Indian and Southeast Asian art - Research Paper Example

Indian and Southeast Asian art The Indian history s way back to 3300 B.C to 1300 B.C with the birth of the Indus Valley civilization such as Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa and the invasion by the Aryans. The Indo-Aryans and the late Harappa culture gave rise to the Vedic Period. (Sen, 1999, 37). This period (between 1500 to 500B.C) laid the foundation for Hinduism and other cultural aspects of ancient Indian society. After them, came the Mauryans, led by the Great King Ashoka in 273- 232 B.C. (Sen, 1999, 593) He is remembered today primarily for introducing, practicing and spreading Buddhism in ancient India. It was from there that Buddhism spread across South East Asia and is practiced vehemently even today. After the Mauryans, many other rulers like the Guptas, Cholas, Pandayas and Pallavas ruled the country, each making their own contributions towards art, architecture, culture and religion of ancient India. In the 12th and 13th centuries, came the Turks and Afghans invading and defeating the last of the Raj put dynasty and occupying most of northern India. After them, came the Mughals led by Babur in 1526. He established the Mughal empire, which was run by his successors, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The Mughal Empire saw its downfall in 1707 with the death of the last emperor, Aurangzeb. The Mughal emperor, Jahangir, had permitted the East India Company to trade in India in 1617. With the downfall of the Mughal Empire, the British started increasing their influences over the other rulers and slowly took control in terms of trading as well as the administration and running of the country. This led to many revolts and revolutions, often the period being described as the “Dark Ages” for it caused art, literature and cultural downfall. (Wolpert, 1999, 23). It was only after the Indian Independence in 1947, that the society again involved in making contributions towards art, literature, culture and religion. All along with the development of the society, art and architecture played an equally important role. They were also influenced by the religions practiced by the society in those periods like Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Indo-Islamism. Indian art is not to be studied from the time-based evolution perspective but rather from the region and period of its evolution perspective. (Mitter, 2001) Indian art has continuously evolved through time and is still evolving. It begun with rock painting, moving onto rock cut caves and temple architecture and then paintings and sculptures. Alongside these forms, India also showed progress in the tribal form of art as there were various cultural and social groups in India. However, it is worth mentioning that almost all art forms were inspired by the innumerous Gods and Goddesses that people believed in, who were transformed into contemporary forms and familiar images. Indian society has been very secular ever since ancient times and has encouraged different practices all along. This rich philosophy, both spiritual and rational, made its impact on Indian art and architecture. Temples and stupas were seen to incorporate symbolic languages based on important philosophical concepts. (Mitter, 2001). These included the Chakra or wheel of time, Padma or lotus, the symbol of creation, Swastika representing aspects of creation and motion, Mriga or deer the symbol of erotic desire and beauty and many such symbols. After the Mughals came to India, monumental architecture was introduced by them. The change in the architecture was reflected in most prominent landmarks like the city gateways and the designs of royal tombs and mosques. However, traditional Indian tastes did continue to influence the Islamic architecture. Throughout its history, religion has played an important role in shaping the country’s culture and beliefs. The major religions practiced in India are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam and Sikhism. Of these, Hinduism has been the foremost and most commonly practiced. Hinduism is not a religion but is based on the practice of code of life or Dharmas (Sen, 1999, 12). It has its own set of traditions, ethics, philosophy, rituals and traditions. It was responsible for the existence of concepts and practices like Yoga, Puja, and Karma etc. Tiger Skin Lord Shiva is shown sitting on or wearing a tiger skin. The tiger is the vehicle of Shakti, the Goddess of power and force, and since Lord Shiva is the master of Shakti, He is beyond and above any kind of force. The tiger skin that Lord Shiva wears symbolizes His victory over every force. The tiger also represent lust, and Lord Shiva indicates, by sitting on the tiger skin, that he has conquered lust. It was Hinduism that introduced the worshipping of gods in the forms of deities or Murtis. There are thousands of deities based on the various philosophies and social denominations. However, primarily it declares the existence of one Supreme Being, with three main deities or Trimurty - Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. Lord Brahma is considered to be the creator of the universe; Lord Vishnu, the preserver and Lord Shiva, the one to dissolute and recreate it. Crescent Moon Often depicted on Lord Shiva’s head is a crescent moon, representing the cyclical nature of the universe. The waxing and waning of the moon symbolizes the cycle through which creation evolves. Furthermore, since Lord Shiva is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time and the cycle of creation. Lord Shiva is considered responsible for change or the destruction of ego. Devotees believe that it is Shiva who dissolves the universe and recreates another one when the delicate balance between good and evil is disturbed and sustenance become difficult. He protects all living souls from pain and suffering that could be caused due to a dysfunctional universe. It is because Shiva has so many tasks to perform and, hence has various images, each image symbolizing a particular mood of His. Shiva is usually worshipped in the abstract form of Shiva Lingam but there are other forms as well like Shiva in deep meditation or as Nataraja (Lord of Dance). Shiva is the core of centrifugal force of the universe as he responsible for death and destruction. Shiva in ancient Indian art is depicted carrying the river Ganga, romancing with his wife Parvati, punishing evil and performing his most powerful cosmic dance. The Shiva linga, symbolized as the cosmic power of Shiva and Parvati’s radiant union, the Nandi bull as his vehicle and his mystical powers have influenced Indian art and faith over thousands of years. Image Source: “The AMICA Library: Shiva's Trident with Ardhanarisvara: Half Shiva / Half” Parvati. 1199. (The AMICA, 1998) He is one of the most fascinating Hindu Gods. People worshipping Lord Vishnu are known as Vaishnavas while people worshipping Lord Shiva are known as Shaivites. Sacred ash is used as a mark of Shaivism, with devotees adorning it on their forehead and arms. Shaivism has different schools reflecting regional and temporal differences and varied philosophies. It has vast literature that includes thoughts and principles from multiple schools of philosophy. Followers of Shaivism consider Shiva to be the Supreme Being. Shaivism is followed across India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal as well as in South East Asia. South East Asia (SEA) has a history similar to that of India with more interaction between regional players and foreign powers which in turn played a pivotal role in shaping the countries’ culture, art and architecture. SEA history too goes back to 1500 B.C where the ancient kingdoms were divided into two distinct categories. The first was Agrarian kingdom, that solely depended on agriculture as its main source of economy and the second being Maritime states, ones that depended on sea for main trade. European and Japanese colonization during the 16th century and the 2nd World War respectively, also contributed to their art and architecture. India had cultural influence on the South East Asian countries from as early as in the 1st century BC when they began trading with Burma. Indian merchants traded not only commodities but also brought along two main religions - Hinduism and Buddhism. Since it was a known fact that religion influenced art and architecture, it was no surprise to find Buddhist Stupas across Thailand and Cambodia. With Hinduism and Buddhism being introduced to SEA, their traditions were changed to conform to the above two religions. There was distinct difference in cultures influenced by China and India ever since the Bronze Age from 800 B.C. to 500 B.C. While trading with the SEA countries, Indian merchants brought in their expertise in engineering, concepts of society and millions of deities from both the religions (Munsterberg, 1970, 24) Hinduism is followed by most of the South Asian countries since 200 B.C. and it was evident through the local architecture and art forms. Most of the countries built temples to worship their respective Gods and Goddesses, most famous and the largest temple in the world being Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Hinduism in SEA influenced the Champa Kingdom in Vietnam until 1697 A.D.; influenced Srivijayan Kingdom in Sumatra until 1400 A.D. and the Majapahit Empire in Java, Bali. The Indian civilization cast its impression on the culture, language, calendars, and art and architecture aspects of these people. Indian art was constantly influenced by the West and Central Asia. Indian artists assimilated and implemented these into their works. Just as India was influenced, it in turn passed on its learning’s to its neighboring South Eastern countries like Ceylon, Indonesia, Indochina, Thailand and Burma where the original Indian art forms were again reinterpreted resulting in some great works of art. South Eastern art and architecture was heavily influenced by India as well as China. Cambodia was home to the Khmer art which based the temples on Indian architecture but gave them its unique style of sculptures with voluptuous figures and serene faces. Thailand, Lao and Burma improvised their art and architecture between 13th to 15th centuries and display more of Buddhist art forms. Indonesia has both Buddhist art as well as Hindu temples. (Encyclopedia). The 15th century saw Thailand making Siamese bronze sculpture of Buddhist figures with a serene face and walking pose. Later the Buddhist figures were made adorning jewels. Lao and Burma too had more of Buddhist art form but with a native feel to the statutes. The Indonesian art’s supreme achievement was the monument of Borobudur, which has a cosmic diagram and an architectural monument built in one. Also sculptures from Hindu temples in central Java show influence of Indian art since 9th century A.D. Most of SEA art forms were influenced by Indian Hinduism earlier, though that has changed a lot today. Dance forms, puppetry and shadow plays were introduced to these countries by Indians in the early 7th century. Later though Chinese influence was observed along with Islamic influence. Indonesia, a very strong Islamic country, still retained forms of Hindu art and culture like Shadow Puppet and literature like the Ramayana. That is common for most Mainland SEA except Vietnam where Hindu gods and arts were infused into Thai, Khmer, Burmese and Lao cultures. Many SEA languages like Maley and Javanese contain words of Sanskrit of Dravidian origin and some languages like Thai are still written in some form of Indian derived scripts. Their concepts of kingship and social hierarchy were all adapted from ancient Hindu political theories. The Thai monarchy though follows Buddhism, requires the presence of Gour Brahmans for performing certain ceremonies. The images of Vishnu, lingas, Buddha and other Hindu cults are evidence of influence of Indian culture. Almost everywhere in SEA is a Buddha image showing influence of Guptas or Amravati’s. The cult of Devaraja or God King, a derivate from Indian terminology, developed a distinct corpus of cosmological and political ideas which was evident in the temple of Angkor Thom. The concept of worshipping a god and making a place of worship was implemented first ever in this temple. With time, the interaction between India and regional evolution started producing many distinctive styles of Indianised SEA art and architecture. The other common factor between India and SEA was the worship of Lord Shiva. Since Hinduism was practiced in most of the SEA countries, it was only logical that people there follow the same. In the 1st century A.D., the Khmers of Cambodia identified Mount Mahendra as an incarnation of Lord Shiva, the most powerful of Hindu gods. (Munsterberg, 1970, 232). Across the countries, mountain gods became predominant, until Islamism came into the picture. The Vietnamese (Champa region) built monoliths in the shape of a Linga, which is the Hindu symbol representing Lord Shiva, as the reproductive power of nature. Image source: “The carvings mostly related to the Hindu Siva God's legend at Angkor Wat, Cambodia” (Worldisround, n.d.) Thus, we see how Indian history, art and architecture play a pivotal role in influencing South East Asian culture and architecture. In the later phases of developments in SEA, the Indian influence slowly gave way to various other cultural influences like the Chinese, European and other similar colonies. We find evidence that most Indian art forms were later modified and improvised through the influence of indigenous cultures which resulted in the evolution of new art forms in South East Asia. References Sen, Sailendra Nath. Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Delhi: New Age International, 1999. Wolpert, A.Stanley. India. CA: University of California Press. 1999. Mitter, Partha. Indian Art. London: Oxford University Press, 2001. “Architecture of India” . Culturopedia.com. n.d. http://www.culturopedia.com/Architecture/architecture.html.22 Feb. 2011 “Southeast Asian art and architecture.". The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. Web. . 22 Feb. 2011 Munsterberg,.Hugo.The Art of India and SouthEast Asia . CA: The University of California, 1970. Worldisround. Angkor Wat, Cambodia. N.d. http://www.worldisround.com/articles/293817/photo30.html. JPEG File The AMICA Library: Shiva's Trident with Ardhanarisvara: Half Shiva / Half Parvati. 1199. Photograph. Cartography Associates, India. Art Museum Images from Cartography Associates, The AMICA Library. 1998. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. . Read More