Sanskritisation
Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper castes. It is a process similar to 'passing' in sociological terms. This term was made popular by Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas in the 1950s.[1][2][3] Sanskritisation has in particular been observed among mid-ranked members of caste-based social hierarchies.[4]
In a broader sense, also called Brahmanisation,
Definition
Srinivas defined Sanskritisation as a process by which
a low or middle Hindu caste, or
twice-born caste. Generally such changes are followed by a claim to a higher position in the caste hierarchy than that traditionally conceded to the claimant class by the local community..."[8]
In a broader sense, Sanskritisation is
the process whereby local or regional forms of culture and religion – local deities, rituals, literary genres – become identified with the great tradition of Sanskrit literature and culture: namely the culture and religion of orthodox, Aryan, Brahmans, which accepts the Veda as revelation and, generally, adheres to varrṇāśrama-dharma.[9]
In this process, local traditions (little traditions) become integrated into the great tradition of Brahmanical religion,
According to Srinivas, Sanskritisation is not just the adoption of new customs and habits, but also includes exposure to new ideas and values appearing in Sanskrit literature. He says the words
Development
The caste system is far from a rigid system, in which the position of each component caste is fixed for all time. Movement has always been possible, and especially in the middle regions of the hierarchy. A caste was able, in a generation or two, to rise to a higher position in the hierarchy by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism, and by Sanskritising its ritual and pantheon. In short, it took over, as far as possible, the customs, rites, and beliefs of the Brahmins, and adoption of the Brahminic way of life by a low caste seems to have been frequent, though theoretically forbidden. This process has been called ‘Sanskritisation’ in this book, in preference to ‘Brahminisation’, as certain Vedic rites are confined to the Brahmins and the two other twice-born castes.[12]
The book challenged the then prevalent idea that caste was a rigid and unchanging institution. The concept of Sanskritisation addressed the actual complexity and fluidity of caste relations. It brought into academic focus the dynamics of the renegotiation of status by various castes and communities in India.
According to
Virginius Xaxa notes that sometimes the anthropologists also use the term Kshatriyisation and Rajputisation in place of Sanskritisation.[15]
Examples
Sanskritisation is often aimed to claim the Varna status of Brahmin or Kshatriyas, the two prestigious Varna of the Vedic-age Varna system. One of the main example of it is various non-elite pastoral communities like Ahir, Gopa, Ahar, Goala etc. who adopted the Yadav word as part of Sanskritisation effort to gain upward mobility in society during late 19th century to early 20th century.[16][17][18][19] Similar attempts were made by communities who were historically classed as non-elite tillers like Kurmi[20] and various communities like Koeri,[21] Murao etc. from the late 19th century onwards through their caste organisations by claiming higher social status.[22] Kalwar caste is traditionally involved into distillation and selling of liquor, but around the start of the 20th century, various organisations related to the caste sought to redefine the image of their community through this process.[23]
Another example in North India is of Rajput. According to historical evidence, the present day Rajput community varies greatly in status, comprising those with royal lineage to those whose ancestors were petty tenants or tribals who gained land and political power to justify their claim of being Kshatriya.[24][25][26]
One clear example of Sanskritisation is the adoption, in emulation of the practice of
One more example is of Hindu
An unsuccessful example is the
Srinivas was of the view that Sanskritisation was not limited to the Hindu castes, and stated that the semi-tribal groups including Himalayas's
Reception
Yogendra Singh has critiqued the theory as follows:
Sanskritisation fails to account for many aspects of cultural changes in the past and contemporary India as it neglects non-sanskritic traditions. It may be noted that often a non-sanskritic element of culture may be a localised form of sanskritic tradition. Sanskritic rites are often added to non-sanskritic rites without replacing them.[31]
See also
- Acculturation
- Battle for Sanskrit
- Islamization
- Kshatriyas and would-be Kshatriyas
- List of Sanskrit universities in India
- Panini (grammarian)
- Sanskrit cinema
- Sanskrit studies
- Shiksha
Notes
- ^ Jaffrelot 2005, p. 33 notes, "Ambedkar advanced the basis of one of the most heuristic of concepts in modern Indian Studies – the sanskritization process – that M.N. Srinivas 1952 was to introduce 40 years later."
References
- ^ Charsley 1998, citing Srinivas 1952
- ^ Srinivas et al. 1996.
- ^ a b c d Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica [b] n.d.
- ISBN 9789390914760.
- ^ a b c Flood 2013, p. 148.
- ^ Flood 2013, p. 148: "Within the developing Hindu traditions we can see the process of Sanskritization or Brahmanization, whereby the great brahmanical tradition of vedic social values, vedic ritual forms and Sanskrit absorbs local traditions of ritual and ideology."
- ^ a b c Turner 2008.
- ^ Jayapalan 2001, p. 428.
- ^ Flood 2013, p. 128.
- ^ Srinivas 1962, p. 48.
- ^ Srinivas 1952.
- ^ Srinivas 1952, p. 32.
- Indian Antiquary. XLI.
- ^ Jaffrelot 2005, p. 33.
- JSTOR 4408077.
Scholars have conceptualised diversely the processess of social change experienced by tribes in contact with non–tribal societies. This is evident from the range of the terms used for capturing the processes, the most common being 'Sanskritisation' and 'Hinduisation'. At times anthropologists have also used 'Kshatriyisation' and 'Rajputisation' as substitutes for 'Sanskritisation'.
- ISBN 978-0-520-01623-1.
- ISBN 978-0-231-12786-8. Quote: "In his typology of low caste movements, (M. S. A.) Rao distinguishes five categories. The first is characterised by 'withdrawal and self-organisation'. ... The second one, illustrated by the Yadavs, is based on the claim of 'higher varna status' and fits with Sanskritisation pattern. ..."
- ISBN 9783447015523. Quote: "The Ahir and allied cowherd castes (whether actually pastoralists or cultivators, as in the Punjab) have recently organized a pan-Indian caste association with political as well as social reformist goals using the epic designation of Yadava (or Jadava) Vanshi Kshatriya, ie the warrior caste descending from the Yadava lineage of the Mahabharata fame."
- ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
- JSTOR 44148171.
- ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
- ISBN 978-0-52109-811-3.
- ^ Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica [a] n.d.
- ^ Varadpande 1987, p. 290.
- ^ Talbot 2015, p. 33–35.
- ISBN 9789380607047.
- ^ Ikegame 2013, p. 128.
- JSTOR 23998568.
- ^ Guneratne 2002.
- ^ Singh 1994, p. 11.
Sources
- Bista, Dor Bahadur (1999). Fatalism and Development. Oxford India Press.
- Charsley, S. (1998). "Sanskritization: The career of an anthropological theory". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 32 (2): 527. S2CID 143948468.
- Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica [a] (n.d.). "Rajput". Encyclopædia Britannica.
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has generic name (help) - Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica [b] (n.d.). "Other sources: the process of "Sanskritization"". Encyclopædia Britannica. The history of Hinduism " Sources of Hinduism " Non-Indo-European sources " The process of "Sanskritization".
{{cite encyclopedia}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - Flood, Gavin (2013) [1996], An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press
- Guneratne, Arjun (2002). Many Tongues, One People: The making of Tharu identity in Nepal. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801487285. Retrieved 11 April 2011 – via Google Books.
- Ikegame, Aya (2013). "Karnataka: Caste, dominance and social change in the 'Indian village'". In Berger, Peter; Heidemann, Frank (eds.). The Modern Anthropology of India: Ethnography, themes, and theory. Routledge. p. 128. ISBN 9781134061112– via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-1-85065-449-0.
- Jayapalan, N. (2001). Indian Society and Social Institutions. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 428. ISBN 978-81-7156-925-0. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- Singh, Yogendra (1994). Modernization of Indian Tradition – A systematic study of social change. Jaipur, IN: Rawat Publications.
- Srinivas, M.N. (1952). Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar (1962). Caste in Modern India, and other essays. Bombay, IN: Asia Publishing House. p. 48. OCLC 5206379.
- ISBN 81-7036-494-9.
- Caste in Modern India; and other essays (11th Reprint ed.). Bombay, IN: Media Promoters & Publishers. 1994 [1962]. p. 48.
- Talbot, Cynthia (2015). The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107118560– via Google Books.
- Tarde, Gabriel (1899). Social Laws: An outline of sociology. New York, NY; London, UK: The Macmillan Company; Macmillan & Co.
- Turner, Bryan S. (2008), "Sanskritization", in William A. Darity, Jr. (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, vol. 7 (2nd ed.), Detroit: Macmillan Reference, pp. 323–324, retrieved 9 July 2021
- Varadpande, Manohar Laxman (1987). History of Indian Theatre: Classical theatre. Abhinav Publications. p. 290. ISBN 978-81-7017-430-1– via Google Books.
External links
- Lubin, Timothy. "Bibliography". Department of Religion / School of Law. Washington and Lee University.
- Witzel, Micael. "Early Sanskritization: Origins and development of the Kuru State" (PDF). Laurasian Academy.[permanent dead link]
- Marxization.
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