Ethnography on Social Stratification: Summary of Caste and Communication of An Indian Village by D.N.Majumdar

 

Caste and Communication in an Indian Village is the result of an intensive study of a medium-sized, multi-caste village named Mohana with urban contacts.

Mohana is connected with Lucknow by six miles of motorable road and two miles of a kachcha, feeder road, motorable in dry weather, but generally covered by bullock cart, bicycle, ekka, or on foot. The last two-mile stretch is not easily negotiable in the  rainy season when the feeder road becomes slushy and, in places, is under knee-deep water, in Uttar Pradesh.

The village is selected because it was neither in the Government’s Community Development Project nor in the National Extension Service. It was felt that such a study might provide the benchmark data in rural progress and social awareness.

On the basis of the genealogical tree of the Thakurs it is found that they are the earliest inhabitants of this village, a thirteen-generation chain, going back  to over three hundred years, has been traced.

The Thakurs of a neighboring village, narrate some account of the early history of this region. In the absence of any official record, the authenticity of their version is not verifiable, but its beginning and the early links of the genealogical tree of the Thakurs do corroborate each other.

 

But from the point of view of caste superiority, which is symbolically represented by inter- dining, acceptance of food and water, seating arrangement and manner of greeting, these fifteen castes can be grouped in a hierarchical order.

 

Hierarchical grouping of the fifteen castes:

A.      Brahmins		Thakur
B.      Ahir		Kurmi
	Gadaria
Lohar		Barhai
	Kumhar
	Nai
	Kathik
	Kalwar
C.      Pasi		Dhobi
	Chamar
	Bhaskor

 

The grouping shows the position of different castes, as they view it themselves. At the top tier in the pyramidal division of the caste hierarchy are the Brahmin and the Thakur.

The  Thakurs, who are numerically less than 20% of the total village population, own more than 40% of the land, while the Chamars and the Basis, who together constitute double the number of Thakurs, own less than 30% of the village land.

 

Judicial and Leadership system of the village

Every caste of Mohana has its own Panchayat, or biradari, Although this is not as fully recognized by the high castes as it is among the lower castes. All the caste-panchayats are more or less similar in structure and in the powers they wield. The head of a caste-panchayat is generally known as the chowdhry chut among the Pasi it is called Rant,and among the Ahir Mahton. The office of Chowdhry is hereditary. and on the death of a Chowdhry his eldest son normally succeeds him.

In order to settle their disputes all the castes of Mohana goes to the Thakurs except the Ahirs. Chamar, Pasi and other castes at the lower rung of the caste hierarchy look to them as arbitrators in cases of conflict among themselves. Even the Brahmin, who are traditionally higher than the Thakur in order of precedence, seek their help.

Ahirs are the only exceptions who do not give much thought to Thakurs’ authority. Ahirs do not like to consider themselves inferior to Thakur, and are an important group in neutralizing the latter’s influence. They have assured the non-resident zamindar of the village of their help in case the Thakur did any mischief to him, and even though zamindari has been abolished now, the former zamindar wields much influence in the village.

 

Inter-caste Relationship through life cycle rituals:

 

Each caste the relations reflect mutuality, each caste performing its role and getting the reward, which in many cases is in the shape of grain, the quantity varying from caste to caste, depending upon the nature of work performed.

When a Brahmin performs some ceremony at any house, he takes seedha and cooks his own food. A  Brahmin accepts only raw material like flour, pulses and vegetables, and cooks the food himself even from the Thakurs .

During the zamindari days, the praja (lower castes)were expected to go to the Thakur houses on ceremonial occasions and ask for their inam (prize). Failure on the part of one of the praja to do so was taken as an indication of their arrogance and was interpreted as a negation to work for that Thakur family in the future. This is of course not applicable now, ever since the zamindari abolition.

At the birth of a Thakur child, seven castes, one from the top tier of the social hierarchy, three from the intermediate, and three from the lower, have direct roles to perform.

Pasi do not like to invite the Chamar for their feasts and ceremonies. When a Pasi attends a Chamar marriage, it is only to offer the customary present. The Chamar accept both food and water from the Pasi; but the Pasi never accept either from the Chamar.

The Chamar says that their status is equal that of the Dhobi though, the latter are not of this opinion, and the relations that these two castes have with the other castes show that the opinion of the Dhobi is shared by the others, for the Dhobi are treated better than the Chamar. The Pandit of the village recites hatha at the houses of the Dhobi, but he would never enter a Chamar's house. On occasions of child-birth, the services of the Nain are not available for the Chamar. The Nai serve the Dhobi, but the Chamar has to forego the services of the Nai in this respect.

 

In spite of all these concrete proofs of their inferiority, the Chamar claim an equal status with the Dhobi. The relationship is, therefore, reciprocal. Since the Dhobi do not attend any of the Chamar ceremonies, the Chamar will not participate in the ceremonies of Dhobi. Chamar do not work for Dhobi even if high wages are offered instead they would prefer to work for the Thakur or other caste people for a nominal wage. The chilam and hookah are not exchanged, but bidis are offered and accepted. Dhobi do not accept kachcha or pakka food from the Chamar.

On the other hand, the Dhobi hire bullocks from the Chamar for ploughing, and so Chamar also, when necessary, hire bullocks from Dhobi. They collect the dung of each other’s animals to be used as manure or fuel. Dhobis wash the clothes of Chamars.

Chamar do not accept food or water from the Bhaksor, who retaliate by refusing water and food from the Chamar. If the latter are to be paid for any work, they demand grain. Chilam and hookah are not exchanged, but bidis may be. The Bhaksorin offers her services to the Chamarin otherwise the Chamar and the Bhaksor do not in any way participate in each other’s ceremonial occasions. But they visit each other in times of illness. A Chamar will not sit with a Bhaksor, and a Bhaksor will not leave his seat to show respect to a Chamar if he comes that way. There have not been cases of quarrels and disputes between these two castes, but their social contact is limited to professional and traditional relations. In  times of need, they cooperate with each other.

 

In the marriage at a Thakur’s place ,the Ahir, Kurmi and Lohar are invited to attend the marriage. The Ahir give presents in cash, on this occasion. The invitation is quite formal due to the lack of intimacy between the two castes. For this reason the Ahir rarely attend the marriages of Thakurs. Ahirs also attend the pakki dawat on this occasion. They do not, however, attend Bhhat-ki-dawat because kachcha food is served in this dawat, and Ahir do not eat kachcha food at a Thakur’s place.But there is a case of Thakur Jodh Singh’s marriage where Tori Ahir’s father had attended the ceremony and presented Rs.2. because Jodh Singh was on friendly terms with Tori Ahir’s father.

On In his interview, Junga Kurmi said that Thakur and Kurmi sit together at the feast and there is no caste discrimination between the two at the feast. But the Thakurs contradicted his statement and said that Thakurs and Kurmis do not sit together at the feast. Junga says that cash presents are given on this occasion. If a Thakur gives one rupee as a present, the Kurmi always tries to return the double of the amount.

The  Lohar are not usually invited to accompany the marriage party, but they may accompany the party if invited by the Thakur. The  Lohar brings a kankan (bracelet) and an arrow. The kankan is considered very auspicious and the bridegroom wears it around his wrist. The Lohars participate in both the kachcha and pakka feasts on this occasion if invited by the Thakur. If the Lohar gives some money in the marriage of a Thakur, it is taken account of and returned whenever there is a marriage at the Lohar’s house.

The Barhai supplies the pata and divat (clay oil lamp) and gets in return one seedha, which includes flour, pulses, salt, ghee, rice, etc.

The Kumhar supply the required number of bartans (earthen pots) and kulhars at a Thakur boy’s marriage and gets either cash or grain in return, according to the number of bartans (utensils) supplied. Sometimes Kumhars get chinh in the form of dhoti, utensils and clothes

The  music and band party is arranged by the Bhaskors. They are in great demand on festivals and other occasions. Their musical instruments include dholak (tomtom), drum, and nagada.

 

At the Ahir marriages, invitations to Pasi are very rare. Sometimes they are invited to accompany the pai-punji or the marriage party of the bride. In such cases, they get a rupee and one meal. To an Ahir boy’s marriage to they are sometimes invited, but they usually are not eager to attend it. If a Pasi gives a present (usually a rupee or two) at an Ahir marriage, it is returned to the Pasi, when a marriage takes place in his family.

At a Pasi girl’s marriage, the Lohar goes to give the customary gift of a rupee or two and does not supply any other articles. In Pasi Katha ceremonies Lohars accept the prasad only if it is prepared and distributed by a Thakur or a Brahmin. The Pasi do not attend the death ceremonies of a Lohar, nor do the Lohar attends those of a Pasi.

Ahir do not go on the death of a Thakur nor do they accompany the funeral procession to the burning ghat. They do not consider it proper to attend the feast on a Thakur's Barsi. If, however, an Ahir happens to be on very friendly terms with a Thakur, he may accompany the latter's funeral procession.

 

Recent Changes in the caste structure of Mohana

Through the Urban contacts, nine men from Mohana work in Lucknow. Of these one is a Thakur, one an Ahir, one Pasi and six are Chamar. The Thakur, who works as a peon in Lucknow, still keeps his residence in the village, going to the city every morning and returning home in the evening. The others live in Lucknow, the Ahir and the Pasi working as gardeners, earning between thirty and forty rupees a month, and the Chamars working as laborers, earning about a rupee or two a day each. Besides, some Ahir and one Nai daily carry milk from the village to Lucknow. Though only the Ahir do organized business in milk and dairy products.

In spite of its proximity to Lucknow which, besides being one of the modern cities of India, is one of the country’s important educational centers, with a residential university having thousands of students on its rolls, the literacy rate and educational standards in Mohana are exceedingly low.

Another factor in the reduction of social distance between castes is the influence of urban life. In the cities when people have their food at a restaurant they have to lay aside all scruples about eating with the lower caste people and accepting food from them. Many of the villagers often go to Lucknow, and there they have to follow the ways of city life. Food and water restrictions have to be ignored.

 During the Second World War, the Pandit was a compounder in the army, and in that capacity has been to many places in India and Burma. He often used to take tea with an American scholar, but to preserve the dignity of his office he does not take water or food from some of the lower castes such as the Chamar.

It has been observed that, several Thakur men take wine at the wine shops of Lucknow and Kandion with members of the lower castes. They go to hotels and restaurants managed by anyone, even by those of other religions.