The sculpture "Mother Goddess" is one of the most fascinating Indus Valley Civilisation figures. Fashioned by hand, this clay sculpture originates in Mohenjo-Daro, and dates back to around 2500 BCE. It is 22cm in height, 8.5cm in width, and 3.4cm in depth. It is currently displayed at India's Delhi National Museum in the Indus Valley Civilisation Gallery.
This large figurine from Mohenjo-Daro exemplifies the Harappan artisans' technical mastery in clay modelling and baking. The thick red slip was applied to add a sheen or finish and preserve the surface from erosion. The fan-shaped headdress and the large pannier cup are visible in this image. The figure wears two necklaces; the shorter one has four pendants shaped like cylinders, while the longer one dangles between the breasts. Two round clay pellets create the eyes, and the nose is pinched.
The Indus Valley Civilisation was not always understood as it is today. Numerous accidental discoveries were made at the Mohenjo-Daro excavation site, and amateur archaeologists conducted small-scale excavation operations. However, the archaeologists disregarded the artefacts unearthed deeming them irrelevant to history or of a much later period. In the 1920s, when R. D. Banerji and Daya Ram Sahni began excavating at modern-day Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, the site's true significance was revealed.
In 1924, the then-director of the Archaeological Survey, Sir John Marshall, announced the discovery of the Indus or Harappan civilisation. Yet, no significant monuments from the Indus Valley Civilisation have been identified (the largest is only about 40 centimetres tall). Intriguingly, there is a wide diversity of stone types used, indicating that artists chose the stones for their inherent beauty rather than because they were readily and locally available.
Goddess of fertility
Motherhood, fertility, reproduction, and the continuation of life are all associated with the idea of the Mother Goddess. Harappan figurines of women may have had cultural significance because they were likely venerated in households. Subtle variations of the sculpture of the Mother Goddess, such as a pot-bellied figurine that may signify pregnancy and, by extension, the concept of life's continuation, have been discovered. At sites such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, this depiction of the mother goddess as pregnant or carrying a child has been found in large quantities.
Worshipping fertility goddesses were believed to be an intrinsic part of agricultural communities worldwide. Like the soil, the mother generates and sustains life and is, therefore, worshipped as a deity.
Do the numerous female figurines discovered at the Indus sites lend credence to the theory that worship of the mother goddess was prevalent at the time? In her work The Magic in the Image: Women in Clay at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, Shereen Ratnagar, one of India's most eminent archaeologists, presents an opposing viewpoint in a comprehensive, multidimensional investigation of these figures. She begins her book by stating that they are not nearly as prevalent as one might assume but rather "the exclusive or nearly exclusive product of the operations of only two cities: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro."
In The Social Lives of Figurines – Recontextualising the Third–Millennium–BC Terracotta Figurines from Harappa, Sharri R. Clark, an anthropologist and foreign affairs officer for the US Department of State, argues that there is no solid evidence – other than preconceptions – that the Indus female figurines are viewed as mother goddesses, and that others have suggested more mundane uses for these figurines.
This designation of artefacts as "cultic" is, according to Ratnagar, a "simplistic response to the problematic issue of archaeological interpretation.
Theories about the mother goddess
Ratnagar constructs her arguments methodically, contributing to her methodology's allure. She investigates instances of the mother goddess interpretation of female figurines in various contexts and cultures, focusing on the lamentable scarcity of figurines from firmly dated archaeological contexts, Indus and otherwise, from which such inferences derive. She cites the work of several other researchers, including Alexandra Ardelanu-Jansen, in her thesis.
Numerous similarities exist between the "reading" of figurines from comparable eras in the two civilisations, making her early research on the Mesopotamian culture applicable in this instance. Ratnagar and many others have opposed Marshall's rapid simplifications and the "Great Mother Goddess" theory. They have constructed an argument debunking Marshall's interpretation of the Pashupati seal by demonstrating that it is based on an incorrect reading of earlier work — the famous seal from Mohenjo-Daro cannot depict Pashupati because he is the herder of domesticated animals, such as livestock, and not the elephant, rhinoceros, and tiger depicted on the seal.
Many scholars then turn to popular religion and figurines and their imagery – magic, shamanism, and cults — which sets the stage for what they ultimately believe use these figurines for: "secret rituals involving clay models of women in the home."
Before jumping into the core of anyone's argument with a section on the distinguishing characteristics of the female figurines from deities and the care with which these are typically displayed, Egyptian religion and its use of figurines follow a similar pattern. It is essential to scrutinise the figures' hair, girdles, and lack of articulation in their hands and feet or their "sloppy" quality. Numerous researchers concur with Jansen's Ardelanu-theory that some of the figurines may have been based on actual women if not brides, and that they may have used them for rituals or celebrations instead of worship. They possess very distinctive qualities. Regardless of the controversy, it is not difficult to assume that the mother goddess was portrayed as a natural person carrying the weight of the world, in her home, with the majority of her body exposed because she was being treated or healed as a whole. She was either a shaman who had to be ritually disrobed or a female ancestor who remembered.
The fact that we know where figurines were discovered in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro must be a mere coincidence. First, it is necessary to utilise data from early excavations, such as Vats' tabulations and Clark's summary of Harappa's discoveries. It is difficult to conclude with certainty that hoards containing prestige artefacts (carnelian or lapis jewellery, seals or engraved tablets, cubical weights, shell ladles, faience figurines, and tiny jars) lacked corresponding representations in baked clay due to the lack of location data, as the sites appear to be garbage dumps.
Based on her analysis of later Harappa discoveries, Clark concludes that "clay figurines occurred almost exclusively in non-primary contexts such as garbage dumps and filled, alongside pots, bones, broken toys, and other utilitarian objects." Again, not in places where one might anticipate finding spirits. At Mohenjo-Daro, the evidence is substantially more unambiguous: most female figurines were discovered in the dwellings of the innermost rooms. This suggests that their duty or purpose was private, perhaps a matter of concern to the family.
Production of sculptures in the Indus Civilisation
Consistent with a rising trend in Indus archaeology, it is essential to contemplate how the Indus Valley Civilisation could have created the figurines. Examining the manufacturing processes for clues regarding ancient customs and the organisation of craft production can be advantageous. Still, the non-professionals who could have created the figurines, fired at the correct temperature, appear to have been the most challenging aspect, prompting her to wonder if the unfired figurines were used in rituals and then thrown into a fire, which could explain their uneven burning for such small objects. As usual, the world offers surprises, but none invalidate the experts' main argument. In a terracotta-based Indus Valley Civilisation society, there would have been a plethora of skilled artisans who could have modelled and fired the figurines for the people who desired them.
The role of women in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
How to perceive figurines such as Mother Goddess, their magic, and the origins of certain sects in a constantly changing world is a topic of much debate. This debate highlights what has always seemed to be the true strength of any expert archaeologist or the foundation of archaeology work: their ability to deal with multiple variables while simultaneously reaching for the big picture and drawing on specific archaeological evidence.
The emergence of early governments or city-states such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro necessitated a fundamental reorientation of people and beliefs, as well as the need to confront new challenges, such as the role of women in a government. Not to mention warfare, which was typical of all prehistoric civilisations. The credible evidence supports the hypothesis that the anticipated deployment of males for combat or other occupations would have exerted some pressure on urban women.
Rituals and cults in Harappan society
Throughout recorded history, it has been observed that a new social organisation or settlement environment was fertile ground for establishing new cults that formed new rituals and thus provided residents facing adversity or dread with some form of social and emotional certainty. This is the premise for the argument that the figurines may have been part of a cult, a magic ritual, or a shamanistic performance intended to alleviate pressure on specific women in urban homes in the two largest urban Indus metropolises.
The uniqueness of the women's hairstyles and ornamentation, the absence of complete nudity, and the uneven distribution of women's figurines all point to a secret ceremony presided over by a female ancestor or a woman with shamanic powers. Until we learn much more about ancient life in the Indus Valley, conclusive evidence may be lacking, but the logic and reasoning are compelling and supported by many credible sources.
Arshad Awan is a Lahore based author, educationist, brand strategist, historian and journalist. He can be reached at: arshadawan@msn.com