Chapter 7 - Lesson 2 "The Origins of Hinduism" p

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1 Chapter 7 - Lesson 2 "The Origins of Hinduism" p MAIN IDEAS Culture: A group of nomadic people moved into India and took over what was left of Harappan civilization. Government: Under Aryan rule, Indian society developed a distinct system of social classes that affects India today. Belief System: Over time, the belief of the Aryans developed into the religion of Hinduism. WORD Definition Picture / other representation Learning Target # and WHY? Aryan p. 228 caste p. 228 Brahmanism p. 229 Hinduism p.229 reincarnation p. 230 karma p

2 Aryans Move Into India p Aryans move into India 1. Describe the lives of the Indo-European nomads. 2. What are possible reasons the Indo-Europeans left their homeland? 3. Who were the Aryans, where did they come from and how did they live? Changes to Indian Life p Notes from this section: The Aryans entered India gradually and they practiced a mysterious religion that appealed to many Dravidians (people living in India). In turn, the Dravidians taught the Aryans about city life. As a result, the Aryan religion and language spread and India developed a complex and blended culture. Aryan society was organized into classes: warriors, priests & commoners. As society grew, the classes developed into the caste system. The caste system was based on birth, wealth /social class AND jobs. People were not allowed to marry anyone from a different class. People were forbidden to eat with people from other castes. People who broke the caste rules could be banned from their homes and their castes, which would make them untouchables. Because of all these rules, people spent almost all of their time with others in the same class. You can think of the caste system as the body of a person. 2

3 You can think of the caste system of India as the body of a person. Changes to Indian Life 4. Describe the early religion of the Aryans - now called Brahmanism. - who did they worship? - ceremonies 5. Written books with ancient Indian history: - Mahabharata: - Bhagavad Gita: 3

4 Hinduism: The Religion of India p Hinduism: The 6. What is the name of the major religion of India? Religion of India 7. Hindus worship many deities, yet they believe in ONE SUPREME GOD or life force. What are the three most important deities (gods / goddess) and what their function is in Hinduism. 8. How can Hindus believe in one God and many different deities at the same time? 9. Hindus believe in reincarnation. Describe the cycle of reincarnation. How does karma relate to reincarnation? 10. What are two popular practices in western countries today that come from ancient India? 4

5 Skillbuilder Practice - Explaining Chronological Order and Sequence Chronological order is the order in which events happen in time. For example, let s say a person sat down, grabbed a box of cereal, and then poured the cereal into a bowl. The arrangement or sequence of these events is in chronological order. The event that happened first is placed in the front, the event that happened next is placed after it, and so on. Chronological order helps you understand how one event occurred before another event. Sequences help you relate how one event influenced other events. The following passage deals with migrations into India. Study it for specific dates and references to time, such as years, day, century, and then answer the questions below. Note that dates B.C. occur before dates A.D. Many historians believe that about 1500 B.C., a group of Indo-Europeans called Aryans moved eastward into India. They moved into the area where the Harappans had lived. Although historians at one time thought the Aryans forced the Harappans out of their homelands, new research reveals that the Harappans had moved south 200 years before the Aryans crossed into India. The Aryans religion was Brahmanism. The rituals of this religion were written down around 1000 B.C. in the Vedas. As time passed, the Aryans adopted some of the beliefs of the descendants of the Harappans, and the blended religion became Hinduism. The epic poem of Hinduism is the Mahabharata, which was composed by different writers at different times probably between 400 B.C. and A.D Hinduism is the major religion of India today. QUESTIONS 1. What clues can you use to determine which event occurred first in this passage? 2. What reference to an historical event was included? 3. Make a time line of events that led to the establishment of Hinduism, with the earliest date first and then the final date. (Use the 6 dates from this page). 5

6 The Caste System About 1500BC, powerful nomadic warriors known as Aryans appeared in northern India. The warriors were from Central Asia, but managed to overcome the Himalayas by finding lower passes in the mountains, such as the Khyber Pass in Pakistan. The Aryans conquered the Dravidians of Central India and imposed their social structure upon them. The Aryans divided their society into separate castes. Castes were unchanging groups. A person born into one caste never changed castes or mixed with members of other castes. Caste members lived, ate, married, and worked with their own group. At the top of the caste system were the Brahmin the priests, teachers, and judges. Next came the Kshatriya (KUH SHAT REE YUHZ), the warrior caste. The Vaisya caste (VEEZ YUHZ) were the farmers and merchants, and the Sudras, were craftspeople and laborers. The untouchables were the outcastes, or people beyond the caste system. Their jobs or habits involved polluting activities including: Any job that involved ending a life, such as fishing. Killing or disposing of dead cattle or working with their hides. Any contact with human emissions such as sweat, urine, or feces. This included occupational groups such as sweepers and washermen. People who ate meat. This category included most of the primitive Indian hill tribes. Untouchables were often forbidden to enter temples, schools and wells where higher castes drew water. In some parts of southern India, even the sight of untouchables was thought to be polluting. The untouchables forced to sleep during the day and work at night. Many untouchables left their rigid social structure by converting to Islam, Buddhism, or Christianity. The Caste System has been illegal in India for more than fifty years, but it continues to shape people s lives. The Indian government has provided the Harijan a term now popularly used in place of untouchable, with specific employment privileges, and granted them special representation in the Indian parliament. Despite such measures, the Harijan continue to have fewer educational and employment opportunities than Indians from higher castes. 6

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