Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/652

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
*
570
*

INDIAN MUSIC. 570 INDIANOLA. notes), and a rattle, made of dry gourds, loaded with sand or |k'IpI>I('<. INDIAN MUTINY, or Sepoy Kebeluon. See iiiiiK-r I.nuia. INDIAN MYTHOLOGY. The mythology of India as found in the aniient hymns of the ida deserves especial consideration, becaus*,- it rep- resents an earlier state of thought with regard to mythological subjects than is found in any other' literary monument of the Indo-tiernianic peoples. The development of Hindu mythology down to the present is furthermore of interest because of the chance it gives for a long histori- cal perspective. Attractive parallels may like- wise be drawn between the oldest mythological figures of India and those in the pantheon of Greece and Rome, like Father Heaven and Jloth- er Earth (Skt. Ui/Oiiri I'ilcr. I'rthivi MOInr, Ck. 2ei>5 iraTi)p, Lat. Jupiter), but they are often er- roneous, dangerous, or misleading. Despite, for example, the recognized possibility of kinship by reason of common Aryan or lndo-(;ermanic unity, such etymological equations as those be- tween Lat. Uranus, Gk. Oipavoi, 'Heaven,' and Sanskrit Yaruna, in Indian mythology, or again between Klvravpot and (landharva, or the fire- myth of Prometheus in connection with Skt. pramanthana, the rubbing stick used 'in kindling fire, break down or become uncertain under the searching light of keen linguistic criticism. Nevertheless, such comparisons are always in- teresting, and they are often instructive as show- ing how myths may develop independently or on grounds remotely associated or even disccta- nected. The niythologj' of India frequently helps to throw much light on such subjects. Mj'ths abound in the I'ijiVrdu : they are the outgrowth of personifications of the powers of nature and meteorological phenomena. (See Agm ; I.ndr.; Mari't; Mitra; Soma; .SrRTA; U.siiA.s; Vayu; Yama. ) In later Hindu mrthologj' the gods of the old regime gradually become replaced by the great Hindu trinity or triad, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, with all the beliefs and notions associated with each of these names. The later pantheon is occupied likewise by a band of minor deities, godlings or demigods, like Ganesa, Kartikeya, Kubera. and the goddesses Durga, Lakshnii, and Sarasvati. (See the arti- cles under these names.) India of all ages has known also many myths, legends, or fables con- nected with the stars and planets, with sacred rivers, streams, and trees, birds, and animals. Consult: Wilkins. Hindu Mi/tholoft;/ (London, 1900) ; Dawson. Dirtioiinrii of Hindu Mytholoiiy and Religion (Ixindon. 1879) ; Macdonell, Vedic llytholog^-." in Biihler, Grundriss der indo-ari- schoi Philologie und Altertumskunde (Strass- burg, 1S9"). INDIAN OCEAN. One of the five grand divisions of the hydrosphere, bounded on the west by Africa and the 20th meridian east of Greenwich (running through Cape .gulhas. the southern extremity of Africa), on the north by Asia, on the east by the East Indian .rchipelago, Australia, and the 147th meridian (running through the southern extremity of Tasmania) (Map: World, Eastern Hemisphere. K 2S). The southern houndarj' is in an indefinite way as- sumed to be approximately the Antarctic Circle, although many geographers prefer to call what is south of latitude 40° S. the Southern Ocean. In its broader sense it covers about 27,.500.000 square miles. Gradually narrowing from south to north, the Indian Ocean forks at Caj* Comorin into the Bay of Bengal on the east, and the Ara- bian Sea on the west, the latter again branch- ing oil' into two arms, the Persian Gulf and the Bed Sea, which reach respectively the mouth of the Euphrates-Tigris and the neighbor- hood of the Jleditcrranean. These limitations exclude the waters of the Indian .Vrchipelago, as belonging rather to the I'acilic Ocean. From Africa it receives the waters of the Limpopo and the Zambezi, and from .Vsia those of the Irra- waddy, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus, and the .Shat-el-.Arab. It contains numerous islands, chiefly confined to the northern and western re- gions. Of these JIadagascar and Ceylon are the only ones of considerable magnitude, the others being mostly small grou])s of volcanic or coral formation, the volcanic islands being usually sur- rounded by coral reefs. The greatest depth of the Indian Oqean is found in the northeastern part, where, close to the southeast of Java, soundings have beon made of 20,.'{40 feet, and a considerable basin of nearly this average depth lies to the northwest of the Australian continent. .

elevated ridge run 

ning along the 40th parallel has an average depth of 12,000 feet. Krihnmel estimates the average dei>tli of the ocean to be 10.970 feet. The surface temperature of this ocean is higher than that of the others, the mean temperature of the northern portion being considerably over 80°, while the bottom temperature, falling Ix-- low 40° at the equator, indicates an undercur- rent of cold water from the Antarctic r<'gion. The currents of the Indian Ocean depend to a great extent on the winds. North of the equator they reverse their direction with the annual change of the northeast trade wind to the south- west monsoon, while under the equatorial calm belt the equatorial countercurrent flows eastward. South of the equator, imder the southeast trade win<ls a current flows west, bending south along the coast of Africa thnnigh the Mozambique Channel, and meeting the Atlantic westward current at the Ca])e, where it is turned back to the east toward the south coast of .ustralia. The winds over the Indian Oi'ean are, as a rule, gentle, with frequent protracted calms, though hurricanes occur occasionally. Tliis <x>ean was the first to find a place in the history of commerce. As a commercial channel it virtually maintained its superiority <Iuring two thousand years, being habitually traversed in a direct line between Arabia and Hindustan, while coast- ing voyages alone were known in the Atlantic. This comparatively bold navigation of the In- dian Ocean was suggested and facilitated by the periodic;illy alternating monsoons of the north- ern )iart. INDIAN OIL TREE. See Butter-Tree. IN'DIANO'LA. A city and the county-seat of Warren County, Iowa, 18 miles .south of Des Moines, on the Chicago. Rock Island and Pacific, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy rail- roads (Alap: Iowa, D .3). It controls a large trade in grain, butter, eggs, live stock, fruit, and vegetables. The city has a public library and Simpson College (Methodist Epi.scopal), opened in 1S67. The electric-light plant is owned by the nmnicipalitv. Population, in 1890, 2254; in 1900, 3261."