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{{Indo-European topics}}
{{Hinduism}}
'''I AM RA I AM I''' '''Aryan''' or '''Arya''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛər|i|ə|n}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aryan "Aryan"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]].''</ref> [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Indo-Iranian]] {{lang|iir-x-proto|arya}}) is a term originally used as an [[ethnocultural]] self-designation by [[Indo-Iranians]] in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' ({{lang|iir-x-proto|an-arya}}).<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> In [[Ancient India]], the term ''ā́rya'' was used by the [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan speakers]] of the [[Vedic period]] as an [[endonym]] (self-designation) and in reference to a region known as ''[[Āryāvarta]]'' ('Land of the Aryans'), where the Indo-Aryan culture emerged.{{Sfn|Witzel|2001|pp=4, 24}} In the ''[[Avesta]]'' scriptures, ancient [[Iranian peoples]] similarly used the term ''airya'' to designate themselves as an [[ethnic group]], and in reference to their mythical homeland, ''[[Airyanem Vaejah|Airyanǝm Vaēǰō]]'' ('expanse of the Aryas' or 'stretch of the Aryas').<ref name=":5" /><ref name="Gnoli" /> The [[Word stem|stem]] also forms the [[etymological]] source of place names such as ''[[Alania]]'' ({{lang|iir-x-proto|Aryāna-}}) and ''[[Name of Iran#Etymology of Iran|Iran]]'' ({{lang|iir-x-proto|Aryānām}}).<ref name="Mallory" />
Although the stem {{lang|iir-x-proto|arya}} may be of [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) origin,<ref name=":2" /> its use as an ethnocultural self-designation is only attested among Indo-Iranian peoples and there is no evidence of its use as an ethnonym among 'Proto-Indo-Europeans'. In any case, scholars point out that, even in ancient times, the idea of being an ''Aryan'' was religious, cultural, and linguistic, not racial.{{Sfn|Bryant|2001|pp=60–63}}<ref name=":0">{{harvnb|Witzel|2001|loc=p. 24: "''Arya''/''ārya'' does not mean a particular ''people'' or even a particular 'racial' group but all those who had joined the tribes speaking Vedic Sanskrit and adhering to their cultural norms (such as ritual, poetry, etc.)"}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{harvnb|Anthony|2007|loc=p. 408: "The ''Rigveda'' and ''Avesta'' agreed that the essence of their shared parental Indo-Iranian identity was linguistic and ritual, not racial. If a person sacrificed to the right gods in the right way using the correct forms of the traditional hymns and poems, that person was an Aryan."}}</ref>
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