sharma is the strongest War who supports the uh

idea that Harens worshiped Idols but on the other side almost all notable historians agree that while Idols

existed idol worship was not performed so it is a matter of debate even now with the historical opinion weighing

down in favor of the absence of idol worship that is why we have made this clear

pronouncement ID worship Shanel would I clarify your doubt so we

are not entirely certain about the ritualistic significance of the great bath so that

is why we are saying religious structures exist but what kind of ritual we are not

sure about write down give the subing religious life or haran religion haran

religion was a mixture of a mixture of

animism a mixture of animism and fertility worship and F

worship supp Point prominently and painted

Potter with along with depictions of

trees such as the people tree such as the people tree full stop this indicates

that nature ship was an important component was an important

component of the haran belief system of the haran belief system

stop next Point s simultaneously

comma the popularity of the fertility cult is attested to is attested to by

the widespread representation of the mother goddess

comma phallic and Yoni symbols phallic and uni symbols male and female reproductive

organs right phallic and Yi symbols comma fire alars fire

alars and snakes and snakes so snake since the ancient period has been a symbol of renewals has been a

symbol of fertility you it sheds its skin and grows a new skin so it is as if it is reborn

entirely right so it has become a symbol of fertility clear

so a combination of animism nature worship and fertility cult next main point

Le the harapan religion seems to be materialistic seems to be

materialistic stop The Harens probably woried different gods and

goddesses and performed various rituals to do

what to fulfill their desire and overcome their fears to fulfill their desire

and performed various rituals to fulfill their desires for

wealth fertility productivity

children safety Etc first point first animals feature prominently on

harapan seals and painted pot tree along with depictions of trees such as the people tree this indicates that nature

worship was an important component of the harapan belief system

okay all right huh

materialistic fa right then next right next main point the harapan

society was a pluralistic one was a pluralistic one with multiple faiths and belief

systems flourishing side by side flourishing side by side full

stop sub point this is indicated by the discovery

of a large variety of burial practices

comma cultic objects cultic objects

and images and Idols images and Idols of different gods and goddesses of different gods and

goddesses okay so it there were multiple faiths on a pluralistic society next main

point it appears that it appears that religion was a matter of personal

faith was a matter of personal faith and did not feature prominently and did not feature

prominently in public life did not feature prominently in public

life full stop point this is indicated by the absence this is indicated by the

absence of any public shrines or temples dedicated

to different gods and goddesses different gods and goddesses next

Point Harens worshiped different

gods by offering small sacrifices to them within their houses within in their

houses okay water alter fire alter Etc all these things are usually found inside the household not outside next

Point next main point it appears it appears

that the harapan state did not have any state religion did not have any state

religion and the society was a secular one was a secular man

one p stop sub point this is proved by the

absence this is proved by the absence of any type of religious public

monument religious public monument in the entirety in the entirety of the harapan civilization in

the entirety of the harapan civilization stop next main point while Idols while

Idols were present were present in the haran civilization in the harapan civilization

comma according to most historians comma idol

worship was not practiced was not practiced full

stop sub point this argument is supported by this argument is supported

by the absence of the absence of

any marks any marks on the idols in Brackets you can write such as

incense Burns such as incense Burns close brackets which may

indicate that they were objects of worship that they were objects of

worship take next main point the harapan belief system the

haran belief system was not entirely rational was not entirely

rational superstitions full stop superstitions prevailed superstitions

prevailed and Harens believed in spirits

magic charms and spells Spirit magic charms and spells

supp point the discovery of the discovery

of totemic items such as such as

amulets and charms warn by harapan people warn by the harapan

people have been discovered from their graves have been discovered from their graves and

last H last me Point The Harens The Harens also believed in the concept

of life after death in the concept of life after death as indicated

by the discovery of grave Goods such as

Potter wood brains slaughtered animal bones

tools ornaments and other items of common use

from their graves from their graves the purpose of burying them was

so that these things could be used by the occupant of the grave in the afterlife okay food for eating those

other things for living the daily lives clear so these were the main features of their religious life take down a

question highlighting the essential

characteristics of or up religious

life comma compare it to

the early Vic religion word limit

20 15 marks right now one portion of this question

you'll be able to answer you'll be able to highlight the essential characteristics of haran religious

life comparison with early Vic religion for that first we need to cover the early AG

so by the time you end that chapter you should be able to construct a satisfactory

answer right religious life during the harapan civilization then moving on

to haran art how did The Harens Express their artistic

creativity by making seals

beads bronze art terra cotta figurines

and stone sculpture what were the characteristics of the harapan seals

they were square or rectangular in

shape roughly 2 square in in size made out of

statite it is a soft rivine

Stone right which was usually excavated from the river beds sedimentary rock right

then were these featuress or did they have certain etchings on them certain carvings

carvings carvings or relief carvings no inago carvings they were covered

in in tago carvings what are in carvings and relief carvings what does it appear is the

carved portion raised or is it depressed raised right background raed so it appears that the

material has been removed from the background flattening it while leaving behind the raised portion the actual

object Rel carvings where the background is left alone and the actual object is made by

removing certain material that is known as inago carving okay so inag animal figures

we find right most prominent animal figure most frequently found

the bull right then we find figures of trees which tree is most frequently depicted the people

tree we find the figures of different gods and goddesses Dees most frequently mother

goddess is depicted do we find any human figures yes

human figures are also found and along with all this almost all script sorry almost all

seals also carry an inscription in the harapan script

right now why are we putting seals under the category of harapan because of the existence of

these carvings The Harens depicted what they felt was culturally important to them right then we have jewelry made

of beads bead making industry lapidary most significant Center of

lapidary activities chanu daru another important center for bead

making and jewelry making lothal

take what were the kinds of stones that were used semi-precious stones

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