The Mother Goddess The people of the Indus Valley cities, also worshiped a Mother Goddess. The importance accorded to these roles and also to the feminine, can be drawn from the number of figurines excavated. The important uncovered poses include – a Dancing Girl, and terracotta figurines of what can be identified as Fertility goddess.
![Mother Goddess figurine]( "indus-goddess")
MOTHER GODDESS FIGURINE
![Metal figurine of Dancing Lady]( "dancinglady_sm")
METAL FIGURINE OF DANCING LADY
![Terracotta Fertility Goddess]( "teracotta-fertility-goddess")
TERRACOTTA FERTILITY GODDESS, SOURCE: HARAPPA.COM
TERRACOTTA GODDESS WITH PANNIER HEADDRESS. SOURCE: HARAPPA.COM
One of the largest female figurines found at Harappa has a (badly broken) fan-shaped pannier headdress with black residue in the cups of the panniers and a forward-projecting face. She is heavily ornamented with an elaborate choker and two other necklaces, each with three strands and many pendants. This elaborate ornamentation of figurines is one reason that female figurines have often been interpreted as deities, most commonly as “Mother Goddesses.”
Residues that may indicate burning of oils or other substances in the panniers have also prompted a cultic interpretation and ritual worship. [http://www.harappa.com/figurines/15.html
]
Women in Ancient Sindh: Bronze Age Figurines of the Indus Valley Civilization
In this 2004 article from the quarterly publication Sindh Watch, Paolo Biagi synthesizes the evidence of female clay figurines from Bronze Age sites in the Indus Valley to highlight the social and cultural roles of women in that society. He draws on earlier evidence from the neolithic site of Mehrgarh, in Balochistan, as well as that from mature Harappan sites like Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Based on this analysis he offers the following insights into the role of women as depicted in the figurines:
"Although little is known of the true role women played in the Indus Valley Civilization...there is little doubt that many of them represent fertility images, as suggested by characteristics depicted in the statuettes. The hairstyles, ornaments and dressing clearly indicate the important prominence assigned to women at that time in what appeared to be a nearly egalitarian society. Additionally, the bronze 'Dancing Girls' statuettes suggest specific, public activities played by women at that time. Of extreme interest is also the occurrence of specific naturalistic goddesses and their priestesses, which suggest that the Indus people worshipped a goddess whose domain was the forest."
2004 From a history of the portrait in art David J Bromley, M.F.A. inst.2004 Section Class Portfolio:
A Glimpse at the Human Figurines of the Indus Valley Civilization - Jithin R. Veer ![]()
Seated Mother Goddess of Çatal Hüyük
c. 6000 B.C. | The Fall 2004 Module, "History of the Portrait," focused on the evolution of art, beginning from ancient drawings of animals, and sometimes humans, on cave walls, to figurine sculptures such as "fertility figures," and on to artwork during the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman eras, eventually leading to the more sophisticated portraiture of the Northern and Southern European Renaissance. I found the concept of human figurines to be very interesting because I did not expect figurines of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic Eras to be ancestors of the Renaissance-era work of da Vinci, or Velasquez, or the predecessors of modern paintings from artists such as Picasso or Dali. The human figurines discussed in class were primarily "fertility figures"– figures paying homage to the fertility of the female and the virility of the male in the act of procreation -- originating from European, or "Western" cultures such as Mesopotamia, closer to the waters of the Mediterranean. Professor Bromley mentioned in class that Eastern European art of the Paleolithic through the Neolithic Eras focused more on this type of sculpture compared to portraiture. However, the use of human figurines is not exclusive to Western art; it extends to the art of Eastern Asian cultures as well. Human figures of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization in present-day Pakistan and India of South Asia exemplify the common use of human figurines as fertility figures, and also illustrate the roles of children, women, and men of Indus Valley culture. The Indus human figurines are somewhat similar in their purpose in society, but are differentiated from their Western counterparts in the figurines’ ornamental features. |
| During the Paleolithic and much of the Neolithic Eras, mankind was primarily living as a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, first using stones as tools. Humans needed to hunt animals for their sustenance; communal bonds between hunters and their families may have developed, but the need to settle permanently on the land was not justified. However, by the end of the Neolithic Era, a few civilizations such as Egypt and Mesopotamia in the West/Middle East, and the Indus Valley and China in the East, began to develop as people began to depend on each other for physical, psychological, and cultural means. Of these ancient civilizations, perhaps it is the Indus Valley Civilization that is most easily overlooked by modern researchers. Nevertheless, the Indus Valley Civilization was one of the most advanced settlements of its day. Situated along the banks of the Indus River moving inland from the Arabian Sea, the Indus Valley Civilization is thought to have extended for about 700 years, from around 2600 to 1900 BC. The Indus Valley Civilization was only brought to an end by a combination of attacks by Aryan neighbors to the west and a decline caused by an overextension of resources. The Indus Valley Civilization could be best described as a complex network of at least 1500 towns and cities spread over 680,000 sq. kilometers of land. The inhabitants of the Indus Valley are believed to have been dark-skinned, or Dravidian, most likely ancestors of the darker-skinned peoples of South India. A few of the most well-known Indus cities include Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. All cities were designed according to a master plan, and featured organized housing for the rulers, well-to-do, and the commoners. Most cities were constructed out of brick and featured communal areas such as "Great Baths," likely used for cultural/spiritual purposes. Cities were also advanced – in Mohenjo Daro, every house had a private well dug deep to provide water, along with public wells located outside for the general public and travelers. All cities also had an organized system to safely transport sewage waste away, and most houses had private bathing areas and latrines. While the language(s) of the Indus Valley have not yet been deciphered, evidence of written documents and inscriptions prove the presence of sophisticated communication in the Indus society. Art and cultural development was also important to the dwellers of the Indus Valley Civilization. The importance of art can be seen on ornamented seals belonging to rulers, to terra-cotta disposable drinking cups. | ![]()
Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro
c. 2500 B.C. |
![]()
Beaded necklace of the Indus Valley
c. 2,600 – 1,900 B.C. | | Jewelry was highly ornamented, and every man and woman wore at least one piece of jewelry. A few types of jewelry such as necklaces and bangles show direct lineage to the more ornamented necklaces and bangles of modern Indian jewelry. | | ![]()
Terra-cotta figure with a headdress of flowers
c. 3000 B.C. | Human figurines were also found in the Indus Valley. Like other civilizations such as Mesopotamia which featured human figurines, the use of these figurines was to primarily celebrate childbirth and fertility in the female and virility for the male. It is presumed that the human figurines may have been involved in a cultural or ceremonial event. However, one reason why human figurines are often hard to find intact or in good condition in the Indus Valley is that the figurines were often given as toys to children after their ceremonial use and then likely discarded. This is in sharp contrast to Mesopotamia, where human figurines were often involved in the burial process. In addition, the figurines at the Indus Valley excavation sites were found to be primarily made out of the medium terra-cotta. |
| Figurines of children are a common find among the Indus figurines. Children were highly revered as they were the products of the successful act of procreation and childbirth. Due to complications in pregnancy, the mortality rate for women and children during childbirth was relatively high. Many children figurines are actually children nursing at the breasts of their mother. The position of the figurine is usually a nursing infant situated on the left hip, while leaving the mother’s right arm free to perform other tasks. This anatomical position is similar to the characteristic pose of Indian village women, nursing their young, today. Like other civilizations of the time, the children are depicted to be primarily male, perhaps showing a gender bias. However, the children figurines of the Indus Valley are markedly different than their counterparts in the West in their ornamentation. Children figurines of the Indus are usually shown nude, but their ornamentation often includes a necklace and a turban (males). This is culturally significant because both genders wore necklaces and the turban is a hairdressing still worn today by many Indian men. Other figurines of children include their toys as well. One common toy many children figurines have in their hand or are associated, is a small disc. These small discs are part of a game called "pittu." In this game, still played today in North India and Pakistan, a group of children stack up their discs and attempt to knock all of the discs down by throwing a ball. Other games include terra-cotta spinning tops and miniature objects such as musical instruments and cooking pans, meant to prepare children for an adult life. | |
| "Figurines of women are perhaps the most plentiful of the figurines in Indus Valley. The reason for this is unknown, but it proposed that women were given a special place culturally in society, due to their ability to produce offspring. Indeed, studies of burial sites at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa have shown that a man was often buried with his wife’s family. The female figurines are easily distinguished by a curving, pear-shaped body with large protruding breasts. The effect of these female figurines is two-fold: it emphasizes the beauty, and phallic/ sexual nature of the female; but at the same time, cherishes the nurturing, motherly nature of the female. The figurines of the women tend to also be heavily ornamented. It is, therefore, easier to learn about the culture of the Indus Valley through these female figurines." (encarta.msn.com)
The head region of the figurines usually show a complex arrangement of hair and flowers and usually head ornaments, therefore showing a greater cultural interest in hair style, likely related to a particular ethnic community or family within the civilization. On many figurines seen today, parts of the headdresses have broken off. Clothing on women figurines include short skirts. Additional ornaments on the female figurines include belts, necklaces, and bangles. While males also wore these accessories, the female figurines demonstrate that the women most likely wore larger, more prominent necklaces, and a variety of many bangles on their arm. In reality, this jewelry was gold, bronze, agate, ivory, and semiprecious stones. However, in the figurines, they are simply outlined and sculpted onto the surface. Almost all figurines were crafted from terra-cotta, but a few sculptures towards the end of the Indus Valley Civilization have been cast of bronze. Modern bronze sculptures, especially prominent in Hindu India, seem to have originated from the human figurines of the Indus Valley. |
Figurines of men are slightly harder to find in the Indus Valley excavations compared to those of females. Figurines of men tend to be more simplistic, and little can be told of their clothing or accessories they may have worn. This is because most male figurines are shown in the nude. The reason for this is not known, but could be because of the ceremonial purposes of the male figurine related to strength and virility. Because the male figurines were not considered to be as beautiful as the female figurines, many male figurines studied today are broken in half or have substantial parts missing. Nevertheless, it is possible to reconstruct the ornamental design of the male figurines and draw parallels to the Indus Valley society. For example, almost all male figurines have a turban, or similar style of headdress. Some male figurines which are intact with their arms may hold a spear, signaling strength and protection of the Indus from outside attack. Many adult male figurines have a projection on the chin for a beard, some closely combed, others combed out, and spread wide. Male figurines tend to have much less jewelry than the females; male jewelry in the Indus Valley figurines typically includes one necklace or one bangle on an arm. It is likely that the materials used to make these ornaments for men were different than the materials and styles used for the women, however it is difficult to make a distinction in the figurines themselves. However, males in higher socio-economic levels tended to have more ornaments; the famous "Priest-King" sculpture (right) of Mohenjo-Daro shows multiple pieces of jewelry, such as a bangle and a headband.
The human figurines of the Indus Valley Civilization reflect the common use of figurines in all cultures during this time period, to celebrate the act of procreation and childbirth. While celebrating fertility and virility may seem arcane in a modern context, producing children successfully was a crucial yet dangerous task for all members of society, in order to ensure survival of the family unit, civilization, and their culture. However, the human figurines of the Indus Valley Civilization are unique in that their figurines are more than objects celebrating procreation – the figurines also include details of the clothing, jewelry, hair styles, and toys that were integral to the Indus Valley Civilization. While much of the puzzles surrounding life in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China have been solved by extensive research, excavation, and a deciphering of their languages, modern society is only now beginning to unlock the stories behind one of the oldest civilizations of the world - the Indus Valley Civilization. Because the ancient languages of the Indus have not been deciphered yet, by studying the significance of these human figurines and other pieces of art, researchers can better understand the civilization that is arguably the birthplace of all modern cultures of the Indian subcontinent. | ![]()
2200-1900 B.C. |
References "Indus Valley Civilization." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Online. Internet. Online ed. 2004. <http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556839/Indus_Valley_Civilization.html>
Urmila, Sant. Terracotta Art of Rajasthan (From Pre-Harappan and Harappan Times to the Gupta Period). New Delhi, India: Aryan Books International, 1997.
Pulsipher, Lydia Mihelic, and Alex Pulsipher. World Regional Geography. 2nd ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2003.
Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark. Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Bromley, David J. 17 Dec 2004. History of Portraiture - VCU Honors. 01 Nov 2004. <http://www.artviews.net>. |
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~djbromle/artviewsnet/portrait04/jithin/indusvalley.htm
[quote]The Indus Valley Civilization ensued during the Bronze Age (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE). It mostly spread along the Indus and the Punjab region, extending into the Ghaggar-Hakra river valley and the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, surrounding most of what is now Pakistan, the western states of modern-day India, as well as extending into south-eastern Afghanistan, and the easternmost part of Baluchistan, Iran. The geography of the Indus Valley put the civilizations that arose there in a similar situation to those in Egypt and Peru, with rich agricultural lands being surrounded by highlands, desert, and ocean. Of late, Indus sites had been discovered in Pakistan's north-western Frontier Province as well. Other smaller isolated colonies were found as far away as Turkmenistan. Coastal settlements extended from Sutkagan Dor in Western Baluchistan to Lothal in Gujarat. An Indus Valley site was located on the Oxus River at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan, By 2600 BCE, early communities turned into large urban centres. Such inner-city centres included Harappa, Ganeriwala, Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan, and Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, and Lothal in India. In total, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the region of the Indus and the tributaries.
Steatite seals had images of animals, people (perhaps gods), and other types of inscriptions, including the yet un-deciphered writingsystem of the Indus Valley Civilization. A number of gold, terra-cotta and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses showed the presence of some dance form. Also, these terra-cotta figurines included cows, bears, monkeys, and dogs. Sir John Marshall reacted with surprise when he saw the famous Indus bronze statuette of a slender-limbed dancing girl in Mohenjo-Daro: When I first saw I found it difficult to believe that they were prehistoric; they seemed to completely upset all established ideas about early art, and culture. Modelling such as this was unknown in the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of Greece, and I thought, therefore, that some mistake must surely have been made; that these figures had found their way into levels some 3000 years older than those to which they properly belonged.
Now, in these statuettes, it was just this anatomical truth which was so startling; that made us wonder whether, in this all-important matter, Greek artistry could possibly have been anticipated by the sculptors of a far-off age on the banks of the Indus. It was widely suggested that the Harappan people worshipped a Mother goddess symbolizing fertility. A few Indus valley seals displayed swastika sign which were there in many religions, especially in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The earliest evidence for elements of Hinduism is before and during the early Harappan period. Phallic symbols close to the Hindu Shiva lingam was located in the Harappan ruins. Mohenjo-Daro or “heap of the dead” was the largest city excavated of the Indus Valley, or Harappa Civilization. Mohenjo-Daro was a Sindhi word in the locality meaning ‘mound of the dead’...
Hwen Tsang in 630-635 CE saw a palisade (stupa) of Mauryan times. It was one hundred feet high. Cunningham said of this pillar: The principality of Middle Sind, which is generally known as Vichalo or ‘Midland’ is described by Hwen Tsang as only 2,500 li or 417 miles in circuit. The chief city, named ‘O-fan-cha’ was at 700 li or 117 miles from the capital of the upper Sind, and 50 miles from Pitasala, the capital of lower Sind. As the former was Alor, and the latter was almost certainly the Pattale of the Greeks or Haiderabad, the recorded distances fix the position of O-fan-cha in the immediate neighbourhood vicinity of the ruins of an ancient city called Bambhra-ka-Thul or simply Bambhar. This, according to tradition, was the site of the once famous city of Brahmanwas or Brahmanabad […].
The city can be located because the circumstances are narrated in detail. The king of the city had previously submitted, but the citizens withheld their allegiance, and shut their gates. By a stratagem, they were induced to come out, and a conflict ensued, in which Ptolemy was seriously wounded in the shoulder by a poisoned sword. The mention of Ptolemy’s wound enables us to identify this city with that of Hermetalia, which Diodorus describes as the ‘last town of the Brahmins on the river.
Hermes in Greek is the muted term for Brahma. The Chinese syllable fan is the well-known phrasing of Brahma. Hence, both O-fan-cha and Hermetalia is a direct wording of Bambhra-ka-thul or Brahma-sthal. From all these discussions, it seemed certain that what Hwen Tsang visited was the city of Mohenjo-Daro and its real name was Brahma-sthal or Brahmanabad. The meaning of the name Mohenjo-Daro is ‘Heap of the Dead’. Such a name seems peculiar for a prosperous city like this. The Hindi word was mohan jodad.o. This word jodad.o had cognates in many mleccha, meluhha languages. The Sindhi word d.a_r.o meant ‘feast given to relatives in honour of the dead’. A number of scholars made out that meluhha was the Sumerian name for mleccha, meaning non-Vedic, barbarian. It was used by the Aryans much as the ancient Greeks used barbaros, indicating garbled speech of foreigners or native people of the country.
The city flourished between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE, although the first signs of settlement in the area had been dated to the period of 3500 BCE. Excavation at this level was impossible due to the high water table that made even simple excavations of Mohenjo-Daro difficult. The city covered around 200 hectares of land and at its height might have had a population of 85, 000 people. The site was located in the modern Larkana district of Sind province in Pakistan. Mohenjo-Daro was the largest city in the southern portion of the Indus Valley Civilization and important for trade and governance of this area.
The Great Mound, or Citadel, stood out the west end of Mohenjo-Daro. The mound rose 40 feet about the plain at present time; it would have been higher at the time Mohenjo-Daro was inhabited. There was a gap between the mound and the lower city. Because of the large size and separation from the rest of the city, it was thought the mound might have been used for a religious or administrative purpose. This hypothesis was supported by the architecture found on the top of the mound. The mound at Mohenjo-Daro had two distinct features: the Great Bath and the Granary or Meeting hall. The Great Bath was a sunken tank on the top of the mound; the tank was 12 meters long, 7 meters wide and was sunk 2.4 meters below the depth of the mud bricks that enclosed it. The Great Bath was one of the first aspects of Indus Valley life that could be related to modern Hinduism. The Great Bath might also be linked to the concept of river worship, much like the worship of the River Ganga today.[unquote]http://www.ancient.eu/article/230/
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Unknown nexus between AAP and The Hindus comes out in the open
A fact-finding team of UNESCO has informed the Madras High Court that the lacunae in temple conservation work by the state government in Tamil Nadu has badly affected some of the most historic shrines, which include two near Chennai, reported 
Fronting the elephant on the Kalabhra coin is a ladder. I suggest that both elephant and ladder are Indus Script hypertexts. It appears that the ladder is topped by 'srivatsa' hypertext which has been deciphered elsewhere as dula 'pair' rebus: dul 'metal casting' 
Blacksmithing mother.
harappa.com "Slide 88. Three objects (harappa.com) 
Dancing girl, Mohenjodaro. Hypertext with comparable hieroglyph on potsherd, Bhirrana. Dance step is the signifier hieroglyph.
Santali glosses.
Modern. Terracotta lamp holding a single lighted wick.
Seal. Indus Script.
Indus Valley Civilization Terracotta Fertility Goddess. Pakistan/Western India. 3500-2500 BCE
S
Busts. Indus Valley. 
Nausharo.
This clay figure of a woman has a headdress, with flowers and what look like baskets. Maybe the 'baskets' were for burning oil?
These little seated figures of men were found at Harappa.
SC tells Karti: Appear before CBI
Nindowari seal with squirrel hieroglyph.
