South Asian arts Literary, performing, and visual arts of India, Paki¬ stan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Myths of the popular gods, Vishnu and Shiva, in the Puranas (ancient tales) and the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, supply material for representational and dramatic arts. The Rama¬ yana is often considered the first work in the kavya poetic style; kavya compositions must convey different rasa (sentiments) and also induce the appropriate rasa in the audience. The Dravidian languages of the south, including Tamil and Telegu, provided some enduring works, particularly the devotional poems of the Tamil Alvars and Nayannars from the 7th through the 9th century. The introduction of Persian by Muslim conquer¬ ors led to the development of Urdu. Following in the Persian tradition, Urdu poets particularly favoured the ghazal, a love poem of great metric and rhythmic subtlety. The Nanya-Nastra established the rules for clas¬ sical dance and drama, the most popular form of which was the nanaka, or heroic tale. From the 14th century onward the nanaka lost ground to popular folk theatre, but elements of classical drama persist. Dance tra¬ ditionally requires musical accompaniment, though players and vocalists take their lead from the rhythm of the dancers’ feet and not vice versa. Central to South Asian music is the concept of modes known as raga. Rhythm in South Asian music, like the construction of scales, is additive. The music is basically monodic, consisting essentially of a single melody against a drone, though the drum part may virtually constitute another voice. Music is generally for entertainment, but it is nevertheless closely linked to Hinduism. Northern India’s most characteristic structure, a temple with a heavily decorated tower, reached its stylistic height in the 7th—11th centuries. The extension of Islam into India in the 11th and 12th centuries introduced typical Muslim architectural forms (e.g., the dome and pointed arch) and decoration. Such masterworks as the Taj Mahal resulted from the rule of the Muslim Mughal dynasty in the 16th-18th centuries. Traditionally, visual artists produced works for patrons, and sacred written canons guided their works’ proportions, iconography, and other artistic considerations. Since early in the region’s history, wall paint¬ ings and miniatures painted on palm leaves or paper were prominent, but sculpture was the favoured medium. Sculptures were largely religious and essentially symbolic and abstract. Works displaying Hindu and Buddhist imagery flourished in the Golden Age of India in the 4th-5th centuries. Islamic influences were incorporated into traditional styles after the Mus¬ lim invasions of the 12th century. At the end of the 19th century, rising Indian nationalism led to a conscious revival of native arts traditions, though more recently artists have assimilated elements of European art
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1790 I South Australia ► South West Africa People's Organization
styles. See also bharata natya; Gandhara art; Mathura art; Mughal archi¬ tecture; sitar; tabia; and such individual artists as Satyajit Ray; Salman Rushdie; Ravi Shankar; Rabindranath Tagore.
South Australia State (pop., 2001: 1,514,854), south-central Austra¬ lia. It covers an area of 379,720 sq mi (983,470 sq km), and its capital is Adelaide. The Dutch visited the coast in 1627. British explorers arrived in the early 1800s, and it was colonized as a British province in 1836. Its vast interior, a large part of which is barren, includes Lake Eyre and the Flinders Ranges. A major world source of opals, it also produces most of the wine and brandy consumed in Australia. It has the country’s largest shipyards. It became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Its southeastern part has become industrialized since World War II.
South Bend City (pop., 2000: 107,789), northern Indiana, U.S. It is situated on the St. Joseph River. A fur-trading post was established at the site in 1820. The city’s highly industrialized economy has roots in the pioneering companies founded there in the 19th century, including Stude- baker Brothers Manufacturing Co. (later an auto plant) and Singer Co., a sewing machine manufacturer. The city serves as the trade and financial focus of southern Michigan as well as northern Indiana, a region known as Michiana. Nearby is the University of Notre Dame.
South Carolina State (pop., 2000:4,012,012), southeastern U.S. It cov¬ ers 31,113 sq mi (80,583 sq km) and is an original state of the Union; its capital is Columbia. South Carolina is bounded on the north by North Caro¬ lina and on the southwest by Georgia; the Atlantic Ocean is to the southeast. The state comprises a broad coastal plain with a rolling piedmont farther inland. At the time of European contact the area was inhabited by Sioux, Iroquois, and Muskogean Indians. Spanish and French settlements were established and abandoned in the 16th century; the first permanent Euro¬ pean settlement was made by the English in 1670 at Charles Town, moved to the present site of Charleston in 1680. Several military campaigns were fought in South Carolina during the American Revolution. In 1788 South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and in 1860 it became the first state to secede from the Union. The initial action of the American Civil War occurred there at Fort Sumter. It was readmitted to the Union in 1868. Constitutional revisions in 1895 disenfranchised almost all of the state’s blacks, and a rigid policy of racial segregation persisted until the mid-1960s, when the national civil rights movement began to have some effect in ameliorating racist policies. South Carolina is a leader in U.S. tex¬ tile manufacturing and has a large industrial base. Tourism is its second largest industry. Agriculture also contributes to the economy; major crops include tobacco, soybeans, and cotton.
South China Sea See China Sea
South Dakota State (pop., 2000: 754,844), north-central U.S. It cov¬ ers 77,116 sq mi (199,730 sq km); its capital is Pierre. South Dakota is bordered on the north by North Dakota, on the east by Minnesota and Iowa, on the south by Nebraska, and on the west by Wyoming and Mon¬ tana. The state has three main regions—the eastern prairie; the central Great Plains, which contain the Badlands; and the Black Hills to the west. The Missouri River bisects it from north to south. The French explored the area in the 18th century and sold it to the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The Lewis and Clark Expedition spent about seven weeks there in 1804. The Dakota Territory was created in 1861, but settlement was sparse until the Black Hills gold rush of 1875-76 swelled the popu¬ lation. Intermittent wars between the Indians and immigrant whites occurred until the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. South Dakota became the 40th U.S. state in 1889. Farming and related industries form the state’s economic base. It is a leader in cattle and hog production, and its main crops are grains. Tourism is a major industry; attractions include Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, Badlands National Park, and Jewel Cave National Monument.
South Georgia Mountainous, barren island, southern Atlantic Ocean. It is located about 800 mi (1,300 km) east-southeast of the Falkland (Mal¬ vinas) Islands. Together with the South Sandwich Islands, some 500 mi (800 km) to the southeast, it constitutes a British overseas territory. With an Antarctic climate, it has perpetual snow covering three-fourths of the island. It is home to reindeer, several penguin and seal species, and abun¬ dant marine life. Capt. James Cook claimed it for Britain in 1775, and Ernest Shackleton first crossed it in 1916 while in search of aid for his ill-fated expedition; Shackleton died on the island on a later expedition and was buried there. Formerly a whaling base, it is now the site of an Antarctic research station.