Aryans and Dravidians - Essay Example

The Aryans and Dravidians India’s ancient civilization emerged in a markedly separated sub-continent bordered on the north by the chain of the Himalayas. This great mountain range, with its wings to east and west, isolates India from the world (Gottschalk 2000). Yet, the blockade was never an insurmountable one, and merchants and settlers have always found their way over the steep and barren routes into India, as Indians have performed their culture and business beyond her borders by the same passes (Gottschalk 2000).

The seclusion of India has never been thorough, and the impact of the mountain barrier in expanding her distinct civilization has usually been overestimated (Knott 1998). This essay will discuss the history and culture of two of the most unique civilizations that inhabited the Indian continent, the Aryans and Dravidians.The Aryans The term ‘Aryan’, according to the Indo-European philology, refers to an individual, recognized ethnically or racially, and the Aryan language, regardless of the ethnicity or race of the inhabitants speaking its different variants (Basham 1954).

The Aryan civilization was a new beginning in the culture of India. Harappa was basically a blind alley; the Aryans borrowed almost nothing of the culture of the Harappan civilization (Basham 1954). They did not develop a writing system, built no states, and cities. Rather they were a hostile civilization that governs themselves in kinship, tribal, and individual units (Gottschalk 2000). Basically, the Aryans were a group of nomadic and tribal people inhabiting the remote part of Euro-Asia in unfriendly steppe territories hardly making a sufficient subsistence (Gottschalk 2000).

They were undoubtedly a strong population, and they were brave and aggressive. Their religion is governed by a sky-god that commands combat and invasion (Gottschalk 2000). The culture of the Aryan civilization was concentrated around warfare. They were exceptional horseback riders and charged into combat in chariots (Knott 1998). They were ruled by a raja, or a war-chief. They started to move southwards in series of continuous invasion across Persia and India at some point in the second millennium B.C. (Knott 1998).

The Dravidians The term ‘Dravidian’ is given to peoples of India related by language. They are claimed to be the earliest inhabitants of ancient India (Basham 1954). The population is mostly made up of the lower class Indian people. Particular groups of people comprise the Tamil, the Todas and the Ghats (Basham 1954). The culture of the Dravidian is quite diverse, with several groups preserving more customary practices such as matralinealism and paganism, as others have adopted the culture of a contemporary technological world (Knott 1998).

The language of the Dravidian civilization has stayed relatively strong in spite of a substantial level of contact with other groups of people in India. Nowadays, the Dravidians comprise the world’s fourth largest linguistic population (Knott 1998). It is commonly believed that Dravidians were the architects of the Indus River Valley Civilization. It is also believed that the Dravidians inhabited India when the Indo-Aryans conquered the subcontinent (Gottschalk 2000). Other Dravidians preserved their tribal form in southern and central India.

Generally, Dravidians were slowly Hinduized, but preserved their rich languages. The language of the Tamil is the earliest of the Dravidian languages to show the Hindu influence (Gottschalk 2000). The history and culture of the Aryans and Dravidians are testimonies of the rich beginnings and continuous progress of the Indian sub-continent. ReferencesBasham, A.L. The Wonder that was India: A Survey of the Culture of the Indian Subcontinent before the Coming of the Muslims. New York: Grove Press, 1954.

Gottschalk, Peter. Beyond Hindu and Muslim: Multiple Identity in Narratives from Village India. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Knott, Kim. Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.