I

• The existence of subdivisions among Coorgs does not prevent them from viewing themselves as a unified group.
• Coorgs regard themselves as Kshatriyas, ranking just below Brahmins, who are priests and scholars.
• The caste system is a deeply rooted institution that affects the lives of 300 million Hindus.
• It is commonly perceived as a fivefold hierarchy: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (rulers and soldiers), Vaishyas (traders), Shudras (laborers), and Untouchables.
• The first three castes are called twice-born (dvija) and are the only ones allowed to undergo the upanayana ceremony, marking spiritual rebirth.
• Only twice-born castes are permitted to study the Vedas and perform Vedic rituals on specific occasions.
• The actual unit of the caste system is jati, a small endogamous group practicing a traditional occupation and enjoying cultural, ritual, and juridical autonomy.
• There are an estimated 2,000 sub-castes (jatis) in each linguistic area, amounting to a vast number of sub-castes across India.
• The varna system (the fivefold hierarchy) provides an All-India framework for understanding local jatis and their place in the hierarchy.
• The varna system also represents a scale of values, with lower jatis striving to improve their status by adopting customs and rituals of higher jatis.
• In regions like South India, disputes over caste claims are frequent, especially regarding who qualifies as Kshatriya or Vaishya.
• The term Shudra in South India often refers to a large number of non-Brahmin jatis and even some reformist sects.
• Caste membership is determined by birth into a specific jati and cannot be acquired otherwise.
• The karma and dharma concepts reinforce caste hierarchies: karma dictates one’s birth in a particular jati based on actions in previous lives, while dharma defines the moral code that should be followed.
• Karma suggests a person is born into a specific caste as a result of actions performed in their previous life, determining their current caste status.
• A person’s status in life (e.g., wealth, health) reflects the good or bad actions performed in a previous incarnation.
• Dharma is seen as the moral code, where following it aligns with the rules of one’s caste and leads to rewards, while violations result in punishment.
• Violating dharma results in being born into a lower caste in the next life, with the opposite leading to a higher caste and greater privileges.
• The concept of pollution governs caste relations. Contact between castes, especially those far apart in the hierarchy, leads to the higher caste being polluted.
• Pollution can occur from contact such as touching, dining, sexual relations, etc.
• When pollution occurs, the higher caste member must undergo a purification rite to restore ritual status.
• The severity of the pollution depends on the type of contact and the distance between the castes in the hierarchy.
• In extreme cases, like a Brahmin eating food cooked by an Untouchable, the pollution is so severe it may result in excommunication.
• Women in each caste typically observe pollution rules more strictly than men.
• Contact is culturally defined, with touch always considered contact.
• In places like Kerala, minimum distance rules between castes have been systematized, with specific distances assigned to different castes.
• For example, a Nayar must maintain 7 ft distance from a Nambudri Brahman, while an Iravan must keep 32 ft, and Cheruman must maintain 64 ft.
• The spatial segregation of castes in villages shows the Untouchables living distantly from others, while each other sub-caste occupies a separate street or quarter.
• Food and water acceptance between castes: A high-caste person may accept food from an equal or higher caste, but not from lower castes due to pollution concerns.
• Mutual acceptability of food indicates equality; one-way food transfer reflects a hierarchical relationship.
• The acceptability of food varies depending on factors like the type of food, its preparation, the caste of the cook, and the cooking location (e.g., temple or home).
• Diet correlates with caste status: Brahmins are usually vegetarians, while Shudras may eat eggs and meat, with pork-eaters ranked lower than mutton-eaters, and beef-eaters being the lowest.
• Vegetarianism is considered an ethical ideal and is tied to high caste status, with teetotalism often accompanying it.
• Acceptance of food from an Untouchable by a high caste person is considered a serious offence, often leading to excommunication.
• The Untouchables also avoid accepting food and water from certain castes like smiths or Marka Brahmins, believing it would defile them.
• Each caste is associated with a traditional occupation. Some occupations are considered defiling (e.g., swine-herding, leatherwork, shoe-making), while others are seen as low status but not defiling (e.g., toddy tapping).
• High castes avoid occupations that imply the destruction of sentient life, such as butchery, fish catching, or even selling dried fish and eggs.
• The association of caste with occupation is beginning to break down due to industrialization.
• Castes often view their traditional occupation as their monopoly, and violation of this could lead to conflict, even brought before village courts or the local king.
• The symbols of superior status such as high caste houses, clothes, customs, and rituals were historically inaccessible to lower castes.
• In Malabar, until 1865, only Brahmins were allowed to wear clothes above the waist, even for women of lower castes.
• Extreme stratification results in sub-castes living in separate social worlds, with shared rituals, customs, food restrictions, and occupations.
• Sub-castes often have their own caste courts and elders who make decisions on common concerns. However, the autonomy of a sub-caste doesn’t mean it functions independently; sub-castes are often mutually dependent.
• The unit of endogamy is the jati (sub-caste), though modern educated members of higher sub-castes sometimes marry within the same larger group but different divisions.
• Hypergamous unions occur when a man from a higher caste marries a woman from a lower caste; this is common in Malabar and Bengal.
• Caste mobility is possible, especially in the middle regions, where a low caste can rise by adopting vegetarianism, teetotalism, and Sanskritizing rituals and customs.
• Sanskritization is the process where lower castes adopt the customs, rites, and beliefs of higher castes, especially Brahmins, to rise in the hierarchy.
• The spread of Sanskritization contributed to a cultural uniformity across India, integrating diverse regions and even hill tribes without disrupting their traditional beliefs.
• Buddhism and Jainism questioned the caste system early on, while movements like Lingayatism in the 12th century also challenged it, but often failed or reproduced caste within their own systems.
• The British rule weakened caste sanctions by withdrawing political and institutional support, allowing people punished by caste courts to sue for defamation.
• Previously, caste offences were punished by fines or excommunication, and caste councils controlled individual conduct.
• Caste offers autonomy to communities but also connects them in a hierarchical relationship with other castes.
• The caste system helped Hinduism proselytize without a formal church, using caste networks to spread Sanskritic ideas across India.
• Even non-Hindu groups like Christians and Muslims were integrated into the caste system and accepted their caste status.
• Revolutionary movements aiming to overthrow caste often reproduced caste structures within themselves, effectively neutralizing attempts to change the system.

II

• Caste ties cut across territorial ties, and members of the same caste in different villages have much in common.
• This type of solidarity is called horizontal solidarity, contrasting with vertical solidarity, which links castes occupying different positions in the hierarchy.
• For example, members of a village community, regardless of caste, share common interests.
• People speaking the same language also have a certain level of solidarity, even if they belong to different ends of the caste hierarchy (e.g., a Brahmin and an Untouchable speaking the same language share some cultural forms).
• The structural situation in India is influenced by the pulls of both horizontal solidarity and vertical solidarity.
• In large geographical areas, it is common to find minority sub-castes speaking a language different from the dominant local one.
• Multiple minor languages may exist in a single area, reflecting the historical pattern of migration within both continental and peninsular India.
• Immigrant castes often claim a higher status in the local caste structure than is accepted by the native population.
• Speakers of the same language, regardless of their caste, share certain cultural forms, and the presence of different languages in the same area creates awareness of cultural differences between castes.
• Geographical areas in India are marked by structural and cultural complexity, with regions like Coorg having speakers of multiple languages, including various Dravidian languages, Konkani, Marathi, and Hindustani.