A PSYCHO-HISTORY OF INDIA

IAS Theory of Human Temperament

Human beings can be classified according to the degree to which they possess three qualities Inertia (Thamas), Activation (Rajas) and Stability (Sathwa). Inertia is produced by inhibition is resulting from too hot a climate or social oppression. Activation is increased by too clod acclimate or laxity in social control. Oppressors also develop Activation. Stability is generally found in places with a moderate climate and democratic social systems (Mathew, 1997).

Psycho-history of India

The earliest inhabitants of the Indian sub-continent can be called “Adenoids”, belonging to the neo Australoid or dark-brown races. They have a high degree of Inertia. They are submissive, collectivistic and their predominant emotion is fear, which they handle through superstitious beliefs and ceremonies.

The next set of people to inhabit India are a Mediterranean light brown colored race, called “Dravidians”. They probably had a high degree of stability.

Then came two sets of People: the whites from the West and the yellow colored Mongoloids from the East. The whites were predominantly intellectual and the Mongoloids fierce warriors. They formed the nucleus of the Brahmin and Kshatriya castes, respec-tively. These groups had a high degree of Activa- tion. They were individualistic and had high de- gree of libidinal arousal and aggressiveness. Through the Mongoloies initially came from the east (Burma- Varma), in later periods they came from the north as well as West (Mugal-Mongol). The Indianoids as well as Mongols were matriarchal or matrilineal and had predominantly female mother goddesses while the whites had male gods. Kali is perhaps a mixture of Thara and Kotravai of the Indianoids and Durga of the Mongoloids.

These white and yellow groups were more aggressive and had the system of individual ownership of land. Therefore gradually they captured power and the Indianoids and to some extent the Dravidians were forced to move away from the lands chosen by the Aryan races. Psycho-history attempts to interpret history in terms of the psychological characteristics of different subgroups of people.

Dynamics of Folklore

Folklore (verbal as well as performance) serves different psychological functions. It forms a nucleus of socialization, stamps in groups membership and belongingness, preserves the history of the group and reenacts critical historical events in symbolic form, provides basis for wish-fulfilment to preserve the integrity and self-respect of the group, allays fears by providing security and so on.

General explanation for folklore in India

A large number of themes center around the need of the Indianoids to allay fear against flood, and diseases like small pox. At the beginning of every summer season, ceremonies resembling human/animal sacrifices to propitiate the mother goddess served to allay fears concerning infectious diseases which used to break out during summer. Another set, of stories and performances are reenactments of the defeat (in fantasy for wish-fulfilment) of the Dravidians by the Indianoids and Mongols (for example Kali killing Tharakasuran or Darikan and Mahishasuran or Mahishi). (Sura is white and Asura is presumably Dravidian).

Quite a large number of themes center around the fear of the Aryan races of their fair females being ab- ducted by the dark colored people. Ramayana story is the classical example. Folk variations of the theme reflect the different psychological needs of differentgroups who modify the story to project their own different needs.

The Parasurama story as well as the Mahabraratha story symbolically records the white mongoloid or Brahmin-Kshariya struggle for power. The tendency to represent the gods in dark complexion is probably and an acknowledgement of the spiritual superiority of the Dravidian (light brown) race. Siva was a Dravidian god and the story that Vishnu and Brahma originated from Siva points to this surmise.

The mixture of the four main races (Indianoid, Dravidian, Mongoloid and White) led to the formation of the caste system with strict rules of conduct and untouchability. Ceremonial occasions and festivals like Holy represent the need for occasional release of the tensions induced by the prohibitions.

Another set of folklore items represent the histor- ical overthrow of the predominantly Kshatriya domi- nated religions of Buddhism and Jainism by The Brahminical Hinduism. Many temple ceremonies, rituals and festivals seem to recapture the change in power.

Reference

Mathew, V. George (1997). Integrative Psychology. Dept of Psychology, University of Kerala.