Erik broke his long silence. “How long is this ride gonna take?”
The other two were startled, having forgotten his presence during their conversation.
“In terms of distance, it’s only eight miles away, but the trip should last about an hour,” Griffin replied.
“Everybody get comfy,” Cassie advised.
“If it’s all the same to you, I’m going below to grab a few more winks,” Erik informed them. “It’s shadier down there.” He removed his backpack and handed it to Cassie. “Keep an eye on this and wake me when we get to the island.”
“Pleasant dreams,” Griffin offered.
After the paladin clattered down the steps, Cassie gave Griffin a triumphant smile. “You should congratulate me.”
Griffin peered at her. “Why is that?”
“Because I didn’t grouse about what a big sissy he can be when he’s sleep-deprived instead of me. I’m taking the moral high road.” She stowed the backpack underneath her bench.
“I applaud your restraint though I feel compelled to point out that a truly admirable person might have resisted the urge to brag about her virtues.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Nobody said I was Mother Teresa.”
Griffin chuckled. “You are to be commended nonetheless.”
The pythia turned sideways in her seat to observe the scenery as their vessel pulled away from the stone quay. The harbor was dotted with a few small speedboats as well as several ferries making for other destinations. She scowled in concentration as a thought struck her.
Griffin apparently noticed her change of expression. “I’ve come to know that look. What’s bothering you?”
She smiled self-consciously at being caught. “I was just thinking about all the faces I saw today. I don’t mean the tourists but the native Indians. I couldn’t believe the differences. Some are pale with green eyes. Some are dark-skinned with African features. What’s up with that?”
“Ah, therein hangs a tale. How much do you know about the ancient history of this part of the world?”
She turned away from the harbor view to give him her full attention. “Not too much. In terms of why there’s such a big difference in skin color, nothing at all.”
“Then you’re about to get a history lesson regarding the overlord intrusion into the subcontinent.”
“Overlord intrusion? Well, that figures. Are we talking about Kurgans from the Russian steppes?”
“Not precisely. The men who infiltrated the northwest portion of India called themselves ‘Arya’ which means ‘noble’ in Sanskrit. They would have been the descendants of the Kurgans who spent centuries exploiting the indigenous population of the Iranian plateau before expanding southeastward.”
“I’m guessing these Arya operated the same as the Kurgans though,” Cassie speculated. “Small bands of armed men on horseback who ride in and start pushing the locals around and carving up territory for themselves?”
Griffin nodded. “While that’s correct to some extent, you must remember that these nomads hadn’t yet mastered the art of career warfare. They were primarily cattle thieves who blithely stole one another’s livestock as well as the property of the indigenous tribes they met. In fact, their term for cattle raid—gosati—became synonymous with their word for war. They counted their wealth in cattle and as their herds increased, so did their need for pasture lands. Their expansion took millennia to complete as one generation after another leapfrogged its way across the steppes and the Iranian plateau in a greedy quest for larger herds and more grazing land. Around 1800 BCE, they reached the northwest corner of India and advanced as far south as Mumbai. The typical pattern of chronic warfare amongst themselves, abduction of local women and exploitation of the native population ensued.”
Cassie shook her head. “Same old story as what happened in ancient Europe and North Africa.”
“Yes, but the one difference is how hotly Indian nationals deny that an Aryan invasion ever took place at all.”
The pythia stared at him. “That’s one I haven’t heard before. Why is it such a sore spot with them?”
Griffin glanced down, seemingly embarrassed. “India has had a long history of being invaded by other powers, first the Aryans, then the ancient Greeks, much later the Muslims, and most recently my own country of Britain. There’s a touchiness about being perceived as a barbaric people who needed to be civilized by foreigners.”
“But how could they think the hooligans from the steppes brought anything to the party besides bloodshed, slavery, and misery?” Cassie challenged.
The scrivener smiled bitterly. “Remember that history is always written by the victors. By the time Hindu culture and religion were chronicled in the Vedas and the epic poetry, the Aryans had dominated northern India for centuries. Their literature depicted them as heroes who brought the gift of culture to a primitive people.”
“You have to wonder who their PR guy was. He must have been a genius,” Cassie observed sarcastically.
“It didn’t help that most nineteenth century scholars believed in the myth of Aryan superiority. It wasn’t until the 1920s when the matristic Indus Valley civilization was discovered that the notion of unsophisticated tribes inhabiting India was overturned. Contemporary Indian nationalists, proud of Hindu culture, want to claim that it developed organically without the taint of any outside influence.”
The ferry had now cleared the breakwater and moved out into open waters. Larger vessels loomed in the distance. They passed quite close to an ocean freighter whose wake made the small boat rock.
Returning her attention to their conversation, Cassie asked, “But what about DNA evidence? If there really were Aryans in India, then there should be some genetic trace, right?”
Griffin nodded. “You’re absolutely right though maternal DNA evidence have been taken out of context and used to support the nationalist political agenda.”
“People can always cherry-pick data to suit their theory,” the pythia countered. “So, what’s the real story?”
Griffin paused to reach under the bench for Erik’s backpack. He withdrew two bottles of
