The Indus Civilization c6.41

c6.41

Another aspect of the religion of the Indus valley was the practice of depositing votive-figures of animals and human beings in shrines to ensure the favourable attention of the god or goddess, a custom which still prevails in modern India. A certain type of pottery figure showing a pregnant woman, or a figure holding a child to her breast, was probably a thank-offering to a deity for the birth of a child, or perhaps a reminder of the giver's desire for children. These votive-figures are always of the plainest description, ornaments being very seldom worn; they are of quite a different class from the figures of the Mother Goddess. Two little models of infant boys, represented as crawling on the ground, may have been intended as special reminders that the wished-for child should be a boy, or, alternatively, may have been placed in a shrine to ensure the favour of the deity towards a sick child. Clay models of oxen were similarly used for votive purposes, perhaps to promote increase or to restore a sick animal to health, a practice which is still quite common among the poor of India.