8/8/2019 Ch 4 Sec 3 PPT

1/8

Ch 4 Sec 3 Pillars of Indian Life

I. The Complex Caste Systemy A. Many Castes

1. By Gupta times, many additional castes andsubcastes had evolved

2. As invaders were absorbed into society, they formednew castes3. Other castes grew out of new occupations andreligions

8/8/2019 Ch 4 Sec 3 PPT

2/8

B. Complex Rules1. To Hindus, people in different castes

were a different species of beings2. Complex caste rules governed everyaspect of life: where people lived, whatthey ate, how they dressed, how theyearned a living3. Rules forbade marrying outside onescaste or eating with members of another caste4. Untouchables (lowest-ranked)

a.) Held impure jobs such as digginggraves, cleaning streets, or turninganimal hides into leather

b.) Had to live apart

8/8/2019 Ch 4 Sec 3 PPT

3/8

y C. Effects1. Although unequal, caste ensured a

stable social order 2. People believed karma determinedtheir caste3. Gave people a sense of identity

4. Each caste had its own occupationand leaders5. Different castes depended on oneanother for their basic needs

8/8/2019 Ch 4 Sec 3 PPT

4/8

II. Family Lifey A. Structure

1. Joint family ideal family in which parents, children,grandchildren, uncles, and their offspring shared acommon dwelling2. Usually achieved only by the wealthy3. In poor families, people often died young4. Indian family was patriarchal father or oldest maleruled

8/8/2019 Ch 4 Sec 3 PPT

5/8

B. Children and Parents1. Children learned to obey caste rulesfrom an early age

2. A daughter learned that as a wife shewould serve and obey her husband andhis family3. A son learned the rituals to honor the

familys ancestors4. Parents arranged marriages for their children based on caste and familyinterest

a.) In northern India, a brides familycommonly provided a dowry or payment to the bridegroom

b.) The bride then left her home and became part of her husbands family

8/8/2019 Ch 4 Sec 3 PPT

6/8

y C. Womens Lives1. By early Gupta times, upper-casteHindu women could move freely insociety and some were well educated2. By late Gupta times, women wereincreasingly restricted to the home3. When they went outside they were

supposed to cover themselves from headto foot4. Women were thought to have shakti, acreative energy, that men lacked

5. A husbands duty was to channel thewifes energy in the proper direction

8/8/2019 Ch 4 Sec 3 PPT

7/8

6. Womens duties were to marry, showdevotion to her husband, and raise children7. A high-caste widow was forbidden toremarryy A.) A widow was expected to join her dead

husband on his funeral firey B.) Some widows accepted this as a noble

duty that wiped out her and her husbandssins

y C.) Other women bitterly resisted thiscustom

8/8/2019 Ch 4 Sec 3 PPT

8/8

III. Village Lifey A. Typical Village

1. Size varied from a handful tohundreds of families2. They had fields where farmers grew

wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, etc3. Each village included people of different castes4. Too much or too little rain meant

famine5. Usually self-sufficient6. Village headman and council madedecisions