Bell Ringer 3/3 What is the purpose of music? How can music without words be as powerful as a song with lyrics? What specific purposes do hymns serve as a type of music? Give at least one example for any question.

Rig Veda Sacred Text

Translation ► Originally written in Sanskrit ► Relies on double negatives: “non non- existence” ► Earliest surviving record of Indian religious thought  Collection of 1,028 hymns  Focus on devotion and piety

Background ► Authors unknown – believed to be a collection of “Aryan” (meaning noble) Indo- Europeans ► Hindu writing  See nature as both benevolent and threatening  Focuses on praising gods for power, beauty  Believe sacrifices control the gods and the order of the universe

Literature Terms ► Vedic Hymn: poem or song of praise that emphasizes the importance of gods and nature in Indian life; and ponder timeless questions – such as origin of universe  Meant to be chanted, so diction and syntax reflect this intention – though some of scheme is lost in translation

Terms Continued… ► Personification – giving human characteristics to non-human objects  Ex: The goddess night has drawn near…

Creation Hymn ► Abstract ► Speaker speculates on the origin of the world ► Establishes the archetypal setting of order from chaos (there was nothing in the beginning) ► Distinguished from other systems of belief because the Hindu believe that the gods came after creation ► Gives vague indication of hierarchy of gods  Only he knows – perhaps he does not know

Night ► Appeals to the goddess Night to give protection from the dangers of the darkness ► By personifying night as a goddess, the hymn suggests that nature is a force worthy of worship, to which humans must appeal for protection.

Central Messages ► Creation Hymn: Did the universe come from nothing? Is there a supreme creator who knows the origin? ► Night: Nature is supreme and to be worshipped from a spirit of respect.