CASTE SYSTEM Indias Caste System What is a

CASTE SYSTEM

India’s Caste System • What is a Caste? – social group that someone is born into and cannot change • How many of you have felt excluded from a group of people at one time or another? How did that make you feel? Why were you excluded?

Rules, rules… • Being in a caste means that you have no say in: – the job you have – whom you can marry – who your friends can be • Nobody in India called the system a castethey call it jati. • Many jati still exist in India’s society today.

Brahmins • Top varna • Made up of priests – Only people who could perform a religious ceremony

Kshatriyas • 2 nd varna • Made up of warriors – Ran the government and the army

Vaisya: merchant varna

Sudras • Lowest varna • Manual laborers and servants – Had very few rights – Most people in India belonged to this varna

The Untouchables • One group of people who did not belong to any caste • Called “the Untouchables” – Collecting trash, skinning animals, handling dead bodies • Very hard life – Most people thought living near an untouchable was bad for them, so they lived apart from most of society – Had to tap two sticks together when they traveled so everyone could hear them coming

Why was a caste system created? • Caste systems were probably created because of skin color. – Aryans had lighter skin than the native Indians (darker skin). • Caste systems were probably created to keep the Aryans in power(1500 -500 bce). – Because the Aryans had more people, they made the caste to stay in charge of all the smaller groups. – Could also control everyone’s behavior and make rules this way. – Think Hunger Games (Districts)!

How did the belief in reincarnation/karma/dharma uphold the caste system? • Three beliefs are necessary to understand why the caste system was so influential in India. – Reincarnation – Dharma – Karma