Proximity is one of the extreme forms of untouchable caste segregation , prevalent mainly among orthodox Hindus in South India . In the case of non-proximity, a desecrating factor is considered not only a direct touch to the outcasts, but also their breathing, shadow, and sometimes even a simple approach to representatives of higher "castes". Back in the middle of the 20th century, the untouchables of South India were forbidden even to approach Hindu temples and shrines, as well as to move along certain streets and roads [1] [2] [3] [4] . As a rule, in South India, untouchable quarters were located outside the village [5] .
As the term “Achkhut” (“untouchable”) implies, accidental bodily contact with this category of the population is equal to a ritual desecration for representatives of the “high” (“pure”) castes. However, the degree of untouchability varies in different parts of India. In North India, touching the representatives of the “lower” castes requires ritual purification only for the brahmanas and some other “higher castes” (united by the term “ dvija ”). The farther south of Hindustan , the wider the circle of castes who are forbidden to communicate with the untouchables. In the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, untouchability with respect to the most outcast castes flows into the non-proximity [6] [7] [8] .
In the second half of the 20th century, ritual restrictions on the untouchables significantly weakened. This was facilitated by both the policy of the Indian authorities and the activities of some parties that seek to enlist the votes of numerous “low” castes. However, in many villages, the untouchables are still forbidden to approach the common wells, and their children are not allowed to attend general schools. In South India, the untouchables often have their own separate cemeteries, temples, wards in hospitals and their dishes in catering establishments [9] [10] . As a rule, non-approximate members include castes who perform the most “dirty” work: they clean up carcasses of animals, process and dye their skin, clean garbage, sewage and dead cows, wash clothes, and also engage in obstetrics ( chamars , dhobi , chukhra , bhangi , balmiki , torment). In addition, stray artists (singers, story-tellers, dancers and acrobats) are often referred to as non-approximate [11] [12] .
Content
Kerala
In the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, the principalities of Travankor and Cochin had a number of strict restrictions and regulations for the untouchables, which concerned the use of “lower” castes of fabrics for their clothes (not all colors and patterns were allowed to the Achkhuts), materials for their dishes, and also regulated the shape of the roof of their homes [1] .
All castes of the untouchables of the people malayali are located on the hierarchical ladder strictly on the scale of proximity. For example, in the first half of the 20th century, according to local caste traditions and regulations, the members of the Ernadan caste were obliged not to approach the brahmanas and kshatriyas closer than 100 steps, to the members of the Pulayan caste - 90 steps, to the members of the Vettuvan caste - 64 steps, to the members of the Kutan caste - by 48 steps, to the members of the Malayan caste - by 36 steps, to the members of the Cheraman caste - by 30 steps, to the members of the Kanyan caste - by 24 steps and so on [1] .
In the second half of the 20th century, in many prosperous households, the untouchables were forbidden to enter the courtyard, the owner talked with them, standing on the terrace of the house [13] .
Tamil Nadu
In the first half of the 20th century, according to Tamil Brahmins, the most “unclean” and “defiling” caste was the Purada-Vanian caste, whose members traditionally washed clothes for the “low” castes and the untouchables. Orthodox Hindus forbade members of this caste to appear in public places throughout the day, as a result of which the washingmen were forced to work between midnight and dawn, and in the daytime to hide in their isolated quarters outside the village [1] .
Rajasthan
To a much lesser extent than in South India, proximity was also found in the remote villages of Rajasthan . In separate villages or isolated neighborhoods lived not only untouchables, but also members of certain nationalities, such as Kanjars and Sansi , who were previously referred to as criminal castes [14] .
The caste composition determined the appearance of the Rajasthan villages, the layout and type of houses. Multi-caste villages were characterized by the presence of separate neighborhoods ( dhana or thok ), populated by members of one or more castes close in position. Each such quarter had its own sources of water, and the untouchables had to have separate wells. In the wind, the untouchables should stand so that the members of the “higher” castes are on the windward side [15] .
In other countries
Various forms of proximity are found in the culture of other countries - Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Yemen, Japan, Korea and even in Europe. However, if in India they are caste, approved by the dogmas of Hinduism (the ritual "impurity" of the hereditary profession), then in other regions there are other causes of non-proximity - ostracism because of fear of leprosy and other infectious diseases, rejection of foreigners, Gentiles, criminals or nomadic tribes.
Examples of such proximity and untouchability are the Kagoths in Southern Europe [16] , beetrocumin in Japan, danjia in China, and the Achdams in Yemen.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Castes, 1965 , p. sixteen.
- ↑ Konstantinov, 1948 , p. 83.
- ↑ Bhikhu C. Parekh. Colonialism, tradition, and reform: an analysis of Gandhi's political discourse. - 2. - Sage, 1999 .-- P. 243. - ISBN 9780761993827 .
- ↑ Paswan & Jaideva, 2002 , p. 101-102.
- ↑ Castes, 1965 , p. nineteen.
- ↑ Castes, 1965 , p. 15-16.
- ↑ Rosa Maria Perez. Kings and Untouchables: A Study of the Caste System in Western India. - Orient Blackswan, 2004 .-- P. 162. - ISBN 9788180280146 .
- ↑ Mohinder Singh, Orestov O. L., Pronin A. A. The oppressed castes of India. - Publishing House of Foreign Literature, 1953. - S. 152.
- ↑ Castes, 1965 , p. 16-17.
- ↑ Peter Berger, Frank Heidemann. The Modern Anthropology of India: Ethnography, Themes and Theory. - Routledge, 2013 .-- P. 302. - ISBN 9781134061112 .
- ↑ Castes, 1965 , p. 18.
- ↑ Sarah Pinto. Where There Is No Midwife: Birth and Loss in Rural India. - Berghahn Books, 2013 .-- P. 47-48. - ISBN 9780857454485 .
- ↑ Castes, 1965 , p. 17.
- ↑ Guseva, 1989 , p. 91-92, 97.
- ↑ Guseva, 1989 , p. 105, 107.
- ↑ The last untouchable in Europe . Independent
Literature
- Guseva N. Rajasthans: people and problems. - Moscow: Nauka, 1989 .-- 230 p. - ISBN 5-02-016499-2 .
- Konstantinov N. A. School policy in colonial countries, XIX-XX centuries. - Moscow: State Pedagogical Publishing House, 1948.
- Kotovsky G. (editor). Castes in India. - Moscow: Science, 1965.
- Kalpana Kannabiran. Tools of Justice: Non-discrimination and the Indian Constitution. - Routledge, 2013 .-- 520 s. - ISBN 9781136198755 .
- Sanjay Paswan, Pramanshi Jaideva. Encyclopaedia of Dalits in India. - Gyan Publishing House, 2002 .-- 335 p. - ISBN 9788178350660 .
- VT Rajshekar Shetty. Dalit: the black untouchables of India. - Clarity Press, 1987.