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__Malena's Wiki __

__ India Geography: __ 2-12-13
India is a country in Asia. It's climate is mainly humid subtropical or tropical wet and dry climates. It's weather is controlled by the Himalayan Mountain Range which helps to regulate the climate. This mountain range blocks much of the cold, dry air that would otherwise stream into South Asia from the north in the winter. These mountains also form India's northern border. To the south of the Himalayas, the Ganges River runs across India's northern plain and meets the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh. Another river, the Indus River, flows through the dry plains of Pakistan towards the west of India.The southern part of Asia is a peninsula, which lies right next  to the Indian Ocean. Part of this area is called the Deccan Plateau which is a fairly flat highland.



__Canada__
====Canada is a country with great resources. It is also the second largest country in the world. This is why so many people wanted to come to this country and conquer land. It had all started with the Vikings, who were the first people to visit Canada. They reached a region of Canada called Newfoundland in about 1000 A.D. Five hundred years later, a European explorer named John Cabot and a team of other French explorers sailed to Canada. One of these French explorers, called Henry Hudson, founded a large bay in the center of Canada. Naming this bay after him, he called it the Hudson Bay. A little later these people decided to make colonies in Canada. They began collecting different resources that they had found in Canada, and brought them back to Europe to sell. In the 1600s, an French explorer called Samuel de Champlain discovered parts of Canada. Immediately the French and the British started a war over the control of the land, and control over the trade. The war that lasted for 9 years soon ended with the British winning. While the British were in control of everything, new inventions such as the locomotive began to be invented. A little while later, in 1867 Canada became a nation and won the right of self-government. Then, around 1871, the Canadian Pacific Railroad was finished, as well as Canada gained the land known as British Columbia.==== ====Due to its diverse background in modern Canada, Canada is home to many different kinds of people, including many of its old, native indian tribes. All of these people brought a little part of their cultures to this country, giving Canada a range of different languages, and well as a huge variation of other cultural traditions. the government of this country is encouraging something called //multiculturalism//, so that Canada will be able to share their different cultures with everybody, and hopefully someday become a stronger nation. Multiculturalism has lead to higher rates of naturalism than ever before. With no pressure to assimilate and give up their culture, immigrates freely choose their new citizenship because they want to be Canadians. As Canadians, they share the basic values of democracy with all other Canadians who came before them.====

__Oceania Wiki__
====In the south of the Pacific Ocean, there are thousands of islands we call Oceania. These islands are divided into three main groups, Polynesia,.Micronesia, and Melanesia. New Zealand and Australia are both a part of Oceania. New Zealand is made up of several dozen islands, and it's climate is mild. Australia, on the other hand, is a continent with a very dry climate. The first people who came to Australia were a group of people we call the Aborigines 40,000 years ago. The Aborigines invented tools to hunt for food such as a boomerang. They were a very skilled group, for they learned how to survive in the harsh deserts of Australia. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, a group of people called the Maori discovered these great lands in large canoes. The Maori soon began hunting, fishing, and even growing crops such as sweet potatoes and beans.==== ====In 1769, a British explorer named Captain James Cook landed in New Zealand. With news of the great arable land, the British first sent convicts to work as a punishment in Australia. Then, in 1851, gold was discovered in Australia. with more people arriving, colonies were soon created. With the Maori, the British signed a peace treaty confirming that the British had total control over New Zealand. The Maori unhappy, they started a war. Even though in 1872 the Maori surrendered, the British gave them part control, and New Zealand became a nation.==== ====Life in Oceania today is very nice since Oceania is one of the richest countries with many resources. Still having kept some ideas from the Maori, fishing and farming are still important. Also, Australia still has a boomerang.====

__The Middle East__
====The Middle East is made up of a small part of Europe, Asia, and Africa. In this region of the world, most people follow a religion called Islam, which means that they believe in one god. Islam's leader was called Muhammad, and once he passed way in 632, the religion was still continued by other Muslim leaders. It began to grow so big that by the mid 800s, they created an empire. These Muslims believed in something called the //Five Pillars Of Islam.// These duties consisted of the following:====

====These duties were very important to the Muslims because it was a strict rule that the Muslims must follow which brought them closer to their religion. This was the only strict religion that the Muslims followed which isolated them from other cultures and beliefs. The Five Pillars Of Islam conducts the muslim people to what they do in their daily life, and how they live each day.====

__The Western Hemisphere__
====Part of the Western Hemisphere is known as Canada. Canada has a very cold and snowy climate during the winter, while during the summer it can get warmer. Another part of the western hemisphere are the countries known as Mexico, and Central America. In Central America there is a country called Panama which built a 50 mile long canal called the Panama Canal. This was built so that people sailing from the Atlantic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean (or vise versa) did not have to go all the way around the country of Central America but could easily pass through it by going through the Panama Canal.==== ====South from Central America is a country called South America. Thus country is hold of the biggest and oldest rainforest in the world; The Amazon Rain forest. This tropical place is home to many different species of wildlife, as well as it is home to some native tribes. It houses over 200 differnt kinds of trees as well as beautiful rivers and amazing mountains. Unfortunately this rain forest is being cut down, and the human population growth is dangerous to the rain forest. To try to save these amazing tropical places, remember to always reuse, reduce, and recycle!====

__Early Modern Europe:__
====In the 1300s early Europe was going through a period of time called the Crusades. This time period brought people together, towns began to grow, and new ideas began to spread. After the Crusades was a time called the Renaissance. During the renaissance, people developed new ideas about art, literature, and science. The people began to take an interest in artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Petrarch. Soon, towns and cities began growing and feudalism began growing weak. Eventually, it didn't matter anymore if you were a serf or if you were a noble. All the members of the small towns that they once were were now part of a nation. This was really big to their culture because of the fact that everything changed, and it had them to change their ways and have an interest in something more sophisticated. Even more modernized was the machines they began to invent in the 1600s. This time period was called the Industrial Revolution. During this time, almost everyone lived in cities rather than farms, and more and more machines began to be invented. Europe's native culture really changed and became more industrialized especially during this time.The people soon noticed that time and clocks should matter since they had precise work hours, and that their time could not be regulated by the sun. The early European culture took a complete turn in the road from farms and agriculture, to modern and nations.====

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__Africa:__
====In the early years, Europeans discovered Africa. When they arrived, they found great resources and lush, tropical rain forests. But, most importantly to them, they found African people. They took these innocent people as slaves and piled them onto their ship. Losing their families and friends, the Africans were crowded onto the ship no knowing where they would go, or what would become of them. Arriving back at Europe, the sailors and crew members began to auction off the slaves in terms of how hard and good of a worker they would become. Having the slaves make the Europeans a lot of money, they went back to Africa for another more... and more... and more. Until there was over 70,000 africans taken away from their families, brought to Europe, and sold as slaves. This destroyed both the African's culture and the European's culture due to racism. Europeans began thinking that they were better than the Africans, while the Africans could not have much more of a culture since there was so little left of them.====



==== Two of the worlds greatest ancient civilizations began in the Indus River Valley. The earliest was the Harappan Civilization who built highly advanced cities, and by 200 B.C., traded with other areas such as Persia, Afghanistan, and Mesopotamia. The Harappan's economy depended greatly on trade. ====
 * __ Indus River Valley Civilizations: __ 2-14-13 **

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http://www.rivervalleycivilizations.com/indus.php They used pack animals to carry goods overland, and boats to trade over seas. This civilization exchanged mostly grain, copper pots, mirrors, elephant ivory, cotton, cloth, jewels, and dried fish. As they traded with other nations, the Harappans learned new skills. For Example, they learned how to make simple plows, called ards, from the Mesopotamians.



__Aryans History__: 2-19-13
==== ==== The Aryans were semi-nomadic Nordic Whites who were thought to be originally located on the steppes of southern Russia and Central Asia who spoke the parent language of the various Indo-European languages. ==== ====

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http://www.indhistory.com/aryan.html The Aryans had a very unusual caste system. People were born into castes, therefore, they were not able to move up or down. All caste members had to eat food made by their caste members, work in caste-specific jobs, and marry within their caste. ==== ==== Aryan woman were allowed to own property and have the same limits as men until around 500 B.C. when the Brahmans became more powerful and put in new laws. Woman were then no longer allowed to own property and must marry a husband chosen by their parents.Woman were also taught to obey male members of their family. All in all, the Aryan civilization was the largest civilization in the world during its reign from 3000-1500 B.C.  ==== ====

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http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/india/AryanMig.html

__Aryans and Dravidians__: 2-16-13 ==== ==== The Aryans and the Dravidians were the most basic division of the Indian society. According to an general Indian legend, the Aryans arrived in Northern India through the fabled Khyber Pass somewhere around 1500 B.C. The Aryans were then divided into tribes which had settled in different regions of northwestern India. Their social framework mainly was composed by the following groups: The Brahmanas (priests), Kshartriya (warriors), Vaishya (agriculturists), and Shundra (workers) It was, in the beginning, a division of occupation; as such it was open and flexible. Much later, caste systems and the corresponding occupation came to depend on birth, and the change from one caste or occupation to another became much more difficult.

__Facts__: 2-25-13 ====== ==== 1. In ancient times, a groom used to apply a spot of his blood on his bride's forehead in recognition of wedlock. Today, married Indian women may choose to wear this mark. A married woman does not have to do this, but she can if she wants. However, if a woman is single, divorced or a widow, she can not wear this mark. (It's a sign of marriage.)

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http://india.mrdonn.org/aryan.html 2. The Aryans were nomads. They raised livestock, rode chariots, and loved to gamble. 3.The Aryans created marvelous stories. Stories both told and sung for many centuries ==== 4. The people in the Vedic period lived in straw and wooden huts. Some homes were made of wood, but not until later, during the Epics Period. ====

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http://library.thinkquest.org/11372/data/history1.htm == ====  5. The origin of the Aryan people is subject to continuous scholarly debate; however, two theories prevail. Traditionally, it has been thought that the Aryans emerged in the Caucasus region and migrated westward into Europe and eastward into India. Another theory, the Cultural Diffusion Hypothesis, states that the Aryans originated in the Indus Valley. ==== ====

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http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/HIST101-Subunit-3.1.2-Aryan-Society-and-Religion-Final.pdf

They are considered both sacred and royal. A big amount of India's Gods and goddesses have something to do with elephants. For example, Lord Ganesha bears an elephant head. This lord was considered very intelligent and full of wisdom, therefore giving the elephant the same quality. Another god, Indra, has an elephant as his mount, putting the elephants in the position of being trustworthy and kind. Elephants are also royal because the kings and other important people used to ride these animals in processions and in war.

He was born on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad, Central India. His father, Motilal Nehru, was a prominent advocate and early leader of the Indian Independence Movement. Jawaharlal Nehru graduated from Cambridge University, and returned to India in 1912. Over the next thirty years, he rose to become the top political leader of the Indian National Congress Party and its struggle for independence from Britain. : 3-4-13 __Pakhawaj__ ==== A pakhawaj is a north Indian version of a type of drum. It is a barrel-shaped, two headed instrument. The Indian Pakhawaj is a standard percussion instrument in the dhrupad style and is widely used and with accompaniment for various forms of music and dance performances. ===Gods and Goddesses: - Shiva is the destroyer of the world and the universe. He has many forms such as Panchavaktra, Aghora, Ishana, Tat Purusha and many more. Shiva is usually found riding on a white bull. **Shiva** - Brahma is the creator of the world and the universe. In order to create the universe, he had to create a goddess out of him. Half of the goddess was a woman, and the other half was a man. The goddess's name was Gayatri. **Brahma** - Vishnu is the preserver and protector of the universe and of all creations. She is usually resting with a coiled serpent. **Vishnu**