The Encyclopedia of World Religions

216 S Indus Valley religion

releasing the life-giving waters ( see Rig-Veda 1.32). Some see in this story a reference to the release of the eagerly awaited monsoon rains. By the time of the Brahmanas (perhaps 1000– 600 B . C . E .), Indra was beginning to lose his impor tance. The mythology of the P URANAS even makes fun of him, telling lewd stories about occasions when he was humiliated. Indus Valley religion Religion as practiced in the Indus Valley civilization, also called the Harap pan civilization. Around 3500 B . C . E . a city-based way of life began to emerge in the plains of the Indus River Valley (Pakistan today). By about 2500 B . C . E . settlements at sites like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were at their peak, with populations between 25,000 and 50,000. A thousand years later, the Indus Valley civilization had disappeared. At its greatest extent, it reached down into Gujarat in western India and also spread to the northeast above the Thar Desert, covering an area more than three times that of the state of California. Indus Valley sites are characterized by care fully constructed brick buildings, straight streets laid out on a grid pattern, advanced engineering of water, and careful burial of the dead. More recent scholars have tried to connect its people with the Elamites, an ancient people of the Persian Gulf, and the Dravidian-speaking peoples of south India today. Because the Indus Valley script has not been deciphered, it is difficult to say much about the religion with certainty. A famous seal depicts what appears to be a horned human-like being in MEDITATION , surrounded by massive animals—a figure reminiscent of the later Hindu god S IVA in his aspect as Pasupati, lord of animals. Another famous figure, with beard, slanted eyes, trefoil gar ment, and headband, appears to show a religious and political functionary. Other apparently reli gious artifacts may emphasize the powers of sexual fertility. That emphasis would be in keeping with the civilization’s agricultural base. The Great Bath at the center of Mohenjo-Daro—39 feet by 23 feet by 8 feet deep—could have been the site of RITU

ALS of purification by the society’s leaders. Finally, more recent scholars have also claimed to detect evidence of Vedic rituals ( see V EDA ) at Indus Valley sites, for example, remnants of fires constructed for Vedic SACRIFICES . Most scholars agree that elements of Indus Valley religion continued in later H INDUISM , but dis agree about exactly what elements continued. initiation, religious A RITUAL used to make someone a member of a religious group. In some places, but not in the United States, the religious community is identical to society as a whole. In these places, initiation rituals make people full adult members of the society. Writings on religious initiation often make two questionable assumptions. The first assumption limits “real” initiation—initiation in its fullest and truest form—to indigenous societies, sometimes called “archaic” or “primitive.” The second ques tionable assumption views male rituals as some how typical. For example, the well-known scholar Mircea E LIADE made the following claims about initiation: (a) male initiation rituals are more prev alent than female; (b) male initiations are group affairs whereas female initiations are done for indi viduals; and (c) the reason for the difference is that male initiations deal more with culture (society’s forms and values), while female initiations deal more with nature (bearing children). Other scholars question these claims. They suggest that female initiations may be more com mon than male. They point out that it is not clear that female initiations are mostly individual affairs, because female initiations have been less studied. They also suggest that if female initiations are indi vidual affairs, this may not result from biology. It is just as likely that female initiation rituals simply reflect the systematic exclusion of women from dominant social structures. Many initiations take place at the time of reli gious maturity. In indigenous communities, this often correlates with sexual maturity. “Major” reli gions usually stress nonsexual elements, but they still initiate people in their early teens. J UDAISM