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Bastard ruined so many symbols (europe.pub)
submitted 11 months ago by [M] to c/historymemes@piefed.social
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[–] 6 points 11 months ago* (9 children)

The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit root swasti, which is composed of su 'good, well' and asti 'is; it is; there is'.

With well-being (swasti) we would follow along our path, like the Sun and the Moon. May we meet up with one who gives in return, who does not smite (harm), with one who knows. — The Rigveda V.51.15

Didn't know that the symbol spread far and wide. That's some very interesting history (minus the Nazis).

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  • [–] 7 points 11 months ago (8 children)

    It is quite a simple symbol to draw, so different cultures have probably came up to it independently.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago (6 children)

    Iirc, their theory was that the Aryan race originates in India and the swastika is an Aryan symbol.

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  • [–] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 child)

    The Swastika may be an Indian symbol but the Indo-Aryans did not originate in India. There is a lot of historical evidence that Indo-Aryans originated as a steppe culture in Central Asia around the neolithic to early bronze period and then spread to Europe and West Asia. This is also why the structure of so many Indo-European languages is similar; they all have a common ancestor in the Proto-Indo-European language.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_migrations

    This is why Nazis liked the symbol. They felt it harkened to a time when Aryans were "pure".

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    I know I'm not gonna get an answer to the logical basis of Nazi views of history but... They really thought blonde haired, blue eyed people originated in India? Am I hearing that right? Am I missing something?

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 11 months ago

    Strangely enough, it was a popular thought in the 19th century. The thinking was that the 'warrior' Aryans were a migratory people who established themselves as ruling castes over 'inferior' groups, but 'degenerated' by intermarriage with the locals in most places.

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  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago*

    They thought that there was a shared ancestry. The generally thinking was that the genes did not get as "diluted" moving westward to Europe but did get mixed with indigenous peoples in India accounting for those differences.

    Theoretically, those shared ancestors saw the swastika as an auspicious symbol but it was those that migrated to India that wrote about it first. Which is why its commonly referred to by its Sanskrit name.

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