Caste and Kinship in Kangra

This study is a major addition to understanding the problems of social inequality and the nature of caste and kinship. A full account is given of the social structure of the region, emphasizing the continuity of principles, which govern relations between castes and relationships within castes. The ethnographic data bear in particular on: the nature of untouchability; models of caste ranking; the way in which 'traditional' family structures adapt to a diversification of the economy and the debate about the 'instability' of regimes of generalized exchange. Originally published in 1979.

Autorentext

Jonathan P. Parry

Inhalt

Part 1: Inter-caste relations 1. Introduction: the axiom and idiom of inequality2. The setting3. The economy4. The hierarchical aspects of castePart 2: The internal structure of the caste 5. Clans and their segments6. Households and their partition7. Rajput hypergamy in an historical perspective8. The 'biradari' reform movement9. Marriage strategies10. Affines and consanguines11. Conclusion: The limits of hierarchy