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castes(port. casta, from lat. castus - pure; Skt. jati)
In the broadest sense of the word, they are closed groups (clans) of people that have become isolated due to the performance of specific social functions, hereditary occupations, professions, wealth levels, cultural traditions, and so on. For example, - officer castes (separated from soldiers within military units), members of political parties (separated from members of competing political parties), religious and non-integrated national minorities (separated due to adherence to another culture), football fan castes (separated from fans of other clubs), patients with leprosy (isolated from healthy people due to the disease).
According to some experts, a union of tribes and a race can be considered a caste. Trade, priestly, religious, corporate and other castes are known.
The phenomenon of caste society is observed everywhere to one degree or another, but, as a rule, the term "castes" is erroneously applied primarily to the oldest division of living beings on the Indian subcontinent into varnas. Such a confusion of the term "castes" and the term "varnas" is wrong, since there are only four varnas, and castes ( jati), even within each varna, there can be many.
The hierarchy of castes in medieval India: the highest - priestly and military-agricultural castes - constituted the class of large and medium feudal lords; below - commercial and usurious castes; further landowning castes of petty feudal lords and farmers - full-fledged community members; even lower - a huge number of castes of landless and incomplete farmers, artisans and servants; among the latter, the lowest stratum is the disenfranchised and the most oppressed castes of the untouchables.
The Indian leader M. K. Gandhi fought against caste discrimination, which is reflected in the religious-philosophical and socio-political doctrine of Gandhism. Even more radical egalitarian ideas were advocated by Ambedkar, who sharply criticized Gandhi for moderation in the caste issue.
Story
Varna
From the earliest works of Sanskrit literature, it is known that the peoples who spoke the Aryan dialects during the period of the initial settlement of India (approximately from 1500 to 1200 BC) were already divided into four main classes, later called "varnas" (Skt. "color") : brahmins (priests), kshatriyas (warriors), vaishyas (traders, cattle breeders and farmers) and shudras (servants and laborers).
In the period of the early Middle Ages, the varnas, although preserved, fell into numerous castes (jati), which even more firmly fixed the class affiliation.
Hindus believe in reincarnation and believe that those who follow the rules of their caste will rise to a higher caste by birth in a future life, while those who violate these rules will lose their social status.
Researchers at the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Utah took blood samples from various castes and compared them to a genetic database of Africans, Europeans and Asians. A comparative genetic analysis of the maternal and paternal lines, made according to five hereditary traits, made it possible to reasonably assert that people of higher castes are clearly closer to Europeans, and lower castes to Asians. Among the lower castes, those peoples of India who inhabited it before the invasion of the Aryans are mainly represented - speakers of Dravidian languages, Munda languages, Andaman languages. Genetic mixing between castes is due to the fact that sexual abuse of lower castes, as well as the use of prostitutes from lower castes, were not considered violations of caste purity.
Cast stability
Throughout Indian history, the caste structure has shown remarkable stability before change. Even the flourishing of Buddhism and its adoption as the state religion by Emperor Ashoka (269-232 BC) did not affect the system of hereditary groups. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism as a doctrine does not support caste division, but at the same time it does not insist on the complete elimination of caste distinctions.
During the rise of Hinduism, which followed the decline of Buddhism, a very complex multi-layered system grew out of a simple, uncomplicated system of four varnas, building a strict order of alternation and correlation of different social groups. Each varna, in the course of this process, outlined the framework for a multitude of independent endogamous castes (jati). Neither the Muslim invasion, which ended with the formation of the Mughal empire, nor the establishment of British domination, shook the fundamental foundations of the caste organization of society.
The nature of castes
As the organizing basis of society, caste is characteristic of all Hindu India, but there are very few castes that are found everywhere. Each geographical area has developed its own, separate and independent ladder of strictly ranked castes, for many of them there is no equivalent in neighboring territories. The exception to this regional rule is a number of castes of Brahmins, who are represented in vast areas and everywhere occupy the highest position in the caste system. In ancient times, the meaning of castes was reduced to the concepts of different degrees of enlightenment, that is, at what stage the enlightened one is, what was not inherited. In fact, transitions from castes to castes took place only under the supervision of the elders (other enlightened ones from the highest caste), and marriages were also concluded. The concept of castes referred only to the spiritual side and therefore it was not allowed for the higher to converge with the lower, in order to avoid a transition to a lower stage.
Castes in modern India
Indian castes literally have no number. Since each denominated caste is divided into many sub-castes, it is impossible to even roughly calculate the number of social units that have the minimum necessary features of jati. The official tendency to downplay the importance of the caste system has led to the fact that the corresponding column has disappeared from the once a decade censuses of the population. The last time information about the number of castes was published in 1931 (3000 castes). But this figure does not necessarily include all local podcasts that function as social groups in their own right.
It is widely believed that castes have lost their former importance in the modern Indian state. However, developments have shown that this is far from the case. The position taken by the INC and the Government of India after Gandhi's death is controversial. Moreover, universal suffrage and the need of politicians for the support of the electorate have given new importance to the corporate spirit and the internal cohesion of the castes. As a result, caste interests became an important factor during election campaigns.
Preservation of the caste system in other religions of India
Social inertia has led to the fact that stratification into castes exists among Indian Christians and Muslims, although it is an anomaly from the point of view of the Bible and the Koran. Christian and Muslim castes have a number of differences from the classical Indian system, they even have some social mobility, that is, the ability to move from one caste to another. In Buddhism, castes do not exist (which is why Indian “untouchables” are especially willing to convert to Buddhism), but it can be considered a relic of Indian traditions that in Buddhist society the social identification of the interlocutor is of great importance. In addition, although Buddhists themselves do not recognize castes, however, speakers of other religions in India can often easily determine from which caste their Buddhist interlocutor comes from, and treat him accordingly. Indian legislation provides for a number of social guarantees for the "infringed castes" among Sikhs, Muslims and Buddhists, but does not provide such guarantees for Christians - representatives of the same castes.
see also
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See what the "Cast system" is in other dictionaries:
caste system- (caste system), a system of social stratification about wa, with a swarm of people grouped in accordance with the definition. ranks. Options K.s. can be found in all indus. religious about wah, not only Hindu, but also among Jains, in Muslims, Bud. and christ. ... ... Peoples and cultures
caste system- - social stratification based on social origin or birth ... Social Work Dictionary
The ancient Indian epic Mahabharata gives us a glimpse of the caste system that prevailed in ancient India. In addition to the four main orders of the Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra, the epic also mentions others formed from them ... ... Wikipedia
The Yucatan War of Races (also known as the Yucatan War of Castes (Caste War of Yucatan)) uprising of the Mayan Indians on the Yucatan Peninsula (the territory of the modern Mexican states of Quintana Roo, Yucatan and Campeche, as well as the north of the state of Belize). ... ... Wikipedia
The caste system among the Christians of India is an anomaly for the Christian tradition, but at the same time it has deep roots in the Indian tradition itself and is a kind of hybrid of the ethics of Christianity and Hinduism. Christian communities in India ... ... Wikipedia
From childhood, we were taught that there is nothing worse than a caste society. But oddly enough, the castes have survived to this day, as evidenced by, for example, India. And what, in fact, do we know about how the caste system works?
Each society consists of certain basic units that form it. So, in relation to Antiquity, such a unit can be considered a policy, modern to the West - capital (or a social individual owning it), for Islamic civilization - a tribe, Japanese - a clan, etc. For India, from ancient times to the present day, caste has been and remains such a basic element.
The caste system for India is not at all a dense archaic or “relic of the Middle Ages” as we have been taught for a long time. The Indian caste system is part of a complex organization of society, a historically versatile and multifaceted phenomenon.
One can try to describe castes in terms of a number of features. However, there will still be exceptions. Indian caste differentiation is a system of social stratification of isolated social groups connected by a single common origin and legal status of their members. They are based on the principles:
1) common religion;
2) general professional specialization (as a rule, hereditary);
3) marriages only between "their own";
4) nutritional features.
In India, there are not 4 at all (as many of us still think), but about 3 thousand castes and they can be called differently in different parts of the country, and people of the same profession can belong to different castes in different states. What are sometimes mistakenly considered Indian "castes" are not castes at all, but varnas ("chaturvarnya" in Sanskrit) - the social strata of the ancient social system.
Varna of Brahmins (Brahmins) are priests, doctors, teachers. Kshatriyas (rajanya) - warriors and civil leaders. Vaishyas are farmers and merchants. Sudras are servants and landless peasant laborers.
Each varna had its own color: brahmins - white, kshatriyas - red, vaishais - yellow, shudras - black (once every Hindu wore a special cord of the color of his varna).
Varnas, in turn, are theoretically divided into castes. But in a very complex and intricate way. A clear direct connection is not always visible to a person with a European mentality. The word "caste" itself comes from the Portuguese casta: birthright, genus, estate. In Hindi, this term is identical to "jati".
The infamous "untouchables" are not just one separate caste. In ancient India, everyone who was not included in the four varnas was automatically referred to as “marginals”, they were avoided in every possible way, they were not allowed to settle in villages and cities, etc. As a result of their position, the "untouchables" had to take on the most "non-prestigious", dirty and low-paid work, and they formed their own separate social and professional groups - in fact, their own castes.
There are several such castes of "untouchables" and, as a rule, they are associated either with dirty work, or with the killing of living beings or death (so all butchers, hunters, fishermen, tanners, scavengers, sewers, laundresses, workers of cemeteries and morgues, etc. should be "untouchable").
At the same time, it would be wrong to believe that every "untouchable" is necessarily someone like a homeless person or "lowered". In India, even before gaining independence and the adoption of a number of legislative measures to protect the lower castes from discrimination, there were "untouchables" who achieved a very high social status and deserved universal respect. As, for example, an outstanding Indian politician, public figure, human rights activist and author of the Indian constitution - Dr. Bhimaro Ramji Ambedkar, who received a law degree in England.
One of the many monuments to Bhimaro Ambedkar in India
The "untouchables" have several names: mleccha - "alien", "foreigner" (that is, formally all non-Hindus, including foreign tourists, can be attributed to them), harijana - "child of God" (a term specially introduced by Mahatma Gandhi), pariahs - "outcasts", "expelled". And the most commonly used modern name for the "untouchables" is Dalits.
Legally, caste in India was fixed in the Laws of Manu, drawn up in the period from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. The system of varnas traditionally developed in a much more ancient period (there is no exact dating).
As mentioned above, castes in modern India still by no means can be considered simply an anachronism. On the contrary, all of them are now carefully recalculated there and listed in a special appendix to the current current Indian constitution (Table of Castes).
In addition, changes (usually additions) are made to this table after each census. The point is not that some new castes appear, but that they are fixed in accordance with the data indicated about themselves by the census participants. Only discrimination based on caste is prohibited. What is written in article number 15 of the Indian Constitution.
Indian society is very colorful and heterogeneous in its structure; besides the division into castes, there are several other differentiations in it. There are both caste and non-caste Indians. For example, Adivasis (descendants of the main indigenous black population of India before its conquest by the Aryans), with rare exceptions, do not have their own castes. In addition, for some offenses and crimes, a person can be expelled from his caste. And there are quite a lot of non-caste Indians - as evidenced by the results of the census.
Castes exist not only in India. A similar public institution takes place in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bali and Tibet. By the way, the Tibetan castes do not correlate with the Indian ones at all - the structures of these societies formed completely apart from each other. It is curious that in Northern India (the states of Himachal, Uttar Pradesh and Kashmir) the caste system is not of Indian, but of Tibetan origin.
Historically, when the vast majority of the population of India professed Hinduism, all Hindus belonged to some kind of caste, with the exception of the pariahs expelled from the caste and the indigenous non-Aryan peoples of India. Then other religions (Buddhism, Jainism) began to spread in India. As the country was subjected to invasions by various conquerors, representatives of other religions and peoples began to adopt from the Hindus their system of varnas and professional cast-jatis. Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians in India also have their own castes, but they are somehow different from the Hindu castes.
What about Indian Muslims? After all, the Koran originally proclaimed the equality of all Muslims. Legitimate question. Despite the fact that British India in 1947 was divided into two parts: “Islamic” (Pakistan) and “Hindu” (India proper), today Muslims (about 14% of all Indian citizens) in absolute terms live in India more than in Pakistan, where Islam is the state religion.
However, the caste system is inherent in India and Muslim society. However, caste differences among Indian Muslims are not as strong as among Hindus. They have practically no "untouchables". Between the Muslim castes there are no such impenetrable barriers as the Hindus - it is allowed to transfer from one caste to another or marriages between their representatives.
The caste system was established among Indian Muslims relatively late - during the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th-16th centuries. The Muslim caste is usually referred to as biradari ("brotherhood") or biyahdari. Their appearance is often attributed by Muslim theologians to the influence of Hindus with their caste system (supporters of "pure Islam" see this, of course, as insidious intrigues of the pagans).
In India, as in many Islamic countries, Muslims also have their own nobility and common people. The first are called sharifs or ashraf ("noble"), the second - ajlaf ("low"). About 10% of Muslims living in the territory of the Republic of India currently belong to Ashraf. They usually trace their genealogies to those external conquerors (Arabs, Turks, Pashtuns, Persians, etc.) who invaded Hindustan and settled for many centuries.
For the most part, Indian Muslims are the descendants of the same Hindus who, for one reason or another, converted to a new faith. Forced conversion to Islam in medieval India was the exception rather than the rule. Usually, the local population was affected by a slow Islamization, during which elements of a foreign faith were unobtrusively included in local cosmology and ritual practice, gradually replacing and replacing Hinduism. It was an implicit and sluggish social process. People in the course of it kept and guarded the isolation of their circles. This explains the persistence of caste psychology and customs among large sections of Indian Muslim society. Thus, even after the final conversion to Islam, marriages continued to be concluded only with representatives of their own castes.
It is even more curious that even many Europeans were included in the Indian caste system. So, those Christian missionaries-preachers who preached to noble brahmins eventually ended up in the "Christian brahmin" caste, and those who, for example, carried the Word of God to the "untouchables" - fishermen - became Christian "untouchables".
Often it is impossible to determine exactly which caste an Indian belongs to only by his appearance, behavior and occupation. It happens that a kshatriya works as a waiter, and a brahmin trades and cleans up garbage in a shop - and they don’t particularly complex about these reasons, and a sudra behaves like a born aristocrat. And even if an Indian says exactly what caste he is from (although such a question is considered tactless), this will do little for a foreigner to understand how society works in such a strange and peculiar country as India.
The Republic of India declares itself a "democratic" state and, in addition to the prohibition of caste discrimination, has introduced certain benefits for members of the lower castes. For example, special quotas have been adopted there for their admission to higher educational institutions, as well as for positions in state and municipal bodies.
The problem of discrimination against people from the lower castes and Dalits, however, is quite serious. The caste structure is still fundamental to the lives of hundreds of millions of Indians. Outside of large cities in India, the caste psychology and all the conventions and taboos that follow from it are firmly preserved.
upd: For some reason I don't understand, some readers made swearing and mutual insults in the comments to this entry. I do not like it. Therefore, I decided to block comments on this entry.
Recently I was preparing an essay on anthropology on the topic "The Mentality of India". The creation process was very exciting, because the country itself impresses with its traditions and characteristics. For those who are interested, please read.
I was especially struck by: the fate of women in India, the phrase that "Husband is an earthly God", the very difficult life of the untouchables (the last estate in India), and the happy existence of cows and bulls.
Contents of the first part:
1. General information
2. Castes
1
. General information about India
INDIA, the Republic of India (in Hindi - Bharat), a state in South Asia.
Capital - Delhi
Area - 3,287,590 km2.
Ethnic composition. 72% Indo-Aryans, 25% Dravidians, 3% Mongoloids.
The official name of the country , India, comes from the ancient Persian word Hindu, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit Sindhu (Skt. सिन्धु), the historical name of the Indus River. The ancient Greeks called the Indians the Indoi (ancient Greek Ἰνδοί) - "the people of the Indus". The Constitution of India also recognizes a second name, Bharat (Hindi भारत), which comes from the Sanskrit name of an ancient Indian king whose history was described in the Mahabharata. The third name, Hindustan, has been used since the time of the Mughal Empire, but has no official status.
Territory of India in the north it extends in the latitudinal direction for 2930 km, in the meridional direction - for 3220 km. India is washed by the waters of the Arabian Sea in the west, the Indian Ocean in the south and the Bay of Bengal in the east. Its neighbors are Pakistan in the northwest, China, Nepal and Bhutan in the north, Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. In addition, India has maritime borders with the Maldives in the southwest, with Sri Lanka in the south and with Indonesia in the southeast. The disputed territory of the state of Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with Afghanistan.
India ranks seventh in the world in terms of area, second largest population (after China) , currently lives in it 1.2 billion people. India has had one of the highest population densities in the world for thousands of years.
Religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism originated in India. In the first millennium AD, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam also came to the Indian subcontinent, which had a great influence on the formation of the diverse culture of the region.
More than 900 million Indians (80.5% of the population) practice Hinduism. Other religions with a significant following are Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%) and Jainism (0.4%). Religions such as Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Bahai and others are also represented in India. Among the aboriginal population, which is 8.1%, animism is common.
Almost 70% of Indians live in rural areas, although in recent decades migration to big cities has led to a sharp increase in the urban population. The largest cities in India are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly Kolkata), Chennai (formerly Madras), Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. In terms of cultural, linguistic and genetic diversity, India ranks second in the world after the African continent. The gender composition of the population is characterized by the excess of the number of men over the number of women. The male population is 51.5%, and the female population is 48.5%. There are 929 women for every thousand men, a ratio that has been observed since the beginning of this century.
India is home to the Indo-Aryan language group (74% of the population) and the Dravidian language family (24% of the population). Other languages spoken in India are descended from the Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burmese linguistic family. Hindi, the most spoken language in India, is the official language of the Government of India. English, which is widely used in business and administration, has the status of an "auxiliary official language", it also plays a large role in education, especially in secondary and higher education. The Constitution of India defines 21 official languages that are spoken by a significant part of the population or that have classical status. There are 1652 dialects in India.
Climate humid and warm, mostly tropical, tropical monsoon in the north. India, located in tropical and subequatorial latitudes, fenced off by the wall of the Himalayas from the influence of continental Arctic air masses, is one of the hottest countries in the world with a typical monsoonal climate. The monsoonal rhythm of rainfall determines the rhythm of household work and the whole way of life. 70-80% of the annual precipitation falls during the four months of the rainy season (June-September), when the southwest monsoon arrives and it rains almost incessantly. This is the time of the main field season "kharif". October-November is the post-monsoon period when the rains mostly stop. The winter season (December-February) is dry and cool, when roses and many other flowers bloom, many trees bloom - this is the most pleasant time to visit India. March-May is the hottest, driest season, with temperatures often exceeding 35°C, often rising above 40°C. This is a time of sweltering heat, when the grass burns out, leaves fall off the trees, air conditioners run at full capacity in rich houses.
national animal - tiger.
national bird - peacock.
national flower - lotus.
national fruit - mango.
The national currency is the Indian rupee.
India can be called the cradle of human civilization. The Indians were the first in the world to learn how to grow rice, cotton, sugar cane, and they were the first to breed poultry. India gave the world chess and the decimal system.
The average literacy rate in the country is 52%, with 64% for men and 39% for women.
2. Castes in India
CASTS - division of Hindu society in the Indian subcontinent.
Caste for many centuries was determined primarily by the profession. The profession, which passed from father to son, often did not change over the course of dozens of generations.
Each caste lives according to its own dharma - with that set of traditional religious prescriptions and prohibitions, the creation of which is attributed to the gods, divine revelation. Dharma determines the norms of behavior for members of each caste, regulates their actions and even feelings. Dharma is that elusive, but immutable, which is pointed out to the child already in the days of his first babbling. Everyone should act in accordance with their own dharma, deviation from dharma is lawlessness - this is how children are taught at home and at school, this is how the brahmin, the mentor and spiritual leader, repeats. And a person grows up in the consciousness of the absolute inviolability of the laws of dharma, their immutability.
At present, the caste system is officially banned, and the strict division of crafts or professions depending on the caste is gradually being phased out, while at the same time a state policy is being pursued to reward those who have been oppressed for centuries at the expense of representatives of other castes. It is widely believed that castes are losing their former importance in the modern Indian state. However, developments have shown that this is far from the case.
In fact, the caste system itself has not gone away: when a student enters a school, they ask his religion, and if he professes Hinduism - a caste, in order to know if there is a place for representatives of this caste in this school in accordance with state norms. When entering a college or university, caste is important in order to correctly assess the threshold scores (the lower the caste, the lower the score is enough for a passing score). When applying for a job, caste is again important in order to maintain a balance. Although castes are not forgotten when they arrange the future of their children, weekly supplements with marriage announcements are released to the major Indian newspapers, in which the columns are divided into religions, and the most voluminous column is with representatives of Hinduism - on castes. Often, under such ads, describing the parameters of both the groom (or bride) and the requirements for prospective applicants (or applicants), the standard phrase "Cast no bar" is placed, which means "Caste does not matter" in translation, but, to be honest, I have a little doubt that a bride from the Brahmin caste will be seriously considered by her parents for a groom from a caste below the Kshatriyas. Yes, inter-caste marriages are also not always approved, but they happen if, for example, the groom occupies a higher position in society than the bride's parents (but this is not a mandatory requirement - cases are different). In such marriages, the caste of children is determined by the father. So, if a girl from a Brahmin family marries a Kshatriya boy, then their children will belong to the Kshatriya caste. If a Kshatriya boy marries a Veishya girl, then their children will also be considered Kshatriyas.
The official tendency to downplay the importance of the caste system has led to the fact that the corresponding column has disappeared from the once a decade censuses of the population. The last time information about the number of castes was published in 1931 (3000 castes). But this figure does not necessarily include all local podcasts that function as social groups in their own right. In 2011, India plans to conduct a general census, which will take into account the caste of the inhabitants of this country.
The main characteristics of the Indian caste:
. endogamy (marriages exclusively between members of a caste);
. hereditary membership (accompanied by the practical impossibility of moving to another caste);
. the prohibition to share a meal with representatives of other castes, as well as to have physical contact with them;
. recognition of a firmly fixed place for each caste in the hierarchical structure of society as a whole;
. restrictions on choosing a profession;
The Indians believe that Manu is the first person from whom we all descended. Once upon a time, the god Vishnu saved him from the Flood that destroyed the rest of humanity, after which Manu came up with the rules that people should now be guided by. Hindus believe that it was 30 thousand years ago (historians stubbornly date the laws of Manu to the 1st-2nd century BC and generally claim that this collection of instructions is a compilation of the works of various authors). Like most other religious prescriptions, the laws of Manu are distinguished by exceptional meticulousness and attention to the most insignificant details of human life - from swaddling babies to cooking recipes. But there are also much more fundamental things. It is according to the laws of Manu that all Indians are divided into four estates - varnas.
Very often they confuse varnas, of which there are only four, with castes, of which there are a great many. A caste is a rather small community of people united by profession, nationality and place of residence. And varnas are more like such categories as workers, entrepreneurs, employees and intellectuals.
There are four main varnas: Brahmins (officials), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants) and Shudras (peasants, workers, servants). The rest are "untouchables".
The Brahmins are the highest caste in India.
Brahmins emerged from the mouth of Brahma. The meaning of the life of the Brahmins is moksha, or liberation.
These are scientists, ascetics, priests. (teachers and priests)
Today Brahmins most often work as officials.
The most famous is Jawaharlal Nehru.
In a typical rural area, the highest stratum of the caste hierarchy is formed by members of one or more Brahmin castes, constituting from 5 to 10% of the population. Among these Brahmins there are a number of landowners, a few village clerks and accountants or accountants, a small group of clergy who perform ritual functions in local shrines and temples. Members of each Brahmin caste marry only within their circle, although it is possible to marry a bride from a family belonging to a similar sub-caste from a neighboring area. Brahmins are not supposed to plow or do certain types of manual work; women from their midst can serve in the house, and landowners can cultivate allotments, but only not plow. Brahmins are also allowed to work as cooks or domestic servants.
A Brahman is not entitled to eat food prepared outside his caste, but members of all other castes may eat from the hands of Brahmins. In choosing food, a Brahmin observes many prohibitions. Members of the Vaishnava caste (who worship the god Vishnu) have been vegetarian since the 4th century, when it became widespread; some other castes of Shiva-worshipping Brahmins (Shaiva Brahmins) do not abstain from meat in principle, but abstain from the meat of animals included in the diet of the lower castes.
Brahmins serve as spiritual guides in the families of most high or middle status castes, with the exception of those considered "impure". Brahmin priests, as well as members of a number of religious orders, are often recognized by "caste signs" - patterns painted on the forehead with white, yellow or red paint. But such marks only indicate belonging to the main sect and characterize this person as worshiping, for example, Vishnu or Shiva, and not as a subject of a certain caste or sub-caste.
Brahmins, to a greater extent than others, adhere to the occupations and professions that were provided for by their varna. For many centuries, scribes, scribes, clergymen, scientists, teachers and officials came out of their midst. Back in the first half of the 20th century. in some areas, brahmins occupied up to 75% of all more or less important government positions.
In dealing with the rest of the population, the Brahmins do not allow reciprocity; thus, they accept money or gifts from members of other castes, but they themselves never make gifts of a ritual or ceremonial nature. Among the Brahmin castes there is no complete equality, but even the lowest of them stands above the rest of the highest castes.
The mission of a member of the Brahmin caste is to learn, teach, receive gifts and give gifts. By the way, all Indian programmers are Brahmins.
Kshatriyas
Warriors who came out of the hands of Brahma.These are warriors, rulers, kings, nobles, rajas, maharajas.
The most famous is Buddha Shakyamuni
For a kshatriya, the main thing is dharma, the fulfillment of duty.
Following the Brahmins, the most prominent hierarchical place is occupied by the Kshatriya castes. In rural areas they include, for example, landlords, possibly associated with former ruling houses (eg Rajput princes in North India). Traditional occupations in such castes are the work of managers on estates and service in various administrative positions and in the army, but now these castes no longer enjoy their former power and authority. In ritual terms, the kshatriyas are right behind the brahmins and also observe strict caste endogamy, although they allow marriage with a girl from a lower podcast (a union called hypergamy), but in no case can a woman marry a man of a podcast below her own. Most kshatriyas eat meat; they have the right to take food from the Brahmins, but not from representatives of any other castes.
Vaishya
Arising from the thighs of Brahma.
These are artisans, merchants, farmers, entrepreneurs (strata that are engaged in trade).
The Gandhi family is from the Vaishyas, and at one time the fact that it was born with the Nehru Brahmins caused a huge scandal.
The main life stimulus is artha, or the desire for wealth, for property, for hoarding.
The third category includes merchants, shopkeepers and moneylenders. These castes recognize the superiority of the Brahmins, but do not necessarily show such an attitude towards the Kshatriya castes; as a rule, vaishyas are more strict about the rules regarding food, and are even more careful to avoid ritual pollution. The traditional occupation of the Vaishyas is trade and banking, they tend to stay away from physical labor, but sometimes they are included in the management of the farms of landlords and village entrepreneurs, not directly participating in the cultivation of the land.
Shudra
Came out from the feet of Brahma.
Peasant caste. (Labors, servants, artisans, workers)
The main aspiration at the sudra stage is kama. These are pleasures, pleasant experiences delivered by the senses.
Mithun Chakraborty from Disco Dancer is a Sudra.
They, due to their numbers and ownership of a significant part of the local land, play an important role in solving the social and political issues of some areas. Shudras eat meat, marriage of widows and divorced women is allowed. The lower sudras are numerous podcasts whose profession is of a highly specialized nature. These are the castes of potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, joiners, weavers, buttermakers, distillers, masons, hairdressers, musicians, tanners (those who sew products from finished - dressed leather), butchers, scavengers and many others. The members of these castes are supposed to practice their hereditary profession or trade; however, if the sudra is able to acquire land, any of them can take up agriculture. Members of many artisan and other professional castes have a traditional relationship with the higher castes, which consists in the provision of services for which no monetary allowance is paid, but an annual remuneration in kind. This payment is made by each household in the village, whose requests are satisfied by this representative of the professional caste. For example, a blacksmith has his own circle of clients, for whom he manufactures and repairs inventory and other metal products all year round, for which he, in turn, is given a certain amount of grain.
Untouchables
Engaged in the dirtiest work, often beggars or very poor people.
They are outside of Hindu society.
Activities such as tanning or slaughtering animals are considered obviously defiling, and although these activities are very important to the community, those who engage in them are considered untouchables. They are engaged in cleaning dead animals from the streets and fields, toilets, dressing skins, cleaning sewers. They work as scavengers, tanners, flayers, potters, prostitutes, laundresses, shoemakers, and are hired for the most difficult work in mines, construction sites, etc. That is, everyone who comes into contact with one of the three dirty things indicated in the laws of Manu - sewage, corpses and clay - or leads a wandering life on the street.
In many ways they are outside Hindu society, they were called "outcasts", "low", "registered" castes, and Gandhi proposed the euphemism "harijana" ("children of God"), which became widely used. But they themselves prefer to call themselves "dalits" - "broken". Members of these castes are prohibited from using public wells and pumps. You can not walk on the sidewalks, so as not to inadvertently come into contact with a representative of the highest caste, because they will have to be cleansed after such contact in the temple. In some areas of cities and villages, they are generally forbidden to appear. Under the ban for Dalits and visiting temples, only a few times a year they are allowed to cross the threshold of sanctuaries, after which the temple is subjected to a thorough ritual cleansing. If a Dalit wants to buy something in a store, he must put money at the entrance and shout from the street what he needs - the purchase will be taken out and left on the doorstep. Dalit is forbidden to start a conversation with a representative of a higher caste, to call him on the phone.
After laws were passed in some states of India to penalize canteen owners for refusing to feed Dalits, most catering establishments set up special cupboards with utensils for them. True, if the dining room does not have a separate room for Dalits, they have to dine outside.
Until recently, most Hindu temples were closed to the untouchables, there was even a ban on approaching people from higher castes closer than the set number of steps. The nature of the caste barriers is such that it is believed that the Harijans continue to defile members of the "pure" castes, even if they have long abandoned their caste occupation and are engaged in ritually neutral activities, such as agriculture. Although in other social settings and situations, such as being in an industrial city or on a train, an untouchable may have physical contact with members of higher castes and not defile them, in his native village, untouchability is inseparable from him, no matter what he does.
When Ramita Navai, a British journalist of Indian origin, decided to make a revolutionary film that would reveal to the world the terrible truth about the life of the untouchables (Dalits), she endured a lot. Courageously looked at the Dalit teenagers, frying and eating rats. Little children splashing in the gutter and playing with the parts of a dead dog. To a housewife carving their rotten carcass of a pig into neater pieces. But when the well-groomed journalist was taken with her to the work shift by the ladies from the caste, which traditionally cleans toilets by hand, the poor thing vomited right in front of the camera. “Why do these people live like this?! - the journalist asked us in the last seconds of the documentary "Dalit means broken". Yes, because the child of the Brahmins spent the morning and evening hours in prayer, and the son of a kshatriya at the age of three was put on a horse and taught to swing a saber. For a Dalit, the ability to live in the mud is his prowess, his skill. The Dalits know better than anyone: those who are afraid of dirt will die faster than others.
There are hundreds of untouchable castes.
Every fifth Indian is Dalit - this is at least 200 million people.
Hindus believe in reincarnation and believe that the one who observes the rules of his caste will rise to a higher caste by birth in a future life, while the one who violates these rules will not understand who he will become in his next life.
The first three high estates of the Varnas were ordered to undergo an initiation ceremony, after which they were called twice-born. Members of the high castes, especially the Brahmins, then put on the “sacred thread” over their shoulders. The twice-born are allowed to study the Vedas, but only Brahmans could preach them. The Shudras were strictly forbidden not only to study, but even to listen to the words of the Vedic teachings.
Clothing, despite all its seeming uniformity, is different for different castes and noticeably distinguishes a member of a high caste from a member of a low one. Some wrap the thighs with a wide strip of cloth that falls to the ankles, while others should not cover the knees, women of some castes should drape their body in a strip of cloth of at least seven or nine meters, while women of others should not use fabric longer than four or five on a sari. meters, some were ordered to wear a certain type of jewelry, others were forbidden, some could use an umbrella, others had no right to do so, etc. etc. The type of dwelling, food, even vessels for its preparation - everything is determined, everything is prescribed, everything is studied from childhood by a member of each caste.
That is why in India it is very difficult to pass oneself off as a member of some other caste - such an imposture will be immediately exposed. Only he can do this who has studied the dharma of a foreign caste for many years and has had the opportunity to practice it. And even then he can only succeed so far from his locality, where they know nothing about his village or city. And that is why the most terrible punishment has always been exclusion from the caste, the loss of one's social face, the severance of all industrial ties.
Even the untouchables, who from century to century did the dirtiest work, brutally suppressed and exploited by members of the higher castes, those untouchables who were humiliated and disdained as something unclean, they were still considered members of the caste society. They had their own dharma, they could be proud of their adherence to its rules and maintained their long-established industrial relations. They had their own well-defined caste face and their own well-defined place, albeit in the lowest layers of this multi-layered hive.
Bibliography:
1. Guseva N.R. - India in the mirror of centuries. Moscow, VECHE, 2002
2. Snesarev A.E. - Ethnographic India. Moscow, Nauka, 1981
3. Material from Wikipedia - India:
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%8F
4. Online Encyclopedia Around the World - India:
http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/strany_mira/INDIYA.html
5. Marry an Indian: life, traditions, features:
http://tomarryindian.blogspot.com/
6. Interesting articles about tourism. India. Women of India.
http://turistua.com/article/258.htm
7. Material from Wikipedia - Hinduism:
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BC
8. Bharatiya.ru - pilgrimage and travel through India, Pakistan, Nepal and Tibet.
http://www.bharatiya.ru/index.html
At the end of July, a 14-year-old untouchable died in a hospital ward in New Delhi, who had been held in sexual slavery by a neighbor for a month. The dying woman told the police that the kidnapper threatened her with a knife, forced her to drink juice mixed with acid, did not feed her, and, together with friends, raped her several times a day. As law enforcement officers found out, this was already the second kidnapping - the previous one was committed by the same person in December last year, but he was released on bail. According to local media, the court showed such leniency towards the criminal, since his victim was from Dalits (untouchables), which means that her life and freedom were worth nothing. Although discrimination based on caste is prohibited in India, Dalits are still the poorest, most disadvantaged and most uneducated part of society. Why this is so and how far the untouchables can rise up the social ladder - Lenta.ru explains.
How did the untouchables appear?
According to the most common version, these are the descendants of representatives of the tribes who lived in India before the Aryan invasion. In the traditional Aryan system of society, consisting of four varnas - Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants and artisans) and Shudras (hired workers) - Dalits were at the very bottom, below the Shudras, who were also descendants of the pre-Aryan inhabitants of India . At the same time, in India itself, a version that arose back in the 19th century is widespread, according to which the untouchables are the descendants of children expelled into the forests, born from the relationship of a Sudra man and a Brahmin woman.
In the ancient Indian literary monument "Rigveda" (compiled in 1700-1100 BC), it is said that the Brahmins originated from the mouth of the foreman Purusha, the Kshatriyas - from the hands, the Vaishyas - from the hips, the Shudras - from the feet. There is no place for the untouchables in this picture of the world. The varna system finally took shape in the interval between the 7th century BC. and II century AD.
It is believed that the untouchable can defile people from the highest varnas, so their houses and villages were built on the outskirts. The system of ritual restrictions among the untouchables is no less strict than that of the Brahmins, although the restrictions themselves are completely different. The untouchables were forbidden to enter restaurants and temples, wear umbrellas and shoes, walk in shirts and sunglasses, but they were allowed to eat meat - which strict vegetarian Brahmins could not afford.
Is that what they are called in India - "untouchables"?
Now this word is almost out of use, it is considered offensive. The most common name for the untouchables is dalits, "oppressed", or "oppressed". Previously, there was also the word "harijans" - "children of God", which Mahatma Gandhi tried to introduce into use. But it did not take root: the Dalits found it to be just as offensive as the "untouchables".
How many Dalits are there in India and how many castes do they have?
Approximately 170 million people - 16.6 percent of the total population. The question of the number of castes is very complicated, since the Indians themselves hardly use the word “castes”, preferring the more vague concept of “jati”, which includes not only castes in the usual sense, but also clans and communities, which are often difficult to classify as one or the other. another varna. In addition, the line between caste and podcast is often very vague. We can only say with certainty that we are talking about hundreds of jati.
Dalits still live in poverty? How is social status related to economic status?
In general, the lower castes are indeed much poorer. The bulk of the Indian poor are Dalits. The average literacy rate in the country is 75 percent, among Dalits - just over 30. Almost half of the children of Dalits, according to statistics, drop out of school because of the humiliation they are subjected to there. It is the Dalits who make up the bulk of the unemployed; and those who are employed tend to be paid less than those of the higher castes.
Although there are exceptions: in India, there are approximately 30 millionaire Dalits. Of course, against the backdrop of 170 million poor and beggars, this is a drop in the bucket, but they prove with their lives that you can succeed even as a Dalit. As a rule, these are really outstanding people: Ashok Khade from the Chamar (tanner) caste, the son of an illiterate poor shoemaker, worked as a dock worker during the day and read textbooks at night to get an engineering degree, and at the same time slept under the stairs on the street, since he did not enough money to rent a room. His company is now pursuing deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This is a typical Dalit success story, a kind of blue dream for millions of the underprivileged.
Have the untouchables ever tried to start a riot?
As far as we know, no. Before the colonization of India, this thought could hardly have occurred at all: at that time, expulsion from the caste was equated with physical death. After colonization, social boundaries began to gradually blur, and after India gained independence, the rebellion for Dalits lost its meaning - they were given all the conditions to achieve their goals through political means.
The extent to which submissiveness has become ingrained in the minds of Dalits can be illustrated by an example given by Russian researchers Felix and Evgenia Yurlov. The Bahujan Samaj Party, representing the interests of the lower castes, organized special training camps for Dalits, in which they learned to "overcome centuries of fear and fear in the face of high-caste Hindus." Among the exercises was, for example, the following: a stuffed high-caste Hindu with a mustache and a tilak (dot) on his forehead was installed. Dalit had to overcome his timidity and go up to the effigy, cut off his mustache with scissors and wipe off the tilak.
Is it possible to escape from the untouchables?
It is possible, although not easy. The easiest way is to change religion. A person who converts to Buddhism, Islam or Christianity technically falls out of the caste system. Dalits first began converting to Buddhism in significant numbers at the end of the 19th century. Mass conversions are associated with the name of the famous fighter for the rights of Dalits, Dr. Ambedkar, who converted to Buddhism along with half a million untouchables. The last such mass ceremony was held in Mumbai in 2007 - then at the same time 50 thousand people became Buddhists at once.
Dalits prefer to turn to Buddhism. Firstly, Indian nationalists treat this religion better than Islam and Christianity, since it is one of the traditional Indian religions. Secondly, among Muslims and Christians, over time, their own caste division was formed, albeit not as pronounced as among the Hindus.
Is it possible to change caste while remaining a Hindu?
There are two options here: the first is all sorts of semi-legal or illegal methods. For example, many surnames that indicate belonging to a particular caste differ by one or two letters. It is enough to slightly corrupt or charm a clerk in a government office - and, voila, you are already a member of another caste, and sometimes a varna. It is better, of course, to do such tricks either in the city, or in combination with moving to another area where there are not thousands of fellow villagers around who knew your grandfather.
The second option is the procedure "ghar vapasi", literally "welcome home". This program is implemented by radical Hindu organizations and aims to convert Indians of other religions to Hinduism. In this case, a person becomes, for example, a Christian, then sprinkles ashes on his head, announcing his desire to perform “ghar vapasi” - and that’s all, he is again a Hindu. If this trick is done outside of your native village, then you can always claim that you belong to a different caste.
Another question is why do all this. A caste certificate will not be asked when applying for a job or when entering a restaurant. In India, over the past century, the caste system has been breaking down under the influence of the processes of modernization and globalization. Attitude towards a stranger is built on the basis of his behavior. The only thing that can fail is the surname, which is most often associated with the caste (Gandhis - merchants, Deshpande - brahmins, Acharis - carpenters, Guptas - vaishyas, Singhas - kshatriyas). But now, when anyone can change their last name, everything has become much easier.
And change the varna without changing the caste?
There is a chance that your caste will undergo a Sanskritization process. In Russian, this is called “vertical mobility of castes”: if one or another caste adopts the traditions and customs of another, higher caste, there is a chance that sooner or later it will be recognized as a member of a higher varna. For example, the lower caste begins to practice vegetarianism, characteristic of the Brahmins, dress like Brahmins, wear a sacred thread on the wrist and generally position themselves as Brahmins, it is possible that sooner or later they will begin to be treated as Brahmins.
However, vertical mobility is characteristic mainly of castes of higher varnas. None of the Dalit castes has yet managed to cross the invisible line that separates them from the four varnas and even become Shudras. But times are changing.
In general, as a Hindu, you are not required to declare belonging to any caste. You can be a casteless Hindu - your right.
Why change caste at all?
It all depends on which way to change - up or down. An increase in caste status means that other people for whom the caste is significant will treat you with more respect. Downgrading your status, especially to the Dalit caste level, will give you a number of real advantages, so many higher castes try to enroll as Dalits.
The fact is that in modern India, the authorities are waging a merciless fight against caste discrimination. According to the constitution, any discrimination based on caste is prohibited, and you will even have to pay a fine for asking about caste when applying for a job.
But the country has a mechanism of positive discrimination. A number of castes and tribes are listed as "Scheduled Tribes and Castes" (SC/ST). Representatives of these castes have certain privileges, which are confirmed by caste certificates. For Dalits, places are reserved in the civil service and in parliament, their children are admitted free of charge (or for half the fee) to schools, places have been allocated for them in institutes. In short, there is a quota system for Dalits.
It's hard to say if this is good or bad. The author of these lines met Dalits who could give odds to any Brahmin in terms of intelligence and general development - quotas helped them rise from the bottom and get an education. On the other hand, one had to see Dalits going with the flow (first by quotas for the institute, then by the same quotas for the civil service), not interested in anything and not wanting to work. They cannot be fired, so their future is secured until old age and a good pension. Many in India criticize the quota system, many defend it.
So Dalits can be politicians?
How else can they. For example, Kocheril Raman Narayanan, who was President of India from 1997 to 2002, was a Dalit. Another example is Mayawati Prabhu Das, also known as Mayawati Iron Lady, who served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for a total of eight years.
Is the number of Dalits the same in all states of India?
No, it varies, and quite significantly. Most Dalits live in the state of Uttar Pradesh (20.5 percent of all Dalits in India), followed by West Bengal (10.7 percent). At the same time, as a percentage of the total population, Punjab holds the lead with 31.9 percent, followed by Himachal Pradesh with 25.2 percent.
How can Dalits work?
Theoretically, anyone - from the president to the toilet cleaner. Many Dalits act in films and work as fashion models. In cities where caste lines are blurred, there are no restrictions at all; in villages where ancient traditions are strong, Dalits are still engaged in "impure" work: skinning dead animals, digging graves, prostitution, and so on.
If a child is born as a result of an inter-caste marriage, to which caste will he be assigned?
Traditionally in India, the child was recorded in the lowest caste. Now it is considered that the child inherits the caste of the father, with the exception of the state of Kerala, where, according to local law, the caste of the mother is inherited. This is theoretically possible in other states, but in each individual case it is decided through the courts.
A typical story that happened in 2012: then a Kshatriya man married a woman from the Nayak tribe. The boy was registered as a kshatriya, but then his mother, through the courts, ensured that the child was rewritten as a nayak so that he could take advantage of the bonuses provided to disadvantaged tribes.
If I, as a tourist in India, touch a Dalit, can I then shake hands with a Brahmin?
Foreigners in Hinduism are already considered unclean, because they are outside the caste system, therefore they can touch anyone and for whatever reason, without defiling themselves in any way. If a practicing brahmin decides to communicate with you, then he will still have to perform purification rituals, so whether you shook the Dalit's hand before or not is essentially indifferent.
Are Dalits Filming Intercaste Porn in India?
Of course they do. Moreover, judging by the number of views on specialized sites, it is very popular.
Ancient India is one of the first civilizations of the world, which brought to the world culture the largest number of various spiritual values. Ancient India is quite the richest subcontinent with a turbulent and complex history. It was here that the greatest religions were once born, empires appeared and collapsed, but from century to century the “enduring” identity of the Indy culture was preserved. This civilization built large and very well-planned cities with bricks with running water and built a pictographic script, which to this day cannot be deciphered.
India got its name from the name of the Indus River, in the valley of which it is located. "Indus" in the lane. means "river". With a length of 3180 kilometers, the Indus originates in Tibet, flows through the Indo-Gangetic lowland, the Himalayas, flows into the Arabian Sea. Various finds of archaeologists indicate that in Ancient India there was a human society already during the Stone Age, and it was then that the first social relations arose, art was born, permanent settlements appeared, prerequisites arose for the development of one of the ancient world civilizations - the Indian Civilization, which appeared in Northwest India (today almost the entire territory of Pakistan).
It dates back approximately to the XXIII-XVIII centuries BC and is considered the 3rd civilization of the Ancient East in time of appearance. Its development, like the first two in Egypt and Mesopotamia, was directly connected with the organization of high yields of irrigated agriculture. The first archaeological finds of terracotta figurines and pottery date back to the 5th millennium BC, they were made in Mehrgarh. From this it follows that Mehrgarh can already be considered a real city - this is the first city in Ancient India, which we became aware of from the excavations of archaeologists. The primordial deity of the indigenous population of ancient India - the Dravidians, was Shiva. He is one of the 3 main deities of Hinduism - Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. All 3 gods are considered a manifestation of a single divine essence, but each is assigned a specific “field of activity”.
So, Brahma is considered the creator of the world, Vishnu was his keeper, Shiva was his destroyer, but it is he who recreates it. Shiva among the indigenous people of Ancient India was considered the main god, was considered a model who had achieved his spiritual self-realization, the ruler of the world, the demiurge. The Indus Valley extends to the NW of the subcontinent in the neighborhood of ancient Sumer. Between these civilizations, of course, there were trade relations, and it is quite possible that it was Sumer who had a huge impact on Indian civilization. Throughout Indian history, the northwest has remained the main route for the invasion of new ideas. All other routes to India were so closed by the seas, forests and mountains that, for example, the great ancient Chinese civilization left almost no traces in it.
Formation of slave states.
The development of agriculture and crafts, as well as aggressive wars, led to the appearance of property inequality among the Aryans. The rajas who led the predatory campaigns accumulate a lot of wealth. With the help of warriors, they strengthen their power, make it hereditary. The Rajas and their warriors turn the captives into slaves. From the peasants and artisans they demand the payment of taxes and work for themselves. Rajas are gradually turning into kings of small states. During wars, these small states are united into one, and then the ruler becomes a maharaja (“big king”). Over time, the council of elders loses its significance. From the tribal nobility, military leaders and officials are recruited who are in charge of collecting "taxes, organizing deforestation and draining swamps. Brahmin priests begin to play a significant role in the emerging state apparatus .. They taught that the king is higher than other people, that he is "like the sun , burns eyes and heart and no one on earth can even look at him.
Castes and their role.
In the slave-owning states of India in the first millennium BC. e. The population was divided into four groups, called castes. The first caste consisted of Brahmins. Brahmins did not engage in physical labor and lived on income from sacrifices. The second caste - kshatriyas - was represented by warriors; they also controlled the administration of the state. Power struggles often took place between Brahmins and Kshatriyas. The third caste - vaishyas - included farmers, shepherds and merchants. All the local population conquered by the Aryans made up the fourth caste - the Shudras. Shudras were servants and did the hardest and dirtiest work. Slaves were not included in any caste. The division into castes broke the old tribal unity and opened up the possibility of uniting people who came from different tribes within the same state. Caste was hereditary. The son of a brahmin was born a brahmin, the son of a sudra was born a sudra. To perpetuate castes and caste inequality, the Brahmins created laws. They say that the god Brahma himself established inequality between people. Brahma, according to the priests, created Brahmins from his mouth, warriors from his hands, Vaishyas from his thighs, and Shudras from his feet, which were covered with dust and dirt. Caste division doomed the lower castes to hard, humiliating work. It closed the way for capable people to knowledge and state activity. Caste division hindered the development of society; it played a reactionary role.