Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (History, Art & Culture) – July 27, 2020

The burial system followed by the people of Neolithic period continued into the Megalithic period.

• A circular tomb using big stone slabs built upon the place of burials known as a megalith. Such megaliths have been found in many parts of Tamil Nadu.
• The urn burial system was another type of practice and is evidenced in Adichanallur (present Thoothukudi district).
• Black-ware is peculiar to burial sites in Tamil Nadu.
• Interestingly, black-ware is found mostly in burial mounds and not in human habitations. In a majority of urn burials, the use of stone is almost non-existent.
• However, urn burials are grouped under megalithic because the materials – the pottery, iron objects, beads of semi-precious stones kept in them – are identical to those found in the stone burials.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today handed over a proposal seeking to declare the Theravada Tripitaka, the sacred ure of Buddhists, as a UNESCO World Heritage.

• The proposal was officially handed over during a national ceremony held in Kandy to the UN resident coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer.
• The Theravada Tripitaka was declared a National heritage of Sri Lanka by President in January 2019.
• Buddha’s teachings were initially propagated through word of mouth for generations till the Tripitaka was finally written down in Sri Lanka about 100 years BC.
• The teachings are contained in three volumes titled ‘Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma’.
• They were first compiled and written on palm leaves with more than 1000 monks involved in the task in Aluvihare near Matale.

The Digha Nikaya is the compilation of the long discourses of Buddha. The book is translated in English as part of Max Mueller’s 50-volume Sacred Books of the East. Muller himself studied Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, French, German and English, and of course Latin and ancient Greek.

Buddhism faced divisions from time to time. Division into various splinter groups like ‘Hinayana’, ‘Mahayana’, ‘Vajrayana’, ‘Tantrayana’ and ‘Sahajayana’ led Buddhism to lose its originality.

Takshashila or Taxila is situated in present day Pakistan.

• Between the fifth century and fourth century BCE, it was part of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia.
• Because of its strategic location on the trade route between the East and the West, it emerged as an important centre of learning and culture.
• Students came from far and wide to Taxila in search of knowledge.
• The city was brought to light by the excavation carried out in the 1940s by Sir John Marshall.
• Taxila is considered “one of the greatest intellectual achievements of any ancient civilization”.
• Panini seems to have compiled his well known work, Ashtadhyayi, here.

Padayani dance is the traditional dance form and is linked up with many festivals and events of Kerala.

• This dance form is even performed in various districts of Kerala such as Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta.
• Also this dance is connected with folk art and even it is mainly associated with series of semi divine and divine impersonations in their dance.
• Padayani dance includes various distinctive steps and movements. The costumes uses in the dance are more of kolams which represent the situation of devil killing.
• Furthermore in this dance form the musical instruments used in it are known as Thappu and Chendas. Also the dancers in this Padayani dance form decorate themselves in most attractive way.
• They wear most colorful masks with unique images. This dance is worth watching and surprising as the performers make few movements with their eyes and ears.
• Even the accessories in this dance play a vital role as they create a real image in the battle field of dance.
• This dance requires lot of energy and boost as wearing heavy mask and then performing with it is not an easy task.
• In numerous temples of Kerala this dance is widely enjoyed and performed.

Chhau dance is a tradition from eastern India that enacts episodes from epics including the Mahabharata and Ramayana, local folklore and abstract themes.

• Its three distinct styles hail from the regions of Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj, the first two using masks.
• Chhau dance is intimately connected to regional festivals, notably the spring festival Chaitra Parva. Its origin is traceable to indigenous forms of dance and martial practices.
• Its vocabulary of movement includes mock combat techniques, stylized gaits of birds and animals and movements modelled on the chores of village housewives.
• Chhau is taught to male dancers from families of traditional artists or from local communities.
• The dance is performed at night in an open space to traditional and folk melodies, played on the reed pipes mohuri and shehnai.
• The reverberating drumbeats of a variety of drums dominate the accompanying music ensemble. Chhau is an integral part of the culture of these communities.
• It binds together people from different social strata and ethnic background with diverse social practices, beliefs, professions and languages.
• However, increasing industrialization, economic pressures and new media are leading to a decrease in collective participation with communities becoming disconnected from their roots.

Kathi Samu is an ancient and historical martial art which originated in Andhra Pradesh, India.

• Kathi basically means sword and Kathi Samu is a martial art which is fighting with swords.
• Kathi Samu is an ancient skill which was mastered by the royal armies of Andhra Pradesh.
• The Royal Kings practiced this skill as it was used in wars against their enemies and also it was considered to be a matter of pride to master Kathi Samu.
• The soldiers of the army were taught this martial art for the sole purpose of wars against enemies.
• According to research, Kathi Samu is said to be in existence for over 7000 years even before Aryan dynasty came into India.

Kurumba art is a unique tribal art form found in the Nilgiris. It was discovered by the C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and presented to the world.

• Eluthu paarai is an ancient 3000-year-old rock-art site in the Kothagiri region of the Nilgiris.
• The Kurumbas – a tribe of hunters and medicine men – believe that the art were the work of their ancestors.
• In the late 20th century during the course of a project of the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation to survey and document the art and craft traditions of four Nilgiri tribes, the existence of an old artist – the only one left in the tribe – was discovered.
• The art are primarily ritualistic, describing various facets of tribal life in the remote forests of the Nilgiris.
• The Kurumbas love the hills and have an exquisite style of art. Originally, they drew with burnt twigs and coloured the art with a resin extracted from the bark of the Kino tree (Pterocarpus marsupium).
• Some of the art still use this method, which is slow and cumbersome, but beautiful. On paper, they have learned to use water and poster colours, which flow easier.
• The figures are flat and similar to Warli, with rectangular bodies. However, in spite of the 2-dimensional nature of the stick figures, the Kurumba artists are able to create lines of simple and fluids movements.
• The Kurumba trainees made large art on handmade paper and board, besides painted cards, notepad covers, etc.
• The choice of themes became more versatile as they gained confidence, and their choice varied from the vegetables and tubers to weddings and functions in their community.
• The depictions were of nature – trees and mountains, driving away bees while gathering honey, weddings and festivals.
• The solemnity of tribal life with prayers to the forefathers and communal participation at every stage of life was also brought out in the art.

Pattachitra or Patachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal.

• Pattachitra art form is known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it.
• The name Pattachitra has evolved from the Sanskrit words patta, meaning canvas, and chitra, meaning picture.
• Pattachitra is thus a painting done on canvas, and is manifested by rich colourful application, creative motifs, and designs, and portrayal of simple themes, mostly mythological in depiction.
• The traditions of pattachitra paintings are more than thousand years Most of these paintings depict stories of Hindu deities.
• A traditional per formative art from eastern India- the patachitra tradition is an integral part of intangible heritage and is an important essence of folk and traditional media.