Current Issue: Vol-4, No-4 (2024)
Editorial
Research Article
Telling stories and recalling ethnohistories: Transmission of oral tradition in an upland multilingual mosaic
Sommor Panyavong, Dr Nathan Badenoch
pp. 1-24
In the multiethnic and multilingual uplands of mainland Southeast Asia, storytelling is an
important part of ethnic reproduction and ethnohistorical production. Despite the area's
extreme ethnolinguistic diversity, there is a remarkable amount of material shared across
the oral traditions. Moving beyond a concern with directionality of cultural transmission to
reconstruct an “original” source that reifies hierarchies of cultural and language, in this
paper, we examine oral performances of upland Laos as located in a linguistic ecology,
where the telling and retelling of stories is both motivated and enabled by aesthetic and
affective agency, and creates an areal orature. The multilingualism of the area requires us to
explicitly recognise the role of interethnic relations, as they are practised, imagined and
reimagined, as a matter of poetic interaction, in addition to – and perhaps more important
than – the political, cultural and economic dynamics that are more easily discussed.
Keywords: Ethnopoetics, Multilingualism, Oral Traditions, Ethnohistory, Upland Laos
Comparative study of Vishnu sculptures based on Iconographical and stylistic development: 7th to 12th Century
Ashu Saini
pp.
The historical stone bridge of Nāṁdāng̣ (built in 1703 CE) is situated near Sibsagar town in Assam. It was built during the reign of the Ahom king Rudra Singh II, who employed architects from Bengal for this pious work. This bridge is one of the remaining four of the ten stone bridges that were built during the reign of the mighty Ahom kings. It is an Arch bridge, which provides greater strength to the bridge and allows the smooth operation of any heavy transport instead of the usual annual floods in the Nāṁdāng̣ River. Besides, the bridge has several sculptural representations of Hindu symbolism, divine elements, and objects of contemporary times, having Ahom sculptural art significance. The architecture and art of this bridge reciprocal relations between the mighty Ahom rulers and other parts of Bhārata. The article gives a glimpse of this bridge’s architectural and artistic significance based on field study.
Keywords: Ḥilo Ḥāku, Nāṁdāng̣, Aqueduct Bridge, Hindu-triad, musical-instruments, dwārapāla.
Rao, K, Vinay. “Comparative study of Vishnu sculptures based on Iconographical and stylistic development: 7th to 12th Century”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp.23-36.
Historiography and ecology of the Tista-Brahmaputra Valley (From Early Medieval to Colonial Period)
Bhaskar Roy
pp.
Gajalakshmi is one of the eight manifestations of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, associated with wealth and prosperity. This form of the goddess is more popular than other manifestations, is often depicted in art, and is particularly popular in panels. The earliest literary source of Lakshmi’s role as the goddess of wealth can be traced from Sri Sukta, an ancient Vedic hymn found in the Rig Veda, an appended part of Rigveda Khila Sukta. The Gajalakshmi form is represented in art as Lakshmi seated or standing on a lotus, flanked by elephants who pour abhisheka, or sacred water, on her with a pot. This depiction can be found in the early architecture of Stupas dating back to the second century BCE and suggests that the glory of Gajalakshmi was manifested in art before this time. While depicting Lakshmi on a lotus with elephants is common in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples, the variations in the lotuses and stone slabs are interesting. An insightful study of the Gajalakshmi medallion objectively applies literary history, iconography, and its depictions through the passage of architectural representations, and the interpretation will have a stronger foundation of the Vedic religious values.
Keywords: Rigveda, South Asian studies, Archaeology, Symbolism, Ancient Indian history, Buddhist stupas, Indian archaeology, goddess of wealth
Rao, Rekha. “Historiography and ecology of the Tista-Brahmaputra Valley (From Early Medieval to Colonial Period)”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 37-55.
Vedic cultural expansion in Eastern India
Sanat K Adhikary
pp.
Rock art is a distinct archaeological record that provides evidence of human artistic behavior right from the Palaeolithic period. The study of rock art in the Indian context has a history of over 150 years. These studies have dealt with the typology, chronology, and behavioral aspects behind their creation in various regions of India. The pictographs and petroglyphs found across the country have provided vital components to formulate a chronological framework and reconstruction of the human past. However, the extent of rock art in Northeast India is negligible both in quantity and diversity. A number of sites with rock engravings have been recorded from the states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. However, the chronology is still a matter of academic debate among the scholars. This paper attempts to discuss the nature, contexts, and historical importance of the rock engravings found in the Brahmaputra valley.
Keywords: Megaliths, Pictographs, Petroglyph, Temple ruins, Manikarneshwar, Anthropomorphic figures, Labyrinths
S. Y. Sanathan, and Hazarika, Manjil. “Vedic cultural expansion in Eastern India”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 56-79.
Evolution of Mughal art in the eyes of B. N. Goswami
Shalima Dadhwal, Yatti Dutt
pp.
This paper focuses on the historical remains and how they have been manipulated in the Undivided Khurkhul Area. At present, it is divided into many smaller villages. They are the Khurkhul Khunjao, Kanto, Kanto Sabal, and Keingam Villages. Hence, the paper focuses on the act of monument emergence and the creation of the past in the changing conditions of a border region of this Undivided Khurkhul. The creation of values and their inscription in the past, especially in historical remains, to naturalize them belong to the main processes of building identifications in a border region. The historical structure in which we include our history helps us to understand and organize ourselves, whereas the spatial structure helps us to understand our surroundings. In that way, historical material and memory places are not indicators for existing collective identities but a medium to install values and orders of a collective identification coming into being. Landscapes are manipulated over time for various reasons, but each object or piece of land has a symbolic meaning. New landscapes indicate new developments and new conditions. Moreover, it is vital to know what happened to a landscape before one can speculate about why it changed and how people adapted to the new conditions.
Keywords: Khurkhul, Manipulated Landscapes, Environment, Societal change, Christianity, and Geoarchaeology
Devi, Daina, Chingsubam. “Evolution of Mughal art in the eyes of B. N. Goswami”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 80-93.
Kondotty: A Journey through Islamic Heritage and Cultural Significance
Basith Trippanachi
pp.
Though not a clear cut physical unit, the Middle Ganga Plain (24º30’ N- 27º50’ N and 84º47’ E – 87º50’E) is a large physical area (144,409 sq. km.) having immense human, cultural and economic significance that makes it the heart of India. It is generally discussed in the literature that during the Palaeolithic time, human occupation of the Ganga Plain did not take place because the stones, the prerequisite for making stone tools, were unavailable. It is further emphasized that Ganga Plain did not witness early development of agriculture and urban life, despite being a fertile, agriculture-suitable land. The reasons postulated were that Ganga Plain was a dense and tangled forest throughout the Pleistocene and Early Holocene. Significant developments in the Ganga Plain occurred only with iron’s introduction in the fourth millennium BP when enterprising fanners cleared the forest. However, recent archaeological investigations suggest that the Epi-Palaeolithic or late Upper Palaeolithic represents an important stage in the human adaptation and evolution of cultures in the Middle Ganga Plain. Among the pioneers who brought this region onto the Palaeolithic map of India, mention may be made of Cockburn (1888), who located Palaeolithic tools in the Singrauli Basin and Mirzapur district. The available evidence now clearly indicates a gradual evolution from Upper Palaeolithic to Mesolithic in the Plain. It is also suggested that Neolithic Culture evolved out of the Mesolithic. It is now well established that ecology played an important role in the origin of the first settlements in the Middle Ganga Plain. Hence, the present paper aims to understand the history of human occupation in the Ganga Plain.
Key-words: Pleistocene, Settlement, Middle Ganga Plain, Paleolithic, Ecology
Kumar, Vinay. “Kondotty: A Journey through Islamic Heritage and Cultural Significance”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 94-106.
Critical evaluation during documenting mounted Mammalian collection in Zoology Museum, A M. U. Aligarh
Shaista Waheed, Shakeel Ahmad & Abduraheem. K
pp.
The Manipuris, particularly the Meiteis, are excellent horse riders and skilled warriors. They fought various battles mounted on ponies. They are known to be belligerent and believed to have retaliated against multiple attacks, including the ones by the Burmese. They used various weapons, and one such weapon was the Arambai, which was used by the Manipuri warriors and mounted on Manipuri ponies. Very few people know about this indigenous weapon, preserved as an exhibition game in Manipur. This paper attempts to bring out the importance of Arambai in the history of weaponry. Some scholars’ views were considered while carrying out the study.
Keywords: Arambai, Burmese, Dart, Manipur, Pony, Meitei, Horsemen
Barbina, Rajkumari. “Critical evaluation during documenting mounted Mammalian collection in Zoology Museum, A M. U. Aligarh”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 107-116.
Reimagining the worship hall of Sompur Mahavihara: Discovering sacred spaces in the Southern Himalayan Pediment
Sajid Bin Doza, Samia Sharmin
pp.
The beginning of agriculture is synchronous with the dawn of human civilization and is unquestionably the largest livelihood provider in the vast rural areas of India. Agriculture in India stretches back to the Neolithic period. In agricultural communities, the value of its existence to humans is recognized via rituals and ceremonial gifts offered to please the elements of the sun, rain, and earth. Rice is the principal food crop of northeastern India, and many agricultural festivals are held throughout the year to commemorate the seasonal cycles of crops. Every group or community has rituals that are specific and unique to them. The community engaged perceives them as fulfilling a social obligation, and they are typically conducted in a holy atmosphere. The Dimasa Kachari is an Indo-Mongolian tribe native to Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Assam. They practice both shifting and wet cultivation, depending on their geographical settlement. The agricultural activities of Dimasas are primarily regulated by the seasonal cycle. This article is part of an ethnographic report on agricultural practices among the Dimasa community of Dakhin Komorakata village in Hojai district, Assam, conducted in 2018. This paper will primarily focus on wet rice cultivation and regulating agricultural practices, which are the mainstay of Dimasa’s economic life.
Keywords: Dimasa, Agriculture, wet rice, Cultivation, Rituals
Swamma, Saepha. “Reimagining the worship hall of Sompur Mahavihara: Discovering sacred spaces in the Southern Himalayan Pediment”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 117-139.
Terracotta temples of Guptipara - A thematic and iconographic study
Priyanka Das
pp.
Mañjuṣā is a folk art form of Bihar, particularly associated with the Bihulā-Viśaharī cult worshipped in the region of Bhagalpur and adjoining districts. In this particular cult of Bihulā-Viśaharī, people worshipped a snake goddess. According to Kuraishi and S C Kala, Bihar has been a central place of snake worship (Kuraishi 24; Kala 67). This paper is based on the Bhagalpur region, where snake worship is celebrated during the monsoon season. Bhagalpur is known for folk art and has indigenous diversity in silk production. The present study highlights the snake cult and its association with art, ceremonial practices, and belief systems. Amṛita Kalaśa (nectar pot), Jhāpī (box-shaped structure), Barī (vase), and painting are the main components of Mañjuṣā art. This paper will discuss this cultic practice’s tangible and intangible aspects, iconography, form, and significance. Mañjuṣā is still an untapped area of research. There is very little literary evidence, and some published materials are available only in the vernacular language. The study primarily focuses on the art historical analysis and anthropological aspects of Mañjuṣā.
Keywords: Bihulā-Viśaharī, Mañjuṣāpainting of Bhagalpur, Snake worship, Nāga-cult, Folk painting, Folk art of Bihar, Traditional painting, Manasā worship
Kumari, Sarika. “Terracotta temples of Guptipara – A thematic and iconographic study”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 140-155.
Decoding Bonobibi Pala of Sundarbans: An ethno-archaeological perspective
Shahida Ansari, Anirban Ghosh
pp.
The rise of Indian civilization in the Sarasvati Valley and the adjoining Indus region is a topic of interest and debate among scholars. Recent research has yielded many Harappan sites on the old banks of the dried-up course of the Sarasvati. Moreover, excavations at a few sites in the 21st century revealed cultures earlier than those of the Harappa civilization, suggesting the evolution of Indian society in this region. An extensive review of the archaeological data from pre-Early Harappans to early Harappans shows a smooth transition without any break or cultural gap in the areas of Harappa, Jalilpur, and other excavated sites noticed in Hakra/Sarasvati valley.
Keywords: Pre-Harappan horizon, Early Harappans, Bhirrana, Rakhigarhi, Girwad, Radio-Carbon Dates, Mehrgarh
Dikshit, K.N. “Decoding Bonobibi Pala of Sundarbans: An ethno-archaeological perspective”. Abhidha Journal of Art, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 156-215.
Book Review
The beats of Ghungroo -from the sounds of modesty to impurity
Ankita Roy Chowdhury
pp.
The history of aesthetics in Northeast India: A cultural and artistic journey
Tameesham Pandya
pp.
