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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
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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.