Caste-Its Diversity and Fluidity

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  • カースト-その多様性と変移性 (平成一三年二月一三日 提出)
  • カースト--その多様性と変移性
  • カースト ソノ タヨウセイ ト ヘンイセイ

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Abstract

This essay presents my view on caste as derived from my long experience as an anthropologist in India, which dates back to 1953. My fieldwork has been directed at the Hindu family and village community, not necessarily at caste per se. Nevertheless, it was the working of caste society that provided considerable stimulation to my analytical thought process. My understanding of caste also owes to works by Western and Indian social anthropologists, who have since the 1950s contributed most to the study of caste, and with whom I have enjoyed close contacts as colleagues.<br>This essay consists of four successive parts. (1) Caste-Varna and Jati. Both are called“caste, ”though they have different historical backgrounds as well as different connotations. In actual Hindu life, caste is articulated as jati, numerous primary functional groups variously classified by occupation (as explained in the next section). Simultaneously, jati members also have a strong concern with varna, i.e. the four status groups of Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisha and Sudra, as clearly stated in ancient Vedic literature. People desire to interpret their jati within a varna classification. This is particularly the case with Kshatriya, in order to profess a higher status. In this paper, the term“caste”refers to jati or a cluster of the same kind of jati.

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