什麼是種姓

一般由血統、婚姻和職業決定的群體的特定社會等級。種姓源自遠古，為每個正統的人規定一切社交和職業的規則和限制，在印度十分普遍。每個種姓都有自己的習俗，這些習俗對於其成員的職業和飲食習慣以及他們和其他種姓的人的社會交往都有限制。印度約有三千個種姓和兩萬五千多個亞種姓。大致可歸入四個瓦爾納（varna），即等級。最高的等級是婆羅門（僧侶和學者），其次是剎帝利（武士和統治者），第三是吠舍（商人和農民），最後是首陀羅（手藝人、勞動者、傭人和奴隸）。做最骯髒的工作的人地位在首陀羅之下，被稱作「不可接觸者」。雖然現代印度生活的許多方面已很少受到種姓的影響，但多數人在結婚時仍會考慮到社會等級。這部分是因為大多數人仍住在農村，也因為婚姻的安排是一種透過既存的親族和種姓關係網路的家族活動。

caste

Group of people having a specific social rank, defined largely by descent, marriage, and occupation. Widespread in India, caste is rooted in antiquity and specifies the rules and restrictions governing social intercourse and activity. Each caste has its own customs that restrict the occupations and dietary habits of its members and their social contact with other castes. There are about 3,000 castes, or jatis (broadly, “form of existence fixed by birth”), and more than 25,000 subcastes in India. They are traditionally grouped into four major classes, or varnas (“colors”). At the top are the Brahmans, followed by the Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras. Those with the most defiling jobs are ranked beneath the Sudras. Considered untouchable, they were simply dubbed as “the fifth” (panchama) category. Although a great many spheres of life in modern India are little influenced by caste, most marriages are nevertheless arranged within the caste. This is in part because most people live in rural communities, and because the arrangement of marriages is a family activity carried out through existing networks of kinship and caste.