1. CASTE SYSTEM

3. 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?

4. 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 called the system a caste- they call it jati.
Many jati still exist in India’s society today.

5. Brahmins Top varna Made up of priests
Only people who could perform a religious ceremony

6. Kshatriyas 2nd varna Made up of warriors
Ran the government and the army

7. Vaisya: merchant varna

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

9. 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

10. 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( bce).
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)!

11. How did the belief in reincarnation/karma/dharma uphold the caste system?
Three beliefs are necessary to understand why the caste system was so influential in India.
Reincarnation
Dharma
Karma