Seals, amulets and coinages of Dvāravatī cultural sites: Understanding their social environment and religious network

Abstract

This paper focuses on minor artifacts, such as sealings, tablets, coinages, small figurines and amulets, that form integral parts of the socio-religious cultural milieu of a society. Such objects were recovered from various sites in Thailand attributed to the Dvāravatī cultural period, and they lead us to two concerns: First, what the nature of the society was that encouraged production and use of objects like sealings, terracotta figurines and amulets, and second, the persons that made them and the agency that percolated such socio-religious beliefs/rituals in the mind of people. An overview of archaeological materials recovered from Dvāravatī sites in central Thailand allow us to perceive a kind of society where Buddhism dominated, with elements of Brahmanism in its rituals. Seals and amulets were sure to come as voyaging objects from India in their initial phase. The ideology behind the offering and making of seals was then deeply ingrained in the Southeast Asian societies The network of Buddhism can be understood also from the penetration of Mahayana ideas in the Dvāravatī sites. These ideas could have percolated both from Srivijaya and also from South eastern Bengal after traversing Arakan. In some cases, there are definite examples of emulation of Indian cultural practices. In others, there are examples of adaptation. Nonetheless, the strong presence of indigenous elements cannot be overlooked.