Transcript India’s Caste System - Hollidaysburg Area School District

Miss Tomkowski
7th Grade World History
INDIA’S CASTE SYSTEM
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
Varna- different social class
(grouped into 4 main categories)
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaisyas
Sudras
Brahmins
 Top varna
 Made up of the priests
 Only people who could perform a religious
ceremony
Kshatriyas
 2nd top varna
 Made up of warriors
 Ran the government and the army
Vaisyas
 3rd 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).