Over breakfast I watched a podcast on early Thai art from the kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, states which later became what we called Siam.
The art was almost all Theravada Buddhist architecture and sculpture as one might expect but what invested me was the residual Hindu influence. There are convincing theories about why Hinduism was successful in South East Asia and as far as I know they all come down to political pragmatism. But I am less sure about why Buddhism was to replace Hinduism. I would like to know more about the economic power of Ceylon at the time. Politics and economics seem often to be the driving forces behind the spread of religions. Or it could be that Buddhism was the latest thing; it was cool. The power of fashion as a force for change is so difficult to pin down that I never heard it mentioned in my four years of study at SOAS. The tendency is to look for a more rational explanation; to explain changes in design as being reflections of ritual and symbolism rather than being simply decorative. There certainly seems to be some evidence that this is largely true but couldn't metaphor come afterwards? I am reminded of those fans who used up with incredibly complex interpretations of album covers like Sergeant Pepper. In many ways I believe it is easier to think about and study the Eastern religions because as a westerner I'm not cluttered by all the cultural preconceptions that get in the way of understanding the religions of Europe. Looking Thai Buddhism I was struck by similarities with British Christianity, the monastic system, local adaptations, and being part of a much wider cultural hegemony, though i'm not sure if I mean that in the Marxist sense. The main difference is perhaps that Christianity in Europe did not overlay an earlier Abrahamic religion. Or perhaps indirectly it did. We speak into-european languages that came from the Caspian steppe and around the region that was Persia and with language comes ideas. I'm sure some lots of Casaubons have given their lives to tracing Vedic influences in pre-Christian mythology but I'm not going to be one of them. There's lots better things to do, like drinking beer and listening to loud music. To name but two. But the system, the evolution of beliefs and their political and economic importance remains fascinating and South East Asia is a good place to start observing the process.
Now on to real life.
Oh, anthills. It has been suggested that the origin of the stupa arose out of very early superstitions concerning termite mounds, important indicators of water, a source of food and also used for for navigation as they are often aligned to compass points. Early belief systems would be greatly influenced by environment and that opens the doors of a gigantic cupboard I don't want to look inside just yet.