| # | Polity | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | Edit | Desc |
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The following quotes suggest the widespead practice of Chenla indigenous religion and its syncretism with other religions. “Textual evidence, however, reveals that non-elites did not necessarily practice Hinduism. The majority of people living outside the major centers were farmers who bore Khmer rather than Sanskrit names. [...] While Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced as state religions in the Chenla Empire, most people continued to practice their indigenous beliefs, including worship of local gods and goddesses and ancestor veneration. ”
[1]
“The deities of the Chenla period that are known to us are a mix of Hindu, Buddhist, and indigenous personalities. The local gods comprise vrah and kpoñ, who are, respectively, male and female. Although the vrah appear to have a local origin, Siva, Vishnu, and the Buddha were included in their numbers indicating an integration of the religious traditions. Vickery (1998, 149) believes that most localities had their own deities, and these vrah and kpoñ could have Indian-derived names.”
[2]
[1]: Steadman, S. R. (2016). Chapter 14: From Hunter-Gatherer to Empire. p.234-235. Archaeology of religion: cultures and their beliefs in worldwide context. Routledge. Seshat URL: Zotero link: VIRUTCPJ [2]: O’Reilly, D. J. (2006). Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian Polities. p.113-114. Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia. Rowman Altamira. Seshat URL: Zotero link: DB628MBV |
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The following quotes suggest the status and prevalence of Saivist Hinduism in Chenla. “According to History of the Sui Dynasty (Sui shu), the original capital of Zhenla was on the middle Mekong at Bassac. Cœdès (1968a, 66) has identified the site with Wat Ph’u. At a sacred mountain nearby, human sacrifices were made to the spirit P’o-to-li (probably Bhadresvara, a form of Siva); the king visited the temple once a year to perform the rite at night. [...] but by the time that Bhavavarman II came to power around 639, the veneration of Siva had begun to eclipse both Buddhism and all other Brahmanical cults. [...] Actually, there is some evidence that devotion to Visnu and Harihara did continue, although the inscriptions of the next king, Jayavarman I (r. c. 655–681), point to an increased emphasis on the linga. Vickery’s survey (1998, 140-141) of extant Khmer inscriptions dating from Zhenla lists ninety differently named Indic gods (vrah). More than half, given their -iśvara suffix, are probably references to Śiva. Of those remaining, fourteen concern Visnu, eight mention Śiva-Visnu combinations (i.e., Harihara), and there is one reference to the sun god, Sürya.”
[1]
“It is likely that Siva worship was prevalent in Chenla, and we have evidence of Siva cults dating as early as 604 C.E. Siva was most often represented in the form of a linga, usually enshrined in a temple structure. [...] The god was probably very closely linked to the king, and it is possible that the linga represents the unification of the deity and the king (Haendel 2004).”
[2]
“However, Hinduism was not the only, or even the predominant, religion practiced in the Chenla culture. Hinduism appears to have been the primary state religion; temples at Angkor Borei feature Hindu motifs and worship, and rulers presented themselves as devotees of Hindu deities. [...] the major state deities appear to have been Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, and Rama (Snellgrove 2004). Textual evidence, however, reveals that non-elites did not necessarily practice Hinduism. The majority of people living outside the major centers were farmers who bore Khmer rather than Sanskrit names. Farmers were required to make "donations"”
[3]
The following quotes suggest the status and prevalence of Saivist Hinduism in Chenla. “but by the time that Bhavavarman II came to power around 639, the veneration of Siva had begun to eclipse both Buddhism and all other Brahmanical cults. [...] Actually, there is some evidence that devotion to Visnu and Harihara did continue, although the inscriptions of the next king, Jayavarman I (r. c. 655–681), point to an increased emphasis on the linga. Vickery’s survey (1998, 140-141) of extant Khmer inscriptions dating from Zhenla lists ninety differently named Indic gods (vrah). More than half, given their -iśvara suffix, are probably references to Śiva. Of those remaining, fourteen concern Visnu, eight mention Śiva-Visnu combinations (i.e., Harihara), and there is one reference to the sun god, Sürya.” [4] “However, Hinduism was not the only, or even the predominant, religion practiced in the Chenla culture. Hinduism appears to have been the primary state religion; temples at Angkor Borei feature Hindu motifs and worship, and rulers presented themselves as devotees of Hindu deities.” [3] [1]: Harris, I. (2008). Origins to the Fall of Angkor. p.8-10. In Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. Honolulu. Seshat URL: Zotero link: 5S9J7EKX [2]: O’Reilly, D. J. (2006). Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian Polities. p.113-114. Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia. Rowman Altamira. Seshat URL: Zotero link: DB628MBV [3]: Steadman, S. R. (2016). Chapter 14: From Hunter-Gatherer to Empire. p.234-235. Archaeology of religion: cultures and their beliefs in worldwide context. Routledge. Seshat URL: Zotero link: VIRUTCPJ [4]: Harris, I. (2008). Origins to the Fall of Angkor. p.8-10. In Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. Honolulu. Seshat URL: Zotero link: 5S9J7EKX |
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The following quotes suggest the existence of Vaisnavist Hinduism in Chenla. “Actually, there is some evidence that devotion to Visnu and Harihara did continue, although the inscriptions of the next king, Jayavarman I (r. c. 655–681), point to an increased emphasis on the linga. Vickery’s survey (1998, 140-141) of extant Khmer inscriptions dating from Zhenla lists ninety differently named Indic gods (vrah). More than half, given their -iśvara suffix, are probably references to Śiva. Of those remaining, fourteen concern Visnu, eight mention Śiva-Visnu combinations (i.e., Harihara), and there is one reference to the sun god, Sürya.”
[1]
“It is also apparent that the cult of Vishnu was prevalent in Cambodia from the mid-first millennium C.E. There were several different Vishnuite sects in Cambodia, the most prominent being the Pancaratra. The central tenet of the Pancaratra sect was the creative aspect of Vishnu. Strict adherents would perform rites five times a day in honor of the god. In temples Vishnu was often portrayed in anthropogenic form although many of his avatars were portrayed as well. Vishnuites and Sivaites saw their respective deities in the same light. Both were identified with "the Absolute Brahman. He is unique and multiple, transcendent and immanent, he is the universal self, and the individual self" (Haendel 2004).”
[2]
[1]: Harris, I. (2008). Origins to the Fall of Angkor. p.8-10. In Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. Honolulu. Seshat URL: Zotero link: 5S9J7EKX [2]: O’Reilly, D. J. (2006). Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian Polities. p.113-114. Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia. Rowman Altamira. Seshat URL: Zotero link: DB628MBV |
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The following quotes suggest the existence of Buddhism and its secondary status relative to Hinduism and indigenous religion. “History of the Sui Dynasty also confirms the existence of Buddhist monks and nuns in Zhenla. They appear to have participated in funerary rites during the reign of Ìsànavarman I (Cœdès 1968a, 74–75), but by the time that Bhavavarman II came to power around 639, the veneration of Siva had begun to eclipse both Buddhism and all other Brahmanical cults. [...] But there are also seven specifically Buddhist inscriptions: K. 828, K. 49, K. 505, K. 755, K. 163, K. 244, and K. 132. To these we should add a few scraps of epigraphical material written in Sanskrit. K. 828 need not detain us, for it is only a small piece of grafftti, but in K. 49—a dual Sanskrit/Khmer inscription from Wat Prei Val, Kompong Trabek, Prey Veng Province, dated 664 ce—two monks (bhikUu), Ratnabhànu and Ratnasirha, are named and described as brothers. [...] The Khmer portion of the text ascribes the title “pu caƒ añ” (= sthavira), or “elder,” to both monks. Bhattacharya (1961, 16) has suggested that this means they must have belonged to the Theravada. This is possible, but the term, although monastic, really implies monastic seniority and is not convincing evidence of sectarian affiliation. Of rather more significance as evidence of possible Theravada presence in Cambodia is a portion of Pali text [K. 820] engraved on the back of a seventh-century buddha figure from Tuol Preah Theat, Prey Veng Province.25 Pali is, of course, the canonical language of the Theravada. Furthermore, Dupont (1955, 190-221) believes that the figure shows some Dvāravati influences. Another Khmer inscription from Prachinburi Province, Thailand, dated 761 CE, is not listed by Vickery, because it was discovered fairly recently (Rohanadeera 1988). It contains three Pali stanzas in homage to the triple jewel that appear to come from the Telakatāha-gāthā, a poetical text believed to have its origin in Sri Lanka. As such, it represents the strongest evidence of a Theravada presence at this period of time. To this one might add a final, though not conclusive, piece of support from a dual Sanskrit/Khmer inscription [K. 388] from Hin K’on, Nakhon Ratchasima, in the Korat region of Thailand.26 The Sanskrit portion mentions the donation of ten vihāras, four stone boundary (sīmā) markers, and some caityas by a royal monk (rājabhiksu) to “provide for the body of Sugata [= Buddha].” Also mentioned is the donation of two sets of monastic robes (civara) in a kathina ceremony. Filliozat (1981, 84) has, dubiously in my opinion, interpreted this as a reference to Theravada practice. [...] Although these specific inferences may not be correct, there does appear to have been a considerable expansion of the Mahayana throughout the Southeast Asian region from the mid-eighth century, perhaps as a result of the sponsorship of the Pāla kings of northeast India and the growing influence of Nālandã university. [...] It seems that a combination of tantric ideas and symbols contained within a Hindu-Buddhist syncretism, common to Bengal and surrounding regions, began to make its presence felt in Cambodia from around this time. The erection of an image of Śri Vidyādhārani (= Prajñāpāramitā) by a physician—mentioned in K. 132, from Sambor Prei Kuk and dated 708 CE—may conceivably fit this context, while a Sanskrit inscription from the same location [K. 604], dated 627 CE, tells us that a Brahmanical teacher of the Śaiva Pāśupata sect, Vidyāviśeśa by name, had studied Buddhism, although it is impossible to say whether this study took place in Cambodia or in India.”
[1]
“There is strong evidence that Buddhism also played a role in Chenla. Both Mahayana and Therevada Buddhism were practiced in Southeast Asia, but the former was more prevalent. Rarely was Buddhism adopted by the roval family, but it was likely practiced by some members of the elite.”
[2]
“Buddhism, although known and apparently practiced, was very much a minor religion at this time.”
[3]
The following quotes suggest the existence of Buddhism and its secondary status relative to Hinduism and indigenous religion. “History of the Sui Dynasty also confirms the existence of Buddhist monks and nuns in Zhenla. They appear to have participated in funerary rites during the reign of Ìsànavarman I (Cœdès 1968a, 74–75), but by the time that Bhavavarman II came to power around 639, the veneration of Siva had begun to eclipse both Buddhism and all other Brahmanical cults.” [4] “There is strong evidence that Buddhism also played a role in Chenla. Both Mahayana and Therevada Buddhism were practiced in Southeast Asia, but the former was more prevalent. Rarely was Buddhism adopted by the roval family, but it was likely practiced by some members of the elite.” [2] “Buddhism, although known and apparently practiced, was very much a minor religion at this time.” [3] [1]: Harris, I. (2008). Origins to the Fall of Angkor. p.9-11. In Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. Honolulu. Seshat URL: Zotero link: 5S9J7EKX [2]: O’Reilly, D. J. (2006). Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian Polities. p.113-114. Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia. Rowman Altamira. Seshat URL: Zotero link: DB628MBV [3]: Steadman, S. R. (2016). Chapter 14: From Hunter-Gatherer to Empire. p.234-235. Archaeology of religion: cultures and their beliefs in worldwide context. Routledge. Seshat URL: Zotero link: VIRUTCPJ [4]: Harris, I. (2008). Origins to the Fall of Angkor. p.9. In Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. Honolulu. Seshat URL: Zotero link: 5S9J7EKX |
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The following quotes suggest the existence of Buddhism and its secondary status relative to Hinduism and indigenous religion. “History of the Sui Dynasty also confirms the existence of Buddhist monks and nuns in Zhenla. They appear to have participated in funerary rites during the reign of Ìsànavarman I (Cœdès 1968a, 74–75), but by the time that Bhavavarman II came to power around 639, the veneration of Siva had begun to eclipse both Buddhism and all other Brahmanical cults. [...] But there are also seven specifically Buddhist inscriptions: K. 828, K. 49, K. 505, K. 755, K. 163, K. 244, and K. 132. To these we should add a few scraps of epigraphical material written in Sanskrit. K. 828 need not detain us, for it is only a small piece of grafftti, but in K. 49—a dual Sanskrit/Khmer inscription from Wat Prei Val, Kompong Trabek, Prey Veng Province, dated 664 ce—two monks (bhikUu), Ratnabhànu and Ratnasirha, are named and described as brothers. [...] The Khmer portion of the text ascribes the title “pu caƒ añ” (= sthavira), or “elder,” to both monks. Bhattacharya (1961, 16) has suggested that this means they must have belonged to the Theravada. This is possible, but the term, although monastic, really implies monastic seniority and is not convincing evidence of sectarian affiliation. Of rather more significance as evidence of possible Theravada presence in Cambodia is a portion of Pali text [K. 820] engraved on the back of a seventh-century buddha figure from Tuol Preah Theat, Prey Veng Province.25 Pali is, of course, the canonical language of the Theravada. Furthermore, Dupont (1955, 190-221) believes that the figure shows some Dvāravati influences. Another Khmer inscription from Prachinburi Province, Thailand, dated 761 CE, is not listed by Vickery, because it was discovered fairly recently (Rohanadeera 1988). It contains three Pali stanzas in homage to the triple jewel that appear to come from the Telakatāha-gāthā, a poetical text believed to have its origin in Sri Lanka. As such, it represents the strongest evidence of a Theravada presence at this period of time. To this one might add a final, though not conclusive, piece of support from a dual Sanskrit/Khmer inscription [K. 388] from Hin K’on, Nakhon Ratchasima, in the Korat region of Thailand.26 The Sanskrit portion mentions the donation of ten vihāras, four stone boundary (sīmā) markers, and some caityas by a royal monk (rājabhiksu) to “provide for the body of Sugata [= Buddha].” Also mentioned is the donation of two sets of monastic robes (civara) in a kathina ceremony. Filliozat (1981, 84) has, dubiously in my opinion, interpreted this as a reference to Theravada practice. [...] Although these specific inferences may not be correct, there does appear to have been a considerable expansion of the Mahayana throughout the Southeast Asian region from the mid-eighth century, perhaps as a result of the sponsorship of the Pāla kings of northeast India and the growing influence of Nālandã university. [...] It seems that a combination of tantric ideas and symbols contained within a Hindu-Buddhist syncretism, common to Bengal and surrounding regions, began to make its presence felt in Cambodia from around this time. The erection of an image of Śri Vidyādhārani (= Prajñāpāramitā) by a physician—mentioned in K. 132, from Sambor Prei Kuk and dated 708 CE—may conceivably fit this context, while a Sanskrit inscription from the same location [K. 604], dated 627 CE, tells us that a Brahmanical teacher of the Śaiva Pāśupata sect, Vidyāviśeśa by name, had studied Buddhism, although it is impossible to say whether this study took place in Cambodia or in India.”
[1]
“There is strong evidence that Buddhism also played a role in Chenla. Both Mahayana and Therevada Buddhism were practiced in Southeast Asia, but the former was more prevalent. Rarely was Buddhism adopted by the roval family, but it was likely practiced by some members of the elite.”
[2]
“Buddhism, although known and apparently practiced, was very much a minor religion at this time.”
[3]
The following quotes suggest the existence of Buddhism and its secondary status relative to Hinduism and indigenous religion. “History of the Sui Dynasty also confirms the existence of Buddhist monks and nuns in Zhenla. They appear to have participated in funerary rites during the reign of Ìsànavarman I (Cœdès 1968a, 74–75), but by the time that Bhavavarman II came to power around 639, the veneration of Siva had begun to eclipse both Buddhism and all other Brahmanical cults.” [4] “There is strong evidence that Buddhism also played a role in Chenla. Both Mahayana and Therevada Buddhism were practiced in Southeast Asia, but the former was more prevalent. Rarely was Buddhism adopted by the roval family, but it was likely practiced by some members of the elite.” [2] “Buddhism, although known and apparently practiced, was very much a minor religion at this time.” [3] [1]: Harris, I. (2008). Origins to the Fall of Angkor. p.9-11. In Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. Honolulu. Seshat URL: Zotero link: 5S9J7EKX [2]: O’Reilly, D. J. (2006). Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian Polities. p.113-114. Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia. Rowman Altamira. Seshat URL: Zotero link: DB628MBV [3]: Steadman, S. R. (2016). Chapter 14: From Hunter-Gatherer to Empire. p.234-235. Archaeology of religion: cultures and their beliefs in worldwide context. Routledge. Seshat URL: Zotero link: VIRUTCPJ [4]: Harris, I. (2008). Origins to the Fall of Angkor. p.9. In Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice. Honolulu. Seshat URL: Zotero link: 5S9J7EKX |
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"I’d be OK saying Wari religion was the most widespread, but not that its degree of prevalence was the “vast majority.” I would say that the number of Wari ritual structures and ceremonial contexts known in the Andes is pretty restricted, and largely representative of the religious life of colonists, rather than that of the local populations." (R. Alan Covey, pers. comm. to R. Ainsworth, June 2023)
“Much has been made of Menzel’s hypothesis which claimed that the Wari phenomenon had religious foundations and was related with the dissemination of the cult of a specific deity, which was worshipped at Tiahuanaco and was depicted on The Sun Gate. This was the starting point of Conrad and Demarest, who suggested that Huari and Tiahuanaco were comparable to Rome and Byzantium, the former as a political capital and the latter as a religious one. Several studies recently showed empirically that the dissemination of Tiwanaku iconography was not due to the imitation of the model found on The Sun Gate, which is a late monument that was never finished. Tiwanaku iconography was instead born as a textile art in the Formative Period. The decorated textiles were reproduced on the statues of kings and nobles of Tiwanaku. A large number of deities were represented in frontal position with different attributes. An even larger repertoire of supernatural beings was depicted in profile, accompanying the front-facing personages. The textiles were probably also used as a model by the potters. Patricia Knobloch and Krzysztof Makowski have shown that the iconography found at Conchopata, Huari, Robles Moqo, Pacheco, and other sites, is not an imitation of the Doorway or of any known low-relief sculpture. The artists who decorated the pottery however had an extensive knowledge of the repertoire of forms, conventions, colours and secondary designs. Only someone trained within the Tiwanaku culture could have had such knowledge. Armed with this knowledge, the craftsmen reproduced images of mortal men either seized in order to be sacrificed or in combat posture, and deities who were about to behead a human being; deities including women. In light of these studies, the argument that there was a proselytising cult of the Staff God simply fades away. Wari iconography emphasises the large number of mythical protagonists and their diversity. The results attained by these studies show that theiconography was an expression of a polytheistic and inclusive religion. The hard-to-read figurative designs evoke stories in which the fate of valiant men and bloodthirsty gods seem to be mutually conditioned. Just like the rituals in which it was used, the cult paraphernalia decorated with the iconography set the journeys and the combats that ended with the beheading of the opponents in a mythical time.” [1] "This is consistent with post-WWII anthropological approaches, which wanted ancient civilizations to be peaceful and religious. By the Vietnam era, people were back to warfare as the primary mode of state expansion. At any rate, there is virtually no evidence that Wari religious practices—especially those carried out in D-shaped temples—were ever spread to non-colonist populations. In Cusco, there is one site (Muyu Roqo) where an accumulation of Wari decorated pottery and camelid bones suggests a feast or ceremony in a local setting, but otherwise little reason to think that Wari religion had much of a local impact outside of colony settings." (R. Alan Covey, pers. comm. to R. Ainsworth, June 2023) “The persistence of the Qotakalli style suggests that Wari iconography and identity did not supplant existing local ones. Regional data do not offer specific evidence of Wari influence in local religious life—there are no sites with a strong Wari ceremonial assemblage found in the Sacred Valley. […] At the same time, Wari may have established its colonies and spread its influence through religious patronage, a sort of “soft power” that some scholars may have overestimated by applying an Inca model to ambiguous evidence. By underwriting some ceremonies, Wari colonists and state officials could offer a more elaborate ceremonial life, but this does not appear to have affected the local subsistence economy in the Sacred Valley.” [2] “It is difficult at the moment to evaluate whether the Wari had a religious impact on the Xaquixaguana region. Unlike Paruro and the Sacred Valley, survey in Xaquixaguana did not identify any shrine or location where the Wari could have been involved in feasts or ceremonies. Excavation data from Ak’awillay suggest continuity of local ritual practices through time (Bélisle 2011).” [3] “To sum up, a political will capable of moving skilled specialists thousands of kilometres away from their homes and making them work with others of different origin, imposed itself for a hundred years or more over a very large area between Moquegua and Piura. These craftsmen were relocated—in a way that recalls the Inca institution of the mitmaquna—in order to lay the foundations for legitimacy after the conquest of new lands; this was achieved through the cult given to the ancestors, which was undertaken inside monumental buildings. Makowski believes that the success attained in the conquests was articulated through the sudden abandonment of the local Lima, Moche, Recuay and other symbols of power and religious iconography, which were replaced with new Wari symbols of southern origin: the four-cornered cap, the kero cup, the tumi knife and the unku shirt with new designs.” [4] [1]: (Giersz & Makowski 2014, 289-290) Giersz, Milosz and Krzysztof Makowski. 2014. ‘The Wari Phenomenon: In the Tracks of a Pre-Hispanic Empire’. In Castillo de Huarmey: El Mausoleo Imperial Wari. Edited by Milosz Giersz and Cecilia Pardo. Lima: MALI. Seshat URL: Zotero link: VBKPHAPI [2]: (Covey 2011, 107) Covey, R. Alan. 2014. ‘Local Developments in the Sacred Valley and Responses to Wari Colonization’. In Regional Archaeology in the Inca Heartland: The Hanan Cuzco Surveys. Edited by R. Alan Covey. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology. Seshat URL: Zotero link: I5NV7MRE [3]: (Bélisle 2014, 89) Bélisle, Véronique. 2014. ‘Early Intermediate Period and Middle Horizon Settlement Patterns in the Xaquixaguana Region’, In Regional Archaeology in the Inca Heartland: The Hanan Cuzco Surveys. Edited by R. Alan Covey. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology. Seshat URL: Zotero link: I5NV7MRE [4]: (Giersz & Makowski 2014, 289) Giersz, Milosz and Krzysztof Makowski. 2014. ‘The Wari Phenomenon: In the Tracks of a Pre-Hispanic Empire’. In Castillo de Huarmey: El Mausoleo Imperial Wari. Edited by Milosz Giersz and Cecilia Pardo. Lima: MALI. Seshat URL: Zotero link: VBKPHAPI |
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"If we are talking only about Cusco, then no other religion is necessary. If we are talking about the Andes, then Tiwanaku, late Nasca, and late Moche/Early Chimú would figure into other regions." (R. Alan Covey, pers. comm. to R. Ainsworth, June 2023)
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"If we are talking only about Cusco, then no other religion is necessary. If we are talking about the Andes, then Tiwanaku, late Nasca, and late Moche/Early Chimú would figure into other regions." (R. Alan Covey, pers. comm. to R. Ainsworth, June 2023)
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"If we are talking only about Cusco, then no other religion is necessary. If we are talking about the Andes, then Tiwanaku, late Nasca, and late Moche/Early Chimú would figure into other regions." (R. Alan Covey, pers. comm. to R. Ainsworth, June 2023)
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“Despite Hinduism’s popularity as the religion of choice by both the Chalukyan royal family and the masses at large, the Chalukyan dynasty was tolerant of other religions and coexisted with followers of Jainist and Buddhist traditions, although Buddhism was becoming less popular in the region."
[1]
[1]: (Sasaki 2012, 15) Sasaki, Bryce. 2012. “Chalukya Dynasties.” Edited by Andrea Stanton, Edward Ramsamy, Peter Seybolt, and Carolyn Elliott. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks, Calif.; London: SAGE Publications. Seshat URL: Zotero link: PG9MHRIA |
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“Patancherru, Pudur and several other parts of Rayalsima and Telingana became great centres of Jainism under the patronage of Kalyani Chalukyas.”
[1]
“The Jain monks were very active and they had made a serious attempt to bring the whole country under the influence of their religion. The deserted images met within the ruined village sites all over the Andhradesa show that’-Jain settlements were numerous and an appreciable section of the people paid homage to the Arhats and the Tirthankaras.” [2] [1]: (Ramamurti 1979: 4) N. Ramamurti, 1979. “Social And Religious Life As Depicted In The Chalukyan Sculptures”, M.Phil Dissertation, Aligarh: Aligarh Muslim University. Seshat URL: Zotero link: S3A3R5IZ [2]: (Ramamurti 1979: 43) N. Ramamurti, 1979. “Social And Religious Life As Depicted In The Chalukyan Sculptures”, M.Phil Dissertation, Aligarh: Aligarh Muslim University. Seshat URL: Zotero link: S3A3R5IZ |
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“Despite Hinduism’s popularity as the religion of choice by both the Chalukyan royal family and the masses at large, the Chalukyan dynasty was tolerant of other religions and coexisted with followers of Jainist and Buddhist traditions, although Buddhism was becoming less popular in the region."
[1]
[1]: (Sasaki 2012, 15) Sasaki, Bryce. 2012. “Chalukya Dynasties.” Edited by Andrea Stanton, Edward Ramsamy, Peter Seybolt, and Carolyn Elliott. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks, Calif.; London: SAGE Publications.Seshat URL: Zotero link: PG9MHRIA |
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| 13 | Hoysala Kingdom | 1. Most widespread: Saivist Hinduism (Over half of the population) | Confident Expert | - | ||
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“Vaisnavism was not as popular as Saivism [in Karnataka] It was introduced into the Kanca region in the late tenth or early eleventh century by Tamils from the Cola kingdom who established important Vaisnava centers on the Kaveri at Tadi Malingi, Mogur, Maddur, Agara, Bannur, Dodda, Arasikere, and Tonnur. Additional groups of Tamil Brahimins who migrated to Krantaka slightly later were responsible for the conversion of a segment of the population in the area around the villages of Malur, Chikka Malur, Malurapatna, Dulur, and Honganur. However, the dominant Saiva populations in these areas would have posed a significant challenge to further Vaisnava conversions in the region. As a result, the belief system only became popular after 1116 when it was reintroduced into Gangavadi by Ramanujacarya. Though the leader’s conversion of Hoysala Visnuvardhana, the ruler’s acceptance of Sri Vaisnavism, it is clear from the account provided above that the workship of Visnu was established over a century before his arrival in the state.”
[1]
NB however “It seems fairly clear that, traditionally in India, people readily transferred or distributed their allegiance between different sects, seeing no logical inconsistency in approaching different gods for different purposes, and that this apparently syncretic style of religious behaviour encouraged a relaxed attitude to what others did as well; evidently, too, rulers generally extended their acceptance of this practice.”
[2]
[1]: (Banerji 2019: 28) Banerji, N. A. (2019). Sectarianism in Medieval India: Saiva, Vaisnava, and Syncretistic Temple Architecture in Karnataka. United States: Lexington Books. Seshat URL: Zotero link: N5IXX7PX [2]: (Copland, Mabbett, Roy, Brittlebank and Bowles 2012: 74-77) Seshat URL: Zotero link: ATSZ6QBU |
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| 14 | Hoysala Kingdom | 2. Second most widespread: Vaisnavist Hinduism (Sizeable minority) | Confident Expert | - | ||
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“Vaisnavism was not as popular as Saivism [in Karnataka] It was introduced into the Kanca region in the late tenth or early eleventh century by Tamils from the Cola kingdom who established important Vaisnava centers on the Kaveri at Tadi Malingi, Mogur, Maddur, Agara, Bannur, Dodda, Arasikere, and Tonnur. Additional groups of Tamil Brahimins who migrated to Krantaka slightly later were responsible for the conversion of a segment of the population in the area around the villages of Malur, Chikka Malur, Malurapatna, Dulur, and Honganur. However, the dominant Saiva populations in these areas would have posed a significant challenge to further Vaisnava conversions in the region. As a result, the belief system only became popular after 1116 when it was reintroduced into Gangavadi by Ramanujacarya. Though the leader’s conversion of Hoysala Visnuvardhana, the ruler’s acceptance of Sri Vaisnavism, it is clear from the account provided above that the workship of Visnu was established over a century before his arrival in the state.”
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NB however “It seems fairly clear that, traditionally in India, people readily transferred or distributed their allegiance between different sects, seeing no logical inconsistency in approaching different gods for different purposes, and that this apparently syncretic style of religious behaviour encouraged a relaxed attitude to what others did as well; evidently, too, rulers generally extended their acceptance of this practice.”
[2]
[1]: (Banerji 2019: 28) Banerji, N. A. (2019). Sectarianism in Medieval India: Saiva, Vaisnava, and Syncretistic Temple Architecture in Karnataka. United States: Lexington Books. Seshat URL: Zotero link: N5IXX7PX [2]: (Copland, Mabbett, Roy, Brittlebank and Bowles 2012: 74-77) Seshat URL: Zotero link: ATSZ6QBU |
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“Despite their change of faith the Hoysalas continued to fund Jain temples.”
[1]
[1]: (Sahai 1994: 66) Sahai, Surendra. "Temples of Karnataka." Architecture Plus Design, vol. 11, no. 2, 1994, pp. 64-67. Seshat URL: Zotero link: C6Q3SFME |
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“Thus, by 1324, the territories of the Delhi Sultanate reached up to Madurai. The last Hindu principality in the area, Kampili in south Karnataka, was annexed in 1328.”
[1]
[1]: (Chandra 2007 :101) Chandra, Satish. History of Medieval India: 800-1700. India, Orient BlackSwan, 2007. Seshat URL: Zotero link: 83WJWTC2 |
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“Muslims had been part of South Indian society for a long time before Vijayanagara was founded. Muslim traders and even fighters were known on the Malabar coast from the tenth century. Arabs and other Muslims formed parts of the cosmopolitan trading communities found scattered along the whole western coast of India, and their presence along the eastern coast was recorded not much after the tenth century. Moreover, as early as the 1140s there are references to Muslim fighters employed by Hindu kings, such as the Hoysala king Jagademalla. These soldiers had no apparent connection with the Turkic warriors from Delhi who began their incursions into the South in the early fourteenth century.”
[1]
[1]: (Stein 2008: 20) Stein, Burton. (1990) (2008). The New Cambridge History of India: Vijayanagara. United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: Zotero link: J6KXNT5E |
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NB Dates are approximate. "Initially the number of local Christians was probably small and their faith only vaguely articulated. Active persecution or discrimination, as has been suggested by Rathjens and Wurmbrand, appears therefore highly unlikely. Moreover, the lack of both trained clergy and books in Ge’ez must have been major obstacles to the spread of Christianity. For many years the impact of the new religion was probably limited to the royal court and the resident foreign merchants. Taddesse Tamrat suggests that for more than a century after Ezana’s conversion ’the effective sphere of influence of the Church was limited to a narrow corridor between Adulis and Aksum along the main caravan routes.’"
[1]
"Despite royal enthusiasm for the new religion, and its adoption within court circles, Christianity took root slowly in the rural districts of the two kingdoms. [...] The first steps in the Christianization of the Iberian and Aksumite countryside occurred in the late fifth and early sixth centuries, through the efforts of small bands of foreign-born monks, in both cases from Syriac-speaking regions. They arrived in each kingdom as disciples of one leading ascetic, and they eventually dispersed throughout the kingdoms to evangelize, work miracles, and establish monasteries. Within a generation, indigenous monastic traditions took root, and facilitated the spread of Christianity into the more peripheral regions of both kingdoms."
[2]
[1]: (Kaplan 1992: 35) Seshat URL: Zotero link: PT9MJQBE [2]: (Haas 2008: 116) Seshat URL: Zotero link: IQWD9I5I |
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NB Dates are approximate. "Initially the number of local Christians was probably small and their faith only vaguely articulated. Active persecution or discrimination, as has been suggested by Rathjens and Wurmbrand, appears therefore highly unlikely. Moreover, the lack of both trained clergy and books in Ge’ez must have been major obstacles to the spread of Christianity. For many years the impact of the new religion was probably limited to the royal court and the resident foreign merchants. Taddesse Tamrat suggests that for more than a century after Ezana’s conversion ’the effective sphere of influence of the Church was limited to a narrow corridor between Adulis and Aksum along the main caravan routes.’"
[1]
"Despite royal enthusiasm for the new religion, and its adoption within court circles, Christianity took root slowly in the rural districts of the two kingdoms. [...] The first steps in the Christianization of the Iberian and Aksumite countryside occurred in the late fifth and early sixth centuries, through the efforts of small bands of foreign-born monks, in both cases from Syriac-speaking regions. They arrived in each kingdom as disciples of one leading ascetic, and they eventually dispersed throughout the kingdoms to evangelize, work miracles, and establish monasteries. Within a generation, indigenous monastic traditions took root, and facilitated the spread of Christianity into the more peripheral regions of both kingdoms."
[2]
[1]: (Kaplan 1992: 35) Seshat URL: Zotero link: PT9MJQBE [2]: (Haas 2008: 116) Seshat URL: Zotero link: IQWD9I5I |
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NB Dates are approximate. "Initially the number of local Christians was probably small and their faith only vaguely articulated. Active persecution or discrimination, as has been suggested by Rathjens and Wurmbrand, appears therefore highly unlikely. Moreover, the lack of both trained clergy and books in Ge’ez must have been major obstacles to the spread of Christianity. For many years the impact of the new religion was probably limited to the royal court and the resident foreign merchants. Taddesse Tamrat suggests that for more than a century after Ezana’s conversion ’the effective sphere of influence of the Church was limited to a narrow corridor between Adulis and Aksum along the main caravan routes.’"
[1]
"Despite royal enthusiasm for the new religion, and its adoption within court circles, Christianity took root slowly in the rural districts of the two kingdoms. [...] The first steps in the Christianization of the Iberian and Aksumite countryside occurred in the late fifth and early sixth centuries, through the efforts of small bands of foreign-born monks, in both cases from Syriac-speaking regions. They arrived in each kingdom as disciples of one leading ascetic, and they eventually dispersed throughout the kingdoms to evangelize, work miracles, and establish monasteries. Within a generation, indigenous monastic traditions took root, and facilitated the spread of Christianity into the more peripheral regions of both kingdoms."
[2]
[1]: (Kaplan 1992: 35) Seshat URL: Zotero link: PT9MJQBE [2]: (Haas 2008: 116) Seshat URL: Zotero link: IQWD9I5I |
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NB Dates are approximate. "Initially the number of local Christians was probably small and their faith only vaguely articulated. Active persecution or discrimination, as has been suggested by Rathjens and Wurmbrand, appears therefore highly unlikely. Moreover, the lack of both trained clergy and books in Ge’ez must have been major obstacles to the spread of Christianity. For many years the impact of the new religion was probably limited to the royal court and the resident foreign merchants. Taddesse Tamrat suggests that for more than a century after Ezana’s conversion ’the effective sphere of influence of the Church was limited to a narrow corridor between Adulis and Aksum along the main caravan routes.’"
[1]
"Despite royal enthusiasm for the new religion, and its adoption within court circles, Christianity took root slowly in the rural districts of the two kingdoms. [...] The first steps in the Christianization of the Iberian and Aksumite countryside occurred in the late fifth and early sixth centuries, through the efforts of small bands of foreign-born monks, in both cases from Syriac-speaking regions. They arrived in each kingdom as disciples of one leading ascetic, and they eventually dispersed throughout the kingdoms to evangelize, work miracles, and establish monasteries. Within a generation, indigenous monastic traditions took root, and facilitated the spread of Christianity into the more peripheral regions of both kingdoms."
[2]
[1]: (Kaplan 1992: 35) Seshat URL: Zotero link: PT9MJQBE [2]: (Haas 2008: 116) Seshat URL: Zotero link: IQWD9I5I |
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"The cities of Aksum and Adulis were in direct contact with the Mediterranean, and were trade hubs for the entire Red Sea area. It must be expected that the cities were home to adherents of all kinds of religions (among them Jews), but evidence is scarce and it is assumed that their numbers were fairly small."
[1]
[1]: (Dege-Müller 2018: 252) Seshat URL: Zotero link: 8J6P8FCQ |
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"The decline of Aksum did not immediately result in either the disappearance of its kings or the waning of Christian influence in the highlands of Ethiopia. Numerous traditions appear to indicate that from the seventh century onward the center of gravity of the Christian kingdom moved southward. Although it is impossible to follow this expansion of the kingdom and church in any detail, both Arabic and Ethiopian sources portray the ninth century as a time of military campaigns, church building, and evangelization as far south as the Amhara region. Thus, Aksumite culture survived and even spread into regions not under its influence during its heyday."
[1]
[1]: (Kaplan 1992: 42) Seshat URL: Zotero link: PT9MJQBE |
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Inferred continuity with previous and succeeding polities.
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Inferred continuity with previous and succeeding polities.
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The following quote suggests that the most widespread religion for the Kaabu was traditional religion. “Niane concurs with the seventeenth century French traveller Jojolet de la Courbe, who called Kaabu a pagan kingdom [around the 13th century]. However, by the seventeenth century it was very tolerant of Islamic dyula traders – this tolerance may itself have been because the dyula themselves leavened their Islam with non-Islamic rituals.”
[1]
[1]: (Green 2011, 42) Green, Toby. 2011. The Rise of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in Western Africa, 1300–1589. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: Zotero link: DV3R5U4Q "Kaabu was a pagan kingdom in the sense that majority people were not adherents of the Islamic belief system. However, it had a belief system which was based on pre_Islamic traditional Mandinka belief practices. The jalangs, which they had in place of the Supreme God, attracted various rituals and worship practices that were unique to that belief system. They were similar to the worship of bida in ancient Mandinka/Bambara history." (Mariama Khan, pers. comm. to R. Ainsworth, September 2023) |
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The following quote suggests there was a large Muslim presence in the Kaabu polity. “ils se rendaient compte de l’impact des ‘Mandingues’ en tant que propagateurs de la religion musulmane dans presque toutes les regions de la Senegambie. L’influence culturelle que les Mandinka (musulmans) exerçaient dans les pays biafada entre les fleuves Geba et Korubal, et par ailleurs le degree important de metissage, impressionna Almada dans la deuxieme moitie du 16e siecle. En ce qui concerne le Badoora (Degola), il nota comment les Mandinka et les Biafada vivaient la paisiblement ensemble, se melangeaient et communiquaient bien entre eux, sans que pour autant les Biafada (Sooninkee) autochtones renoncent a leur religion (paienne) au profit de l’islam”
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“Niane concurs with the seventeenth century French traveller Jojolet de la Courbe, who called Kaabu a pagan kingdom [around the 13th century]. However, by the seventeenth century it was very tolerant of Islamic dyula traders – this tolerance may itself have been because the dyula themselves leavened their Islam with non-Islamic rituals.”
[2]
[1]: (Giesing 2007, 246) Giesing, C. 2007. Tarikh Mandinka de Bijini (Guinée-Bissau): la mémoire des Mandinka et Sòoninkee du Kaabu. Leiden, Boston: Brill. Seshat URL: Zotero link: VUXVSEFT [2]: (Green 2011, 42) Green, T. 2011. The Rise of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in Western Africa, 1300–1589. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: Zotero link: DV3R5U4Q "There was great tolerance between the Soninkes and the Muslims. They traded and conducted other businesses with each other without shunning each other for having a different religious belief system,. This situation was widespread until later when the Soninke/Marabout wars started in Senegal. But this war was influenced by other non-religious factors." (Mariama Khan, pers. comm. to R. Ainsworth, September 2023) |
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In talking with expert Mariama Khan she mentioned that during this time there had already been missionary action by Portugues and Methodists. “By the time Kaabu collapsed in 1867, Europeans had already marked their presence in the upper Guinea coast and in the Senegambia region as a result of the slave trade, previous voyages of exploration and missionary work.”
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The following quote discusses the Portuguese element in Gambia which also implies its Catholic influence within the region. “In 1446 the Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristao sailed into the Bijagos Archipelago and up some rivers, though he died on his return trip. It was not until ten years later that Diogo Gomes returned to Portugal to tell of the ‘Rivers of Guinea’. The estuaries facilitated trade, and the coastal market town of Cacheu was the commercial centre of the region from the later fifteenth to nineteenth century […] Portuguese and mesticos, or those of indigenous and European decent, traded alcohol, horses, manufactured goods, textiles, and weapons for copra (coconut flesh, containing the oil), gold, ivory, palm oil, and increasingly slaves. Kaabu and other chiefdoms and kingdoms had long been involved in the Arab trabs-Saharan slave trade and simply shifted some of this trade to the Portuguese on the coast.”
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The following quote highlights the presence of Methodist missionaries in the Gambia. “Far from some how being ‘unchanging’ and ossified in a ‘primitive past’, West Africa religious beliefs and social structures transformed themselves in this era. They were new and as specific to the eighteenth century as, say, Christian Methodism and the Salafiya reform movement of Islam’ they were the West African response to modernity, just as Methodism and Salafism embodied Christian and Muslim responses.”
[3]
[1]: (Khan :2021) Khan, Mariama. 2021. Politics in the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau: Precolonial Influence on the Postcolonial State. London: Taylor and Francis. Seshat URL: Zotero link: G479EGSJ [2]: (Appiah and Gates 2010: 540) Appiah, Kwame and Gates Jr, Henry Louis. 2010. Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: Zotero link: FB5MQ9IS [3]: (Green: 2019) Green, Toby. 2019. A Fist Full of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution. Seshat URL: Zotero link: HRAMEJ9E |
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"During the Archaic through the Late Formative periods, the proto-Yoruboid and proto-Yorùbá in different localities had accumulated elaborate mythologies, ritualized ceremonies, and epistemological frameworks that formed the templates for their worldviews. Each local pantheon was a hierarchy of deities, with overlapping relationships in which each deity ruled over one or more spheres of the human condition. However, several of those deities (òrìsà) that were conceptual in nature, rather than ancestral, had regional appeal because they addressed broad human conditions and derived from common origins and deep-time experiences. [...] Their origins had a deep history, and they spread with the waves of proto-Yorùbá expansions throughout the first millennium AD."
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"However, the Creator God was a distant figure in the everyday religious lives of the proto-Yoruboid and other proto-Benue-Kwa groups. The focus of worship was on the territorial deities presiding over the hills, valleys, drainages, and other landscape features as well as on the ancestors—the deceased heads, priests, and priestesses of houses, families, villages, and communities. The ancestors were incorporated into the pantheon and called upon to intercede with the greater and more distant Creator God and the territorial deities during the daily devotions, seasonal festivals, and times of crisis."
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[1]: (Ogundiran 2020: 128-129) Seshat URL: Zotero link: ADQMAKPW [2]: (Ogundiran 2020: 39) Seshat URL: Zotero link: ADQMAKPW |
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