Terracotta Horses of Poshina – A Journey through Time скачать в хорошем качестве

Terracotta Horses of Poshina – A Journey through Time

‘Horse’, an incredible creature, known for its speed, is a Central Asian species first domesticated by Mongolians, a few millennium ago. It was brought by the Aryans to India somewhere in the mid-2nd millennium BC. Archaeologists have found remains of horse bones in a number of archaeological sites spread over the Gangetic Valley, the first home of the Aryans on Indian soil. But in sculptural tradition we see for the first time at Sanchi, Vidisha, Bharut, etc. The Indian adaptation of west Asian horse had become a major trade item as it helped in mobility and also in battle fields. There were guilds exclusively dealing with selling and buying of horses. There are also murals in Bhimbetka displaying horse riding, but we don’t know their exact dates. Gujarat on the west coast of India has always been a meeting point of alien cultures due to its strategic location. From 450 BC to 250 AD, there were waves of migration to Gujarat from Central Asia. Many nomadic tribes such as Kathi Darwar of Saurashtra who hailed from Central Asia settled here and horse breeding became their chief occupation. Even till recent time they were known as sole suppliers of Kathiawadi horses to many Rajputna states. As these nomadic tribes settled in Gujarat and in neighbouring Malwa and Mewar some of them became Rajputs and the remaining ones Bhils, but both had intimate relationship through trade and business. Throughout their history they were closely attached to horses, which has continued till now, but more in symbolic form. While the Rathwas of southeast central Gujarat paint their house walls with horse images as vehicles for their God Pithora Deo, the Bhils and Garasias of Poshina on the lap of Aravali in North Gujarat offer terracotta sculptures of horses as mount for their God Bavesingh, a warrior of past, who represented their tribe. They believe Bhavesingh’s spirit still lives in hills around Poshina. According to their belief, the horse is used as his mount for climbing down the hills and come down to their home to heal and relieve stress at the time of crises. Once the offering is made and prayer is given they believe that the spirit inside the horse is absorbed by the deity and all other remaining inside the terracotta horse are left to disintegrate.