Thoughts and Reflections on "Mother Cow"

Katie Taylor, World History 2                                                                                  October 31, 2013

Thoughts and Reflections On: "Mother Cow"
Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches by Marvin Hams

Cows have many importances in india. They are considered to be sacred beings that are symbols for everything that is alive. In America thousands of cows are killed on a regular basis and their reason to be raised is almost always for food, but in India cows serve more important functions than being used for hamburger meat. Cow's many important uses in India helps justify the tens of thousands of cows being kept alive. Even though Indian cows produce only a fraction of the amount of milk as American dairy cows their milk is still important source of nutrients for many people. Cows additionally give birth to oxen which are farmers primary choice for plowing fields and cows eat the crops that humans would turn away, turning these useless crops into useful manure. Cow manure has a surprising importance in India because it is used not only as an excellent fertilizer and house flooring material, but also as slow burning cooking fuel in many of India's kitchens. Cows are not only important when alive but also when they die they can be used for leather and are occasionally used for meat, although that is frowned on.    

 

        Despite the fact that there are many ideas as to why cows are seen as so sacred in India, the author believes the real reason is that they supply millions of people with jobs and income and because of their many invaluable uses. 

         Unlike Indian farms, American farms do not rely on cows to serve numerous functions, instead they have taken alternative more industrial routs.  Where cows are used to plow and pull carts in India, Americans farm using machinery. Where cow manure is used for fertilizer Americans use chemicals.  The Indian way of farming clearly more environmentally friendly  because they make use of natural occurring resources like manure instead of introducing harsh chemicals and eliminate the need for pollution producing heavy machinery by using cows. In India the cows are used more efficiently because they have more uses despite the fact that Indian cows produce a fraction of the amount of milk American cows do.  

Thoughts and Reflections on The Caste by Jonas Blank

Katie taylor, world history 6                                                                               October 28, 2013

Thoughts and reflections on: Caste

By: Jonas Blank  

The caste system in India is not only apart of the Hindu religion, but also a major part of Indian society. The caste system started with the legend that human race descended from the body parts of Manu. The people who came from his mouth are the highest caste called Brahmins, those who came from his arms are Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas came from his thighs, and the Shurdras from his feet. The caste system is meant to be a sort of karma. It is a way to reward good people after they are reincarnated in there next life and a way to punish the evil people by putting them in lower caste in there next life. The caste system resembles a ladder that you can climb by being a good person in one life so that in the next you could possibly raise a caste. For many people the caste system only places limitation on there life. For the lower casts especially the lowest cast called the Harijans their caste limits, what jobs they can get, where they can go to school or if they can go to school, who they can marry and often places them in poverty with no way out. These limitations on people's lives are one reason why many people wish to get rid of the caste system entirely. Unfortunately there are several reasons why the cast system will never die. In resent years the caste system has not just been seen as a religious system for punishment and reward, but for many people in higher castes, their castes come with power, money and privilege that they don't want to lose.

This makes it so that all the people who have a say as to weather the system stays or goes are all people in high positions, that due to their caste, wouldn't want loose their power and money. The government has made it nearly impossible to get rid of the caste system by setting up quotas and aid programs for lower castes and making most civil service jobs caste specific. Many politicians cater to the desires of the lower casts in order to gain easy votes, but in the eyes of the government as along as people are kept restricted by their caste they will be many poor people dependent on government jobs. And the main reason why the caste system will never die is that the caste system is eternal no matter who acknowledges it. It is a part of Hindu religion and will stay a part of the spiritual world even if it no longer remains in the physical one.  

The caste system is a very controversial issue. Many people eventually conclude that the caste system is not necessarily a good or a bad thing because in someways it unifies India and in others is divides it. Because of the bonds in each subclan or jatis in each caste, the people in each clan take care of each other unifying the people of the India.  In other ways though the caste system separates India. For many years it was widely believed that Brahmin could not even eat food made by a Harijan or even touch one. In many ways the limitations and restrictions for the lower castes segregate the castes and makes it impossible for the India to ever be completely unified.    

Thoughts and Reflections on Ancient India

Katie Taylor, World History Period 2                                                                October 25, 2013

Thoughts and Reflections On: Ancient India

Over all there are many remarkable things about the ancient Indian civilization two of which standout in my mind, the first and possibly most important attribute was its highly developed religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Religion was so important for this civilization because great deal of Indian society revolved around religion and due to the Buddhist believe of the caste system a social and economic higher archly developed. This propelled society forward and differentiated Indian civilization from its contemporaries. The second outstanding attribute of ancient Indian civilization was the city  Mohenjo-Daro.

Mohenjo-Daro was the largest cities in the world and probably one of the most advanced cities in the Indus River Valley. This city could have had a population around 40,000 people and the buildings on a grid on rectangular streets showed architectural planing.  

My Egyptian Sarcophagus

I think my sarcophagus will help me have a successful afterlife because of the symbols I put on it. The first important symbol on my sarcophagus is the scarab Beatle. In ancient Egypt the scarab represented the restoration of life, was the protector of writing and was a good luck charm to ward off evil, so it was important to be on all sarcophagi. My scarab Beatle is coming out of flames to symbolize rebirth and he is holding a scroll to symbolize it protecting writing. The second symbol I used was the eye of Horus. This symbol will give me the protection of the God Horus. Another important symbol I used was an ankh it's is the symbol of life, so it is important to have on a sarcophagus, because the afterlife is a continuation of life. The symbol of Anubis, the god of mummification and protector of the dead, is on my sarcophagus to give me the protection of Anubis on my journey to the afterlife. The fifth symbol I used was the symbol of Osiris the god of the afterlife to give me luck and the last symbol I used was the lotus to symbolize rebirth.

In Egyptian culture death was not seen as negative thing, but simply a continuation of life in another world. The Egyptians positive view on death could because of the leasers of Egyptian life and the calm and their predictable river nail. Because the Niall only flooded once a annually it made Egyptian farm life easier than many other civilizations. The annual flooding of the nail made for nutrient rich soil and never ruined crops unexpectedly.

Question 21 on The Castles of Eternity

            Before the constructions of the pyramids Egypt was made of of many smaller more segregated towns. Building the pyramids unified the country and gave the people a sense of pride and an international reputation. In modern times space travel is the equivalent of the pyramids. Space travel was a massive technological advancement that  brought the country together to strive for a common goal, which was much like the pyramids. Another example although not one about building, could be war. World war II especially unified our country as a whole and with other world powers in order to fight for a common purpose.

Thoughts and reflections on: A Light That Did Not Fail

Katie taylor, world history 6                                                                               October 8, 2013

Thoughts and reflections on: A Light That Did Not Fail 

By: E.A. Spieser 

             Mesopotamia was region that was very ethnically diverse and influenced by many different cultures. The main reason for it's diversity was the fact that the cities in Mesopotamia were constantly being taken over. Most cities during this era felt a need for conquest and this spread cultures and knowledge throughout the ancient world. When a city was taken over that city adapted to the culture of its conquer, so even after the city had gotten away from foreign rule that city would still poses remnants of that culture.  

         Today between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers there are a number of large artificial hills or mounds. These mounds come from Mesopotamians building cities on top of other fallen cities in the same location for centuries. When one city was destroyed another city would often build on top of the previous city's remnants. This was done by simply adding dirt to level out the ground and then the next inhabitants would build on top of the old city. This process created mounds, but the real question is why would they build on top of a vanquished city? The answer is simple, location. Cities would be built in a good location with plenty of water and farmable land near by, so there was no need to find a new location. Another reason to build in the same location was because the new inhabitants wanted to follow the layout of the previous city, especially the lay out of the temple in order to please the gods and gain protection. 

             The main shared features between all Mesopotamian cites were writing and laws. After writing was invented it soon spread and became a shared characteristic of all cultures. Laws were also a feature held by cities throughout Mesopotamia. The cities also shared many traditions and beliefs like their similar gods due to conquest's role in the spreading of ideas.