I'm losing my heart all over again to this 11.5cm tall #stag, carved from a single piece of wood & originally covered with gold leaf, with its vast branched leather antlers. Made in the 5thC BC as a finial for a #prehistoric #Scythian headdress, it was one of the artefacts in the #BritishMuseum's 2017 Scythian exhibition.
There's more about the exhibition at https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introducing-scythians. /1
@drsueoosthuizen
And as yet another of those little weird coincidences that seem to happen, I was just reading a journal article proposing the idea that Sakyamuni ("sage of the Sakyas," a.k.a the Buddha) was Scythian since that's what Saka/Sakya means. Wouldn't be earth-shattering if true, but kind of fun to ponder. And this object would be from around that time frame!
@jayarava @drsueoosthuizen
That was the article to which I referred. 😉 I'd noticed the Sakya/Scyth similarity some time ago, but was firmly advised that such a notion is mistaken by B. Sujato at Suttacentral when I asked about it.. Makes no difference to me, just a fun thing to ponder, and was tickled to see that someone more serious than I had examined it.
@AndyLowry @drsueoosthuizen The only honest answer is that "we don't know". Sujato doesn't know either. It might be true, but the idea that Śākyas were simply Scythians doesn't strike me as plausible, even though I think their origins where likely in Iran.
@jayarava @drsueoosthuizen
From general readings in Indian history, Iranian tribes seem like a given. Keay's "History" spends a decent amount of time on the period. Have been thinking of picking up Singh's "Ancient and Medieval" as a next read, might broaden my understanding. If you have any recommendations on the topic, I'd be pleased to know!
@AndyLowry @drsueoosthuizen I have contributed to this idea, but feel bound to say that śākya (and Prakrit spellings) is just an adjective meaning "strong, powerful" (synonyms include ugra and vajra).
2012. "Possible Iranian Origins for Sākyas and Aspects of Buddhism." Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, 3, 47-69. http://jocbs.org/index.php/jocbs/article/view/26