the Ramayana They have been popular in India for thousands of years, as texts in Sanskrit and many other languages, as folk theatre, puppet shows, and countless other languages. kathas Or oral narratives organized in villages and small towns. However, the epic enjoys great popularity outside Indian shores and spread Ramayana It is also a testament to how Indians traveled the world—as prosperous traders, preachers, and as enslaved laborers.
In this article, we look at two broad periods in the spread of the Ram story: the first few centuries of the Common Era, when it reached countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, China, Tibet and others, and the nineteenth century when it spread. It has gained popularity in parts of Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania.
How the Ramayana It spread in Asia
As Santosh N. Desai, assistant professor of Asian history and religion at St. John's University in New York, wrote in 1969, Ramayana He traveled from India to the rest of Asia in “the first centuries of the Christian era” via three routes, “by land, the northern route took the story from the Punjab and Kashmir to China, Tibet and East Turkestan; By sea, the southern route carried the story from Gujarat and southern India to Java, Sumatra, and Malaya; Again by land, the eastern route took the story from Bengal to Burma, Thailand and Laos. Vietnam and Cambodia got their stories partly from Java and partly from India via the Eastern Route.
Why were Indians traveling to this region “in the first centuries of the Christian era”? Mainly for trade in spices, gold and aromatic woods. Many of them stayed there, either because they married local women or got jobs.
Historian Karmveer Singh, in a research paper Titled “Cultural Dimensions of India-Thailand Relations: A Historical Perspective” (2022), he writes that traders brought with them “Indian religion, culture, traditions and philosophy.” “They were also accompanied by Brahmin priests, Buddhist monks, scholars and adventurers, all of whom played an important role in transmitting Indian culture to the indigenous people of Southeast Asia.”
With the passage of time, Ramayana It has become an integral part of the culture of many of these countries. In Thailand, the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351 to 767) is believed to have been based on the Ayodhya Ramayana. A UNESCO article on Ayutthaya says: “When the capital of the restored kingdom was moved downstream and a new city was built at Bangkok, there was a conscious attempt to recreate the urban template and architectural form of Ayutthaya… to emulate the perfection of the legendary city of Ayutthaya.”
In Cambodia, the Angkor Wat temple complex, built in the 12th century, features Paleolithic murals RamayanaIt was originally a temple dedicated to Vishnu.
How does he live in the region today?
Even today, Ramayana It remains an important part of the culture of many Southeast Asian countries, although the dominant religions here range from Buddhism (e.g. Cambodia, Laos) to Islam (Malaysia, Indonesia).
the In RamakiA copy of Ramayana, is the national epic of Thailand. The current king belongs to the Chakri dynasty, whose rulers bear the names Ram. Vajiralongkorn, the current constitutional monarch, is called Rama X. In Laos, too, the story of Phra Ram is a national epic.
Naturally, in all these countries, the story of Ram has undergone different changes. Also, the inspiration for their version of the Ram tale is not necessarily him Valmiki Ramayana. For example, in countries where the story was spread by traders from South India, it bears more resemblance to the Tamil epic Kamba Ramayana. The late scholar A K Ramanujan wrote: “It has been convincingly demonstrated that the eighteenth-century Thai Ramakyan owes much to the Tamil epic. For example, the names of many characters in the Thai work are not Sanskrit names, but are clearly Tamil names.
Some of the differences between these Ram tales and the Indian epic are: In Cambodia Rayamker, the mermaid princess Sovannamcha falls in love with Lord Hanuman; in JavaThe Javanese god Dhiana and his sons became part of the story; the Malaysian The story of Siri Rama More sympathetic to Ravana (Maharaja and I); While in Laos“Phra Ram is considered a previous incarnation of Gautama Buddha…Hapmanasuan, Lao Ravana, is considered a previous incarnation of Mara, the demon who tried to hinder Buddha's rise to enlightenment,” according to an article published by the University of Washington. Southeast Asia and Diaspora Centre.
In all these countries, the story has been kept alive through plays, dance dramas, puppet shows, etc.
Desai writes: “In general, stories drawn from northern mythology emphasize the nobility and greatness of Rama. On the other hand, versions based on southern mythology depict Ravana as a hero and praise his knowledge.
Ramayana Outside Asia
The main stream that took the Ramayana to Africa, the Caribbean etc. was the migration of the Garmitia out of India in the 19th century. After the abolition of slavery, there was a pressing demand for workers who could work on plantations that had previously been served by slave labor. Waves upon waves of men and women from British India were sent as indentured laborers to countries like Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, etc. The word “germitia” comes from the “agreement” that these people signed (or were signed) to work on the farms.
Majority of these germite workers were from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Although they could not carry much as they boarded the ships towards a completely new life, they did carry their culture and religion with them, and a large part of this culture was traced back to the Tulsidas culture. RamcharitmanasIt is written in the Awadhi language and is arguably the most popular religious text in North India.
How did she survive?
The Girmitiyas were not wealthy merchants likely to influence kings, but there is a more personal element in how they remembered and preserved the story of Ram. In a strange land, far from the homes they left to escape poverty, class oppression, or any form of social boycott, Ramcharitmanas It became a source of help and nostalgia, and a symbol of a homeland more realistic than the real homeland.
Author V. S. Naipaul, born in Trinidad to a family of indentured labourers, wrote, “The other in which Gandhi, Nehru and the others labored was historical and real. The India from which we came was impossibly remote, as imaginary as the land of the world.” RamayanaOur Hindu epic.”
British historian Clem Seecharan, born in Guyana into the Germitia family, wrote of his ancestors: “N Ramayana…It was built to be a true representation of the motherland. The real Eastern UP and Western Bihar have disappeared from the radar.
He also explains that “the Hindu Ramayana has endured”, “because it is a story that responded to many of the huge and urgent needs of the Girmitiyas”.
“The theme of Lord Rama in exile in the Dandak forest resonates among Indians in the diaspora. His triumphant return to Ayodhya has a freshness… It is an evocation of hope and renewal, even of their triumphant return, however illusory.
He also writes about what Sita means to the women of the Garmitia. “…Sita’s character spoke to women who were effectively in exile, severed from all ties with their families in India, and forced to endure the slander of their sexuality on plantations (sometimes ending in murder by jealous partners), while they toiled to restore Shaping their sexuality. Living and recreating a family in a far away land.
Today, in many of these countries, Ramlila Folk Theater remains very popular. In 2017, on Ram Navmi, India granted Mauritius Rs 8,376,000 for the expansion and renovation of the Ramayana Center complex in Mauritius. In Fiji, the Ramayana was translated into the indigenous Itukai language.
