Miss Tomkowski 7 th Grade World History

Review  Who were the settlers that came from central Asia?  What did they think was the most prized possession?  What was the name for an Aryan prince?

India’s Caste System  What is a Caste?  social group that someone is born into and cannot change  How many of you have felt excluded from a group of people at one time or another? How did that make you feel? Why were you excluded?

Rules, rules, rules…  Being in a caste means that you have no say in:  the job you have  whom you can marry  who your friends can be  Nobody in India calls the system a caste- they call it a jati.  Many jati still exist in India’s society today.

Why was a caste system created?  Caste systems were probably created because of skin color.  Aryans had lighter skin than the native Indians (darker skin).  Caste systems were probably created to keep the Aryans in power.  Because the Aryans had more people, they made the caste to stay in charge of all the smaller groups.  Could also control everyone’s behavior and make rules this way.  Think Hunger Games (Districts)!

Social Levels of the Caste System Brahmins Kshatriyas Vaisyas Sudras Varna- different social class (grouped into 4 main categories)

Brahmins  Top varna  Made up of the priests  Only people who could perform a religious ceremony

Kshatriyas  2 nd top varna  Made up of warriors  Ran the government and the army

Vaisyas  3 rd Varna  Commoners  Usually farmers and merchants

Sudras  Lowest varna  Manual laborers and servants  Had very few rights  Most people in India belonged to this varna

The Untouchables  One group of people who did not belong to any caste  Called “the Untouchables”  Collecting trash, skinning animals, handling dead bodies  Very hard life  Most people thought living near an untouchable was bad for them, so they lived apart from most of society  Had to tap two sticks together when they traveled so everyone could hear them coming

And behind door #1- your future!  Time to find out what caste (jati) you are in!  Open up your envelope!  The colored star sticker that you have is the symbol of your caste system (for the rest of your life )  Gold: Brahmin  Silver: Kshatriyas  Green: Vaisyas  Blue: Sudras  Red: Untouchables  Aren’t you excited?!? The only people you can now associate with have to have the same colored sticker!

Roles of Men and Women  Family was the center of life in ancient India.  Grandparents, parents, and children all lived together.  The oldest man in the family was in charge.

Roles of Men and Women (cont.)  Men had more rights than women.  Only boys could inherit property, go to school, or become priests.  Girls received education at home.  In wealthy families, boys were tutored by a guru at home  Religious teacher and spiritual guide in Hinduism

Marriage Customs  Boys had to go to school for 12 years and then they could marry.  In India, parents arranged marriages for their children.  90% of marriages in India today are arranged.  AND GUESS WHAT! You could only marry someone in your caste  Divorce was not allowed, but if the couple could not have kids, the man could marry a second wife.

Burial Customs  People in India were cremated after death (burned in a funeral fire).  If a man from a wealthy family died, his wife was expected to jump into the funeral fire.  This practice was called suttee  If she did not do this, she would be shunned by the rest of the tribe for the rest of her life.

REVIEW  What are the four varnas of the caste system?  Who did not belong to the caste system but was below everyone?  Who had it better- men or women?

Speaking of Caste System…  Challenge! You are going to be given a worksheet to complete, but you can only work with members of your caste (do not look, touch, make eye contact, acknowledge, or even breathe near someone of the other caste!) See what it would be like…  On the back of the worksheet, write a paragraph (at least 4 sentences) about how it feels to be in a caste system (10 points).