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=Religion & India =

__**Module Assignments **__

Hello everyone!
 * Module 3**

My name is Martine Gutierrez. I am in my junior year at UCF and majoring in Anthropology. I absolutely love to travel and have been fortunate enough to live in England and The Netherlands, where I attended high school. I have always been fascinated by other cultures and religions, It all started when I lived in England when I was about 10 years old, my family traveled a great deal and I have loved it ever since. Well, I decided to pick India for my area because I went there in 2004 and was completely amazed by the country, it's such a unique place and I think it will be a great topic of study. I also chose to study religion for my theme. Religion is not something I practice, so I think it would be beneficial to develop a better understanding of the religious practices in India and how religion relates to the bigger picture.

Here's the link to a website about India's religions, I like the section: "Avatars and Divinities." Enjoy!
 * Module 4**

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/Religions/religions.html

Here is a photo of the **Ganesh Festival** in Mumbai, India. Ganesh is a Hindu god. I got this picture form the National Geographic Website, and the photographer's name is Gautam Singh. I love this picture, the colors, the statue, the people's faces, it looks like a good time and I think the people look happy.
 * Module 5**

Here is the link @http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/india-photos/



See "links to other wikis"
 * Module 6**

See "Brainstorm Page"
 * Module 7**

Kerma: The Rise of an African Civilization by: Bruce G. Trigger JSTOR Article
 * Module 8**

"The floodplains along the Nile constitute an important but as yet little utilized series of laboratories for the comparative study of the origins and interaction of ancient civilizations."

**Extra Credit Opportunity** Current Anthropology Article: **//The Cultural Ecology of India's Sacred Cow//** By Marvin Harris

After doing a little research about Marvin Harris, I found that he was a firm believer in "Cultural Materialism." The theory states that material conditions determine all aspects of culture, specifically infrastructure like: environment, food, supply, technology, and population size. In this article Harris attempts to understand the whole puzzle of why the cow is sacred in India. Throughout the article we learn about the different uses the cow serves for Indian people for example, the dung, milk, and urine. Harris asks "why the cow? How come not the buffalo, camel or pig." Harris believes the cow is sacred because it thrives in India due to the environment. India's see it as the provider of plenty because it has stamina, efficiency and it is an animal that can withstand droughts to monsoon conditions. Regardless of India's food shortages, the cow will remain sacred and regarded as a companion and not a source of meat.

Annual Review of Anthropology EBSCOhost: **Politics and Religion in India: An Analysis** by S. Robertson
 * Module 9**

Link to article: @http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=12&hid=107&sid=65e299bc-70eb-4918-b030-8a03c473dc9d%40sessionmgr112

**Module 10**

====I read an article on the database JSTOR called “Deities, cults and kings at Vijayanagara” written by Anila Verghese. This article discusses important Hindu deities that were worshipped at Vijayanagara from around the mid-fourteenth century to 1595 AD. The city of Vijayanagara was divided into four zones: the sacred, intermediate irrigated valley, the urban core and suburban centers. In 1565 the city was looted and occupied by the Deccan sultans and Vijayanagara and never fully recovered from the looting. According to the article “approximately 350 extant temples and shrines, or ruins of, in the city proper. Approximately ninety-one have been identified as Shaiva and ninety-three Vaishnava.” Also from my notes in class I have some interesting facts about Vijayanagara: the word Vijayanagara means "city of victory," like in the article it is noted that the city has a spatial relationship between sacred and royal. ====

link to article: []

"Revised Paragraph"
 * Module 11**

====The city and capital of Vijayanagara was founded in the 1330's. This multifaceted city was the capital of a powerful empire and had a population of approximately 250,000 people. Vijayanagara was a city with immense religious meaning, and many set out on pilgrimages to the city. The first documented pilgrimage to Vijayanagara was to visit the goddess Pampa. Research has led scholars to believe the goddess Pampa was perhaps an aquatic deity, due to many references of her as a river or lake. Hindu deities were worshipped at Vijayanagara from around the mid-fourteenth century to 1595 AD. The city of Vijayanagara was divided into four zones: the sacred, intermediate irrigated valley, the urban core and suburban centers. In 1565 the city was looted and occupied by the Deccan sultans and Vijayanagara and never fully recovered from the looting. According to the article “approximately 350 extant temples and shrines, or ruins of, in the city proper. Approximately ninety-one have been identified as Shaiva and ninety-three Vaishnava.” Also from my notes in class I have some interesting facts about Vijayanagara: the word Vijayanagara means "city of victory," like in the article it is noted that the city has a spatial relationship between sacred and royal. ====

==== Article JSTOR: "One Landscape, Many Experiences: Differing Perspectives of the Temple Districts of Vijayanagara ====

By: Alexandra Mack Link to article: [|http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/stable/20177492?seq=4&Search=yes&term=vijayanagara&term=religion&term=india&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dindia]

Google Earth File This is the location of the religious city Vijayanagara, where many Hindu deities were worshipped. Vijayanagara means "city of victory."
 * Module 12**