Hindu-Buddhist Influence On The Myths Of Rice Gods In Southeast Asia And Its Role In Modern Agriculture Development.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue III, March 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

Hindu-Buddhist Influence On The Myths Of Rice Gods In Southeast Asia And Its Role In Modern Agriculture Development.

Yang JingQing, Maman Lesmana
Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia

Abstract: The myths of rice gods are popular folk myth in Southeast Asia that passed down to today since ancient times. This research contains a discussion of the myths of rice goddesses from three Southeast Asian countries – Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines to discover why and how Hinduism and Buddhism influenced mythical texts of rice gods in Southeast Asia by influencing local social environment. This research is a comparative research, researched with interdisciplinary theory, acculturation theory etc. The result of this research is that the myths of Sri gods circulating in Southeast Asia are indigenous folk tales. Its contents continued to be enriched after Hinduism and Buddhism entered Southeast Asia. This not only strengthens the cultural diversity of Southeast Asia, but also encourages the development of agricultural communities by integrating it as local agricultural wisdom. In the era of globalization, traditional agriculture is facing the impacts of industrialization and modernity, so that the natural environment is polluted. Southeast Asian agricultural wisdom with Hindu-Buddhist philosophies should be traced and promoted to inherit traditional rice cultivation methods. This can not only pass on and protect traditional agricultural culture, but can also promote harmony between nature and humanity, sustainable use of natural resources.
Keywords: the myths of rice gods, Hinduism, Buddhism, agricultural society, Southeast Asia
I. INTRODUCTION
The myths of rice gods in Southeast Asia are influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism because the cultures of India and Southeast Asia are similar in many aspects. The well-known anthropologist, A. L. Kroeber (1947, 322-330) defined the East Indies archipelago as “one cultural zone” or “one cultural area”, in other words the “Indian-Southeast Asian Ethnic Enclave”. This is why when people mention rice gods, they always focus on the East Indies. The rice god is an object of worship in the cultural circles of the East Indies, because India and Southeast are located in the same monsoon zone, so there are many similarities in the cultural sphere. In this regard, the British scholar Frazer (1990) has introduced the cult of “rice mother” in the East Indies in the book The Golden Bough.

Generally, the rice gods in Southeast Asia have several similarities. First, the rice gods in Southeast Asia were created based on primitive beliefs and local agricultural culture. Worship to rice deities emerged in Southeast Asia as a result of changing social systems and the development of primitive beliefs, then integrating with foreign cultures, including Hinduism and Buddhism as the first foreign religion that influenced the myths of rice gods in Southeast Asia. In Primitive societies, the rice gods represented magical power and vitality. The worship of rice gods was a way for ancient people to admire nature and give thanks for its gifts as living sources. This philosophical psychology of gratitude for nature is very consistent with Hindu-Buddhist philosophies.

Second, the object of worship in Southeast Asia is women who symbolize reproduction abilities. In Southeast Asia, it is widely believed that rice like humans has a soul. In addition, the process of growing rice is also like the process of growing humans, humans eat rice to gain souls and sustain life. It is possible that the rice goddess was worshiped not only because it was influenced by material values, but also because the Hindu-Buddhist philosophies of gender was selectively integrated into the myths of rice gods in Southeast Asia. The rice goddess was considered as a mother who provided food for her children. This view is exactly the same as the gender concept of Brahmanism. Brahmanism believes in reproductive worship related to agricultural production. Meanwhile, it was thought that the rice gods in Southeast Asia could not only help farmers obtain great harvests, but also help humans to overcome difficulties and avoid disaster.

Read More