ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET
Student Name: Teresa Cristina Cowley
Student ID No.: 22091853
Unit Name: Writing Place: Landscapes, Memory, History
Unit Code: HIS10018
Tutor’s name: Nicholas Mattingly
Assignment No.: 3
Assignment Title: Essay
Due date: 27th May 2016
Date submitted: 27th May 2016
Declaration:
I have read and understand the Rules relating to Awards (Rule 3.17) as contained in the University Handbook. I understand the penalties that apply for plagiarism and agree to be bound by these rules. The work I am submitting electronically is entirely my own work.
Signed:(please type your name)
Teresa Cristina Cowley
Date: 27th May 2016
A Place on Earth.
To view landscape as cultural, one might explore the art, mythology and religious history
of place. This paper introduces the reader to Hampi, India – the place where the ancient
Hindu civilisation of the Vijayanagara Empire once flourished between the fourteenth and
sixteenth centuries.1 The location is now recognised as a World Heritage site, and it is here
the author recollects travel experiences on the backpacker trail of southern India.2 Visiting
Hampi in the early part of two thousand left behind ‘special’ memories of this vast
landscape. The essay examines and compares travel literature past and present
including the differing perspectives of Hampi as place. There is indeed a common romantic
view reflected in the evidenced travel literature, and here an analysis of the historiography
is made. Traveller tales and writers’ self-reflexivity of place bare common words such as
‘spiritual’ and ‘magical’. In order to understand this sense of ‘spiritual’ and its link to place,
the historical and religious background of Hampi is examined through the work of
archaeologist and consulting scientist John M. Fritz. For a historical traveller’s perspective
of Hampi, the chronicles of Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes written between fifteen
twenty and fifteen twenty two CE, are explored.3 Paes includes colourful and intimate
detailed descriptions of the Vijayanagara Kingdom’s ceremonies, religious practices and
landscape. For a modern day perspective, excerpts from publications such as Lonely
Planet’s travel guide and archaeological society articles are drawn upon to reflect
perceptions of place entwined in this unique landscape called Hampi.
1 Class Teacher Learning Systems (2012), accessed 29th March 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyCle3bRRkY2 "Group Of Monuments At Hampi - UNESCO World Heritage Centre", last modified May 21, 2016, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/241.
3 Domingos Paes. 1924. A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar). London: Allen and Unwin.
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Modern Day Travel Literature
A collection of travel literature written by the modern day author is examined, including
a variety of detailed and expressive accounts illustrating the ancient kingdom’s
landscape. These accounts will serve as a comparison to the author’s own travel
literature that explored Hampi as place. Views that resonate in the following accounts
embrace ideas of the ‘beautiful’ and the ‘magical’. An excerpt from the online Lonely
Planet travel guide reads “unreal and bewitching, the forlorn ruins of Hampi dot an
unearthly landscape that will leave you spellbound the moment you cast your eyes on
it.” 4 The writer uses both descriptive and alluring language to captivate the most
independent traveller. The account continues to describe the landscape, “giant boulders
perch precariously over miles of undulating terrain, their rusty hues offset by jade-green
palm groves, banana plantations and paddy fields.”5 In its 2001 publication, Lonely
Planet’s perspective on Hampi contains a similar thread, “the ruins of Vijayanagara, near
the village of Hampi, are some of the most fascinating in India. They’re set in a strange
and sublime boulder-strewn landscape that resonates with a magical air”.6 Global
traveller writer Vince Robbins exclaims "the view from small Veerabhadra Temple at the
top is quite possibly the most beautiful view I've seen in my life".7 Facebook travel
blogger, ‘Rickshaw Roadies’ wrote "Hampi is surreal, like a film set, it’s an unearthly
landscape that left us spellbound"8. High school student ‘Madeline S.’ was captivated by
her first visit to Hampi, “I felt as if I came alive for the first time”9. Madeline S. continued
to state that “it was still possible to feel the mystical atmosphere that once enveloped
the temples due to the sweet smell of burning incense and the detailed carvings”.
Madeline’s connection to place at Hampi is clear, “I couldn’t remember ever being as
4 Lonely Planet. 2016. "Hampi - Lonely Planet". Lonely Planet. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/karnataka/hampi.
5 Lonely Planet. 2016. "Hampi - Lonely Planet". Lonely Planet. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/karnataka/hampi.
6 Sarina Singh. 2003. India. Melbourne, Vic.: Lonely Planet. p.873
7 Vince Robbins. "Visiting Hampi India | Urban Travel Blog". 2016. Urbantravelblog.Com. http://www.urbantravelblog.com/trip/hampi-india.
8 "Rickshaw Roadies". 2016. Facebook.Com. http://www.facebook.com/rickshawroadies.
9 "36 Hours In Hampi". 2016. THINK Global School. http://thinkglobalschool.org/36-hours-in-hampi.
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happy as I was then”. 10 The travel literature collated here reflects a certain connection
to Hampi as place, as experienced by the authors of these accounts.
Figure 2: Hampi, India (2004). Photography by Teresa Cowley
Personal Reflections of Place
I kept a small travel journal detailing my trip to India set in the year two thousand. An
excerpt reads “riding through the mountains of the tea tree plantations that morning
was an amazing experience. I was at my highest of highs at that moment. I wanted to
lock that day in a bottle and throw away the key.”11 From such recollections, memories
become the impetus to many a travel literature where writers describe the observed
intensity of emotion, spiritual and physical experiences linked to place. A personal
reflection and self-reflexivity highlighting my connection to Hampi as place is below.
As the road’s terracotta dust settles around us, my heart is pounding with impending
thoughts of arriving at Hampi. I wipe away the sweat from my forehead. It has been a long
yet forgotten journey – as early dawn welcomed the day. Our reserves are close to empty
and the roaring Enfields have come to a sudden halt. The group takes in the strange and
captivating horizon before us. I feel my soul returning to an ancient time, and yet I feel a
sense of calm as somehow I am automatically connected to my surroundings.
10 "36 Hours In Hampi". 2016. THINK Global School. http://thinkglobalschool.org/36-hours-in-hampi.
11 Teresa Cowley, Personal Journal: Travels in India (Hampi, India, 2000).
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It is a bizarre and comical site as we await the round floats to take us and our bikes to our
accommodation across the Tungabhadra River. Looking around I notice one is free to
roam and explore the ancient ruins - there are no visible barricades to the six hundred year
old architecture. Here ‘place’ is but a stolen picture ripped from the pages of a fairy tale
book depicting a ‘sacred’ time only truly vivid in a fantasy or dream. The local women, men
and children casually go on with their daily lives dressed to reflect a scene certain to be
from fifteenth century India. My gaze then centres on a used glass bottle of Coca-Cola
glistening in the sun, littering the gutter beneath my feet. The air is unceasingly heavy and
dry contributed by the sun’s abundant and merciless heat. There is a stillness and yet I do
not know the calendar day, nor do I care. Fondly, time has all but fallen away from my
senses.
Memoirs of a Lost City
Author Deborah. B Rose discusses the intricacies of human connection to place and here
the idea is explored in relation to Hampi as place. Rose states “country is sentient” and
“place is one kind of embodiment of being.”12 Hampi is described as a place full of
wonder and mystic as stated by several accounts. The stillness in the air lends itself to
giving the visitor an opportunity to tap into a ‘Spirit’ that breathes through the temple
stones and rock formations. Here a chance to resonate with the ancient empire’s
civilisation is given by simply placing a hand on a single carving and feeling the texture
of the cold hard stone. Rose seeks to highlight the vulnerabilities of relationships and
writes about the passion with which living things encounter each other in place, “love is
so central to place that it shimmers on the horizons of much of our writing”. 13 ‘Love’ as
described by Rose may be interpreted as the ingredient to foster the possibility of
capturing one’s personal connection to Hampi and decipher it into careful words of the
English language.
Human attachment to the landscape is nurtured by memories to place. Australian
National University Professor Ken Taylor’s definition of the meaning of place and
landscape as a field of study is “one of our deepest needs is for a sense of identity and
belonging. A common denominator in this is human attachment to landscape and how
we find identity in landscape and place”. 14 As the years pass since my last visit to Hampi,
12 Deborah Bird Rose. 2009. "Writing Place". In Writing Histories: Imagination And Narration, 1st ed. Clayton Victoria: Monash University ePress.13 Rose. Writing Place, 3.14 MySCU Discussion Board, Unit HIS10018. ANU Professor Ken Taylor.
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I note all that is left is a lone scrap book with a few old photographs and some crumpled
temple entry tickets. Memories of youth, freedom and self discovery. Sunny days amidst
green rice fields and balmy nights spent in musical cafes laced with the scent of burning
incense and pungent curries. Those days are gone and can never be replaced. To linger
too long upon those memories of place cause a lump in the throat and warm tears to
well - signs of the everlasting human link to one’s environment.
Landscape can be seen as a product of culture as humans see place in a multitude of
ways. Writer Angela Domingues explores the historiography of European travel
literature of the eighteenth century. Domingues points out that colonial and imperial
studies tend to analyse regions only from a European point of view. 15 This is
exemplified in Hibbert (1986)’s work ‘Cities and Civilizations’ 16. The author’s purpose
was “to give impressions of the appearance and social life of twenty-one of the world’s
greatest cities”. Here Hibbert (1986) included the cities of Thebes, Jerusalem and Rome.
He discusses Cuzco and Hangzhou and brings light to Tokyo, Berlin and Constantinople,
yet interestingly nowhere in the publication is mention of Hampi or any Indian city.17
15 Ângela Domingues. 2012. "<I>In A World Without Faith And Dominated By Ambition</I>: Representations Of Brazil And The Portuguese In The First Half Of The Eighteen Century European Travel Literature". Cult. Hist. Digit. J. 1 (2): m104. doi:10.3989/chdj.2012.m104.
16 Christopher Hibbert ‘Cities and Civilizations’. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London. 1986.
17 Hibbert, Cities and Civilizations, 2.
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Figure 2: Ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire in Hampi, India (2004).
Photography by Teresa Cowley.
History of Hampi
Hampi has a definite History. In the year eighteen hundred, explorer Colonel Colin
McKenzie stumbled upon Hampi’s many ruins. The processes of mapping and surveys
soon followed which led to the recovery of the dynasty temples and structures. It was
uncovered that in thirteen thirty six two brothers named Harihara and Bukka founded
the Vijayanagara Empire and for over two hundred years the kingdom flourished. 18
Krishna Belur described the formation of the kingdom as a result of the state being
under threat from ‘Mohammedan rule’.19 After the empire’s destruction by Islamic
invaders in fifteen sixty five, the city became deserted. According to Belur, it is believed
Hampi was home to Shri Vidyaranaya, the religious teacher of the Sangama dynasty and
had a strong influence on the establishment of the Vijayanagara Kingdom and it’s
‘cosmic order’.20
European Travel Literature from the 16th Century
After the Portuguese conquest of Goa in fifteen ten, a number of Portuguese travellers
and traders visited the kingdom of Vijayanagara located in Hampi.21 A few detailed
reports exist highlighting the glory of the Vijayanagara Empire. The most valuable
account is that of Domingoes Paes written approximately between 1520 and 1522 “of
the things which I saw and contrived to learn concerning the kingdom of Narsimha”.22
18 Class Teacher Learning Systems (2012), accessed 29th March 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyCle3bRRkY19 Krishna Murthy Belur. Hampi: A Tourists Guide (Hampi: R. Vengatramani Dass, 2000), 2. 20 Belur, Hampi: A Tourist’s Guide, 4.
21 Robert Sewell, Fernão Nunes, and Domingos Paes. 1924. A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar). London: Allen and Unwin.
22 Domingos Paes. 1924. A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar). London: Allen and Unwin.
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The Portuguese traveller is quoted stating that Vijayanagara, was "the best provided
city of the world".23 Paes accounts are based primarily on careful observation as the
writer describes in detail the ‘feudal’ system of Vijayanagara's military organisation. He
details the annual royal Durga festival and expresses his fascination with the greatness
of Vijayanagara's fortified urban landscape, its markets, temples and the royal centre.
Paes’ detailed descriptions of the kingdom serve to identify and interpret the still
impressive ruins of Vijayanagara. The account leaves room for a theological study of the
Vijayanagara Empire and how it flourished over two hundred years, particularly under
the rule of the Tulu Dynasty where the empire reached the height of its power.24
Paes wrote about the landscape in terms of agriculture and abundance “behind cities,
towns and villages they have plantations of mangoes, and jack-fruit trees, and
tamarinds”. 25 He notes the land has plenty of rice, corn, grain and beans; an abundance
of cotton as well as other crops unfamiliar to the Portuguese. Writer John Gascoigne also
discusses agriculture and its links to prosperity in ‘The Earth and its Fruits’. Gascoigne
writes “the most durable and potent bequest of the Enlightenment was the idea of
progress – a view of the world that prospered in the nineteenth century but was to falter
somewhat in the blood-stained twentieth century”.26 Both authors centuries apart,
highlight the connection between the workings of the land and human prosperity.
The values and customs of the king and his kingdom are highlighted in Paes’ account.
Paes gains close proximity to royalty as he is able to discuss the king in great detail, “the
king is of medium height, and of fair complexion”.27 Paes states the king has a cheerful
disposition and seeks to honour foreigners and “receives them kindly”. 28 Paes states
that the country has cities, towns and villages, and notes that the king “allows them to be
surrounded only with earthen walls for fear of them becoming too strong”.29 The
religious customs of the empire become evident in Paes account “for you must know in
23 Paes, A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar), 2.
24 Sewell. 1924. A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar).
25 Domingos Paes. 1520-22CE. A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar).
26 John Gascoigne. 2002. "The Earth And Its Fruits". In The Enlightenment And The Origins Of European Australia, 1st ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
27 Paes, A Forgotten Empire, 2.28 Paes, A Forgotten Empire, 3.29 Paes, A Forgotten Empire, 4.
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this land they do not slaughter oxen or cows”, advising the reader that the cows are
worshipped and housed in ‘pagodas’ made of stone. Paes highlights the pagodas are
buildings where the people of the kingdom “pray and have their idols”. Paes describes
one particular idol “the face is that of an elephant with trunk and tusks and with three
arms on each side.” Paes maintains a close connection to the people of Hampi as
evidenced by what the writer learns about the holy men of the city, “these Brahmans are
like friars with us” and “those who have charge of the temples are learned men, and eat
nothing which suffers death”. Paes tells the reader the Brahmans are all married and
have beautiful wives who seldom leave their homes, stating that the king holds these
men in great honour. Paes also describes Hampi’s unique landscape as the modern day
traveller has described it, “for these hills are the strangest ever seen, they are of a white
stone piled one block over another in manner most singular, so that it seems as if they
stood in the air and were not connected one with another”. 30
An Archaeologist’s Perspective
John M. Fritz, an archaeologist and consulting scientist at the University of Pennsylvania
Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology studied the medieval city of Vijayanagara for
more than 20 years and sheds light on this ancient civilisation. 31 Fritz worked in the
Vijayanagara Research Project and undertook a study of Hampi’s religious and royal
monuments as well as examining the common daily life. Fritz documented the ‘spiritual’
and ‘sacred’ themes of the place, “when we first arrived at Hampi, in the state of
Karnataka in southern India, in 1980, we encountered a landscape strewn with huge
30 Paes, A Forgotten Empire, 5 .
31 John M Fritz. 1986. "Vijayanagara: Authority And Meaning Of A South Indian Imperial Capital". American Anthropologist 88 (1): 44-55. doi:10.1525/aa.1986.88.1.02a00030.
9
granite boulders and the scattered remnants of a once great city, known during its
heyday from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries as Vijayanagara, the City of Victory.” 32
Fritz explores the king’s responsibility to nurture prosperity and ‘cosmic order’ in the
kingdom. Fritz places emphasis on “several meaningful aspects of royal behaviour”
while researching the king’s actions and role as warrior, hunter and master of
ceremonies.33 The archaeologist also looks at the urban plan and describes it as
“unrivalled as a theatre of Hindu imperial display”.34 Included in this analysis of
landscape are the extensive irrigated fields, the arcos of fortification walls, the sacred
centre, the Tungabhadra River, the Royal Centre and the canals. Here the ruins of
metropolitan Vijayanagara are the focus for a sense of ‘place’.
The ‘spirit’ and ‘scared’ nature of Hampi as place is reflected in the findings of Fritz.
Fritz focuses on the role of the king and aspects of the kingship, it here it comes to light
the kingship was ordered by a ‘sacred’ ruler who was to be of a moral and ethical nature.
Fritz discusses the carvings on the architecture and how they depict stories of the king
as protector, athlete, wealth distributer and responsible for ‘cosmic order’. Fritz
discusses Vijayanagara as a cosmic city and draws on commentary by Wheatley and
Meyer introducing the city as sacred due to its featuring a pattern of material form that
replicates the cosmic realm and cosmic patterns (mandalas). Fritz includes maps and
diagrams in his literature to include the zone of the royal residence showing a series of
courts as well as gates leading to palaces, “The urban elements assert the congruence of
the terrestrial realm of the king with the manifest mythical and celestial realm of the
god”.35 Fritz summarises the urban elements to include the royal centre, the roads, walls,
gates and temples and rituals of the city to emulate a ‘cosmic realm’. Fritz argues that
king and god were the primary focus of the empire, whereby their energies radiated
harmony and abundance to the city and beyond. Domingo Paes also highlights Hampi’s
focus on the ‘spiritual’ by commenting that the king relied upon the Brahman priest for
constant guidance in relation to ‘cosmic order’.36
*
32 Fritz. Vijayanagara, 44.33 Fritz. Vijayanagara, 51.34 Fritz. Vijayanagara, 45.35 Fritz. Vijayanagara, 54.36 Fritz. Vijayanagara, 44.
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When an independent traveller begins a journey, often there is a purpose. This purpose
can sometimes be the softest dream to witness and experience a place of wonder and
beauty on planet Earth. Hampi for many travellers has been that place as evidenced
through the sourced travel literature ranging from the works of Paes to Fritz. The
variety of this literature spanning from the sixteenth century to present day forms a
collection containing differences in author perspectives and circumstance. This
demonstrates the hint to significant differences in the historiography of each account.
The analysis extends to my own reflections and analysis of Hampi as a traveller’s haven
and exploration of an ancient Hindu civilisation. The common thread of the collection of
travel literature however, is each author’s resonance and connection to the Hampi
landscape. Romantic words such as ‘magical’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘beautiful’ are present in the
chronicles, publications and articles alike. Writers such as Paes and Fritz took the time
to carefully pen detailed accounts of their visits to the old Vijayanagara Kingdom with
enthusiasm and energy, which could only stem from a deep human connection to place,
a place called Hampi.
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11
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