Sanskritisation /Sanskritization and caste mobility

 Table of Contents

The Word Itself 3

The Process 3

Helps and Hinderances 4

Functions of Sanskritisation 5

Case Studies 6

Westernization 7

Aspects Westernized 8

Present Situation 8

Trends 9

 

 

Sanskritisation

As both the processes of sanskritisation and westernisation are going on at the same time, there is a conflicting, or more correctly, a confusing situation. On the one hand, there are the lower castes trying to take on the traditional values and customs of the upper castes, to raise their status. On the other hand, the upper castes are discarding some of these customs. Westernisation may be characterised as a movement from the. sacred to the secular. It is difficult to characterise Sanskritisation in a 'toe red-secular' of 'folk-urban frame of reference. In any case, from the view point of culture content the more important aspect to be noted is that these processes are likely to result in having a common set of cultural elements in all of Hindu society. At the same time, there is an element of "conflict" between westernisation and Sanskritisation. Most of the castes are faced with a dilemma of making a choice. With increased industrialisation, greater communication, new occupations, greater education, it seems likely that westernisation will be the more dominant process.

T H E form of 'Sanskritisation' was first used by Prof M N Srinivas in his book Religion and Society Among the Coorgs of India. This book is a study of the Coorgs—a caste like group of people in India occupying the area called Coorg, located on the south west coast. The Coorgs are divided into two sections, one of which is "highl y Brahminised in their customs and ritual' ' Srinivas says that these Coorgs "exemplify a tendency which has always been present in the caste system; a small group of people break off from a larger whole, of which they are a part. Sanskritise their customs and ritua l and achieve a higher status than their parent body in the course of a few decades'". Sanskritisation is defined by Srinivas as follows: "The caste system is far from a rigi d system in which the position of each component caste is fixed for all time. Movement has always been possible and especially so in the middle regions of hierarchy. A low caste was able, in a generation or two to rise to higher position in the hierarchy by adopti n g vegetarianism and teetotal ism ami by Sanskritizing its ritua l ami pantheon. In short, it look over as far as possible the customs, rites, and beliefs of the Brahmins and the adoption of the Brahmini c way of lif e by a low caste seems to have been frequent though theoretically forbidden. This process has been called Sanskritisation in this book.

The word "Sanskritisation" is rather difficult to understand. The immediate reaction on seeing the word is that it must be related to "Sanskrit", the classical and sacred languages of the Hindus. 

The Word Itself

 The other wor d that could have been used is "Brahminisation " but Srinivas rejects this for the following reasons:

 (1 ) Brahminisation is sub-assumed in the wider process of Sanskritisation: 

(2) the customs and habits of Brahmins changed after they settled in India ; and 

(3) the agents of Sanskritisation were not, and are not always Brahmins. 

Another factor involved is that the word "Brahminisation " evokes the connotation of Vedic traditions, but 'not all aspects of sanskritisation are Vedic. At one of the conferences where the concept was discussed, the wor d "Hinduisation ' was suggested —but as it smacked of proselytization, it was not accepted. Further the word suggests that many of the lower castes are not Hindus which is not true. Also Hinduism includes many non-Sanskrit elements. Another suggestion was "imitation' ' but the process of Sanskritization involves more than mere imitation . To the suggestion that "acculturation " be used, Srinivas gave the following reply "There was another suggestion made that we should discard a local term like Sanskrilisation for acculturation. I think this should be rejected for the reason that acculturation takes a particular form in Hind u society and we want to characterize this particular form of acculturation Generalizations about acculturation all over the world are a bit too premature." Red field, who was at the conference, commented as follows: ''I entirely agree wit h the suggestion that the process of acculturation that is going on in Indi a should be indicated by a special term because the process itself is special. In acculturation generally, a group takes over elements of culture not practised by that group. Sanskritisation is a process whereby elements of tradition more nearly universal and more reflectively cultivated are communicated to. and some often consciously assumed by a group whose local folk culture has long contributed and drawn from reflective culture. The process is taking place withi n a civilized community not only characterized by a high tradition but also by a more local and uureflective tradition. There are levels or stages of culture and the arrangements of the stages are affected and altered by the process of sanskritisation. This is quite different from the process which occurred when the red Indians met European traders who came into contact wit h them. Therefore in my view it is good we find a specia l term to express this process."6 Srinivas himself said the word was "ugly" , bu t at the end of the discussion he felt that nothing that had been said had convinced hi m that he should change the word .

 The Process

 "The structural basis of Hind u society is caste and it is not possible to understand sanskritisation without reference to the structural framework i n which it occurs. "Speaking generally the castes occupying the top positions in the hierarchy are more sanskritised than the castes in the lower and middle ranges of the hierarchy and this has been responsible for the sanskritisation of the lower castes as well as the outlying tribes. The lower castes seem to have always tried to take over the customs and ways of life of the higher castes. The theoretical existence of a ban on their adoption of Brahmanical customs and rites was not very effective and this is clear when we consider the fact that many non-Brahmanical castes practise many Brahmanical customs and rires"7 As this process was common to all the castes except the highest, it meant that the Brahmanic customs and way of lif e spread among the Hindus. However, the immediate group that was imitated by the lower castes was the locally dominant group. As the dominant caste began to take on more of the Brahminica l customs and rites, the latter slowly seeped down to the lower castes as well and, hence, to the entire society. Among the customs taken over are clothing, jewellery, cooking, vegetarianism, teetotalism and at times the changing of the name of the caste. Accordin g to Srinivas, two legal fictions helped the process of sanskritisation of the ritua l aspects. The ban is restricted not to the ritual itself but to the recital of magic chants (mantras) from the Vedas. This was circumvented by the lower castes by using Sanskrit verses from the Post-Vedic period. This substitution in itself was the second legal fiction. The non-Brahmins not only adopt the Brahminica l riles and customs, but also the institutions. Srinivas corroborates this by referring to marriage, position of women, and kinship. Amon g Hindus, there is preference fo r virginit y in brides, chastity in wives, and continence in widows. This is especially marked among the highest castes. The lower have not been very rigi d in their sex code, but as the castes rise in the hierarchy, it becomes more and more Sanskritised and, in sex and marriage, the code of the Brahmins is taken over. Widow remarriage and divorce are restricted. Srinivas himself says, "Sanskritization results in harshnness towards women." 8 In the sphere of kinship, the patrilineal lineage is stressed among the Brahmins, hence the importance of the sons. Sanskritisation also means the adoption of new ideas and values which have been expounded in Sanskriti c literature. Such the6logicaI terms as Karma (predestination and rebirth), dharma (duty), papa (shi h punya (merit and deliverance) maya (illusory nature of the world) , samsara (universal), and moksha (liberation) are used frequently. These were essentially related to Vedas and the discussion confined mostly to Brahmins.

 Helps and Hinderances 

What has been said go far may seem to suggest that the process of Sanskritisation goes on without hindrances. This is not true. The very fact that it takes decades and decades for a caste to raise its status is indicative of the slowness of the process anfud slowness is an indication of the opposition. "Once inside Sanskritic Hinduism, the local rites and beliefs undergo Sanskritisation rapidly in a thoroughgoing manner." In the recent past, the process of Sanskritisation seems to have been acclerated, Amon g the factors that have helped the process along are the "legal fictions' ' that have been already mentioned. The second factor is western technology — railways, press, radio, internal combustion engine, and plane. Communication is easier and ideas spread more quickl y because of it. Parliamentary democracy also contributed to it . Some of the values of the higher castes were written into the Constitution— such as prohibitio n and monogamy. " I t is possible that the very ban on the adoption of the Brahminica l way of lif e by the lower castes, had exactly the opposite effect. The forbidden fruit was the tastier One " "Th e pantheistic bias in Hinduism also contributes to Sanskritisation of the deities and beliefs of the low castes and outlying communities. The doctrine that everything in the universe is animated by God; that all the various deities are only forms assumed by the same Brahma makes the process of absorption easier.1 ' 10 'Th e stratification of the Hind u society into castes has in a sense helped Sanskritisation because in any hierarchial system, there is a tendency to imitate the customs, habits, manners of the top group.'' 1 1 The most important factor in the hindrance for the process is the resentment of other castes against any caste that tries to raise its status. Often political and economic pressures are put. At times even physical force is used to prevent the lower castes' taking on the customs and the rituals of higher castes. Cohn mentions the fact that Thakurs used political and economic pressure and also physical violence to keep the Chamars in place. In my own study of North Indian Village , one of the more educated Brahmins said, "I f the lower castes attempted to disobey Brahmins they would ask them not to walk on their fields. If they do, we can manhandle them physically. " As the houses of the lower castes were located in the midst of the fields of the Brahmins, the lower castes would not be able to move out of the houses at all. As the upper castes hold most of the land, are better educated, hence have the economic and the political power to subdue them . . ." A more effective barrier to the taking over of the customs and the rites of the higher castes by the lower castes, was the hostile attitude of the locally dominant caste or of the king of the region." 

 Functions of Sanskritisation

 A second factor that hinders the process of Sanskritisation is westernization—this is in view of the fact that there is a conflict between the Sanskritic and western values—the conflict between "the worl d view disclosed by the systematic application of scientific method to the various spheres of knowledge and the view of traditional religions."  At present this conflict is implicit, rather than explicit as it is not full y realized. It could be said that there are three major functions of the process. In the first place, as the process was common to al l castes except the highest, the Brahminica l customs and the way of lif e spread among all the Hindus. From this arises the second function, namely that because of the spread of one particular way, a common "culture " was developing throughout the whole Hind u society. "The presence of completely sanskritised worship of rivers, trees, and mountains in Hinduism, and then incorporation in vast mythology of Hinduism, makes easier the assimilation of the ritua l beliefs of the lower castes and of communities remaining outside Hinduism." A thir d function is to provide for social mobility withi n a rigi d social structure. Too often the caste system and Hind u society are described as non-mobile, This does not provide a total description of the Hind u society. The reform movements, the revolts of the lower castes and Sanskritisation all indicate that the Hind u society is dynamic. Sanskritisation provides the means of vertical social mobility. The concept of sanskritisation is one of the most widely discussed and used concepts in recent studies. However, I shall confine myself to citing four studies and indicating the findings on the subject, Cohn studied a village in U P He states "Fo r the last thirt y years the Chamars of Modhopu r have struggled consciously to raise their status on another related front— that of caste hierarchy. At least two generations ago, in the vicinit y of Modhopur, began to outlaw eating of beef and the carting of manure in what proved to be a futile attempt to gain greater respect for the caste."14 Such attempts to raise their caste status are not individua l in character or effect. Nor are they 'necessarily legislated by large forma l gatherings. Rather a leader or a group of leaders in the caste in one village feels that some traditiona l behaviour should be changed and the changes are talked over in the village. Relatives and others who are visiting hear about the proposed change and carry the news to their home villages. If a local group of Chamars decides to initiate the change, it decrees that any Chamar who fails to conform to the new pattern wil l be outcasted. Active propagandizing follows from  the initiatin g village or villages. Ulti - mately the initiatin g Chamars determine that they wil l no longer give daughters to or accept daughters-inlaw from the Chamars who do not conform to the change. "Consistent wit h efforts to raise their caste status to gain power, the Chamars of Modhopu r in recent years also made conscious efforts to suppress their distinctive traditiona l religion, to Sanskritise their rituals still further and emulate the specific religious forms of the higher castes. Although they continue to propitiate the Goddess Bhagoti jointl y of the whole hamlet and although they continue to worship the other deities, as do members of the higher castes, yet they have made many changes in the rest of their religious practice''  

Case Studies

 Domestic ceremonies of the Chamars have been modelled increasingly upto leaders and devotees of the Siva Narayan sect. The sacrifice of a pi g whic h began the Chamar weddin g ceremony has now been given up and replaced by the cutting of a nutmeg? 1 0 Dowr y is beginning to replace bride price. A Brahmi n conducts the wedding ceremony. Horoscopes are cast at birt h ceremonies. Changes have been made in the death rituals. Pilgrimage is emphasized. " recent changes have moved Chamar religion directly toward the main stream of the great tradition of orthodox Hinduism. " Berreman studied a village in the Himalayan regions. He states "In - creasing contact wit h Brahmins educated in traditional Hinduism has been sufficient to impel the whole society includin g all castes towards increasing acceptance of Sanskritic values and aspirations, or at least superficial adherence to these. Where new reference groups have been acquired, they have been largely those withi n the traditiona l Hind u culture with which the people have long had some acquaintance. Status improvement here as among the low castes of the plains is perceived as achievable through adoption of Sanskritic practices. That it occurs among all castes almost uniforml y is due in part to the relative absence of differential beliefs and practices among castes in this area whic h in tur n is largely attributed to lack of caste community isolation in these hills 'Therefore , the pictur e is of the changing caste movin g up in the Sanskritic caste status hierarchy, as the higher mor e advantaged castes move out of the hierarchy into a non-Sanskritic milieu . I n Srikanda the pictur e is of the entire, Pahari community attempting to move up from the low status to higher status in terms of Sanskritic values whil e castes withi n that community retain their relative status positions It is however an assertion that the dominant trend is' towards societywide movement upwar d in the traditional Sanskritic context." 1 7 In Srikanda there is little evidence of any one caste makin g an organized effort to raise its status in the system. This does not mean that the low castes woul d not lik e to rise in status, but they see no way to do it. They feel that they are subject to the wil l of high castes who would never tolerate impingement upon their superior status.18 Cohn mentions in his study of the attempt by "Noniyas" ° to raise their status. Roweb made a study of this caste in the same villagec . According to him, there is not much of a process of sanskritisation. There are possibly two reasons for this. One may be due to the failure to raise the status through the process of Sanskritisation. The second reason may be that they feel that westernization (discussed later) is a better way of catching up wit h the upper castes. Rowe feels that there is a greater process of westernization than Sanskritisation. The reaction towards Sanskritisation is characterised by the following statement. "Wha t is the use of calling oneself a Singh (the reference to changing of 'name to a higher caste) if you can't be a Singh? " In my own study of a village in U. P. there was not too much evidence of Sanskritisation among the lower castes. There was some indication of Sanskritisation among the middle range caste groups, particularl y in matters of food and to a A higher caste than Chamars studied by Cohn b Information based on personal discussion c Rowe W, Social & Economic Mobility in a low caste North India Community, Ph D thesis (Unpublished), Cornwell University, 1960 some extent in rituals. The middle range caste groups seemed to be observing ni l the rituals that the Brahmins observed, the difference was in the degree of elaboration. In the village studied by me, it is possible to explain the lack of Sanskritisation by using another concept developed by Srinivas—"dominant easte."20 According to this concept, each village has a dominant caste-- dominance may be based on ritua l "power " economic power, political power, or a combination of them. In the village studied, the dominance of the dominant caste- Brahmins— was too complete to allow any attempt by the lower caste to try to raise their status. Brahmins wielded power with regard to rituals. They were the land-holders and the lower castes were engaged by them labourers. Numerically, they were the largest. The village council was dominated by the Brahmins- only three out of thirteen being non-Brahmins. The lower castes were too much under subjugation to try to raise themselves.

 Westernization

 Reference has already been made to westernization. Western influence came to India through the British. There was an attempt by Indians to accept, adopt, or imitate the British customs and habits. '"The form and pace of westernization in India varied from one region to another and from one section of the population to another. For instance, one group of people became westernized in their dress, diet, manner, speech, sports, and the gadgets they used, while another acquired western science, knowledge and literature while remaining relatively free from westernization in externals." 2 1 The process of westernization was more relevant to the upper castes. Brahmins. Kshathryas and Vaish had a literary tradition which gave them an initia l advantage in taking to western education. In most parts of the country Brahmins were the first to take to English. This resulted in increasing (a) the social distance between them and other castes and (h ) brought them closer to the rulers which in tur n enabled them to acquire political and economic advantages. As the Brahmins were at the top of social hierarchy, it was easy for them to do things without being subject to ridicule. An y attempt by the lower castes to do the same woul d have been ridiculed.

 Aspects Westernized 

As stated earlier, not all aspects of ''westernization" were accepted. This is in keeping with process of acculturation in which there is always selection and adaptation. Some of the changes which Srinivas mentions are changes in appearance and dress. Crop haircut became normal. The wearing of shirts, and suits became common. The change in dress led to change in certain ideas with particular reference to rituals connected with 'pure robes'" for eating. The diet changed. Onion, carrot, potato, radish, beet-root became part of the menu. Formerly they were forbidden. New occupations were taken. Medical profession (which involved touching the corpses, treating untouchables) became popular. An indirect effect was the spread of dowry. The demand for educated boys with good jobs brought in "dowry " in place of "bride price" . Certainly many ideas of western origin were accepted. "The systematic application of scientific method" had already been mentioned. The legal and political system was accepted. 

The process of westernization took place because:

1. British rule and the imposition of legal and political system 

2. Increased social value on education which was mostly in English and the functional necessity of studying English— to be able to secure jobs 

3. Increased communication and transport system .

1 The desire of the upper castes to move nearer to the ruling class and also to increase the social distance with the lower castes .

Present Situation

 As both the processes of sanskritisation and Westernization arc going on at the same time, it would be said that there is a conflicting, or more correctly, a confusing situation. Cohn refers to this condition in his article. On the one hand there are the lower castes trying to take on the traditional values and customs of the upper castes, to raise their status. On the other hand, the upper castes are discarding some of these customs.

Westernization may be characterised as a movement from the sacred to the secular. In the sacred society, the characteristics are folk and prescribed, particularistic, collective oriented, diffuse, quality-oriented (ascription! and affective. In the secular. the factors involved are principles, and normless, universitistic, ego-oriented. specific. performance - oriented (achievement), and affective-neurality. It is difficult to characterise sanskritisalion in a "sacred-secular of folk-urban" frame of reference. 

Trends

 Some trends have already been implicitl y indicated. However, other aspects need to be made explicit. The fact that the lower castes are tryin g to "sanskritise" ie. 1o adopt the traditions and customs of the Brahmins. The Brahmins, on the other band, are becoming more westernized. The lower castes are faced with a dilemma. As members of the lower castes they have certain privileges which the government has accorded to them (free tuition, preference in selective jobs, scholarships, etc) so as to bring them in line with the rest of the society. The lower castes do want these privileges, but they also want to raise their status. It is a case of wanting to have the cake and eat it too. Among middle range castes, westernization seems to be gaining rapidly. As indicated in Rowe's study, the attempt seems not to Sanskritise. This is possibly due to two reasons. The upper castes are westernizing and naturally if the immediately lower castes are going to imitate them, then naturally there wil l be westernizing/Secondly , caste names and rituals do not now account entirely for the status. Education, occupation, and wealth are beginning to be considered. Most occupations outside the caste hierarchy do have a high value, e.g., lawyer, teacher, doctor, government service, factory worker, etc. In brief, the lower castes are still tryin g to give up the traditions and customs which gave them lower status and are tryin g to adopt customs and traditions of the upper castes. The upper castes are overlooking their rituals, customs, and traditions and taking to westernization. The middl e range castes tend to imitate the upper castes, hence undergoing "westernization." It is possible that the lower castes will , in the near future, take to westernization, Implication for Culture Content In both Sanskritisation and westernization, there is culture accumulation as well as culture depletion. In Sanskritisation, the lower castes are givin g up their own rituals, customs, folkways, and values. Hence, there is culture depletion. On the other hand, there is culture accumulation in view of the fact that they are taking over new values, traditions, and customs from the upper castes. In westernization the new elements whic h have come into being have been mentioned. The upper castes seem to be giving up the rituals and customs of the past. Hence there is both accumulation as well as depletion. From the present trends, it would seem that the process of westernization is likely to become the more dominant process. In any case, from the viewpoint of culture content the more important aspect to be noted is that these processes are likely to result in having a common set of cultural elements in all of Hind u society. At present there is great diversity. Both sanskritisation and westernization are a trend towards decreasing the diversity and of unifying the Hind u society from the point of view of culture content. At the same time there is an element of "conflict " between westernization and sanskritisation. Most of the castes are faced with a dilemma of making a choice. A§ not many studies have been made. it is not easy to predict which process is likely to be more dominant. With increased industrialization, greater communication, new occupations, greater education, it seems likely that westernization will be the more dominant process.