107-569: The Kashyap Rajput or Kashyap are a caste in India. They are sometimes called the Koshyal or Kanshilya . Kashyap is originally one of the eight primary gotras (clans) of the Brahmins , being derived from Kashyapa , the name of a rishi (hermit) from whom the eponymous gotra Brahmins believe to have descended. The Brahmanical clan system was later emulated by people as an early example of
214-455: A Brahmin?" Sonadanda initially lists five qualities as, "he is of pure descent on both the mother's and the father's side, he is well versed in mantras, he is of fair color handsome and pleasing, he is virtuous learned and wise, and he is the first or second to hold the sacrificial ladle". Buddha then asks the Brahmin, "If we omit one of these qualities you just listed, could not one be still
321-551: A Sheikh priestly lineage assigned to the tribe. Pre-Islamic Sassanid society was immensely complex, with separate systems of social organisation governing numerous different groups within the empire. Historians believe society comprised four social classes , which linguistic analysis indicates may have been referred to collectively as "pistras". The classes, from highest to lowest status, were priests ( Asravan ), warriors ( Arteshtaran ), secretaries ( Dabiran ), and commoners ( Vastryoshan ). In Yemen there exists
428-642: A category within the Hispanic sector but the social order was otherwise fluid. The English word caste ( / k ɑː s t , k æ s t / ) derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta , which, according to the John Minsheu 's Spanish dictionary (1569), means "race, lineage, tribe or breed". When the Spanish colonised the New World , they used the word to mean a 'clan or lineage'. It was, however,
535-506: A hereditary caste, the African -descended Al-Akhdam who are kept as perennial manual workers. Estimates put their number at over 3.5 million residents who are discriminated, out of a total Yemeni population of around 22 million. Various sociologists have reported caste systems in Africa. The specifics of the caste systems have varied in ethnically and culturally diverse Africa; however,
642-541: A hierarchy, and interact with others based on cultural notions of exclusion , with certain castes considered as either more pure or more polluted than others. The term "caste" is also applied to morphological groupings in eusocial insects such as ants , bees , and termites . The paradigmatic ethnographic example of caste is the division of India's Hindu society into rigid social groups. Its roots lie in South Asia's ancient history and it still exists; however,
749-530: A higher caste if the terms of the marriage did not imply equality. However, men are systematically shielded from the negative implications of the agreement. Geographical factors also determine adherence to the caste system. Many Northern villages are more likely to participate in exogamous marriage, due to a lack of eligible suitors within the same caste. Women in North India have been found to be less likely to leave or divorce their husbands since they are of
856-606: A later volume by Dena Freeman writing with Pankhurst. In a review published in 1977, Todd reports that numerous scholars report a system of social stratification in different parts of Africa that resembles some or all aspects of caste system. Examples of such caste systems, he claims, are to be found in Ethiopia in communities such as the Gurage and Konso . He then presents the Dime of Southwestern Ethiopia, amongst whom there operates
963-695: A manner similar to castas in Spanish colonies such as Mexico , and caste system studies in British colonies such as India. In the Philippines, pre-colonial societies do not have a single social structure. The class structures can be roughly categorised into four types: During the period of the Yuan dynasty , ruler Kublai Khan enforced a Four Class System , which was a legal caste system. The order of four classes of people in descending order were: There
1070-534: A member of the samurai class to marry a peasant, craftsman, or merchant, but this was done through a loophole in which a person from a lower class was adopted into the samurai class and then married. Since there was an economic advantage for a poor samurai class person to marry a wealthy merchant or peasant class woman, they would adopt a merchant or peasant class woman into the samurai class as an adopted daughter and then marry her. Japan had its own untouchable caste, shunned and ostracised, historically referred to by
1177-412: A relatively lower caste system, and have higher restrictions on their freedoms. On the other hand, Pahari women, of the northern mountains, have much more freedom to leave their husbands without stigma. This often leads to better husbandry as his actions are not protected by social expectations. Chiefly among the factors influencing the rise of exogamy is the rapid urbanisation in India experienced over
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#17327907482891284-404: A result of new sub-lineages arising and number of clans increasing over time due to division as Yazidis settled in different places and countries. Division could occur in one family, if there were a few brothers in one clan, each of them could become the founder of their own Pîr sub-clan ( Kurdish : ber ). Mirîds are the lay caste and are divided into tribes , who are each affiliated to a Pîr and
1391-494: A review of social stratification systems in Africa, Richter reports that the term caste has been used by French and American scholars to many groups of West African artisans. These groups have been described as inferior, deprived of all political power, have a specific occupation, are hereditary and sometimes despised by others. Richter illustrates caste system in Ivory Coast , with six sub-caste categories. Unlike other parts of
1498-513: A sage named Bhrigu , "Brahmins Varna was white, Kshtriyas was red, Vaishyas was yellow, and the Shudras' black". This description is questioned by another prominent sage Bharadwaja who says that colours are seen among all the Varnas, that desire, anger, fear, greed, grief, anxiety, hunger and toil prevails over all human beings, that bile and blood flow from all human bodies, so what distinguishes
1605-831: A separate, untouchable category in Varna classifications. Scholars believe that the Varnas system was never truly operational in society and there is no evidence of it ever being a reality in Indian history. The practical division of the society had always been in terms of Jatis (birth groups), which are not based on any specific religious principle but could vary from ethnic origins to occupations to geographic areas. The Jātis have been endogamous social groups without any fixed hierarchy but subject to vague notions of rank articulated over time based on lifestyle and social, political, or economic status. Many of India's major empires and dynasties like
1712-517: A social classification. Marriage between certain classes was generally prohibited. In particular, marriage between daimyo and court nobles was forbidden by the Tokugawa shogunate because it could lead to political maneuvering. For the same reason, marriages between daimyo and high-ranking hatamoto of the samurai class required the approval of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was also forbidden for
1819-581: A supposedly 'egalitarian' ancient Tibetan society. In Japan's history, social strata based on inherited position rather than personal merit, were rigid and highly formalised in a system called mibunsei (身分制). At the top were the Emperor and Court nobles ( kuge ), together with the Shōgun and daimyō . Older scholars believed that there were Shi-nō-kō-shō ( 士農工商 , four classes ) of "samurai, peasants ( hyakushō ), craftsmen, and merchants ( chōnin )" under
1926-428: A system which Todd claims can be unequivocally labelled as caste system. The Dime have seven castes whose size varies considerably. Each broad caste level is a hierarchical order that is based on notions of purity, non-purity and impurity. It uses the concepts of defilement to limit contacts between caste categories and to preserve the purity of the upper castes. These caste categories have been exclusionary, endogamous and
2033-444: A true Brahmin?" Sonadanda, one by one, eliminates fair colour and looks, then eliminates Varna in which one was born, and then eliminates the ability to recite mantra and do sacrifices as a requirement of being a Brahmin. Sonadanda asserts that just two qualities are necessary to truthfully and without falling into falsehood identify a Brahmin; these two qualities are "being virtuous and being learned and wise". Sonadanda adds that it
2140-680: Is a late 15th-century religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent . Sikh texts mention Varna as Varan , and Jati as Zat or Zat-biradari . Eleanor Nesbitt, a professor of Religion and specialising in Christian, Hindu and Sikh studies, states that the Varan is described as a class system in 18th- to 20th-century Sikh literature, while Zat reflected the endogamous occupational groups (caste). The Sikh texts authored by
2247-493: Is a theoretical four-part division, jāti (community) refers to the thousands of actual endogamous social groups prevalent across the subcontinent. The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than the varnas , as it provided a convenient shorthand; but a problem arises when colonial Indologists sometimes confuse the two. Upon independence from Britain, the Indian Constitution listed 1,108 Jatis across
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#17327907482892354-524: Is assigned a heredity-based class and socio-political rank over which the individual exercises no control but which determines all aspects of his or her life." Called Songbun , Barbara Demick describes this "class structure" as an updating of the hereditary "caste system", a combination of Confucianism and Communism . It originated in 1946 and was entrenched by the 1960s, and consisted of 53 categories ranging across three classes: loyal, wavering, and impure. The privileged "loyal" class included members of
2461-540: Is discussed in the Dharma-shastra texts, but only in the context of the individual's moral, ritual and biological pollution (eating certain kinds of food such as meat, urination and defecation). In his review of Dharma-shastras, Olivelle writes, "we see no instance when a term of pure/impure is used with reference to a group of individuals or a varna or caste". The only mention of impurity in the Shastra texts from
2568-476: Is important to recognize, in theory, Varna is nongenealogical. The four Varnas are not lineages, but categories." The Bhagavad Gita describes the professions, duties and qualities of members of different varnas. There is no entity on earth, or again in heaven among the Devas, that is devoid of these three Gunas, born of Prakriti. Of Brâhmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, as also of Sudras, O scorcher of foes,
2675-492: Is impossible to reduce the requirement for being a Brahmin any further, because "for wisdom is purified by morality, and morality is clarified by wisdom; where one is, the other is, the moral man has wisdom and the wise man has morality, and the combination of morality and wisdom is called the highest thing in the world". Brian Black and Dean Patton state Sonadanda admits after this, "we [Brahmins] only know this much Gotama; it would be well if Reverend Gotama would explain meaning of
2782-405: Is persistence of caste in Indian politics . Caste associations have evolved into caste-based political parties. Political parties and the state perceive caste as an important factor for mobilisation of people and policy development. Studies by Bhatt and Beteille have shown changes in status, openness, mobility in the social aspects of Indian society. As a result of modern socio-economic changes in
2889-528: Is significant controversy over the social classes of Tibet , especially with regards to the serfdom in Tibet controversy . Heidi Fjeld has put forth the argument that pre-1950s Tibetan society was functionally a caste system, in contrast to previous scholars who defined the Tibetan social class system as similar to European feudal serfdom , as well as non-scholarly western accounts which seek to romanticise
2996-445: Is still a common practice in India and Hindu culture. Men are expected to marry within their caste, or one below, with no social repercussions. If a woman marries into a higher caste, then her children will take the status of their father. If she marries down, her family is reduced to the social status of their son in law. In this case, the women are bearers of the egalitarian principle of the marriage. There would be no benefit in marrying
3103-494: Is that of butcher. It originates in the Khitan invasion of Korea in the 11th century. The defeated Khitans who surrendered were settled in isolated communities throughout Goryeo to forestall rebellion. They were valued for their skills in hunting, herding, butchering, and making of leather, common skill sets among nomads. Over time, their ethnic origin was forgotten, and they formed the bottom layer of Korean society. In 1392, with
3210-699: Is the earliest mention of Varna and Jati in Jainism literature. Jinasena does not trace the origin of Varna system to Rigveda or to Purusha Sukta, instead traces varna to the Bharata legend. According to this legend, Bharata performed an " ahimsa -test" (test of non-violence), and those members of his community who refused to harm or hurt any living being were called as the priestly varna in ancient India, and Bharata called them dvija , twice born. Jinasena states that those who are committed to ahimsa are deva-Brāhmaṇas , divine Brahmins. The text Adi purana also discusses
3317-693: Is untouched by [pride and egoism], he only is the Brahmana. Such is the opinion of the Vedas, the smritis, the Itihasa and the Puranas. Otherwise one cannot obtain the status of a Brahmana." The Mahabharata , estimated to have been completed by about the 4th century CE, discusses the Varna system in section 12.181. The Epic offers two models on Varna. The first model describes Varna as colour-coded system, through
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3424-566: The Tira of Sudan, the exclusionary principle has been driven by evolving social factors. Among the Igbo of Nigeria – especially Enugu , Anambra , Imo , Abia , Ebonyi , Edo and Delta states of the country – scholar Elijah Obinna finds that the Osu caste system has been and continues to be a major social issue. The Osu caste is determined by one's birth into a particular family irrespective of
3531-468: The casta system of racial classification, based on whether a person was of pure European, Indigenous or African descent, or some mix thereof, with the different groups being placed in a racial hierarchy; however, despite the etymological connection between the Latin American casta system and South Asian caste systems (the former giving its name to the latter), it is controversial to what extent
3638-514: The 1901 Census of India led by colonial administrator Herbert Hope Risley, all the jātis were grouped under the theoretical varnas categories. According to political scientist Lloyd Rudolph , Risley believed that varna , however ancient, could be applied to all the modern castes found in India, and "[he] meant to identify and place several hundred million Indians within it." The terms varna (conceptual classification based on occupation) and jāti (groups) are two distinct concepts: while varna
3745-475: The Government of India . Citations Bibliography Caste A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification : a caste system . Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste ( endogamy ), follow lifestyles often linked to a particular occupation, hold a ritual status observed within
3852-669: The Gupta Empire . From 1901 onwards, for the purposes of the Decennial Census , the British colonial authorities arbitrarily and incorrectly forced all Jātis into the four Varna categories as described in ancient texts. Herbert Hope Risley , the Census Commissioner, noted that "The principle suggested as a basis was that of classification by social precedence as recognized by native public opinion at
3959-486: The Guru Granth Sahib in their Gurdwaras with the texts of Ravidas. The terms varna (theoretical classification based on occupation) and jāti (caste) are two distinct concepts. Jāti (community) refers to the thousands of endogamous groups prevalent across the subcontinent. A jati may be divided into exogamous groups based on the same gotras . The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than
4066-628: The Kali Yuga , the age of immorality and decline. The varna system is extensively discussed in the Dharma-shastras. The Varna system in Dharma-shastras divides society into four varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishya and Shudras). Those who fall out of this system because of their grievous sins are ostracised as outcastes (untouchables) and considered outside the varna system. Barbarians and those who are unrighteous or unethical are also considered outcastes. Recent scholarship suggests that
4173-654: The Khalsa Dharam Sastar in 1914 argued that the entry of certain Sikh castes into major Sikh shrines should be barred. Similarly, in practice and its texts, the Gurus of Sikhism did not condemn or break with the convention of marrying (and marrying off their children) within the jati , and all the Sikh Gurus were Khatri, had Khatri wives and practiced arranged marriages within their zat . According to Dhavan,
4280-529: The Korean Workers' Party and Korean People's Army officers' corps, the wavering class included peasants, and the impure class included collaborators with Imperial Japan and landowners . She claims that a bad family background is called "tainted blood", and that by law this "tainted blood" lasts three generations. There are three hereditary groups, often called castes, in Yazidism . Membership in
4387-653: The Manusmriti . The earliest application to the formal division into four social classes (without using the term varna ) appears in the late Rigvedic Purusha Sukta ( RV 10 .90.11–12), which has the Brahman, Rajanya (instead of Kshatriya), Vaishya and Shudra classes forming the mouth, arms, thighs and feet at the sacrifice of the primordial Purusha , respectively: 11. When they divided Purusa how many portions did they make? What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet? 12. The Brahman
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4494-573: The Other Backwards Class category. Whether or not this would happen was a significant issue in the campaign for the 2014 Indian general election . They are among 17 OBC communities that were again proposed for Scheduled Caste status by the Samajwadi Party -controlled Government of Uttar Pradesh . However, this proposal, which relates to votebank politics , has been stayed by the courts; the prior attempt had been rejected by
4601-778: The Rahanweyn agro-pastoral clans and the occupational clans such as the Madhiban were traditionally sometimes treated as outcasts. As Gabboye, the Madhiban along with the Yibir and Tumaal (collectively referred to as sab ) have since obtained political representation within Somalia , and their general social status has improved with the expansion of urban centers. Varna (Hinduism) Traditional ' Varṇa' ( Sanskrit : वर्ण , Hindi pronunciation: ['ʋəɾɳə] ), in
4708-526: The Sunjata epic, led to the formation of blacksmith and bard castes among the people that ultimately became the Mali empire. As West Africa evolved over time, sub-castes emerged that acquired secondary specialisations or changed occupations. Endogamy was prevalent within a caste or among a limited number of castes, yet castes did not form demographic isolates according to Tamari. Social status according to caste
4815-619: The Tukulor , Songhay , Dogon , Senufo , Minianka , Moors, Manding , Soninke , Wolof , Serer , Fulani , and Tuareg . Castes appeared among the Malinke people no later than 14th century, and was present among the Wolof and Soninke , as well as some Songhay and Fulani populations, no later than 16th century. Tamari claims that wars, such as the Sosso-Malinke war described in
4922-483: The jonow slaves as inferior. Similarly, the Wolof in Senegal is divided into three main groups, the geer (freeborn/nobles), jaam (slaves and slave descendants) and the underclass neeno . In various parts of West Africa, Fulani societies also have class divisions. Other castes include Griots , Forgerons , and Cordonniers . Tamari has described endogamous castes of over fifteen West African peoples, including
5029-402: The sangmin ( 상민-常民 : literally 'commoner'), farmers working their own fields. Korea also had a serf population known as the nobi . The nobi population could fluctuate up to about one third of the population, but on average the nobi made up about 10% of the total population. In 1801, the vast majority of government nobi were emancipated, and by 1858 the nobi population stood at about 1.5% of
5136-604: The sanskritisation process. In more recent times, the All-India Kashyap Rajput Mahasabha pressure group was established prior to the 1941 census of British India to lobby the census authorities to record the caste as Kashyap Rajput rather than by any other name. There were proposals in 2013 that some or all of the communities related to Kashyap in the state should be reclassified as Scheduled Castes under India's system of positive discrimination ; this would have involved declassifying them from
5243-443: The "Osus" people as "owned by deities" and outcasts. The Songhai economy was based on a caste system. The most common were metalworkers, fishermen, and carpenters. Lower caste participants consisted of mostly non-farm working immigrants, who at times were provided special privileges and held high positions in society. At the top were noblemen and direct descendants of the original Songhai people, followed by freemen and traders. In
5350-484: The 1st millennium is about people who commit grievous sins and thereby fall out of their varna. These, writes Olivelle, are called "fallen people" and impure, declaring that they be ostracised. Olivelle adds that the overwhelming focus in matters relating to purity/impurity in the Dharma-sastra texts concerns "individuals irrespective of their varna affiliation" and all four varnas could attain purity or impurity by
5457-570: The Dharma literature is concerned with the individual and not with groups, with purification and not with purity, and lends little support to a theory which makes relative purity the foundation of social stratification. The first three varnas are described in the Dharmashastras as " twice born " and they are allowed to study the Vedas . Such a restriction of who can study Vedas is not found in
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#17327907482895564-858: The European term "caste" . The varna system is discussed in Hindu texts, and understood as idealised human callings. The concept is generally traced to the Purusha Sukta verse of the Rig Veda. In the post-Vedic period, the varna division is described in the Mahabharata , Puranas and in the Dharmashastra literatures . The commentary on the Varna system in the Manusmriti is often cited. Counter to these textual classifications, many Hindu texts and doctrines question and disagree with
5671-612: The Kshatriyas, born of (their own) nature. Agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade are the duties of the Vaishyas, born of (their own) nature; and action consisting of service is the duty of the Sudras, born of (their own) nature. The Brahma Purana states that acting against both varna and ashrama (stage) , which together guide one's dharma, leads to hell. The Brahmanda Purana calls associations between low and high varnas signs of
5778-694: The Manjo were commonly referred to as hunters, given the lowest status equal only to slaves." The Borana Oromo of southern Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa also have a class system, wherein the Wata, an acculturated hunter-gatherer group, represent the lowest class. Though the Wata today speak the Oromo language , they have traditions of having previously spoken another language before adopting Oromo. The traditionally nomadic Somali people are divided into clans, wherein
5885-631: The Mauryas, Shalivahanas, Chalukyas, Kakatiyas among many others, were founded by people who would have been classified as Shudras, under the Varnas system, as interpreted by the British rulers. It is well established that by the 9th century, kings from all the four Varnas, including Brahmins and Vaishyas, had occupied the highest seat in the monarchical system in Hindu India, contrary to the Varna theory. In many instances, as in Bengal, historically
5992-417: The Portuguese who first employed casta in the primary modern sense of the English word 'caste' when they applied it to the thousands of endogamous, hereditary Indian social groups they encountered upon their arrival in India in 1498. The use of the spelling caste , with this latter meaning, is first attested in English in 1613. In the Latin American context, the term caste is sometimes used to describe
6099-471: The Rahit-namas and other prescriptive Sikh texts from mid-18th century onwards accommodate and affirm the "natal and marriage traditions of different caste groups within the Sikh community". Ravidassi Sikhs and Ramgarhia Sikhs follow their own textual and festive traditions, gather in their own places of worship. These are varan-based (caste-based) religious congregations that emerged from Sikhism, states Nesbitt. The Ravidassia group, for example, emphasizes
6206-401: The Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality". Ram Sharan Sharma states that "the Rig Vedic society was neither organized on the basis of social division of labour nor on that of differences in wealth ... [it] was primarily organised on the basis of kin, tribe and lineage." The Chandogya Upanishad indicates that a person's varna is determined on
6313-401: The Sikh Gurus and by non-Sikh Bhagats such as the Namdev , Ravidas and Kabir , states Nesbitt, declared the irrelevance of varan or zat of one's birth to one's spiritual destiny. They taught that "all of humanity had a single refuge" and that the divine teaching is for everyone. Sikhism teaches a society without any varan . In practice, states Harjot Oberoi, secondary Sikh texts such as
6420-619: The Varna system of social classification. In India, communities that belong to one of the four varnas or classes are called savarna Hindus. The Dalits and tribals who do not belong to any varna were called avarna . The word appears in the Rigveda , where it means "colour, outward appearance, exterior, form, figure or shape". The word means "color, tint, dye or pigment" in the Mahabharata . Varna contextually means "colour, race, tribe, species, kind, sort, nature, character, quality, property" of an object or people in some Vedic and medieval texts. Varna refers to four social classes in
6527-465: The Varnas, he asks? The Mahabharata then declares, according to Alf Hiltebeitel , a professor of religion, "There is no distinction of Varnas. This whole universe is Brahman. It was created formerly by Brahma, came to be classified by acts." The Mahabharata thereafter recites a behavioural model for Varna, that those who were inclined to anger, pleasures and boldness attained the Kshatriya Varna; those who were inclined to cattle rearing and living off
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#17327907482896634-525: The Vedic era literature. Manusmriti assigns cattle rearing as Vaishya occupation but historical evidence shows that Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Shudras also owned and reared cattle and that cattle-wealth was mainstay of their households. Ramnarayan Rawat, a professor of History and specialising in social exclusion in the Indian subcontinent, states that 19th century British records show that Chamars , listed as untouchables, also owned land and cattle and were active agriculturalists. The emperors of Kosala and
6741-537: The Yazidi society and a caste is conferred by birth. Pîrs and Sheikhs are the priestly castes , which are represented by many sacred lineages ( Kurdish : Ocax ). Sheikhs are in charge of both religious and administrative functions and are divided into three endogamous houses, Şemsanî, Adanî and Qatanî who are in turn divided into lineages. The Pîrs are in charge of purely religious functions and traditionally consist of 40 lineages or clans, but approximately 90 appellations of Pîr lineages have been found, which may have been
6848-485: The antiquated system of arranged endogamy. India has also implemented a form of Affirmative Action, locally known as "reservation groups". Quota system jobs, as well as placements in publicly funded colleges, hold spots for the 8% of India's minority, and underprivileged groups. As a result, in states such as Tamil Nadu or those in the north-east , where underprivileged populations predominate, over 80% of government jobs are set aside in quotas. In education, colleges lower
6955-410: The basis of their actions in their previous life. Among them, those who did good work in this world [in their past life] attain a good birth accordingly. They are born as a brāhmin, a kṣatriya, or a vaiśya. But those who did bad work in this world [in their past life] attain a bad birth accordingly, being born as a dog, a pig, or as a casteless person. The Vajrasuchi Upanishad , however, states that
7062-443: The content of their character, ethical intent, actions, innocence or ignorance, stipulations, and ritualistic behaviours. Olivelle states: Dumont is correct in his assessment that the ideology of varna is not based on purity. If it were we should expect to find at least some comment on the relative purity and impurity of the different vamas. What is even more important is that the ideology of purity and impurity that emerges from
7169-421: The context of Hinduism , refers to a social class within a hierarchical traditional Hindu society. The ideology is epitomized in texts like Manusmriti , which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes their occupations, requirements and duties, or Dharma . This quadruple division is a form of social stratification, quite different from the more nuanced system of Jātis , which correspond to
7276-425: The country as Scheduled Castes in 1950, for positive discrimination . This constitution would also ban discrimination of the basis of the caste, though its practice in India remained intact. The Untouchable communities are sometimes called Scheduled Castes , Dalit or Harijan in contemporary literature. In 2001, Dalits were 16.2% of India's population. Most of the 15 million bonded child workers are from
7383-426: The country, India is experiencing significant changes in the dynamics and the economics of its social sphere. While arranged marriages are still the most common practice in India, the internet has provided a network for younger Indians to take control of their relationships through the use of dating apps. This remains isolated to informal terms, as marriage is not often achieved through the use of these apps. Hypergamy
7490-403: The daimyo, with 80% of peasants under the 5% samurai class, followed by craftsmen and merchants. However, various studies have revealed since about 1995 that the classes of peasants, craftsmen, and merchants under the samurai are equal, and the old hierarchy chart has been removed from Japanese history textbooks. In other words, peasants, craftsmen, and merchants are not a social pecking order, but
7597-456: The discussion of varna as well as untouchable outcastes in these texts does not resemble the modern era caste system in India. Patrick Olivelle , a professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions and credited with modern translations of Vedic literature, Dharma-sutras and Dharma-shastras, states that ancient and medieval Indian texts do not support the ritual pollution, purity-impurity as the basis for varna system. According to Olivelle, purity-impurity
7704-515: The duties are distributed according to the Gunas born of their own nature. The control of the mind and the senses, austerity, purity, forbearance, and also uprightness, knowledge, realisation, belief in a hereafter– these are the duties of the Brâhmanas, born of (their own) nature. Prowess, boldness, fortitude, dexterity, and also not flying from battle, generosity and sovereignty are the duties of
7811-407: The economic significance of the caste system in India has been declining as a result of urbanisation and affirmative action programs. A subject of much scholarship by sociologists and anthropologists, the Hindu caste system is sometimes used as an analogical basis for the study of caste-like social divisions existing outside Hinduism and India. In colonial Spanish America , mixed-race castas were
7918-509: The following features are common – it has been a closed system of social stratification, the social status is inherited, the castes are hierarchical, certain castes are shunned while others are merely endogamous and exclusionary. In some cases, concepts of purity and impurity by birth have been prevalent in Africa. In other cases, such as the Nupe of Nigeria, the Beni Amer of East Africa, and
8025-636: The foundation of the Confucian Joseon dynasty , Korea systemised its own native class system. At the top were the two official classes, the Yangban , which literally means "two classes". It was composed of scholars ( munban ) and warriors ( muban ). Scholars had a significant social advantage over the warriors. Below were the jung-in ( 중인-中人 : literally "middle people"). This was a small class of specialised professions such as medicine, accounting, translators, regional bureaucrats, etc. Below that were
8132-579: The insulting term eta , now called burakumin . While modern law has officially abolished the class hierarchy, there are reports of discrimination against the buraku or burakumin underclasses. The burakumin are regarded as "ostracised". The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan , along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō and those of Korean or Chinese descent. The baekjeong ( 백정 ) were an "untouchable" outcaste of Korea. The meaning today
8239-551: The kings and rulers had been called upon, when required, to mediate on the ranks of Jātis , which might number in thousands all over the subcontinent and vary by region. In practice, the jātis may or may not fit into the Varna classes and many prominent Jatis , for example the Jats and Yadavs, straddled two Varnas i.e. Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, and the Varna status of Jātis itself was subject to articulation over time. Starting with
8346-443: The last century. It is well known that urban centers tend to be less reliant on agriculture and are more progressive as a whole. As India's cities boomed in population, the job market grew to keep pace. Prosperity and stability were now more easily attained by an individual, and the anxiety to marry quickly and effectively was reduced. Thus, younger, more progressive generations of urban Indians are less likely than ever to participate in
8453-408: The lowest castes. Independent India has witnessed caste-related violence . In 2005, government recorded approximately 110,000 cases of reported violent acts, including rape and murder, against Dalits. The socio-economic limitations of the caste system are reduced due to urbanisation and affirmative action . Nevertheless, the caste system still exists in endogamy and patrimony , and thrives in
8560-561: The marks necessary for the Dalits to enter. The Nepali caste system resembles in some respects the Indian jāti system, with numerous jāti divisions with a varna system superimposed. Inscriptions attest the beginnings of a caste system during the Licchavi period. Jayasthiti Malla (1382–1395) categorised Newars into 64 castes (Gellner 2001). A similar exercise was made during the reign of Mahindra Malla (1506–1575). The Hindu social code
8667-469: The more numerous Hutu and the least numerous Twa regarded, by birth, as respectively, second and third in the hierarchy of Rwandese society. These groups were largely endogamous, exclusionary and with limited mobility. In Ethiopia, there have been a number of studies of castes. Broad studies of castes have been written by Alula Pankhurst has published a study of caste groups in SW Ethiopia . and
8774-528: The most common surname and its bongwan in the local area. Along with this example, activists within and outside the Korean government had based their visions of a new relationship between the government and people through the concept of citizenship, employing the term inmin ("people") and later, kungmin ("citizen"). The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea reported that "Every North Korean citizen
8881-593: The old registration system signified household members according to their hierarchical social status, the new system called for an occupation. While most Koreans by then had surnames and even bongwan , although still substantial number of cheonmin , mostly consisted of serfs and slaves, and untouchables did not. According to the new system, they were then required to fill in the blanks for surname in order to be registered as constituting separate households. Instead of creating their own family name, some cheonmins appropriated their masters' surname, while others simply took
8988-595: The phenomenon of caste" in India. Ancient Buddhist texts mention Varna system in South Asia, but the details suggest that it was non-rigid, flexible, non-hierarchal, and with characteristics devoid of features of a social stratification system. Digha Nikaya provides a discussion between Gotama Buddha and a Hindu Brahmin named Sonadanda who was very learned in the Vedas . Gotama Buddha asks, "By how many qualities do Brahmins recognize another Brahmin? How would one declare truthfully and without falling into falsehood, "I am
9095-510: The plough attained the Vaishyas; those who were fond of violence, covetousness and impurity attained the Shudras. The Brahmin class is modelled in the epic, as the archetype default state of man dedicated to truth, austerity and pure conduct. Indeed, it goes on to assert that all men are children of Brahmins, which does not make sense, unless understood this way.In the Mahabharata and pre-medieval era Hindu texts, according to Hiltebeitel, "it
9202-507: The politics of democracy, where caste provides ready made constituencies to politicians. The globalisation and economic opportunities from foreign businesses has influenced the growth of India's middle-class population. Some members of the Chhattisgarh Potter Caste Community (CPCC) are middle-class urban professionals and no longer potters unlike the remaining majority of traditional rural potter members. There
9309-495: The present day, and manifesting itself in the facts that particular castes are supposed to be the modern representatives of one or other of the castes of the theoretical Indian system." Varna , as mentioned in ancient Hindu texts, describes society as divided into four categories: Brahmins (scholars and yajna priests), Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), Vaishyas (farmers, merchants and artisans) and Shudras (workmen/service providers). The texts do not mention any hierarchy or
9416-511: The priestly function, and that the Brahmin took food from anyone, suggesting that strictures of commensality were as yet unknown. The Nikaya texts also imply that endogamy was not mandated in ancient India. Masefield concludes, "if any form of caste system was known during the Nikaya period - and it is doubtful that it was - this was in all probability restricted to certain non-Aryan groups". Ādi purāṇa , an 8th-century text of Jainism by Jinasena,
9523-429: The prince of Kasi are other examples. Tim Ingold , an anthropologist, writes that the Manusmriti is a highly schematic commentary on the varna system, but it too provides "models rather than descriptions". Susan Bayly states that Manusmriti and other scriptures helped elevate Brahmin in the social hierarchy and these were a factor in the making of the varna system, but the ancient texts did not in some way "create
9630-554: The relationship between varna and jati. According to Padmanabh Jaini , a professor of Indic studies, Jainism and Buddhism, the Adi purana text states "there is only one jati called manusyajati or the human caste, but divisions arise account of their different professions". The varna of Kshatriya arose when Rishabh procured weapons to serve the society and assumed the powers of a king, while Vaishya and Shudra varna arose from different means of livelihood in which they specialised. Sikhism
9737-487: The religion practised by the individual. Once born into Osu caste, this Nigerian person is an outcast, shunned and ostracised, with limited opportunities or acceptance, regardless of his or her ability or merit. Obinna discusses how this caste system-related identity and power is deployed within government, Church and indigenous communities. The osu class systems of eastern Nigeria and southern Cameroon are derived from indigenous religious beliefs and discriminate against
9844-470: The same time, the baekjeong began to resist open social discrimination. They focused on social and economic injustices affecting them, hoping to create an egalitarian Korean society. Their efforts included attacking social discrimination by upper class, authorities, and "commoners", and the use of degrading language against children in public schools. With the Gabo reform of 1896, the class system of Korea
9951-597: The social identity inherited. Among the Kafa , there were also traditionally groups labelled as castes. "Based on research done before the Derg regime, these studies generally presume the existence of a social hierarchy similar to the caste system. At the top of this hierarchy were the Kafa, followed by occupational groups including blacksmiths (Qemmo), weavers (Shammano), bards (Shatto), potters, and tanners (Manno). In this hierarchy,
10058-412: The status of brahman is not based on birth, knowledge, or karma, but on the direct realisation of one's own Atman (inner self, soul). "Who indeed then is a Brahmana? He who has directly realized his Atman is without a second, devoid of class and actions[…] that exists penetrating all things that pervade everything. [He who] is devoid of the faults of thirst after worldly objects and passions… Whose mind
10165-582: The teachings of Bhagat Ravidas – a poet-saint born in a family whose traditional untouchable occupation related to dead animals and leather. They consider the teachings of living Gurus and the texts of Ravidass Dera as sacred and spiritually as important as the historic Sikh Gurus. This is rejected by Khalsa Sikhs. The disagreements have led the Ravidassia Sikhs to launch the Ravidassia religion movement which, amongst other things seeks to replace
10272-538: The textbook jāti system found in India. Ancient Sri Lankan texts such as the Pujavaliya, Sadharmaratnavaliya and Yogaratnakaraya and inscriptional evidence show that the above hierarchy prevailed throughout the feudal period. The repetition of the same caste hierarchy even as recently as the 18th century, in the Kandyan-period Kadayimpoth – Boundary books as well indicates the continuation of
10379-684: The total population of Korea. The hereditary nobi system was officially abolished around 1886–87 and the rest of the nobi system was abolished with the Gabo Reform of 1894, but traces remained until 1930. The opening of Korea to foreign Christian missionary activity in the late 19th century saw some improvement in the status of the baekjeong . However, everyone was not equal under the Christian congregation, and even so protests erupted when missionaries tried to integrate baekjeong into worship, with non- baekjeong finding this attempt insensitive to traditional notions of hierarchical advantage. Around
10486-469: The tradition right up to the end of Sri Lanka's monarchy. Balinese caste structure has been described as being based either on three categories—the noble triwangsa (thrice born), the middle class of dwijāti (twice born), and the lower class of ekajāti (once born), much similar to the traditional Indian BKVS social stratification — or on four castes The Brahmana caste was further subdivided by Dutch ethnographers into two: Siwa and Buda. The Siwa caste
10593-684: The two [morality, wisdom]". Peter Masefield, a Buddhism scholar and ancient Pali texts translator, states that during the Nikāya texts period of Buddhism (3rd century BC to 5th century AD), Varna as a class system is attested, but the described Varna was not a caste system. The Pali texts enumerate the four Varnas Brahmin , "Kshatriya", Vessa (Vaishya) and Sudda (Shudra). Masefield notes that people in any Varna could in principle perform any profession. The early Buddhist texts, for instance, identify some Brahmins to be farmers and in other professions. The text state that anyone, of any birth, could perform
10700-417: The two phenomena are really comparable. Modern India's caste system is based on the superimposition of an old four-fold theoretical classification called varna on the social ethnic grouping called jāti . The Vedic period conceptualised a society as consisting of four types of varnas , or categories: Brahmin , Kshatriya , Vaishya and Shudra , according to the nature of the work of its members. Varna
10807-603: The world, mobility is sometimes possible within sub-castes, but not across caste lines. Farmers and artisans have been, claims Richter, distinct castes. Certain sub-castes are shunned more than others. For example, exogamy is rare for women born into families of woodcarvers. Similarly, the Mandé societies in Gambia , Ghana , Guinea , Ivory Coast , Liberia , Senegal and Sierra Leone have social stratification systems that divide society by ethnic ties. The Mande class system regards
10914-754: Was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rajanya made. His thighs became the Vaishya, from his feet the Shudra was produced. Some modern indologists believe the Purusha Sukta to be a later addition, possibly as a charter myth . Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, a professor of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in
11021-611: Was inherited by off-springs automatically; but this inheritance was paternal. That is, children of higher caste men and lower caste or slave concubines would have the caste status of the father. Ethel M. Albert in 1960 claimed that the societies in Central Africa were caste-like social stratification systems. Similarly, in 1961, Maquet notes that the society in Rwanda and Burundi can be best described as castes. The Tutsi , noted Maquet, considered themselves as superior, with
11128-614: Was later set up in the Gorkha Kingdom by Ram Shah (1603–1636). McKim Marriott claims a social stratification that is hierarchical, closed, endogamous and hereditary is widely prevalent, particularly in western parts of Pakistan. Frederik Barth in his review of this system of social stratification in Pakistan suggested that these are castes. The caste system in Sri Lanka is a division of society into strata, influenced by
11235-456: Was not an inherited category and the occupation determined the varna. However, a person's Jati is determined at birth and makes them take up that Jati's occupation; members could and did change their occupation based on personal strengths as well as economic, social and political factors. A 2016 study based on the DNA analysis of unrelated Indians determined that endogamous jatis originated during
11342-530: Was officially abolished. Following the collapse of the Gabo government , the new cabinet, which became the Gwangmu government after the establishment of the Korean Empire , introduced systematic measures for abolishing the traditional class system. One measure was the new household registration system, reflecting the goals of formal social equality , which was implemented by the loyalists' cabinet. Whereas
11449-411: Was subdivided into five: Kemenuh, Keniten, Mas, Manuba and Petapan. This classification was to accommodate the observed marriage between higher-caste Brahmana men with lower-caste women. The other castes were similarly further sub-classified by 19th-century and early-20th-century ethnographers based on numerous criteria ranging from profession, endogamy or exogamy or polygamy, and a host of other factors in
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