Harappan Civilizations & the Aryan Migration (ca. 2300-1750 B.C.E.)
Graphic by John C. Huntington
Artist: unknown
Title: graphic of "Sacrifice" Seal
Material:
Site: Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan
Current Location: National Museum of Pakistan (Karachi Museum), Pakistan
Period/Date: Indus/Harrapa Civilization/ ca. 2300-1750 B.C.E.
Iconography/Iconology: Known as the"Sacrifice" seal, this
is one of seven seals that shows a priest in front of a tree with a figure
in a tree or simply a figure. Both the figure in the tree and the figure
kneeling in front of it are identical suggesting that some sort of identity
transfer ritual (where the practitioner becoms the deity) is taking place.
There is a composite bovid with a human face and antelope horns behind the
offerer and a tray of offering materials in front of him. In the foreground
are seven human figures which are frequently called "acolytes",
but their actual function is unknown. What is important about this seal
is that it suggests a continuity of religious methodologies that exist to
the present day. Identity transfer, puja (offering), and obeisence
are fundemental to all forms of traditional Indic religions.
In this graphic, the horns of the "bull-men", in the tree and
the offerer, show a continuity with the Kot
Diji pot, which predates this seal by approximately 2,000 years. It
may also be seen in this graphic that the tree is a bodhi tree (ficus
religiosus) that also was important in the pre-Harrapan times. This importance
continues to the present day. It is especially prominant in the Buddhist
and Vaisnava religions. In Buddhism, it is the tree under which Sakyamuni
attained enlightenment.
Stylistic Comments:
