Source: here.
‘Nysa in India’ & the Related Narratives
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Dionysiac claims
Notwithstanding the nativity of these traditions, the art of the region was still claimed by some to be related to the Greek traditions of Dionysus. The predominant art of the region of not just these tribes but also including the entire Swat valley (the earlier territory of Kamboja and Gandhara) also has been called ‘Dionysiac’ for their prolific use of wine and ‘Bacchalic scenes.’ But, is it really ‘Dionysiac’? As wine consumption and the other related art is well attested in the context of the Western classical world and medieval Iran (Filigenzi, 2019: 56), this resulted in a tendency to see such art form in the Swat valley to be hierarchically dependent on the western classical world.
It is a fact that wine consumption seems to have existed in Swat valley from a long time as supported by the archaeological finds of the region. The following excerpt from Filigenzi’s paper is helpful in this regard:
“The assemblages of the proto-historic graveyards of Swat (c. 1700–300 BCE) include a large number of the so called “brandy-bowls,” i.e. drinking vessels characterised by hemispherical, globular or carinated bodies on a high foot. Although no traces of substances were detected, their connection to the ceremonial practice of libation is nonetheless manifest. Some sort of intoxicating liquid was indeed consumed in proto-historic Swat, probably beyond the funerary context as well.”[^61]
Then there is also the evidence of the archaeological grains including grapevine from the settlements in the region (Filigenzi, 2019: 60). Archaeo-botanists estimate that in the Early Neolithic times, the ancient north west of the Indian sub-continent must have played an important role in the domestication of the wild grapevine. After all, wild grapevine is still found in the region (Filigenzi, 2019: 60). Filigenzi mentions that palaeo-botanical evidence of cultivated grapes is recorded in the Indian subcontinent from the third millennium BCE onwards. There also have been found many stone tanks, interestingly near rock shelters (that cover a wide period from the Bronze age to even 10^(th)-12^(th) century).**⁶² **The shelters have been connected with transhumant pastoralists as Filigenzi calls them like those of the Dardic culture. The stone tanks are of both the kinds- winepresses and the vats. Hence, there is a sound reasoning behind the statement of Filigenzi when she states that consumption of wine in Swat was a component of the normal ambit of economic and cultural life, therefore it would be much better to use a neutral phrase of ‘revelry scenes’ to describe such art from Swat instead of ‘Dionysiac’.[^63]
Indr
The connection of wine and gods of Kafirs of Hindu Kush is amply explained by Filigenzi:
“..an important cult place in honour of Indr, also used for meetings of important men, was the Indr-ta in Wama, in Southern Nuristan. Indr is the Kafir version of the Vedic Indra. Like the latter, he is the ruler of the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena, and as such is connected in Kafiristan with rainbows and earthquakes (Jettmar 1986, 64). As originally connected to ritual consumption of.., Indr is also the god of wine and owns vineyards (Jettmar 1986; Chandra 1998, 151). In particular, the Indrakun garden, an orchard located high above the Pech River, where fruit trees grow embraced by wild vines, traces its origin back to Indr, who, according to the local folklore, carved the vats into the boulders himself and visits the garden each summer.” (Filigenzi, 2019: 74-75).
The grape harvest was then celebrated with a festival in honour of Indr in Indra-ta. The celebration involved ample use of wine, goat sacrifice, dancing and singing and merriment. Another excerpt from Filigenzi’s paper explains the festivities:
“On this occasion, a large cult image of Indr was taken from his temple (Indr-ama) out into the village and placed in the centre of the Indr-ta, on a boulder that served as a base, next to which was a sacred tree (already dead at the time of Edelberg’s visit in 1948). Two long rows of stones were used as sitting places for high-ranking men who used to drink much wine stored in the Indr-ama. Between the rows of stones there was a flat dancing ground and, in the vicinity, four stone wine vats (watkuna). The effigy of Indr was honoured by pouring wine on it and by sacrificing to it several he-goats and one or two oxen, whose blood was thrown on the sacrificial fire while ‘priests’ sung hymns.”
Interestingly, a temple of Dionysus on the mountain of Nysa (a mountain here; not a city) has also been described by Appolonius of Tyana who visited India in 1^(st) century CE. The festivities described have close similarities with the Indrakun tradition. Though, the text has been considered unreliable, yet Filigenzi considers this an evidence of persistence of the connection that was made between the ‘god of wine’ and Dionysus. (Filigenzi, 2019: 75).
Soroadeios
Another intriguing fact that Filigenzi mentions testifies to the presence of concept of ‘god of wine’ in the Gandhar region when Alexander was in India.
“Falk (2009, 65) recalled the Gandharan god Soroadeios (a high ranking yakṣa?) mentioned by Chares of Mitylene, a Greek historiographer who followed Alexander in his military expedition into Asia. Of Chares’ Stories about Alexander (Peri Alexandron historiai), only a few fragments survive in citations and excerpts. From the relevant passage, quoted by Athenaios of Naukratis (Deipnosophistai 1.48.64), we know that Chares translated the name Soroadeios (i.e. the Greek phonetic version of an unknown Indian original) as oinopoios, ‘wine maker.’”[^64]
Balima
The connection of Indr of the Kafir religion with the Vedic Indra was very obvious but even the visiting god of the Kalash religion in the sacred time of Chaumos (from Sanskrit meaning four months) who is called Balimain (Cacopardo, 2011: 74) has emphatic connections with Vedic Indra. Balima (bal’ima) as per scholar Caco would be an epithet meaning ‘powerful’ borrowed from Kati, while In would stand for Indra, so the Balimain would mean ‘powerful Indr.’ In fact the Kalasha themselves address Balimain as Indr in songs and invocations.[^65]
There is no doubt that clear similarities exist between these native religious beliefs of the ancient Indian north-west and the Dionysus traditions. For example, visit of Balimain is brief because he departs at the end of Chaumos, while the god of wine Dionysus was believed to stay for the winter on earth to leave only in spring (Cacopardo, 2011: 74)…. Balima-In, like Dionysos, is a hermaphrodite: he is represented as male on the right side and female on the left side.[^66]
Shiva
It’s fascinating to note that these traits of Balima-In and Dionysus are also well known and much prominent part of god Śiva. Dionysus and Śiva also share more obvious similarities with both of them being the lords of animals. The bull is also important part of traditions of Śiva and is connected to Dionysus at the same time; the tradition of being related to intoxicating drinks is also common to both. Interestingly, there is also an example of carved Śiva from the Yungang Grottoes in China, curiously depicted holding grapes thus suggesting a Sogdian connection of Śiva with grapes (and possibly wine?). At this point, readers may remember that Herodotus had already specifically related, as mentioned above, the similarities in the habits of Bactrians and ancient the north-west Indians (ancient Kamboja and Gandhāra). So, there is a trail of similarities that can be traced between these regions and their religious beliefs from India to Central Asia (like the importance of goat/ibex, wine, bull, etc) right from the ancient times.
A carved depiction of god Śiva holding grapes from the Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi, China (5th century CE). (Source) (WikiMedia Commons Link)
The connection of these gods with wine is a fascinating point for research. These peculiar similarities of the Kafir-Kalash culture with the European culture, as per Cacopardo might suggest some very ancient connection between them including the festival cycles, the use of juniper, the music etc. but he admits that these are only random parallels at best and a detailed study of European folk traditions would be needed to draw some conclusions.[^67]
Dionysus from India
While the tradition of Dionysus conquering India on his way to the Greek shores has been mentioned before, there is also another very intriguing and lesser known tradition that Cacopardo has shed light on. Euripides is the first to mention that Dionysos was actually born in India and had travelled to Greece after a childhood spent in Nysa or on Mount Meros.[^68] He cites on the authority of Grossato that based on the available archaeological and ethnobotanical evidence, there is a strong possibility of the tradition of Dionysos and his lesser known legend of Indian origin to actually signifying the route along which the vine and viticulture expanded west from Central Asia, especially because this expansion coincides pretty well with the route followed by the god (Cacopardo, 2011: 76).
To explain the point regarding the ‘Wine-Route’, it would be better to quote an excerpt from Cacopardo’s paper:
“At the present state of research it seems that the cultivation of the vine first developed south of the Caucasus where the wild sub-species of the vitis vinifera Linnei, the vine at the origin of 99% of the wine produced today, still prospers. This vine, however, is found as far east as Tajikistan, i.e. just north of the Hindu Kush. The itinerary that was later to become the famed Silk-route, Grossato (Ib.) further suggests, may earlier have been the Wine-route. If we consider that an autochthonous vine – vitis nuristanica Vassilcz – is found in Nuristan (Neubauer 1974; Edelberg & Jones 1979: 35) and that the southern slopes of the chain would have been just as well (if not better) fit for the production of grapes (cf. Olmo 2000), it appears that our area may be, if not the very first, at least one of the first wine-producing zones in Eurasia; that Nysa was in the Paropamisos, i.e. the Hindu Kush, is on the other hand part of the myth.
The circumstance that the goat is one of the two animals more closely associated with Dionysos could be taken as a further indication in this direction: the Hindu Kush is apparently the home of the breed of wild goat which is considered to be the progenitor of all domestic goats (Snoy 1959: 528). In this context, I believe, the similarities between Balimain and Dionysos could be explained by their connection with wine. Rather than of an influence reaching the Hindu Kush from Greece, no matter when, I believe we should think in this case of the exact opposite, i.e. an Asian influence reaching Greece. The route followed by Dionysos would in this case refer to the itinerary along which viticulture spread west.
This does not imply of course that the figure of Dionysos should be seen as a direct development of that of Balimain. It may be, rather, that both divine figures may stem from a remote religious humus common to Greece and the Indian world, that may be also at the roots of Śivaism (Cacopardo, 2011: 77).”
Wine and goat sacrifice
Regarding the art from these regions of ancient Kamboja and Gandhāra and their depiction of goat sacrifices,[^69] they also seem to have a close connection with the practices of the Kafirs-Kalash tribes of the Hindu Kush.
Two fascinating sculptures have been found (Filigenzi, 2019: 76) from the region which curiously have the representation of both these important aspects that we have considered – wine and goat sacrifice. One is of a devī holding a beaker and a severed head of a goat and another one (a small stele) probably of a male deity, also depicted with similar traits – a goblet and a severed head of a goat!
First Image: A god holding a goblet and the severed head of a goat, from Bīr-koṭ-ghwaṇḍai. Second Image: A goat-headed goddess holding a beaker and the severed head of a goat. (Source – Filigenzi, 2019)
The Gandharan art which has been described as ‘Dionysiac’ surely borrowed and learnt from the western attributes of art, particularly dominant was the Greek element due to the long (almost two centuries) of Greek stronghold in the region, but the traditions that were portrayed in that art were purely local.
The Greek tradition according to which Dionysus was born out of the thigh (Meros in Greek) of Zeus and the fact that there were some mountains sacred to Kalash, one of them being Tirich Mir was considered by some as another point which connected these far away people to each other through kinship. But, these mountains are part of the native mythology for the people of these valleys. They are considered to be the favored seats of the fairies, as mentioned by Witzel in his study of the Kalash religion, especially the impressive, 7708 m high pyramid of the Kailāsa-like Tirich Mir in the North of Chitral (~ Meru KaṭhB, Meros Arrian, Anabasis 1.6; Sumeru, Pāli Sineru; cf. *devameru, Shina díamer = Nanga Parbat).[^70] Witzel is also of the opinion that the Hindu Kush and Vedic mythology, ritual, and festivals, in spite of many layers of developments and mutual influences, tend to explain each other very effectively. And he also suggests that the Kalash religion has many aspects of the Ṛgvedic religion. In fact, the practice of using wooden coffins and exposing the interned dead bodies to the sun seems to be much more influenced by the ancient Iranian traditions than the Greek.
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