The Caste Hierarchy and the State in Nepal: A Study of the Muluki Ain of 1854 PDF
Preview The Caste Hierarchy and the State in Nepal: A Study of the Muluki Ain of 1854
THE CASTE HIERAtRCHY AND THjE STATE NGPAL IN A Study of the Muluki Ain of 1854 A N D R A S H O F E R THE CASTE HIERARCHY AND THE STATE IN NEPAL A Study of the Muluki Ain of 1854 With an introduction by Prayag Raj Sharma HIMAL BOOKS CLASSICS/4 First published in 1979 by Universitatsverlag Wagner, Imsbruck, as part of the KHUMBU HIMAL series (Khumbu Himal: Ergebnisse des Forschungsunter- nehrnens Nepal Himalaya, vol. 13, no. 2: pp. 25-240), Munich. Second edition, 2004 O 1979 and 2004, main text, Andras Hofer O Introduction, Prayag Raj Sharma ISBN 99933 43 58 7 Himal Books PO Box 166, Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur, Nepal Tel: +977-1-5542544/5548142 Fax: +977-1-5543196 email: [email protected] www.himalassociation.org/books Himal Books is the publishing wing of the not-for-profit Himal Association. Printed in Nepal Rs 650 To MaheS Candra Regmi "Manufs contribution consisted largely in the contention that all the rules he incorporated were, if read as if they were part of a truly integrated organic whole, a viable exposition of Vedic learning, and the true norm for all Brahmanically oriented societies to follow. (...) The idea that the state is really concerned (what- ever might be the appearances) with the attainment of 'salvation' by each indi- vidual, and that it therefore has a spiritual interest in defeating revolutionary schemes, and in keeping everyone to his place (unless emergency conditions justify a departure) is one which would appeal to the public (...) Without denying the past, and without offering a n y h g revolutionary to the future, Manu adopts many archaic pieces which enabled what I have called his 'public' to recognise his bona fides at every few steps." (Derrett 1975: 20-21). CONTENTS ... INTRODUCTION Xlll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITlON xxvii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xxxi 1NTRODUCTORY xxxiii I. THE HISTORY OF THE MULUKI AIN The contents of the Muluki Ain 11. THE PEOPLES OF NEPAL: A SUMMARY Ethnic diversity versus caste hierarchy The term "ethnic group" 111. PURE AND IMPURE Vocabulary IV. COMMENSALITY AND CONTACT Edible and inedible What may pure castes accept from impure castes? The acceptance of water and blliit Excursus: problems of interpretation Commensality and caste status Eating and physical proximity: avoidance measures The hookah (Iltlkkii) Physical contact and untouchability V. SEXUAL RELATIONS General remarks Status difference and gravity of offence Status disparity and pollution Feme's status and caste status: divorce Hypergamy and status allocation Excursus: ideological foundations of the feme's status Incest Sodomy VI. TEMPORARY-PERSONAL IMPURITY Childbirth Mourning Concluding remarks VII. THE SUBSTANTIATION OF THE HIERARCHY status and purity The hierarchy of the impure castes The case of the Mecya Occupation and caste status Attribution and interaction VIII. THE DIMENSIONS OF THE HIERARCHY Principal dichotomies The limits of contact What does the MA mean by jiit ? IX. THE VAIQJA MODEL AND THE DIVISION OF LABOUR IN THE MULUKI AIN 88 The four vnrly and the five caste groups 88 The division of labour 92 X. CASTE AND SOCIAL ESTATE: SLAVES AND ASCETICS 94 Slaves and bond-servants 97 The ascetics 105 XI. ETHNIC GROUP AND CASTE Parbatiya and Newar The Bhote, Kir%tia nd other ethruc groups Intra-ethnic stratification: the Gurung Intra-ethnic stratification: Dolpo and Khumbu Caste and ethnic identity: the Tamang as Bhotya Conclusion XII. NATIVES AND FOREIGNERS IN THE HIERARCHY 129 XIII. TOLERANCE AND HIERARCHY Confessional tolerance Excursus: The confessional issue in the MA of BS 2009 Status allocation and religion Moral tolerance A final note on tolerance in Nepal XIV. THE SANCTIONING OF CUSTOMS 151
The list of books you might like
