The Vicious Circle
All societies are based on imagined hierarchies, but not necessarily on the same
hierarchies. What accounts for the di erences? Why did traditional Indian society
classify people according to caste, Ottoman society according to religion, and
American society according to race? In most cases the hierarchy originated as the
result of a set of accidental historical circumstances and was then perpetuated and
refined over many generations as different groups developed vested interests in it.
For
instance, many scholars surmise that the Hindu caste system took shape
when Indo-Aryan people invaded the Indian subcontinent about 3,000 years ago,
subjugating the local population. The invaders established a strati ed society, in
which they – of course – occupied the leading positions (priests and warriors),
leaving the natives to live as servants and slaves. The invaders, who were few in
number, feared losing their privileged status and unique identity. To forestall this
danger, they divided the population into castes, each
of which was required to
pursue a speci c occupation or perform a speci c role in society. Each had
di erent legal status, privileges and duties. Mixing of castes – social interaction,
marriage, even the sharing of meals – was prohibited. And the distinctions were
not just legal – they became an inherent part of religious mythology and practice.
The rulers argued that the caste system re ected an eternal cosmic reality rather
than a chance historical development. Concepts of purity and impurity were
essential
elements in Hindu religion, and they were harnessed to buttress the
social pyramid. Pious Hindus were taught that contact with members of a di erent
caste could pollute not only them personally, but society as a whole, and should
therefore be abhorred. Such ideas are hardly unique to Hindus. Throughout
history, and in almost all societies, concepts of pollution and purity have played a
leading role in enforcing social and political divisions and have been exploited by
numerous ruling classes to maintain their privileges. The fear of pollution is not a
complete fabrication of priests and princes, however. It probably has its roots in
biological survival mechanisms that make humans feel
an instinctive revulsion
towards potential disease carriers, such as sick persons and dead bodies. If you
want to keep any human group isolated – women, Jews, Roma, gays, blacks – the
best way to do it is convince everyone that these people are a source of pollution.
The Hindu caste system and its attendant
laws of purity became deeply
embedded in Indian culture. Long after the Indo-Aryan invasion was forgotten,
Indians continued to believe in the caste system and to abhor the pollution caused
by caste mixing. Castes were not immune to change. In fact, as time went by,
large castes were divided into sub-castes. Eventually
the original four castes
turned into 3,000 di erent groupings called
jati
(literally ‘birth’). But this
proliferation of castes did not change the basic principle of the system, according
to which every person is born into a particular rank, and any infringement of its
rules pollutes the person and society as a whole.
A persons
jati
determines her
profession, the food she can eat, her place of residence and her eligible marriage
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