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Background on Caste Groups in Gujarat, India This page provides background information on the caste system in the hopes of explaining part of the cultural framework behind the historical record from which this study was concieved. The caste system is based on lineage and is inexorably entwined with the Hindu belief system. The caste is not simply part of an individual or familial identity but serves as a defined space within a hierarchy of varnas, jatis, and the jajmani system. Varnas are Pan-Indian classifications which standardize the regional caste groups to a degree. There are four varnas: Brahmans or priests, Ksatriyas or warriors, Vaisyas or merchants, and Sudras or trades-people and servants. Untouchables and tribal groups are generally considered to external to the caste system but can also form a fifth varna. The varnas are most importantly divided by their ascribed ritual purity. The Brahmans, Ksatriyas, and Vaisyas are twice born castes. The twice born are considered more ritually pure than lower castes and undergo the sacred thread ceremony. Each varna contains thousands of jatis which resemble occupational lineages. The jati, caste, and varna are all involved in the concepts of karma and dharma, in that they are all reflections of one’s ascribed ritual purity or impurity, or “encoded substance” inherent from birth and which must be maintained throughout life. One’s caste and position are determined by the concept of karma, one’s actions and fulfillment of duty in the previous life which have determined one’s position in this life. An integral part of karma is dharma, the action of fulfilling one’s jati, duty, and place in the jajmani system. These religious constructs hold the individual in place with the hope that fulfillment of duty despite suffering will be rewarded in the next life. The jajmani system can be seen as the means or the end of the caste system. For instance, Brahman priests must maintain their ascribed pure status to perform rituals which mediate the destructive forces of nature and sustain the life of the entire community. Practices which detract from Brahman purity, weaken the relationship between the community and the Gods. In short, the jajmani system is a method for the exchange of goods and services through which purity/ pollution boundaries can be maintained. The caste system is also a mechanism for social control. As rulers, the Rajputs and other groups of Ksatriya varna sat at the top of a social hierarchy in which the family, occupation and relationships of the individual were orderly and perpetual. The system regulated and sustained itself given the provision of raw materials which accompanied conquest. So the Ksatriya king had the main concern of increasing his own power through land acquisition while the Hindu belief system governed the populace. This discussion has been limited to a generalized and meiopic view of the ideal. However, the individual has freedom and mobility within their personal actions and interactions with others. Also there are opportunities for group mobility within the confines of the system and through removal from the Hindu religion. This discussion also has focused on the dominant Hindu society excluding the Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and other systems. This discussion also ignored the position of tribal groups. The indigeous occupants of India still survive in Peninsular India despite centuries of subordination, marginalisation, and incorporation. In fact, many tribal communities participate remotely in the jajmani system with Hindu villages and those tribes which have undergone Hinduization have occupied caste positions, usually entering at the lowest varna. Tribes who subsist traditionally (though not without cultural evolution) often do so on increasingly marginalised land tracts due to processes of colonial resource exploitation, deforestation, westernization, and overpopulation. Many tribal groups have thus become scheduled for government assistance or have become participants in the mainstream society in equal rights movements to prevent the destruction of their homelands. The caste system is therefore not a closed and rigid hierarchy, but is manipulated and fluctuates through time. Questions on the origin of the caste system and the relationships between groups within the system, could enlighten the past and the processes which have made humans who we are. This study was not designed to discriminate between racial groups or to define patterns based on a race concept. This work was initiated to understand the past, the mechanisms of culture and social change, and to understand the equipment of heredity and expression of dental discrete traits.
