Hist 261-Human Migration: the Bantu, the Aryans, and the Austronesians

Bantu Age Sets

-based on generational lines -adulthood achieved through initiation rites -male rights could be hunting, simply survival rites -performed different tasks depending on age -clearing land, farming, domestic chores, herding, market, trade -mature males became advisors to chieftains and military leaders -males could also become chieftains. Chieftains tried to keep power within the noble families (eldest son), but males who were militarily strong could also become chieftains by claim through the village or the council—fluid system, not a strict hierarchy -tasks also assigned by gender: men hunted, farmed and fought, women took care of domestic chores, children, and of the selling of surplus at the village market -bartered at markets, they did not have money -Age sets defined society: gave people roles, provided tasks, and you had the potential for upward mobility (to become a chieftain for example) if you were male

Lapita Culture (1500 B.C.E.-

-dominant culture during some of this spread. Covered islands in a roughly 2800 mile spread: New Guinea, Samoa, etc. -very linked culture—few instances of a slightly more deliberate traveling culture -kept track of each other and their old settlements: well established trade and communication routes -could talk to one another *Important big advantage of the culture: New Guinea and the New Guinean islands did NOT have malaria which was a big problem in many other cultures -however, this meant there was nothing preventing their populations from booming -initially when populations became too big, they would move Why migrate? -populations too big for the land to sustain them -major food sources such as large native mammals such as giant kangaroo, giant sloth, and fish were hunted to extinction -improvements in double-rigged technology allowing people to sail longer distances -good opportunity for social and political advancement, especially for the lesser nobility and second sons of chieftains (remember: patriarchal society) -Lapita culture was consistent: grew the same crops, herded the same animals. -small villages were linked by well-known sailing complex networks for communication and trade -small villages with chieftains: they had a lot of power: oversaw food production: assigned labor and oversaw harvest, military control, law, order, and justice, religious power, collectors of taxes and tributes -increasingly, these networks began to include luxury goods: furs, feathers, obsidian, and shells -very strong in how they migrated, how they settled, what they grew, what they traded -also strong in pottery: geometric pottery with faces on them Lapita culture doesn't so much decline, but rather communication and contact does. Each society simply becomes self-sufficient and then they simply loose contact because they don't need each other. Around 500 B.C. this happens, they spread out on their own and create new trade routes. -Very large, very widespread culture *These three cultures affect enormous, wide-spread territories, create languages, help create new religions, and we will see their effects throughout the rest of the semester

The Rigveda (began to be composed around 1500 B.C.E-it wasn't written down until about 600B.C.E.)

900 years of composition and transmission before it was written down -written in Sanskrit -Sacred scriptures. The Rigveda deals with the creation of the world with the relationships of the gods with themselves and the gods with the Aryans. It also commemorates the Aryan spread. It gives us a lot of evidence of how they spread. -128 hymns and transmitted orally and later written down by the priestly group of Aryans called the Brahmin. -One of the many other things it commemorates is the fight between another culture the native "dark-skinned" Dravidians, the Dasas (this means enemies, but is also eventually associated with subjects in this case). This fight was supported by the gods Indra (the god of war "hurling a Dasa group down from a mountain and smashing their 99 walls") and Akni (the fire god). -Originators of the Caste System which existed from about 1500 B.C.E. up until the mid 20th century. Banned as a social system by the Indian government under Ghandi.

Indo-Aryans (2000 B.C.E.-500C.E.)

*Quick note on the word Aryan: this is not the "master race" idea that the Nazi's came up with. The word is spelled the same. This is not the same, and they did not even get their idea from this word. When you think Aryan, think Indo-Aryan. -Aryan refers to a mass migrating culture that shares certain cultural and linguistic traits (like the Bantu) -The Aryan peoples originally come from the Eurasian Steppes. They originated in the 4th millennium (3000 B.C.E.) -this area throughout most of history divides a lot of mass migration groups -The culture that came from this area is called the kurgan culture, this group first and foremost domesticated horses and eventually began to use them as part of their military: ride a horse to fight or attach them to chariots -These groups in comparison to many cultures are very sophisticated militarily: domesticated horses, chariots, bronze and copper weapons -For the next 1000 years this Kurgan culture disperses across Asia and eastern Europe (3000-2000 B.C.) -They settled in many of the "stan" countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and modern day Iran (basis for the Iranian language and culture.) -By the third century they had split into several groups depending on where they went and the Aryans were one of these groups -Aryan is a Sanskrit word (not theirs) and it means "nobility" or "noble" -they migrated from central Asia south into the Indian sub-peninsula from about 2000-1400B.C.E. -initially they are semi-nomadic herders. Not farming, just herding. Particularly cattle and goats -they came through the middle of the Asia continent through the stan areas and into the Ganges River area. -Their arrival into India does coincide with the Harappan culture, though they probably didn't contribute directly to the Harappan decline (which, like she mentioned, seems to have come from climate change: drought and famine) -But the Aryans did contribute to the Harappan culture. Around the time they show up in India, you start to see horses, which weren't native on Harappan cylinder seals. Harappans do adopt horses and the technology that comes with them. So there was a small amount of cultural mixing. -The Aryans were not a massive group, they became several groups and spread out across India. Eventually they did begin to compete against one another -they divided into tribes based around chieftains and villages still centered around herding -One of their biggest influences is on the formation of Indian religion, particularly Hinduism later on -One group of Aryans, the Vedic Aryans created a series of religious texts. One of the most famous is the Rigveda.

Bantu (3000B.C.E.-500C.E.)

-Bantu refers to a language group in that area: the Niger-Congo (Nigeria and the Congo) river basin language family developing after 400 B.C.E. -Were hunger-gatherers with some trade. They gathered along rivers and forested areas. They cleared these areas later on. -Subsisted as they began to grow into agriculture on yams, a kind of grain called Millet, and goats -Early Bantu lived in small villages and lead by a chieftain: the chieftain would act as the war leader, judge, and religious leader -small scale villages, not terribly large -traded and fished by canoe—had river mobility -the boats and the rivers were also used in expansion -by 3000 B.C.E. they start to expand south, series of theories but most likely the population growth in their area as they adopted agriculture was too much and couldn't support everyone, so they looked for cultivatable land and water source -Migration becomes an almost constant act: Bantu groups will migrate, settle, cultivate the land, their population will gradually grow, it will become too much, and individuals will relocate -within 1000 years they spread farther south into the Congo, the river basin, and west towards the great African lakes -local non-bantu areas they met (the areas they expanded into were inhabited by small groups) were absorbed into their culture—this absorption influences their language and art -after 1000 B.C.E (2000 years into their migrations), they adopt iron technology and start to learn to work with it. -iron has advantages: tougher than bronze or copper—can clear forests because of its strength which allows their expansion to move faster. Some foresting areas have never recovered. -They also increase their trade network: around 1000 B.C.E they start to trade with Kush and even Egypt—luxury goods to Egypt (artwork into other kingdoms) -villages are larger but not large enough to be considered kingdoms. Still lead by chieftains and not kings -chieftains were advised by small groups of nobles and society was divided into age sets. You did not come into adulthood by reaching a certain age (eg. 18)

Three groups in three geological areas:

-Bantu-located in sub-Saharan Africa -Indo-Aryans (Aryans): located along the Indian Peninsula -Austronesians: Located in an area called Oceana These groups migrated over large areas of land, and in doing so they had effects on culture, religion, agriculture, language, art, and technology. *Most important thing we note when we look at these three groups is their effect on languages. All three groups have very similar languages even today. Cultures were pervasive enough when they shifted around to influence language

Bantu worship:

-Monotheistic: created by a god Nyamba who essentially made them and then basically stepped away -They did not speak directly to Nyamba but to the local native spirits and their ancestors -Religion was syncretic, meaning they adopted the religious practices of the local peoples they encountered during their migrations and integrated them into their own practices (this was not necessarily an active, deliberate adoption; it was a little more passive. Eg. "this is a new region, they worship this spirit, this must be the spirit of the land") They adopted religious practices that worked for them. -Because they were a wide-spread, migratory culture, some cultural aspects and religious beliefs could vary, but the roots in the culture and language were the same -Bantu spread had a major impact on a large amount of Africa. Not only did they spread through virtually all of sub-Saharan Africa and became the largest dominant culture there for many years, but the cultural traits they introduced persisted through those regions. Their influence on language was immense enough that individuals still speak a similar form of Bantu. They also affected Africa through trade.

The Caste System

-a series of social groups that was meant to keep social and cultural order -four major castes and one lower caste First caste (at the top): Brahmin-priests and religious leaders Second: Kshatriyas-ruling and warrior caste Third: Vaishya-farmers, artisans, and merchants (could own property) Fourth (lowest): Shudra-laborers and peasants (did not necessarily own property) Below all these people were the Untouchables who were ritually unclean in the work they did such as anything dealing with sewage, the butchering of animals, and the preparing of bodies for burials. Considered non-caste and effectively non-entities. They had no real legal or political protections. -The caste system was not set in stone. There was an amount of upward and downward mobility. For example, you could lose caste if you were a Brahmin or gain it if you were Shudra. It was not necessarily easy, but if you were born in a caste, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to, or will, remain in that caste. -This system becomes incredibly complex as Indian culture develops: castes within castes Aryans were also patriarchal. Men were the dominant gender. -women could not be rulers or priests. Vedic texts define social order through gender hierarchy. Men at the top, women below. Men could inherit, women could not. Women had limited public influence and their main rol, as set up by Vedic laws, were as wives and mothers. -Linguistically, the Indo-Aryans have a large effect on language, but they also come from one of the largest language families created by the Kurgan culture: the Proto-Indo-European language family (English comes from this as do the romantic languages and many others)