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Caste systems in Africa are a form of social stratification found in numerous ethnic groups, found in over fifteen countries, particularly in the Sahel, West Africa, and North Africa. [1] These caste systems feature endogamy , hierarchical status, inherited occupation, membership by birth, pollution concepts and restraints on commensality.
The other castes were similarly further sub-classified by 19th-century and early-20th-century ethnographers based on numerous criteria ranging from profession, endogamy or exogamy or polygamy, and a host of other factors in a manner similar to castas in Spanish colonies such as Mexico, and caste system studies in British colonies such as India.
In 1948, negative discrimination on the basis of caste was banned by law and further enshrined in the Indian constitution in 1950; [11] however, the system continues to be practiced in parts of India. [5] There are 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes in India, each related to a specific occupation. [12]
The slaves belonged to the lower castes and were employed only for feudal work, and the stigma that they should be kept away from their masters was strictly followed. Samuel Mateer, noted that even in the working fields the slaves were supervised from a distance. [102] The caste system kept them as untouchables and divided into numerous sub-castes.
A recent Hindi film to portray a Dalit character in the leading role, although it was not acted by a Dalit, was Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007). [268] The continued use of caste based references to Dalit sub-castes in South Indian films (typecast and pigeonholed in their main socio-economic sub-group) angers many Dalit fans. [269]
He identifies seven sub-castes among the Saraswats, namely Bardeshkar, Bhalawalikar, Kudaldeshkar, Lotlikar, Pednekar, Sashtikar and Shenvi-paiki. [12] From early twentieth century there have been many initiatives by the different sub-castes to form a unified Saraswat caste but according to Frank O'Conlon (writing in 1974) these attempts failed.
In India, anthropologists now more often speak of 'sub-castes' or Jatis, as the building blocks of society [rather than castes]. However, unless there is a strong element of political control or territoriality associated with such groups these too tend to disintegrate upon closer inspection as soon as essentially exogamous practices such as ...
Scheduled Castes. Article 366 (24) of the Constitution of India defines the Scheduled Castes as: [17] Such castes, races or tribes or part of or groups within such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under Article 341 to be Scheduled Castes for the purpose of this [Indian] constitution.