97. Decline of the caste system.
The caste system has maintained its vigour unimpaired either by the political vicissitudes and foreign invasions of India or by Muhammadan persecution. Except where it has been affected by European education and inventions, Hindu society preserved until recently a remarkably close resemblance to that of ancient Greece and Rome in the classical period. But several signs point to the conclusion that the decay of caste as the governing factor of Indian society is in sight. The freedom in selection of occupation which now obtains appears to strike at the root of the caste system, because the relative social status and gradation of castes is based on their traditional occupations. When in a large number of the principal castes the majority of the members have abandoned their traditional occupation and taken freely to others, the relative status of castes becomes a fiction, which, though it has hitherto subsisted, cannot apparently be indefinitely maintained. The great extension of education undertaken by Government and warmly advocated by the best Indian opinion exercises an analogous influence. Education is free to all, and, similarly, in the careers which it opens to the most successful boys there is no account of caste. Thus members of quite low castes obtain a good social position and, as regards them personally, the prejudices and contempt for their caste necessarily fall into abeyance. The process must, probably, in time extend to general social toleration. The educated classes are also coming to regard the restrictions on food and drink, and on eating and drinking with others, as an irksome and unnecessary bar to social intercourse, and are gradually abandoning them. This tendency is greatly strengthened by the example and social contact of Europeans. Finally, the facilities for travelling and the democratic nature of modern travel have a very powerful effect. The great majority of Hindus of all castes are obliged by their comparative poverty to avail themselves of the cheap third-class fares, and have to rub shoulders together in packed railway carriages. Soon they begin to realise that this does them no harm, and get accustomed to it, with the result that the prejudices about bodily contact tend to disappear. The opinion has been given that the decline of social exclusiveness in England was largely due to the introduction of railway travelling. Taking account of all these influences, and assuming their continuance, the inference may safely be drawn that the life of the Indian caste system is limited, though no attempt can be made to estimate the degree of its vitality, nor to predict the form and constitution of the society which will arise on its decay.
[1] Indian Caste, p. 12.
[2] Dr. Wilson’s Indian Caste (Times Press and Messrs. Blackwood), 1875, p. 88, quoting from Rig-Veda.
[3] Dr. Wilson’s Indian Caste (Times Press and Messrs. Blackwood), 1875, p. 88, quoting from Rig-Veda.
[4] Rig-Veda, i. 11. Wilson, ibidem, p. 94.
[5] Wilson, ibidem, p. 99.
[6] Manu, ii. 17, 24.
[7] Barbarians or foreigners.
[8] See Burnett and Hopkins, Ordinances of Manu, s.v.
[9] Wilson, Indian Caste, p. 170, quoting Weber, Indische Studien, i. 170.
[10] A collection of rules for sacrifices and other rites, coming between the Vedas and the law-books, and dated by Max Müller between 600–200 B.C.
[11] Wilson, Indian Caste, p. 182.
[12] Wilson, p. 184, quoting from Shrauta-sūtra of Kātyayana, 1. 1. 6.
[13] Manu, iv. 99; iii. 178.
[14] Wilson, pp. 421, 422.
[15] Wilson, p. 187, quoting from Hiranyakeshi Sūtra.
[16] See article Mehtar in text.
[17] Wilson, p. 363, quoting from Smriti of Angira.
[18] Wilson, Indian Caste, p. 195, from Hiranyakeshi Sūtra.
[19] Manu, viii. 417.
[20] Wilson, p. 260, quoting Mahābhārata, viii. 1367 et seq.
[21] Wilson, p. 403, quoting from Vyavahāra Mayūkha.
[22] Wilson, p. 400, from Parāshara Smriti.
[23] Wilson, p. 140, quoting from Atharva Veda, iv. 32. 1.
[24] Wilson, p. 211.
[25] Wilson, Indian Caste, referring to Ptolemy, vii. 1. 61 and vi. 120. 3.
[26] Wilson, pp. 113, 114.
[27] See for the impure castes para. 40 post.
[28] The word “aboriginal” is used here for convenience and not as conveying any assertion as to the origin of the pre-Aryan population.
[29] Bombay Gazetteer, Pārsis of Gujarāt, p. 213.
[30] Rig-Veda, 6. 3. 16, quoted by Wilson, Indian Caste, p. 110.
[31] Wilson, p. 109.
[32] Monier-Williams, Sanskrit Dictionary, pointed out by Mr. Crooke.
[33] Quoted by Wilson, p. 209. It would seem probable, however, that the Vaishyas must themselves have formed the rank and file of the fighting force, at least in the early period.
[34] Manu, i. 90.
[35] Wilson, Indian Caste, p. 193, quoting from Hiranyakeshi Sūtra.
[36] Wilson, p. 260, quoting Mahābhārata, viii. 1367 et seq.
[37] Mahābhārata, xii. 2749 et seq.
[38] List of classes of Indian society given in the Purusha-Medha of the White Yajur-Veda, Wilson, pp. 126–135.
[39] Manu, viii. 113.
[40] Hopkin’s and Burnett’s Code of Manu, x. 64, 65, and footnotes.
[41] Mahābhārata, xiii. 2510 et. seq., quoted by Wilson, p. 272.
[42] Manu, ix. 149, 157.
[43] Manu indeed declares that such children could not be initiated (x. 68), but it is clear that they must, as a matter of fact, have been capable of initiation or they could not possibly have been married in the father’s caste.
[44] See article on Brāhman for some further details.
[45] Wilson, Indian Caste, i. 440, quoting Brahma Vaivarrta Purāna.
[46] See article Bhāt for further discussion of this point.
[47] Dolichos uniflorus.
[48] See article Jāt for a more detailed discussion of their status.
[49] Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Khandait.
[50] Proprietors of large landed estates.
[51] See article on Kunbi, para. 1.
[52] Village Communities, p. 127.
[53] History of the Marāthas, vol. i. p. 25.
[54] Village Communities, pp. 226, 227.
[55] The Aryan Household, ed. 1891, p. 190.
[56] Ibidem, p. 228. Professor Hearn followed Sir Henry Maine in thinking that the clan was an expansion of the patriarchal joint family; but the reasons against this view are given subsequently.
[57] Memoir of Central India, vol. ii. p. 22.
[58] La Cité antique, 21st ed. pp. 66, 68.
[59] La Cité antique, 21 st ed. pp. 66, 68.
[60] Nigeria, quoted in Saturday Review, 6th April 1912.
[61] Religion of the Semites, p. 96.
[62] See article Sunār for a discussion of the sanctity of gold and silver, and the ornaments made from them.
[63] Michelia champaka, a variety of the jack or bread-fruit tree.
[64] See article Darzi for further discussion of the use of sewn clothes in India.
[65] See articles on Bhulia, Panka, Kori and Julāha.
[66] Traill’s Account of Kumaon, Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi. (1828) p. 213.
[67] Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Bāri.
[68] Pointed out by Mr. Crooke.
[69] The Marāthi name for the god Hanumān.
[70] Linguistic Survey, vol. iv., Munda and Dravidian Languages, p. 7.
[71] Acacia catechu.
[72] See article on Gond.
[73] Linguistic Survey, p. 15.
[74] Introduction to The Mundas and their Country, p. 9.
[75] Linguistic Survey, p. 277.
[76] See for this the article on Kol, from which the above passage is abridged.
[77] Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xii. p. 175.
[78] Cochin Census Report, 1901, quoted in Sir H. Risley’s Peoples of India, 2nd ed. p. 115.
[79] This was permissible in the time of Asoka, circa 250 B.C. Mr. V.A. Smith’s Asoka, pp. 56, 58.
[80] Sir H. Risley’s Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Tānti.
[81] See article Kanjar for a discussion of the connection of the gipsies and Thugs with the Kanjars.
[82] See article Chamār, para. 1.
[83] Loha, iron; tamba, copper; kānsa, brass or bell-metal; sona, gold.
[84] Kānch, glass.
[85] Phul, flower; haldi,turmeric; jira, cumin.
[86] Crotalaria juncea. See article Lorha for a discussion of the objections to this plant.
[87] Morinda citrifolia. The taboo against the plant is either because the red dye resembles blood, or because a number of insects are destroyed in boiling the roots to extract the dye.
[88] See article on Brāhman.
[89] Sonjhara is a separate caste as well as a subcaste of Dhīmar.
[90] See article Kurmi, appendix, for some instances of territorial names.
[91] Wilson’s Indian Caste, p. 439.
[92] Vol. i. pp. 272, 276.
[93] Studies in Ancient History, p. 123.
[94] See lists of totems of Australian and Red Indian tribes. Sir J.G. Frazer notes that the majority are edible animals or plants.
[95] Address to the British Association, 1902. I had not had the advantage of reading the address prior to the completion of this work.
[96] M’Lennan, Studies in Ancient History, p. 123, quoting from Grant’s Origin and Descent of the Gael.
[97] Totemism and Exogamy, i. pp. 112, 120, ii. p. 536, iii. pp. 100, 162; Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 209–10; Native Tribes of South-East Australia p. 145; Native Tribes of Northern Australia (Professor Baldwin Spencer), pp. 21, 197; J.H. Weeks, Among the Primitive Bakongo, p. 99.
[98] See pp. II, 138, 190 (Edition 1891).
[99] Totemism and Exogamy, ii. pp. 338, 339.
[100] La Cité Antique, p. 254.
[101] The Origin of Civilisation, 7th ed. p. 246.
[102] W.W. Skeat, Malay Magic, pp. 52, 53.
[103] I. p. 253.
[104] 2nd ed. vol. i. pp. 169, 174. See also Sir E.B. Tylor’s Primitive Culture, i. pp. 282, 286, 295; ii. pp. 170, 181, etc.
[105] See also Primitive Culture, i. pp. 119, 121, 412, 413, 514.
[106] Messrs. Spencer and Gillan, Native Tribes of Central Australia (London, Macmillan), p. 201.
[107] Linguistic Survey of India, vol. iv., Munda and Dravidian Languages, pp. 40, 41, 45.
[108] Linguistic Survey of India, vol. iv., Munda and Dravidian Languages, pp. 292, 294.
[109] Dr. A.H. Keane, The World’s Peoples, London, Hutchinson, 1908, p. 50.
[110] Nimār Settlement Report.
[111] See also Primitive Culture, i. p. 408.
[112] The Oraons, pp. 408, 409.
[113] 2nd ed. vol. ii. p. 457 et seq.
[114] For instances of omens see article Thug and Index. Also Miss Harrison’s Themis, pp. 98, 99.
[115] La Cité Antique, p. 225.
[116] W.W. Skeat, Malay Magic, pp. 178, 571.
[117] Early History of Mankind, 3rd ed. p. 143.
[118] Ibidem, p. 125.
[119] See article Joshi for examples of Hindu names.
[120] La Cité Antique, p. 357.
[121] p. 182, et seq.
[122] See para. 61.
[123] I. p. 430.
[124] See article on Nai.
[125] 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 57.
[126] Native Tribes of Central Australia, Introduction, p. 25.
[127] Dr. A. H. Keane, The Worlds Peoples, p. 62.
[128] For counting, see Primitive Culture, 5th ed. pp. 240, 254, 265, 266.
[129] Account of the Mewār Bhils, J.A.S.B., vol. xxiv. (1875) p. 369.
[130] Early History of Mankind, p. 293.
[131] Ibidem, p. 294.
[132] Ibidem, p. 295.
[133] See also Primitive Culture, i. p. 493, ii. p. 431.
[134] See article on Mochi for the Muhammadan reference. The Jewish reference is of course to the Second Commandment.
[135] Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 176.
[136] Ibidem, pp. 181, 182.
[137] The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. ii. p. 120.
[138] The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. iii. p. 301.
[139] Section on the Kol tribe in Dalton’s Ethnology of Bengal.
[140] Mr. S.C. Roy, The Oraons, p. 262.
[141] See also Primitive Culture, 5th ed. ii. pp. 243, 244, 246.
[142] See article on Brāhman.
[143] See article Bairāgi.
[144] Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 185, 186.
[145] Ibidem, pp. 154, 155.
[146] Primitive Culture, 5th ed. ii. pp. 243, 244.
[147] Primitive Culture, 5th ed. ii. pp. 243, 244.
[148] Dr. A.W. Howitt, Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 146. In this case the reference seems to be to any one of several totems of a sub-class.
[149] Dr. A.W. Howitt, Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 145.
[150] Ibidem, pp. 148, 149.
[151] The Religion of the Semites, pp. 273, 274.
[152] Primitive Paternity, vol. i. pp. 272, 273.
[153] The Religion of the Semites, p. 265.
[154] See paragraph 80 below and the article on Kasai.
[155] The Origin of Civilisation, p. 240.
[156] See The Golden Bough, ii. p. 396 et seq.
[157] This view of sacrifice was first enunciated by Professor Robertson Smith in the article on Sacrifice in the Encyclopædia Britannica, and The Religion of the Semites.
[158] History of Human Marriage, p. 324.
[159] Many instances are also given by Mr. Hartland in Primitive Paternity.
[160] Native Tribes of South-East Australia, p. 481.
[161] Primitive Marriage, p. 135, footnote.
[162] Totemism and Exogamy, ii. p. 473, iii. pp. 34, 76, 101, 225, 272, 308, 360. The Australians have secret Churinga names, the Churingas apparently representing the spirits of ancestors which have returned to the totem. (Spencer and Gillan, ibidem, Appendix A.)
[163] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, pp. 198, 200.
[164] Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 70; Natives of Australia, Mr. N.W. Thomas, p. 75.
[165] Totemism and Exogamy, iii. pp. 93, 120, 122, 124, 226, ii. p. 6.
[166] Totemism and Exogamy, vol. iv.
[167] See article Lakhera for further discussion of the marking with vermilion and its substitutes.
[168] La Cité Antique, Paris, Librairie Hachette, 21st ed. p. 4.
[169] La Cité Antique, p. 45.
[170] This word seems to mean elder sister, and is applied by the girls to their sex-totem, the emu-wren.
[171] Native Tribes of S.-E. Australia, p. 149.
[172] History of Human Marriage, pp. 418–420.
[173] The People of India (Thacker & Co.), pp. 171, 173.
[174] Tribes and Castes of the N.-W.P. and Oudh, art. Nunia.
[175] Religion and Customs of the Oraons, Memoirs, As. Socy. of Bengal, vol. i. No. 9.
[176] Mr. S.C. Roy, The Oraons, p. 247.
[177] See article on Rājpūt, para. 9.
[178] Professor W. E. Hearn’s Aryan Household (London, Longmans, Green & Co.), p. 160.
[179] At first the whole gens were the heirs, Ancient Law, p. 221. The group of agnatic kinsmen are mentioned in Early Law and Custom, pp. 238, 239, but not directly as heirs.
[180] Aryan Household, p. 28, quoting Becker’s Charicles, p. 394.
[181] Aryan Household, p. 160, quoting Plutarch, Quaestiones Romanae, c. 6.
[182] La Cité Antique, 21st ed. Paris, Hachette et Cie.
[183] Aryan Household, p. 215.
[184] La Cité Antique, p. 299.
[185] La Cité Antique, p. 304.
[186] Ibidem, pp. 128, 129.
[187] Ibidem, p. 318.
[188] Ibidem, p. 129.
[189] Ibidem, p. 273.
[190] Ibidem, p. 129.
[191] Ibidem, p. 320.
[192] La Cité Antique, p. 279.
[193] Ibidem, pp. 281, 282.
[194] Ibidem, p. 281.
[195] Ibidem, p. 320.
[196] La Cité Antique, p. 179.
[197] Ibidem.
[198] Ibidem.
[199] Ibidem, p. 181.
[200] La Cité Antique, p. 113.
[201] Ibidem, pp. 186–188.
[202] La Cité Antique, ibidem.
[203] Pp. 151, 154.
[204] The above account of the festival and pilgrimage is taken from the Rev. T.P. Hughes’ Dictionary of Islām, articles Idu-l-Azha and Hajj.
[205] La Cité Antique, p. 134.
[206] Ibidem, p. 127.
[207] Para. 48 above.
[208] See article on Rājpūt, para. 9.
[209] The Magic Art, ii. p. 89, quoting Satapatha Brāhmana.
[210] See article on Kasai.
[211] See account in article on Kasai.
[212] Orpheus, pp. 123, 125.
[213] 7th ed. p. 300.
[214] Origin of Civilisation, 7th ed. p. 299.
[215] The Dasahra: an Autumn Festival of the Hindus, Folk-lore, March 1915. Some notice of the Dasahra in the Central Provinces is contained in the article on Kumhār.
[216] Crooke, loc. cit. p. 41.
[217] See also article Mahār.
[218] La Cité Antique, pp. 202, 204.
[219] Imperial Gazetteer of India, ii. p. 312.
[220] Totemism and Exogamy, vol. ii. pp. 528, 530.
[221] Ibidem.
[222] Totemism and Exogamy, vol. ii. p. 608; The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 407.
[223] Dr. A.H. Keane, The World’s Peoples, p. 138.
[224] Mr. L.D. Barnett’s Antiquities of India, p. 171.
[225] The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. vol. i. pp. 234, 235.
[226] Ibidem, vol. ii. pp. 9, 10.
[227] Other features of the sacramental rite, strengthening this hypothesis, are given in the article Kabīrpanthi Sect. The account is taken from Bishop Westcott’s Kabīr and the Kabīrpanth.
[228] See articles Dewar, Bhunjia, Gauria, Sonjhara, Malyār.
[229] Some instances are given in the article on Kalār and on Rājpūt, para. 9.
[230] Dr. A.H. Keane, The World’s Peoples, pp. 129, 130.
[231] Para. 11.
[232] For further notice of Vishnu and Siva see articles Vaishnava and Saiva sects; for Devi see article Kumhār, and for Kāli, article Thug; for Krishna, article Ahīr; for Ganpati, article Bania.
[233] See above, para. 13.
[234] La Cité Antique, p. 341.
[235] Early History of Mankind, pp. 259, 260. The needfire, as described by Sir E.B. Tylor, had the character of a purificatory rite, but it may be doubted whether this was its original form, any more than in the case of the Suovetaurilia or Pola ceremonies.
[236] Mr. J.T. Marten’s Central Provinces Census Report, p. 238.
[237] For further notice of this offence see article Sunār under Ear-piercing.
[238] Para. 61.
[239] “Tarpeia” in M. Salomon Reinach’s Cults, Myths and Religions (English edition, London, David Nutt, 1912).