Download Cultures of South Asia

Cultures and
Religions
SOUTH ASIA
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
CULTURE OF SOUTH ASIA
• A culturally fragmented realm
• Religious and linguistic diversity
• Religious Patterns
– Islam is predominant in Pakistan and
Bangladesh (165 million in India).
– Hinduism is predominant in India.
– Sikhism thrives in northern India.
– Buddhism is predominant in Sri Lanka.
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
CULTURE HEARTH
The Indus River
• Where an early culture emerged and developed
– Arts and trade routes emerged from isolated tribes and
villages to towns and beyond.
– Hinduism emerged from the beliefs and practices
brought to India by the Indo-Europeans (Aryans). (6th
century BC)
– Buddhism emerged during the 6th century BC; made
the state religion of India in 3rd century BC
– Islam sweeps through central India from the 8th -10th
centuries AD
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
HINDUISM
• One of the world’s oldest
religions.
• Culture hearth of the Indus
River.
• Diffused south and east
down the Ganges.
• Absorbed and eventually
supplanted earlier native
religions and customs.
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
HINDUISM
• Not just a religion; also a culture in itself.
• An intricate web of religious, philosophical,
social, economic, and artistic elements.
• No common creed.
• No single doctrine (Upanishads, Vedas,
Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, etc.).
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
MAJOR TENETS OF HINDUISM
• Three main ideas are important in
understanding the Hindu religion and the
caste system
– Reincarnation
– Karma
– Dharma
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
REINCARNATION
• Every living thing has a soul.
• When a living thing dies, its soul
moves into another living creature.
• Souls are reborn in a newly created
life.
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
KARMA
• Every action brings about certain
results.
• There is no escaping the consequences
of one’s actions.
• Good behavior is rewarded when the
soul is reborn into a higher ranking
living creature.
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
DHARMA
• A set of rules that must be followed by
all living things if they wish to work
their way up the ladder of
reincarnation.
• Each person’s dharma is different.
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
THREE
BASIC PRACTICES
• Puja or worship
• Cremation of the
dead
• Regulations of the
caste system
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
ORIGINS AND SPREAD OF BUDDHISM
• Siddhartha
Gautama (563 483 B.C.)
• Emperor Ashoka
of India (3rd
Century B.C.) –
favored Buddhism
and promoted it’s
diffusion across
Asia.
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
BUDDHISM
• Adherents objected to harsher
features of Hinduism
• Focuses on knowledge,
especially self-knowledge
• Elimination of worldly
desires, determination not to
hurt or kill people or animals
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
• Sorrow and suffering are part of all life.
• People suffer because they desire things
they cannot have.
• The way to escape suffering is to end desire,
to stop wanting, and to reach a stage of not
wanting.
• To end desire, follow the “middle path,”
i.e., the path that avoids the extremes of too
much pleasure and desire.
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
EIGHTFOLD PATH TO
THE MIDDLE WAY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
©2010, TESCCC
Right understanding
Right purpose
Right speech
Right conduct
Right means of earning a living
Right effort
Right awareness
Right meditation
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
FALL OF BUDDHISM
ON THE SUBCONTINENT
• Hinduism - broad and tolerant, accepting many
of the teachings of Buddha
• Buddhists in India - willing to compromise with
the beliefs and customs of Hinduism
• Final blow - 8th century - arrival of Islam
-- Destroyed the great Buddhist monasteries
-- Burned libraries
-- Killed monks
• Today - only 1 million Buddhists in India
©2010, TESCCC
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
RELIGIOUS CONTRASTS
• ISLAM
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
©2010, TESCCC
• HINDUISM
Monotheistic
No idols
One sacred book
Uniform dogma - 5 pillars
Intolerant (of other religions)
Eat beef/Sacrifice cows
Bury Dead
Social Equality (in theory)
Theocratic society
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
World Geography, Unit 9, Lesson 4
Polytheistic
Many idols
Various sacred writings
Varying beliefs
Absorbed other religions
Venerate cows
Burn dead (& alive)
Caste separation
“State” of secondary importance