An example- Varna and Jaat system in Hinduism, otherwise called Caste system:
The establishment of Caste system in Hinduism can be translated and interpreted from different angles. One is from a religious-mythical point of view where the four Varnas of society were created from the different body parts of either Brahma, the Hindu God of creation or Purusha, the primeval gigantic person as is recounted in the Rig Veda. The other theory is that Caste system began when the Aryans arrived in India around 1500 BC. The Aryans were fair skinned and believed to be from South Europe and North Asia. There already other communities in the sub-continent hailing from Negrito, Mongoloid, Austroloid and Dravidian origins. The Aryans conquered and took control of regions of North India while at the same time pushing the local people southwards or towards the jungles and mountains in North India. The Sanskrit word Varna also means “color” besides other interpretations. This has raised debates as to whether Caste system is arranged according to skin color or even, race superiority. Hindus also believe that the Varna and Jaati system (the original definition for the social segregation structure in society and not the adopted European word “Caste system”) is also part of a biological theory where all existing things, living or non-living inherit three qualities in different apportionment- Sattva which is wisdom, intelligence, honesty etc., Rajas who have passion, pride, valor and Tamas who may be stupid, dull, lack of creativity and other negative qualities. Therefore they believe that according to one’s personality, divine attribution or even skin color someone’s jaat and varna is given to that person. If we were to delve deep we could extract and debate on many topics as Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religion and its philosophies wide but we’ll stick to reference for now.
Can the social structure of jaat and varna be misinterpreted by Hindus themselves, forget about colonizers or outsiders? It could, and perhaps this is a reason how the system has become more rigid, by birth and unmovable over the years among Hindus. The interpretation of Jaati means a classification based on source of origin, having similar birth source. Whereas Varna is interpreted as ‘one that is adopted by choice’ and these two form the understanding of caste system in Hindu religion. A social segregation for the different divisions of work, occupations and function of the people in society. The word caste is derived from Latin and also used by the Portuguese ‘casta’, which meant breed, race, or kind while in Latin it means “pure, cut off, separated”. Hindus consider caste as a distinction of purity besides occupation, and the highest caste/varna uphold themselves through their food habits (because your food habits also influence your intelligence), austerity and discipline. While the Shudra (there are further lower castes below the Shudra but they are outcasts and not even considered within the varna system) may not inhibit himself from eating meat, touching dead bodies, dead animals, animal carcasses etc. and therefore is an ‘unclean’ person. So, what is bestowed on him is also a result of his own actions and impurity besides reincarnation. A woman’s chastity is strongly related to caste status and the higher ranking the caste, the more sexual control its women were expected to exhibit. The Britishers used it to as a means of social control and perhaps even managed to cut deeper and sharper divisions in society, as how they showed special preference towards the Muslims over the Hindus. Hinduism and Islam influenced one another exchanging a form of caste system in Islamic communities and Purdha system among North-Indian Hindu upper-class societies.
The shadows of Caste system has followed India well into the 21st century and the modern India as well. Sociologist, André Béteille observed that the 1950’s and 60’s of caste discussion was non-existent as the intelligentsia of Indian society observed it as India’s past and not its future. But the contradictions were too resounding to be ignored by the late 70’s, 80’s, 90’s. Caste system was even camouflaged ‘Class’ system and perhaps not given proper attention in the backdrop of Democracy, Secularism and a Socialist view too. But now, a new form of class system which is different from caste system is rising in India. If you should consider a class-divided society hand-in-hand with an already caste-divided society in India it brings a sad picture. In other words, the poor and mistreated in the India can be sidelined according to the varna and jaat system of Hinduism as well the modern interpretation of Class system in the growing societies of the world today.
Looking at our society
Nagas did not have a class division in our society. We were tribals constituting of mainly villages, then tribes with common tongues. Besides some tribes like Konyaks who practiced Angh-system (not all Konyaks) most practiced a structured form of democracy. It may be quite contrasting and also confusing to understand a Hindu perspective on Jaat or Varna system if compared. I gave the Hindu caste system as an example because it is one that is deeply rooted in the religious belief as well as society and therefore a good illustration to observe too.
The modern version of Nagas are imbibing different forms of modern adaptations and in the same go walking out from our villages and fields. While someone else would experience one-third of cultural shocks that we experience in one lifetime, we do so in leaps and bounds of half-a-lifetime. It is astounding the degree of Ethnocide ethnic, indigenous groups in the world face in a short matter of time which really questions how a person would develop or be able to assess all the influences that they face in one go. If I should cite an example, perhaps I could take how we look at marriages nowadays in society. Besides a distinct Korean influence of Christian influence from America and beauty obsession in South Korea, the perfect white wedding definition is a lot more blown-up in Korea than in America or any Western Christian country. I wonder how the beauty and status, material obsession of Korean people influences upon, say, a Naga society? Where would the resources come from when everyone wants to drive a car, let their children go to fine school in Nagaland or outside Nagaland? How would that influence our state’s economy, or maybe even its deterioration perhaps.
Well, it is a form of adaption for each community, people, origin etc. Globalization’s topics have ranged from destruction of environment, exploitation on lesser-developed countries while also economic threats on more developed countries as well. In our society, status was achieved through hard-work and sincerity. In an agrarian society, perhaps that was the ultimate proof of one’s worth. However, one can also observe how these views pillared the society and community, its taboos, gennas etc. A quotes in my mother tongue- Tenydie says “Dzü cha meluo” which means froths formed by rainwater in the drains but a deeper meaning of this quote means money or status that is begotten dishonestly is like that; they may last only for a few seconds. ‘Feasts of Merit’ were celebrated with the whole village after years of hard-work and toiling from which the whole family reaped its rewards too. It also brought up the status of an individual in the community as something he/she had earned and deserved. The granaries were mouldy and the rice cooked for these feasts tasted old but this was considered a sign of hard-work and sincerity that the house put into giving the feast for the whole village, where the poor and rich alike were invited. There are a lot of rituals and entailments connected to ‘Feasts of merit’ but it emphasizes how one looks at dignity and achieving it.
The question may not rest on morality or ethical views, as per my opinion because frankly, I do not see a connection or reason. It should be objectively seen. But, resting on the influences and facts supplied I wonder what it will subject society to and how this may grow in society too.
Can a religion become distorted over the years the social structure of society more rigid and inherit .
