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.
On September 24, 1932, in India, the right to participate in elections was granted to the untouchable caste. the site decided to tell its readers how the Indian caste system was formed and how it exists in the modern world.
Indian society is divided into estates called castes. Such a division occurred many thousands of years ago and has survived to this day. Hindus believe that, following the rules established in their caste, in the next life you can be born a representative of a slightly higher and more revered caste, take a much better position in society.
Leaving the Indus Valley, Indian arias conquered the country along the Ganges and founded many states here, whose population consisted of two classes, differing in legal and material status. The new Aryan settlers, the victors, took over India and land, and honor, and power, and the defeated non-Indo-European natives were plunged into contempt and humiliation, turned into slavery or into a dependent state, or, pushed into the forests and mountains, led there in inaction of thought a meager life without any culture. This result of the Aryan conquest gave rise to the origin of the four main Indian castes (varnas).
Those original inhabitants of India who were subdued by the power of the sword suffered the fate of captives and became mere slaves. The Indians, who voluntarily submitted, renounced their paternal gods, adopted the language, laws and customs of the conquerors, retained personal freedom, but lost all land property and had to live as workers on the estates of the Aryans, servants and porters, in the homes of rich people. From them came the caste sudra . "Shudra" is not a Sanskrit word. Before becoming the name of one of the Indian castes, it was probably the name of some people. The Aryans considered it below their dignity to enter into marriage alliances with representatives of the Shudra caste. The Shudra women were only concubines among the Aryans.
Over time, sharp differences in fortunes and professions formed between the Aryan conquerors of India themselves. But in relation to the lower caste - the dark-skinned, subjugated native population - they all remained a privileged class. Only the Aryans had the right to read the sacred books; only they were consecrated by a solemn ceremony: a sacred cord was placed on the Aryan, making him “reborn” (or “twice born”, dvija). This rite served as a symbolic distinction of all Aryans from the Shudra caste and the despised native tribes driven into the forests. The consecration was performed by laying on a cord, which is worn placed on the right shoulder and descending obliquely across the chest. Among the Brahmin caste, a cord could be placed on a boy from 8 to 15 years old, and it is made of cotton yarn; among the Kshatriya caste, who received it no earlier than the 11th year, it was made from kushi (Indian spinnery), and among the Vaishya caste, who received it no earlier than the 12th year, it was made of wool.
Indian society was divided into castes many thousands of years ago.
The "twice-born" Aryans over time divided according to differences in occupation and origin into three estates or castes, which have some similarities with the three estates of medieval Europe: the clergy, the nobility and the middle urban class. The embryos of caste systems among the Aryans existed even in those times when they lived only in the Indus basin: there, from the mass of the agricultural and pastoral population, warlike tribal princes, surrounded by people skilled in military affairs, as well as priests who performed sacrificial rites, already stood out.
During the resettlement of the Aryan tribes further deep into India, to the country of the Ganges, the warlike energy increased in bloody wars with the exterminated natives, and then in a fierce struggle between the Aryan tribes. Until the conquests were completed, all the people were engaged in military affairs. Only when the peaceful possession of the conquered country began, it became possible to develop a variety of occupations, it became possible to choose between different professions, and a new stage in the origin of castes began. The fertility of the Indian land aroused the desire for the peaceful obtaining of means of subsistence. From this quickly developed an innate Aryan tendency, according to which it was more pleasant for them to work quietly and enjoy the fruits of their labor than to make heavy military efforts. Therefore, a significant part of the settlers ("Vish") turned to agriculture, which gave abundant harvests, leaving the fight against enemies and the protection of the country to the princes of the tribes and the military nobility formed during the period of conquests. This estate, which was engaged in arable farming and partly in shepherding, soon grew so much that among the Aryans, as in Western Europe, they formed the vast majority of the population. Because the title vaishya "settler", originally designating all Aryan inhabitants in new areas, began to designate only people of the third, working Indian caste, and warriors, kshatriyas and priests, brahmins ("prayers"), who over time became privileged classes, made the names of their professions the names of the two upper castes.
The four above-mentioned Indian estates became completely closed castes (varnas) only when the ancient worship of Indra and other gods of nature rose above brahminism, - a new religious doctrine about Brahma , the soul of the universe, the source of life from which all beings originated and to which all beings will return. This reformed creed gave religious holiness to the division of the Indian nation into castes, especially the priestly caste. It said that in the cycle of life forms passed by all that exist on earth, Brahman is the highest form of being. According to the dogma of the rebirth and transmigration of souls, a being born in a human form must go through all four castes in turn: to be a sudra, a vaishya, a kshatriya, and finally a brahmin; having passed through these forms of existence, it is reunited with Brahma. The only way to achieve this goal is for a person, constantly striving for a deity, to exactly fulfill everything commanded by the Brahmins, honor them, please them with gifts and signs of respect. Offenses against the Brahmins, severely punished on earth, subject the wicked to the most terrible torments of hell and rebirth in the forms of despised animals.
According to the dogma of the transmigration of souls, a person must go through all four castes
Belief in the dependence of the future life on the present was the main pillar of the Indian caste division and the dominion of the priests. The more resolutely the Brahminical clergy placed the dogma of the transmigration of souls at the center of all moral teaching, the more successfully they filled the imagination of the people with terrible pictures of hellish torments, the more honor and influence they gained. Representatives of the highest caste of the Brahmins are close to the gods; they know the path leading to Brahma; their prayers, sacrifices, holy feats of their asceticism have magical power over the gods, the gods have to fulfill their will; bliss and suffering in the Hereafter depend on them. It is not surprising that with the development of religiosity among the Indians, the power of the Brahmin caste increased, tirelessly praising in their holy teachings respect and generosity to the Brahmins as the surest ways to obtain bliss, suggesting to the kings that the ruler is obliged to have his advisers and make judges of the Brahmins, is obliged to reward their service with rich content. and pious gifts.
So that the lower Indian castes would not envy the privileged position of the Brahmins and would not encroach on it, the doctrine was developed and vigorously preached that the forms of life for all beings are predetermined by Brahma, and that the progress through the degrees of human rebirths is made only by a calm, peaceful life in a given position, true performance of duties. So, in one of the oldest parts of the Mahabharata it says: “When Brahma created creatures, he gave them their occupations, each caste had a special activity: for the brahmins - the study of the high Vedas, for the warriors - heroism, for the vaishyas - the art of labor, for the shudras - humility before other colors: therefore ignorant brahmins, infamous warriors, unskillful vaisyas and disobedient sudras are reprehensible."
This dogma, which attributed to every caste, every profession, a divine origin, consoled the humiliated and despised in the insults and deprivations of their present life with the hope of improving their fate in the future existence. He gave the Indian caste hierarchy religious consecration. The division of people into four classes, unequal in their rights, was from this point of view an eternal, unchanging law, the violation of which is the most criminal sin. People have no right to overthrow the caste barriers established between them by God himself; they can achieve the improvement of their lot only by patient obedience.
Mutual relations between the Indian castes were clearly characterized by teaching; that Brahma produced Brahmins from his mouth (or the first man Purusha), Kshatriyas from his hands, Vaishyas from his thighs, Shudras from mud-stained feet, therefore the essence of nature among the Brahmins is “holiness and wisdom”, among the Kshatriyas - “power and strength”, among the Vaishyas - “wealth and profit”, among the Shudras - “service and humility”. The doctrine of the origin of castes from different parts of the highest being is expounded in one of the hymns of the latest, most recent book of the Rig Veda. There are no caste concepts in the older songs of the Rig Veda. The Brahmins attach great importance to this hymn, and every truly believing Brahmin recites it every morning after bathing. This hymn is the diploma by which the Brahmins legitimized their privileges, their dominion.
Some Brahmins should not eat meat
Thus, the Indian people were led by their history, their inclinations and customs to fall under the yoke of a hierarchy of castes, which turned classes and professions into tribes alien to each other, drowned out all human aspirations, all the inclinations of humanity.
The main characteristics of castes
Each Indian caste has its own characteristics and unique characteristics, rules of existence and behavior.
Brahmins are the highest caste
Brahmins in India are priests and priests in temples. Their position in society has always been considered the highest, even higher than the position of the ruler. At present, representatives of the Brahmin caste are also engaged in the spiritual development of the people: they teach various practices, look after temples, and work as teachers.
Brahmins have a lot of prohibitions:
Men are not allowed to work in the fields and do any manual labor, but women can do various household chores.
A representative of the priestly caste can only marry his own kind, but as an exception, a marriage to a Brahmin from another community is allowed.
A brahmin cannot eat what a person of another caste has prepared: a brahmin would rather starve than accept forbidden food. But he can feed a representative of absolutely any caste.
Some Brahmins are not allowed to eat meat.
Kshatriyas - warrior caste
Representatives of the kshatriyas have always performed the duties of soldiers, guards and policemen.
At present, nothing has changed - kshatriyas are engaged in military affairs or go to administrative work. They can marry not only in their own caste: a man can marry a girl from a lower caste, but a woman is forbidden to marry a man from a lower caste. Kshatriyas are allowed to eat animal products, but they also avoid forbidden food.
Vaishyas, like no one else, monitor the correct preparation of food.
Vaishya
Vaishyas have always been a working class: they were engaged in agriculture, raised cattle, traded.
Now representatives of the Vaishyas are engaged in economic and financial affairs, various trade, banking. Probably, this caste is the most scrupulous in matters related to food intake: vaishyas, like no one else, monitor the correct preparation of food and will never accept defiled dishes.
Sudras are the lowest caste.
The Shudra caste has always existed in the role of peasants or even slaves: they were engaged in the dirtiest and hardest work. Even in our time, this social stratum is the poorest and often lives below the poverty line. Shudras can marry even divorced women.
Untouchables
The untouchable caste stands out separately: such people are excluded from all social relations. They do the dirtiest jobs: cleaning the streets and toilets, burning dead animals, dressing the skin.
Amazingly, the representatives of this caste could not even step on the shadows of representatives of the higher classes. And only recently they were allowed to enter temples and approach people of other classes.
Cast Unique Features
Having a brahmin in the neighborhood, you can give him a lot of gifts, but you should not expect a response. Brahmins never give gifts: they accept but do not give.
In terms of land ownership, sudras can be even more influential than vaishyas.
Untouchables could not step on the shadows of people from the upper classes
The Shudras of the lowest stratum practically do not use money: they are paid for their work with food and household items.You can move to a lower caste, but it is impossible to get a higher caste.
Castes and Modernity
Today, Indian castes have become even more structured, with many different sub-groups called jati.
During the last census of representatives of various castes, there were more than 3 thousand jati. True, this census took place more than 80 years ago.
Many foreigners consider the caste system a relic of the past and believe that the caste system no longer works in modern India. In fact, everything is completely different. Even the Indian government could not come to a consensus regarding such a stratification of society. Politicians are actively working on dividing society into layers during elections, adding to their election promises the protection of the rights of a particular caste.
In modern India, more than 20 percent of the population belongs to the untouchable caste: they have to live in their own separate ghettos or outside the settlement. Such people should not go to shops, government and medical institutions, and even use public transport.
In modern India, more than 20% of the population belongs to the untouchable caste.
There is a completely unique subgroup in the untouchable caste: the attitude of society towards it is rather contradictory. This includes homosexuals, transvestites and eunuchs who make a living by prostitution and begging tourists for coins. But what a paradox: the presence of such a person at a holiday is considered a very good sign.
Another amazing podcast of the untouchables is a pariah. These are people who are completely expelled from society - marginalized. Previously, it was possible to become a pariah even by touching such a person, but now the situation has changed a little: a pariah becomes either born from an inter-caste marriage or from pariah parents.
Sources
- http://indianochka.ru/kultura/obshhestvo/kasty.html
Indian society is divided into estates called castes. Such a division occurred many thousands of years ago and has survived to this day. Hindus believe that following the rules established in their caste, in the next life you can be born a representative of a slightly higher and more revered caste, take a much better position in society.
History of the origin of the caste system
The Indian Vedas tell us that even the ancient Aryan peoples living on the territory of modern India about one and a half thousand years before our era already had a society divided into estates.
Much later, these social strata began to be called varnas(from the word "color" in Sanskrit - according to the color of the clothes worn). Another variant of the name of varnas is caste, which already comes from the Latin word.
Initially, in ancient India there were 4 castes (varnas):
- brahmins - priests;
- kṣatriya—warriors;
- vaisya--workers;
- sudras are laborers and servants.
A similar division into castes appeared due to different levels of well-being: The rich wanted to be surrounded only by their own kind., prosperous people and disdained to communicate with the poorer and uneducated.
Mahatma Gandhi preached the fight against caste inequality. with his biography, this is truly a man with a great soul!
Castes in modern India
Today, Indian castes have become even more structured, they have a lot of various sub-groups called jati.
During the last census of representatives of various castes, there were more than 3 thousand jati. True, this census took place more than 80 years ago.
Many foreigners consider the caste system a relic of the past and believe that the caste system no longer works in modern India. In fact, everything is completely different. Even the Indian government could not come to a consensus regarding such a stratification of society. Politicians are actively working on dividing society into layers during elections, adding to their election promises the protection of the rights of a particular caste.
In modern India more than 20 percent of the population belongs to the untouchable caste: they have to live in their own separate ghettos or outside the settlement. Such people should not go to shops, government and medical institutions, and even use public transport.
There is a completely unique subgroup in the untouchable caste: the attitude of society towards it is rather contradictory. These include homosexuals, transvestites and eunuchs who make a living by prostitution and begging tourists for coins. But what a paradox: the presence of such a person at a holiday is considered a very good sign.
Another amazing untouchable podcast - pariah. These are people who are completely expelled from society - marginalized. Previously, it was possible to become a pariah even by touching such a person, but now the situation has changed a little: a pariah becomes either born from an inter-caste marriage or from pariah parents.
Conclusion
The caste system originated millennia ago, but still continues to live and develop in Indian society.
Varnas (castes) are divided into podcasts - jati. There are 4 varnas and many jati.
In India there are societies of people who do not belong to any caste. This - exiled people.
The caste system gives people the opportunity to be with their own kind, provides the support of fellows and clear rules of life and behavior. This is the natural regulation of society, existing in parallel with the laws of India.
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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 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 censuses conducted once a decade. 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 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
According to the constitution of 1950, every citizen of the Indian Republic has equal rights, regardless of caste origin, race or religion. It is a crime to inquire about the caste of a person entering an institute or public service, putting forward his candidacy in elections. There is no column on caste in the population censuses. The abolition of discrimination based on caste is one of the major social gains of independent India.
At the same time, the existence of some lower, formerly oppressed castes is recognized, because the law indicates that they need special protection. Favorable conditions for education and career advancement have been introduced for them. And to ensure these conditions, it was necessary to impose restrictions on members of other castes.
Caste still has a huge impact on the life of every Hindu, determining the place of his residence not only in the village, but also in the city (special streets or quarters), influencing the composition of employees in an enterprise or institution, on the nomination of candidates for elections, etc. P.
External manifestations of caste are now almost absent, especially in cities where caste badges on the forehead have gone out of fashion and European costume has become widespread. But as soon as people get to know each other better - they give their last name, determine the circle of acquaintances - they immediately learn about each other's caste. The fact is that the vast majority of surnames in India are former caste designations. Bhattacharya, Dixit, Gupta are necessarily members of the highest brahmin castes. A Singh is either a member of the Rajput military caste or a Sikh. Gandhi is a member of the trading caste from Gujarat. Reddy is a member of the agricultural caste from Andhra.
The main sign that any Indian unmistakably notes is the behavior of the interlocutor. If he is higher in caste, he will behave with emphasized dignity, if lower - with emphasized courtesy.
Between two scientists - a woman from Moscow and a young teacher at an Indian university - the following conversation took place:
“After all, it’s very difficult to fall in love with a girl of your own caste,” she said.
“What are you, madam,” answered the Indian. "It's much harder to love a girl of another caste!"
At the hearth, in the family, in relations between families, the caste still dominates almost completely. There is a system of punishments for violation of caste ethics. But the strength of the caste is not in these punishments. Caste, even in early youth, forms the sympathies and antipathies of a person; such a person can no longer help supporting “his own” against the “stranger”, he cannot fall in love with the “wrong” girl.
The bus to Ankleshwar is shamelessly late. I've been waiting for him for an hour, nestled in the shade of a bush. Terribly tickle in the throat; from time to time I unscrew the lid of the thermos and take a sip of boiled water. Traveling in India taught me to always carry a thermos with me. The Indians who are waiting for the same bus do not have thermoses, and every now and then someone rises from the ground and goes to a short man sitting on the side of the road under a tree. This is a water merchant. Clay pots lined up in a neat row in front of him. The man casts a quick appraising glance at the customer, picks up one of the pots, and scoops up water from the pitcher. Sometimes he gives each customer a separate pot, sometimes someone has to wait until the vessel is empty, although there are empty pots nearby. There is nothing surprising in this: even to my inexperienced eye, people from different castes are coming up. When I think of the Indian castes, I always think of this water merchant. It's not so much that each caste has its own vessel. The point is different. There is something here that I just can’t understand, and therefore I decide to ask directly at the water drawer:
What caste people can take water from you?
Anyone, sir.
“And brahmins can?”
“Of course, sir. After all, they do not take from me, but from the nearest very clean well. I just brought water.
But many people drink from one pot. Do they defile each other?
“Each caste has its own pot.
This area, I know well, is inhabited by people of at least a good hundred castes, and there are only a dozen pots in front of the merchant.
But to all further questions, the seller repeats:
- Each caste has its own pot.
It would seem that it is not difficult for Indian buyers to expose the seller of water. But no one does this: otherwise how to get drunk? And everyone, without saying a word, pretends that everything is in order, everyone silently supports the fiction.
I cite this case because it reflected all the illogicality and inconsistency of the caste system, a system built on fictions that have real significance, and on real life, whimsically turned into fiction.
It is possible to compile a multi-volume library of books about Indian castes, but it cannot be said that all of them are known to researchers. It is clear that all the diversity of castes constitutes a single system of human groups and their relationships. These relationships are governed by traditional rules. But what are these rules? And what is a caste anyway?
This name itself is not Indian, it comes from the Latin word for the purity of the breed. Indians use two words for caste: varna, which means color, and jati, which means origin.
Varnas - there are only four of them - were established at the very beginning of our era by the legislator Manu: brahmins - priests (1 In Russian, two spellings of this word are used: "brahmin" and "brahman." Closer to the Sanskrit pronunciation - "brahman." - Approx. ed.), kshatriyas - warriors, vaishyas - merchants, farmers, artisans, and shudras - servants. But the tradition did not limit the number of jati. Jatis may differ in profession, in the shade of religion, in household rules. But theoretically, all jati should fit into the system of four varis.
In order to understand the myths and fictions of the caste system, we need to recall - in the most cursory way - the laws of Manu: all people are divided into four varnas, you cannot enter a caste, you can only be born in it, the caste system remains always unchanged.
So, all people are divided into four varnas, and the system itself is like a chest of drawers, in which four large drawers are stacked all the jati. The vast majority of Hindu believers are convinced of this. At first glance, everything seems to be so. The brahmins remained brahmins, although they were divided into several dozen jati. The current Rajputs and Thakurs correspond to the Kshatriya varna. Now, however, only the castes of merchants and usurers are considered Vaishyas, while farmers and artisans are considered Shudras. But "pure shudras." Even the most orthodox Brahmins can communicate with them without harm. Below them are “impure shudras”, and at the very bottom are the untouchables, who do not belong to any of the varnas at all.
But detailed studies have shown that there are a lot of castes that do not fit into any box.
In the northwest of India there is a caste of Jats - an agricultural caste. Everyone knows that they are not brahmins, not ksatriyas and not vaisyas. Who are they then - Shudras? (Sociologists who have worked among the Jats advise no one to make such an assumption in the presence of the Jats. There is reason to believe that sociologists have learned from their own bitter experience.) No, the Jats are not Shudras, for they are higher than the Vaishyas and only slightly inferior to the Kshatriyas. Everyone knows about this, but the question "why?" answer that it has always been like this.
Here is another example: the farmers - Bhuinhars - are "almost" Brahmins. They seem to be brahmins, but not really, because they are engaged in agriculture. This is how the bhuinhars themselves and any of the brahmins will explain to you. True, there are brahmins who are engaged in agriculture, but they remain real brahmins. One has only to dig into history to understand what is the matter here. Even before the 18th century, the Bhuinhars were Shudras. But then a member of this caste became the prince of the city of Varanasi, the most sacred city of the Hindus. Is the ruler of Varanasi a sudra?! It can't be! And the Varanasi brahmins - the most respected and authoritative in India - took up "research" and soon proved that the prince, and consequently his entire caste, are, in essence, brahmins. Well, maybe a little bit brahmins...
Around the same time, in the territory of the present state of Maharashtra, several principalities were formed, headed by rajas who came from a not very high Kunbi caste. The poets appointed by the state to the courts of the eastern rulers immediately began to compose odes in which they compared the exploits of the rajas with the deeds of the ancient kshatriyas. The most experienced of them alluded to the fact that the family of the Rajas originated from the Kshatriyas. Of course, such hints met with the warmest attitude from the rajas, and the following poets sang about this as an indisputable fact. Naturally, within the principalities, no one allowed himself to express the slightest doubt about the high origin of the Maratha rulers. In the 19th century, no one really doubted that the princes and their entire caste were the real kshatriyas. Moreover, the Kurmi agricultural caste living in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh began to claim Kshatriya dignity on the only - very, by the way, shaky - basis that it is related to the Kunbi caste from Maharashtra ...
Examples could be given innumerable, and they all would say one thing: the idea of the eternity of the caste is nothing more than a myth. Caste memory is very short, most likely intentionally short. Everything that moves away at a distance of two or three generations, as it were, falls into "immemorial times." This feature gave the caste system the ability to adapt to new conditions and at the same time always remain "ancient" and "unchanging".
Even the rule that one cannot join a caste is not absolute. For example, some - the lowest - castes of Mysore: laundresses, barbers, itinerant merchants and untouchables - can accept people expelled from other, higher castes. This procedure is complex and takes a long time. Washerwomen, for example, furnish a reception in their caste like this.
Members of the caste gather from all over the area. The laundress applicant's head is shaved. He is bathed in the river, and then rinsed with water in which the statue of the goddess Ganga has just been washed. In the meantime, seven huts are being built on the shore, the enterer is led through them, and as soon as he leaves the hut, it is immediately burned. This symbolizes the seven births through which the soul of a person passes, after which he is completely reborn. External cleaning completed.
It's time to cleanse the inside. A person is given to eat turmeric - a citvar root - and a nut, which washerwomen use instead of soap. Turmeric - caustic, burning, bitter - should color the insides of the test subject in a pleasant yellow color; as for the nut, its taste is also hardly pleasant. Both should be eaten without grimacing or grimacing.
It remains to make sacrifices to the gods and arrange a treat for all members of the caste. Now a person is considered accepted into the caste, but after that both he and his son will be the lowest of the laundresses, and only the grandson - perhaps! - will become a full member of the caste.
It is possible, knowing the position of the lower castes, to ask the question: why even enter into such a low society as laundresses or untouchables? Why not stay out of the caste at all?
The fact is that any caste, even the untouchable, is the property of a person, it is his community, his club, his insurance company, so to speak. A person who does not have support in a group, does not enjoy the material and moral support of his close and distant caste comrades, will leave and be alone in society. Therefore, it is better to be a member of even the lowest caste than to remain outside of it.
And how, by the way, is it determined which caste is lower and which is higher? There are many ways of classification, they are often built on the basis of the relationship of a particular caste with the Brahmins.
Below all are those from whom the Brahmin cannot accept anything. Above are those who can offer food cooked in water to the Brahmin. Then come the "clean" - those who can offer the Brahmin water in a metal vessel, and, finally, the "cleanest", who can give the Brahmin water to drink from earthenware.
So the highest are brahmins? It would seem, yes, because their varna, according to the laws of Manu, is the highest. But...
The Indian sociologist De-Souza asked the inhabitants of two villages in Punjab which caste is the highest, which is next, and so on. In the first village, the brahmins were put in first place only by the brahmins themselves. All other residents, from the Jats to the untouchables, the filth cleaners, placed the Brahmins in second place. The landowners, the Jats, came first. And merchants - banyas, supported by oilers - tels, generally pushed the brahmins to third place. Second, they put themselves.
In another village (here the brahmins are very poor, and one of them is generally a landless laborer) even the brahmins themselves did not dare to award themselves the championship.
Jats came first. But if the whole village placed merchants in second place, and brahmins in third, then the opinion of the brahmins themselves was divided. Many of them claimed second place, while others recognized the merchants as superior to themselves.
So, even the supremacy of the Brahmins turns out to be a fiction. (At the same time, it should be recognized that no one dared to lower the Brahmins lower than the second or third place: there are still sacred books where the Brahmins are declared the incarnation of God on earth.)
You can look at the caste system from the other side. All craft castes are considered below the agricultural castes. Why? Because, the tradition answers, that the cultivation of the earth is more honorable than the work on wood, metal, and leather. But there are many castes whose members work precisely on the land, but which are much lower than artisans. The thing is that the members of these castes do not have their own land. This means that honor is given to those who own the land - it does not matter whether he cultivates it with his own or someone else's hands. Brahmins before the latest agrarian reforms were mostly landowners. Members of low castes worked on their land. Artisans, on the other hand, have no land, and they work not for themselves, but for others.
Members of the low castes who work as farm laborers are not called cultivators. Their castes have completely different names: Chamars - tanners, Pasi - watchmen, Parains - drummers (from this word comes the pariah that has entered all European languages). Their "low" occupations are prescribed to them by tradition, but they can work the land without prejudice to their prestige, because this occupation is "high". After all, low castes have their own hierarchy, and, say, a blacksmith to take up the processing of leather means to fall low. But no matter how low-caste people work in the field, this will not elevate them, for the field itself does not belong to them.
Another of the caste myths is the complex and petty ritual prescriptions that literally entangle every member of a high caste. The higher the caste, the more restrictions. I once had a conversation with a woman. Her mother, a very orthodox Brahmin, was caught in a flood, and her daughter was very worried about her. But the daughter was horrified not by the fact that her mother might die, but by the fact that, starving, she would be forced to eat "with anyone," perhaps with the untouchables. (The respectful daughter did not even dare to utter the word "untouchable," but, no doubt, she meant it.) Indeed, when you get acquainted with the rules that a "twice-born" Brahmin must observe, you begin to feel pity for him: the poor fellow cannot drink water in the street, must always take care of the purity of (naturally, ritual) food, cannot engage in most professions. Even on a bus, he couldn't ride without touching anyone he shouldn't... The more restrictions a caste imposes on its member, the higher it is. But it turns out that most of the prohibitions can be easily circumvented. The woman who was so worried about her mother was obviously more Hindu than Manu himself. For it is said in his "Laws":
“Who, being in danger of life, takes food from just anyone, is not stained with sin, like the sky with mud ...” And Manu illustrates this thesis with examples from the life of rishis - ancient sages: rishis Bharadvaja and his son, tormented by hunger, ate the sacred meat cows, and Rishi Vishwamitra accepted from the hands of the "lowest of people" Chandala - the outcast - the thigh of a dog.
The same applies to professions. A Brahman is not allowed to engage in "low" work, but if he has no other choice, then he can. In general, most restrictions do not apply to behavior, but to intentions. It's not that a high-caste person shouldn't associate with a low-caste person, he shouldn't want to associate.
A few decades ago, when iced soda was introduced into India by the British, a serious problem arose. Who exactly prepared the water and ice at the factory or at the handicraft enterprise is unknown. How to be? Learned pundits explained that soda water, and even more so ice, is not ordinary water, and pollution is not transmitted through them.
In large cities, European costume has come into fashion, and caste signs are less commonly worn. But in the provinces, an experienced person will immediately determine with whom he is dealing: he recognizes a sadhu saint by the sign of the highest caste on his forehead, a woman of the us caste of weavers by a sari, and a brahmin by a “twice-born” cord over his shoulder. Each caste has its own costume, its own signs, its own demeanor.
Another thing is people of low castes. If the untouchable cannot enter the “clean” quarters, then it is better for him not to do this, because the consequences can be the most sad.
The ruling castes have never felt much desire to change anything in the traditional structure. But new social groups have grown up: the bourgeois intelligentsia, the proletariat. For them, most of the foundations of the caste system are burdensome and unnecessary. The movement to overcome caste psychology - supported by the government - is growing in India and is now making great strides.
But the caste system, so immobile at first glance and so flexible in reality, has perfectly adapted to the new conditions: for example, capitalist associations are often built according to the caste principle. For example, the Tata concerns are the monopoly of the Parsis, all the companies of the Birla concern are headed by members of the Marwari caste.
The caste system also survives because—and this is its last paradox—that it is not only a form of social oppression of the lower, but also a way of their own self-affirmation. Shudras and untouchables are not allowed to read the holy books of the Brahmins? But even the lower castes have traditions into which they do not initiate Brahmins. Untouchables are forbidden to appear in neighborhoods inhabited by high-caste Hindus? But even a brahmin cannot come to the settlement of the untouchables. In some places, they can even beat him for it.
Abandon caste? For what? To become an equal member of society? But can equal rights—under the conditions so far existing—can give something more or better than what the caste already offers—the firm and unconditional support of the brethren?
Caste is an ancient and archaic institution, but alive and tenacious. It is very easy to "bury" it, revealing its many contradictions and illogicalities. But the caste is tenacious precisely because of its illogicality. If it were based on firm and immutable principles that do not allow deviations, it would have outlived its usefulness long ago. But the fact of the matter is that it is traditional and changeable, mythological and realistic at the same time. The waves of reality cannot break this strong and at the same time intangible myth. Until they can...
L. Alaev, candidate of historical sciences
