ARTICLE FOR NSW GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLERS CLUB WEBSITE
JAN BRADY TALK MARCH 2015
THE SOUTHERN HIMALAYAN WATER SHEDS AND THE
SETTLEMENT OF SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
(Some images have been obtained from the internet and their copyright is acknowledge by this author)
The talk began with a brief explanation about why such an odd topic had been chosen. Jan is both an historian
and a geographer. Her travels throughout southern and central Asia area over the past 15 years have
engendered in her special interest in this area. As an Annales historian she is particularly interested in the
relationships of the people of the five great rivers of the southern Himalayan water shed – the Indus, The
Ganges, The Irrawaddy, the Chao Phraya and the Mekong – to each other, to their development over time and,
in particular, the influences from outside. She is also cognisant of the perceptions modern Australians have of
the peoples of these countries today and chose this topic to demonstrate that the area has a long and
important cultural history.
Jan began with these images and asked the audience to think about what they are telling us. On the left is an
image of a Greco-Early Roman gentleman and, on the right in the background, is a Buddhist monk from today’s
Myanmar. The similarity of clothing style is remarkable. Is that odd or not?
It is not. Asia was never isolated from Europe despite that, today, we think of these two geo-political areas as
separate, disconnected and with no commonality. The Indians and, through them, the followers of Buddhism
across Southern Asia, have been tremendously influenced by the Greco-Romans which began with Alexander the
Great’s contact with India and is expressed today in the clothing, language, sculpture and facial features of
people across Asia including Western China. This is not to say that others have not influenced this area and
recognition must be given to the Mongols and peoples of the Steppes.
She then went on to talk about the connections between the civilizations that emerged and disappeared along
these rivers and, again, challenged the audience to consider a set of images.
It was important for the audience to think about the societies that had produced these buildings and accept
that there was not only a religious link but a cultural and historical link between them. Also, it was important to
realise that they were not ‘backward’ in any historical context. The first image is from India, the earliest
civilization. Then, going east, and left to right for the photos, come the modern states of Myanmar, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam.
(Jan Brady, Past-History.org, 2015)
Jan then showed a map of where these rivers are and discussed in general terms the sweep of settlement from
the Indus to the Mekong.
The Indus – Harappan – 3300-1300 BC
The Ganges – Indo-European or Vedic 1750-500 BC
The Irrawaddy – Pyu 2nd century BC –from Yunnan
The Chao Phraya – Tai 10th century – from Yunnan
The Mekong – Khmer 9th to 15th century – from Funan
(Jan Brady, Past-History.org, 2015)
Jan went on to explain the rise and fall of each of the civilizations along these rivers beginning with an almost
unknown society, the Bronze Age Harappans, who settled the Indus River in the period 3300-1300 BC which
means it lasted about 200 years. This civilization coincided with the early period of Ancient Egypt on the
western end of the fertile crescent and the settlements of Sumer and Ur. However, it was by far the best
developed as it had established, brick built towns, full water and sewerage services, centralized granaries,
public baths and public wharves for trade and shipping. It was noted that they traded extensively with records
from as far away as China and Egypt and all points inbetween and the image below on the left is understood to
be some sort of trading marker or possibly something religious. So little is known that historians and
archaeologists can only guess.
This river gave its name to India when the Harappans, having badly affected their surroundings by removing all
the trees for brick making, cooking and heating, and having been affected by major natural events, including
floods and earthquakes, moved north into the Gangetic Valley and, combined with newcomers there, established
India. Today we look at this area of southern Pakistan and think only of their poverty, agrarian style of life and
their, to our modern eyes, simplicity and we forget the length of their history.
The image below left shows some of the archaeological evidence of buildings from the city of Mohenjo Daro.
The image on the right shows some of the damage in the southern areas of the Indus river today.
The next river and its civilization discussed in the talk was the Ganges with its very early Indo-Aryan
civilization. These people arrived from the west and were tribal and pastoral – a direct contrast to the city-
(Jan Brady, Past-History.org, 2015)
centred Harappans. They were an offshoot of the Indo European language family and forced the local AustroAsiatic and Dravidian groups south which has created in India today a distinct ethnic division between the
north and the south. This civilization is today called the Vedic period as it established the writing of the Hindu
scripts, the Veda, in Sanskrit and also created the caste system that remains today to some extent. It was at
its height during the Iron Age but had first been settled around 1750 BC in the early Bronze Age. One could
argue that it has continued to exist as elements of India remain the same as they were at that time.
The third river and civilization is that of the Irrawaddy or Ayerwaddy River in modern Myanmar. The photo
below is of the Irrawaddy near Sri Ksetra, the centre of the Pyu civilization Jan spoke about. This kingdom
began as a city state in Upper Myanmar and was established from nearby Yunnan in China due to population
pressures there. It, too, was a Bronze Age settlement but lasted for only about a millennium until it was
overrun by the Mranmar or Burmans. It did, however, act as a trade link between China and India in which the
confluence of the Chindwin and Irrawaddy Rivers (see below) played an important role.
(Jan Brady, Past-History.org, 2015)
The next river Jan spoke about was the Chao Phraya which, today, is most famous as the
substantial river in Bangkok on which many of us have travelled. Although there were many
indigenous agricultural settlements dating to more than 4000 years ago, Jan spoke
specifically about the first unifying forces that arrived from modern day Vietnam, Dien Bien
Phu who entered the country through Luang Prabang in modern day Laos to establish
themselves in Chiang Saen in Tai land. They managed to survive for almost 500 years but
were, eventually, overrun like most of South East Asia, by the Burmans. You often hear the
Tai people speaking about not having been invaded and their kingdom surviving for a long
time. The reality is that they are talking about British or French invasion in the modern era
but they are, themselves, the product of continuous invasions over more than a thousand
years. A modern village today and a partially derelect temple can be seen bvelow.
The last of the great rivers Jan spoke about was the Mekong along which the medieval
Khmer empire flourished from the 9th to the 15th century. They origins remain a point of
debate and suggestions include Mongol, Tibetan, Chinese, Vietnamese and maybe even
Polynesian or Malaynesian. Regardless, their influence spread through most of modern day
China, Vietnam, Burma, Laos and Cambodia even extending as far as the Malaysian peninsula.
Despite their origins there were periods when they were heavily influenced by India
especially during the Jayavarman II period beginning about 800 AD when the king introduced
the cult of Shiva. This cult resulted in the construction of Angkor (which means Capital City),
its final capital from the 9th to 15th centuries, and its surrounding settlements such as
Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, the Bayon and Preah Khan and including the very famous Wat
(temple) at Angkor which many of us have visited.
This collection of cities covered more than 1000 square kilometres and had a population in
excess of 1 million – figure not exceeded in the west until the late 1800s. Its infrastructe
was extremely well developed with understanding of the hydraulic nature of their country
epitomised by the canals, bayons and irrigation systems that both protected them from
flooding and ensured a constant water supply during dry periods. Its destruction during a
particularly wet period that followed a long period of drought, is believed to be the cause of
Angkor’s final collapse. The pictures below of the Mekong and a settlement were taken near
Luang Prabang and typfies the river in its natural state.
(Jan Brady, Past-History.org, 2015)
The people of these great rivers are as different today as their ancestors and yet we often
think of them as simply South-East Asians. It is important for us as thinking people to
remember that all empires come and go and that the empire that established Australia
declined just as the USA is doing so today – but the people live on.
In some ways nothing has changed but everything has changed.
(Jan Brady, Past-History.org, 2015)