top of page

ELEPHANTS IN INDIAN CULTURE

Ganesha-10th century.png

The elephant God Ganesha embodies the symbolic importance of elephants in Indian culture, where the majestic animal has been elevated to the status of a God.

 

Read more about Ganesha, via the link here.

LEFT: Sandstone statue of dancing Ganesha (10th century)

Ganesh Chaturthi (guh-NESH cha-TUR-thee) is a 10-day festival that pays homage to Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, and celebrates the day of his birth. Many recognize that Lord Ganesh brings order in this universe and worship him before embarking on a new endeavor, intellectual journey, or business enterprise. The short documentary below explores the various aspects of the celebration that coincides with the Indian monsoon and typically takes place in August-September.

The Entrancing Ganpati Festival | India's Mega Festivals | National Geographic (45:25 min.)

WAR ELEPHANTS IN ANCIENT INDIA

War elephants were trained for use in battle and would have been a terrifying phenomenon on the battlefields of India and South East Asia. In this video, Natasha Bennett,  curator of Indian Arms and Armour at the Royal Armouries (U.K.) tells us more about this fascinating object of the Mughal Era.

You can read more about the Elephants in Ancient Indian Warfare, here.

ELEPHANTS USED IN EXECUTIONS
IN ANCIENT INDIA

Execution-by-elephant-pillar-of-the-11th–12thc-Modhera-Sun-Temple-in-Gujarat.jpg

Execution by elephant carved on a pillar of the 11th–12th century Modhera Sun Temple in Gujarat

Rulers used elephants as executioners of choice in India for many centuries. Hindu and Muslim rulers executed tax evaders, rebels and enemy soldiers alike "under the feet of elephants." The ancient Manu Smriti or Laws of Manu, written down around 200 C.E., prescribed execution by elephants for a number of offenses. If the criminal stole property, for instance, "the king should have any thieves caught in connection with its disappearance executed by an elephant." Find out more, here.

METAPHORICAL USES OF THE ELEPHANT

In the Indian dance form of Bharatnatyam, a beautiful woman's gait is compared to that of an elephant: See here. 

​

The parable of the blind men and the elephant, rewritten as an English poem below, emphasizes the limited nature of a single perspective since it prevents us from seeing the big picture.

blind men and elephant poem.jpg

Finally, the sort story by George Orwell, "On Shooting an Elephant," (1936) based on his experience as a British colonial officer in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). Orwell uses the metaphor of the execution of the animal as a window into understanding the distorted power dynamics of colonialism within the space of the foreign colony.

​

As Orwell writes:

I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind. I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the “natives,” and so in every crisis he has got to do what the “natives” expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it. I had got to shoot the elephant.

bottom of page