Women were to remain subject to the guidance of males in their lives, beginning with their father, then husband, and lastly their sons.
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In other parts of society, women had no public authority they only were able to influence affairs within their own homes. All priests, warriors, and tribal chiefs were men, and descent was always through the male line. The institution of marriage was important, and different types of marriages-monogamy, polygyny and polyandry-are mentioned in the Rig Veda. Marriage and childbearing were especially important to maintain male lineage. Society during the Vedic Period (c.1750-500 BCE) was patriarchal and patrilineal, meaning to trace ancestral heritage through the male line. These outcasts were called Untouchables, as they performed the least desirable activities and jobs, such as dealing with dead bodies, cleaning toilets and washrooms, and tanning and dyeing leather. Each illustrated portrait is captioned in English and in Tamil, and the title page of the work includes English, Tamil, and Telugu.Īs the Aryans expanded their influence, newly conquered groups were assimilated into society by forming a new group below the Sudras, outside the caste system. The manuscript shows Indian dress and jewelry adornment in the Madura region as they appeared before the onset of Western influences on South Asian dress and style. As indicated on the presentation page, the album was compiled by the Indian writing master at an English school established by American missionaries in Madura, and given to the Reverend William Twining. Each drawing was made on mica, a transparent, flaky mineral that splits into thin, transparent sheets. A page from the manuscript Seventy-two Specimens of Castes in India, which consists of 72 full-color hand-painted images of men and women of the various castes and religious and ethnic groups found in Madura, India at that time. Members of higher varnas or jatis had higher purity levels, and if contaminated by members of lower social groups, even by touch, they would have to undergo extensive cleansing rites.Ĭastes in India. Both varnas and jatis determined a person’s purity level. Marriage was only possible between members of the same jati or two that were very close. By around 1000 BCE, the Indo-Aryans developed four main caste distinctions: Brahamin, consisting of priests, scholars, and teachers Kshatriyas, the kings, governors, and warriors Vaishyas, comprising agriculturists, artisans, and merchants and Sudras, the service providers and artisans who were originally non-Aryans but were admitted to Vedic society.Įach varna was divided into jatis, or sub-castes, which identified the individual’s occupation and imposed marriage restrictions.
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The classes, known as varnas, enforced divisions in the populations that still affect this area of the world today. These social distinctions may have been more fluid in ancient Aryan civilizations than in modern India, where castes still exist but sociologists are observing inter-caste marriages and interactions becoming more fluid and less rigid. The castes were a form of social stratification in Aryan India characterized by the hereditary transmission of lifestyle, occupation, ritual status, and social status. One of these four sacred canonical texts, the Rig Veda, described the origins of the world and points to the gods for the origin of the caste system. The Vedas were ancient scriptures, written in the Sanskrit language, which contained hymns, philosophies, and rituals handed down to the priests of the Vedic religion. The caste system in India may have several origins, possibly starting with the well-defined social orders of the Indo-Aryans in the Vedic Period, c. The Rig-Veda influenced the development of the patriarchal society and the caste systems in Aryan India.
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A page of the Rig-Veda, one of the four sacred Veda texts, which described the origins of the world and the stories of the gods.