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Dating back to the first century,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n culture started making its way into the region of
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
. The expansion of Indian culture into these areas was given the term ''Indianization''. The term was coined by French archaeologist, George Coedes in his work ''Histoire ancienne des états hindouisés d'Extrême-Orient'' (The Indianized States of Southeast Asia). He defined it as the expansion of an organized culture that was framed upon Indian originations of royalty,
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and the Sanskrit dialect. A large number of nations came under the influence of the
Indosphere Indosphere is a term coined by the linguist James Matisoff for areas of Indian linguistic and cultural influence in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is commonly used in areal linguistics in contrast with Sinosphere. Influence The Tibeto-B ...
becoming a part of
Greater India Greater India, or the Indian cultural sphere, is an area composed of many countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself formed from the various distinct indigenous cultures ...
, the cultural expansion caused the Sanskritization of
South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, the rise of Indianized kingdoms, spread of
Hinduism in Southeast Asia Hinduism in Southeast Asia had a profound impact on the region's cultural development and its history. As the Indic scripts were introduced from India, people of Southeast Asia entered the historical period by producing their earliest inscrip ...
and the
Silk road transmission of Buddhism Buddhism entered Han China via the Silk Road, beginning in the 1st or 2nd century CE. The first documented translation efforts by Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE via the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory bordering the ...
.
Indian honorifics Indian honorifics are honorific titles or appendices to names used in the Indian subcontinent, covering formal and informal social, commercial, and religious relationships. These may take the form of prefixes, suffixes or replacements. Native hon ...
were adopted into the Malay, Thai, Filipino and Indonesian languages. The
Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of Indi ...
, both historical (PIO or Person of Indian-Origin) and current (NRI or Non-Resident Indian), play an ongoing key role in the region in terms of geopolitical, strategic, trade, cultural traditions, and economic aspects, with most Southeast Asian countries having sizable Indian communities alongside often much larger ethnic Chinese minorities.


The spread of Indianization

There are many different theories for how Indianization spread throughout insular and mainland Southeast Asia. These differing theories each argue for a different caste of Indians as being the main propagator of Indian language and culture into Southeast Asia.


Theory of the Vaishya traders

The first of these theories focuses on the caste of
Vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking care ...
traders, and their role for bringing Indian traditions into Southeast Asia through trade. Southeast Asia was rich in resources that were desired in the Indian sub-continent, the most important of which being gold. During the 4th century A.D. the Indian subcontinent was at a deficiency for gold due to extensive control of overland trade routes by the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
, and this period is when we see the first evidence of Indian trade in Southeast Asia. Vaishya traders had turned to maritime trade to acquire gold, and they set their sails for Southeast Asia. However, the conclusion that Indianization was just spread through trade is insufficient, as Indianization permeated through all classes of Southeast Asian society, not just the merchant classes


Theory of the Brahmins

The most widely accepted theory for the spread of Indianization into Southeast Asia is through the class of
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
scholars. These Brahmins used the maritime routes established by the Vaishya traders, and brought with them many of the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
religious and philosophical traditions to spread to the elite classes of Southeast Asia. Once these traditions were adopted into the elite classes, it disseminated throughout all the lower classes, thus explaining the Indianization present in all classes of Southeast Asian society. Brahmins had influence beyond just the fields of religion and philosophy however, and soon Southeast Asia had adopted many Indian influenced codes of law and architecture. A combination of both these theories can explain the Indianization of Southeast Asia, rather than just choosing one. There was an extensive maritime trade network, which allowed for traders to extract gold and spices from Southeast Asia. These extensive trade networks also allowed for the influx of Brahmin scholars, who impressed many Southeast Asian elites with their knowledge of law, arts, philosophy. Thus through the Brahmin scholars many of these Indian and Hindu practices were propagated throughout all social classes Southeast Asia.


Literature

Scripts in Sanskrit discovered during the early centuries of the Common Era are the earliest known forms of writing to have extended all the way to Southeast Asia. Its gradual impact ultimately resulted in its widespread domain as a means of dialect which evident in regions, from Bangladesh to Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand and additionally a few of the larger Indonesian islands. In addition, alphabets from languages spoken in Myanmar, Thai, Laos and Cambodia are variations formed off of Indian ideals that have localized the languages. The utilization of Sanskrit has been prevalent in all aspects of life including legal purposes. Sanskrit terminology and vernacular appears in ancient courts to establish procedures that have been structured by Indian models such as a system composed of a code of laws. The concept of legislation demonstrated through codes of law and organizations particularly the idea of "God King" was embraced by numerous rulers of Southeast Asia. The rulers amid this time, for example, the
Linyi Linyi () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the east, Weifang to the northeast, Zibo t ...
kingdom once embraced the Sanskrit dialect and devoted sanctuaries to the Indian divinity Shiva. Many rulers following even viewed themselves as “reincarnations or descendants” of the Hindu gods. However once Buddhism began entering the nations, this practiced view was eventually altered.


Religion

The effects of Hinduism and Buddhism applied a tremendous impact on the many civilizations inhabiting Southeast Asia which significantly provided some structure to the composition of written traditions. An essential factor for the spread and adaptation of these religions originated from trading systems of the third and fourth century. In order to spread the message of these religions Buddhist monks and Hindu priests joined mercantile classes in the quest to share their religious and cultural values and beliefs. Along the Mekong delta, evidence of Indianized religious models can be observed in communities labeled Funan. There can be found the earliest records engraved on a rock in Vocanh. The engravings consist of Buddhist archives and a south Indian scripts written in Sanskrit that have been dated to belong to the early half of the third century. Indian religion was profoundly absorbed by local cultures that formed their own distinctive variations of these structures in order to reflect their own ideals.


The Mandala

The
Mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...
is a religious symbol representing the universe and is also involved in the political system of Southeast Asia. The center of the Mandala is considered to contain the power while the power then spreads outwards. This represents how the political system within Southeast Asia has a powerful center of administration. The Mandala, just like a political system, changes from empire to empire with its relation to the King and the empire.


Caste System

According Hindu belief system, the caste system divides all people of the world into a hierarchical groups based on their work (karma) and duty (dharma). The land workers were called Shudras. The Business workers called Vaishyas. The Warriors or those who maintained social order were called Kshatriyas. Those who memorized key mathematical formulas, philosophical precepts, and other knowledge systems and retained in memory were called Brahmins. The Brahmins from the Indian culture spread their religion to southeast Asia. By traveling to these countries they were able to inform others on their beliefs and spark the beginning of the Hindu and Buddhist cultures in Southeast Asia. These Brahmins introduced the caste system to all the countries; however, more so in Java, Bali, Madura, and Sumatra. Unlike India the caste system was not as strict. As a result of all these different writings, there are big speculations that the Brahmins has a big role on their religion. There are multiple similarities between the two caste systems such that both state that no one is equal within society and that everyone has their own place. It also promoted the upbringing of highly organized central states. Although they have some similarities, Southeast Asians did not use the Hindu system entirely and adjusted what they did use to their local context. The Brahmins were still able to implement their religion, political ideas, literature, mythology, and art


Historiography of South East Asia

The history of
South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
was mostly always written from the perspective of external civilizations that influenced the region. The prevalent interpretation caused mainly because of the ontological differences, fundamentally dichotomous histories of Europe and pre colonial Asia, was apparently that the despotism, obscurantism, servile equality of Asian societies along with innovation becoming prey to tyranny had rendered history cyclical, immobile and non-linear. The belief in the idea that South East Asia had never engendered its own civilization, and of indigenous incapacity or external benefaction gained additional support, such was the tremendous evidence of Indian architectural and religious influence in South East Asia and were fundamentally identified as being derivative and thus Indianization was perceived as occurring more so due to the Indian initiatives rather than the indigenous initiatives of South East Asia.


Development of caste system

Another main concern for indianization was the understanding and development of caste systems. The debate was often whether or not the caste systems were seen as an elite process or just the process of picking up the Indian culture and calling it their own in each region. This had showed that the Southeast Asian countries were civilized and able to flourish their own interests. For example, Cambodia's caste system is based on people in society. However, in India, the caste system was based on which class they belonged to when they were born. Based on the evidence of the caste system in Southeast Asia, shows that they were applying Indian culture to their own, also known/seen as indianization. Similar to the caste systems, the cultures were a huge part of determining the legitimacy of indianization. Many argue that only writing could really date the culture and prove indianization. The lives of rulers, daily lives of people, rituals of funeral, weddings and specific customs were a few that helped anthropologists date the indianization of countries. The religions found in India and Southeast Asian countries was another piece of evidence that led anthropologists to understand where the cultures and customs were adopted from.


Decline of Indianization


Rise of Islam

During the 13th century, Islam began to replace the Hindu religion/culture in much of Southeast Asia. The process of Islam coming to the traditional Hinduism kingdoms began with Muslim Indians merchants spreading their trade all over Southeast Asia. Moreover, as trade became more saturated in the Southeast Asian regions wherein Indianization once persisted, the regions had become more Muslim populated. This so-called Islamization has spread to many of the trading centers across the regions of Southeast Asia, including one of the most dominant centers, Malacca.


Distinction from colonialism

Amitav Acharya argues that "Indianization is different from traditional
colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their reli ...
" due to the fact that "it doesn’t involve strangers coming in and taking over an unknown land." Instead, Indian influence from trade routes and language use slowly permeated through
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, making the traditions a part of the region. The interactions between India and Southeast Asia were marked by waves of influence and dominance. At some points the Indian culture solely found its way into the region, and at other points the influence was used to take over. Indianization and its influence was seen in nearly all aspects of Southeast Asian society and history. Before the rise of Indianisation, influence of Indian culture, and the introduction of Islam the history of Southeast Asia and its people was unrecorded. The beginning of Indianization marked the start of cultural organization, rise of monarchical kingdoms in Southeast Asia


See also

*
Ancient maritime history Maritime history dates back thousands of years. In ancient maritime history, evidence of maritime trade between civilizations dates back at least two millennia. The first prehistoric boats are presumed to have been dugout canoes which were develo ...
*
Greater India Greater India, or the Indian cultural sphere, is an area composed of many countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself formed from the various distinct indigenous cultures ...
*
History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia Southeast Asia was in the Indian sphere of cultural influence from 290 BCE to the 15th century CE, when Hindu-Buddhist influences were incorporated into local political systems. Kingdoms in the southeast coast of the Indian Subcontinent had esta ...
*
Indosphere Indosphere is a term coined by the linguist James Matisoff for areas of Indian linguistic and cultural influence in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is commonly used in areal linguistics in contrast with Sinosphere. Influence The Tibeto-B ...
* Maritime history of India *
Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...
*
Siam Devadhiraj Phra Siam Devadhiraj ( th, พระสยามเทวาธิราช, ) is a guardian deity personifying supernatural protection over the country of Thailand. The deity (''deva'', a sanskrit origin word, sometimes translated as "god" or "a ...


References

{{reflist, 30em History of Southeast Asia Indosphere Indian culture