Ancient India -- Social Structure

• Holy books (Hindu bible)

• Rules and laws

• Poems and Songs

• Mentions a Class system=Caste System

The system of dividing society into classes.​

​

The caste that someone belongs to is based on their wealth, occupation, and family background.

• This system dictated who you could:

• marry

• the type of job you would have

• with whom you could socialize

• where you lived​

There were four categories known as Varnas. Varnas consist of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.

Top Caste: The Brahims: The top caste was made up of scholars, priests, teachers, judges, and landowners. They were know as the Brahmin caste or Brahmins. Many Brahmins lived in temples, removed from society. Others spent a great deal of time in contemplation and meditation. Some were quite social.

UPPER CLASS

• Priests

• Teachers

• Scholars

The Kshatriya: Kshatriyas were the warriors. Rulers of towns and cities mostly came from the Kshatriya caste. Any decision they made, however, could be overruled by a member of the Brahmin, the caste above them.

• Rulers

• Warriors (army)

The Vaishyas: Vaishyas were skilled farmers, merchants, and craftsmen. Vaishyas could hold office in village government. They might live in very nice houses. Even though they were three down on the social scale, they still had good clothes and ample food. They might not be the top leaders, but they were certainly a respected part of society.

• Farm-owners

• Land-owners

• Merchants...business-owners

• Provide for the upper class

Bottom Caste: The Sudras: The Sudras were the unskilled workers. They might find a job on a farm or a non-skilled job in a home or business like cleaning. They were the bottom caste.

• Lowest Caste

• Service-providers and workers

• Provide for the upper class

These were the people who were considered the lowest in society in Hindu India, so low that they were not part of the caste system. They had no rights. If they had a job at all, other than begging, it was a degrading job that no one else wanted to do. If your parent was at this level, so were you. They could not move up or marry out of their social rank.

• Not even part of the caste system

• Do the dirty jobs in society

• Clean animal waste

• Other castes should not touch them

• Your actions in one life was either a reward or punishment for the actions in your previous life

• One of the biggest draws to Hinduism by people in the caste system was the idea of reincarnation

• It gave hope for a better life, but you had to work for it --- Have good karma

Early Hinduism viewed society as a sum of equal parts. The Vedas is described in 4 main parts:

- Brahmins (priests, scholars, and teachers)

- Kshatriyas (KSHA-tree-uhs) (rulers & warriors)

- Vaishyas (VIESH-yuhs) (merchants, artisans, and farmers)

- Shudras (SHOO-druhs) (servants & laborers)

The Hindu new year is celebrated at the Diwali (dih-WAH-lee) festival. Diwali means "row of lamps."

The lamps are symbols of good (light) winning over evil (darkness).

• Dharma is a central concept in Hinduism & other Indian traditions.

• Dharma is described as a duty, a way of life that helps people live happily.

• Each social class has its own duty. Duties include studying text, herding animals, trading goods, or serving as a warrior.

• If everyone follows their role, society would be in harmony.

• Karma is another belief Hindus share with other Indian traditions. it explains the importance of living according to dharma.

• The law of karma governs what happens to people's souls after death.

• It is believed that every action has consequences, and those consequences are felt over a number of lifetimes.

​Life in the Indus Valley

Buildings were built with mud bricks

​

Houses were big and small. Some had one floor and others had three.

​

Every home had a bathroom with simple toilets and showers. Clean water was brought in from wells in the street.​

Subject | Subject

​Life in the Indus Valley

The Indus Valley civilization was the biggest of its time and had many thousands of people living in the main cities.

​

The cities were built near the rivers.

​

Not all people lived in the cities, farmers, fishermen and traders lived in smaller villages outside of the cities.​

Subject | Subject