Shakya tribe (English spelling) Śākya

Japanese: 釈迦族 - しゃかぞく（英語表記）Śākya

An ancient tribe in North India known as the birthplace of Buddha. In India they are called the Shakya. Legend has it that they belonged to the Aryan Kshatriya royal lineage, but some historians believe they were of Tibetan-Burmese descent. Around the 6th to 5th centuries BCE, they had their capital at Kapilavastu, based in the Indo-Nepalese border area at the foot of the Himalayas. They had a political organization called a "tribal republic (Sangha)," where the chief and representatives of the tribes gathered in an assembly hall to decide on policy. They were subordinate to the neighboring Kosala Kingdom to the west, but were destroyed by this powerful nation towards the end of Buddha's life.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

釈迦が出たことで知られる古代北インドの部族。インドではシャーキャ族といわれる。伝説ではアーリヤ人のクシャトリヤ王統に属するといわれるが，チベット･ビルマ系などとみる史家もある。前6～前5世紀ごろ，カピラバストゥに都を置き，ヒマラヤ山麓のインド･ネパール国境地帯に拠っていた。いわゆる〈部族共和制(サンガ)〉の政治組織をもち，首長と部族民の代表が集会堂に集まって政策を決定した。西隣のコーサラ王国に服属していたが，釈迦の晩年ごろこの強国に滅ぼされた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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