CHAPTER III. CASTE, IN INDIA AND AMERICA, COMPARED: Descriptions of the Customs of Caste in India. Colored people excluded from equal privileges, in schools, in business, in public conveyances. Comparison of Customs of Caste, in Religious Worship, in America and Hindoostan. Separate seats in House of God. Distinctions at Communion. Separate places in Burial Grounds. 'Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These,' (that is, those who thus think and speak,) are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.' ISIAH lxv. 5. I HAVE said, in the preceding chapter, that it is not color, but caste, which creates the feeling of aversion to the people of color, so common in this country. And I think I have proved, to the satisfaction of the candid reader, that there is nothing in color itself, to create this feeling. I will here add the testimony of the Hon. Alexander H. Everett, contained in his able work on the situation of America. It is directly in point, to the question before us. • Nations and races,' says he, ' like individuals, have their day, and seldom have a second. The blacks had a long and glorious one; and after what they have been and done, it argues not so much a mistaken theory, as sheer ignorance of the most notorious historical facts, to pretend that they are naturally inferior to the whites. It would seem indeed, that if any race have a right claim to a sort of pre-eminence over others, on the fair and honorable ground of talents displayed, and benefits conferred, it is precisely this very one, which we take upon us, in the pride of a temporary superiority, to stamp with the brand of essential degradation. It is hardly necessary to add, that while the blacks were the leading race in civilization and political power, there was no prejudice among the whites against their color. On the contrary, we find that the early Greeks regarded them as a superior variety of the human species, not only in intellectual and moral qualities, but in outward appearance. "The Ethiopians," says Herodotus, "surpass all other men in longevity, stature, and personal beauty." Having, as I suppose, shown that color is not the real ground of the prejudice against this class of our population; I now proceed to substantiaate the position, that it is the offspring of the spirit of caste, by instituting a comparison between the system of artificial orders and distinctions, as it prevails in perfection in Hindoostan; and the same principle, as it exists here, by the force of a depraved public sentiment. The Hindoos were originally divided into four castes or tribes, viz., the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas or Ketras, the Vaisyas or Bices, and the Sudras or Sooders, each of which is again subdivided into a large number of different branches.' Every individual remains invariably in the caste in which he was born, practices its duties, and is debarred from ever aspiring to a higher, whatever may be his merit or his genius.' 'The members of each tribe, must adhere invariably to the profession of their ancestors, and continue from generation to generation, to pursue one uniform walk of life. In consequence of this unnatural distinction of cast, all motives to exertion, inquiry, or improvement, are completely extinguished among the Hindoos; for the most honorable actions, the most beneficial discoveries, the most virtuous conduct, secure no respect or advantage to a person of inferior caste.'* • The Chitties live by trade, and the Vellallas by cultivating the land. The smiths and carpenters' caste is inferior to the Vellallas. Washermen, shoemakers, and barbers, are still inferior. The Toddy-man, Paraya, &c., are still lower. The Too *See Spirit of British Missions,' p. 121. Malte Brun, vol. 2, p. 231. roompen, (which signifies a man that is not worth more than a rush,) is the lowest. This last is so low a caste, that people of the high castes often strike them, if they come in contact with them. None of the high castes will eat with any of the low castes.' * The fourth and most numerous caste, are the Sudras or Sooders. Their business is servile labor; and whenever the original spirit of the institution has not been infringed on, by a train of political accidents, their degradation is inhuman. They are compelled to work for the bramins, being considered as created solely for their use. They are not, by the laws of Menu, allowed to collect property, because such a spectacle would give pain to the Bramins.' To them the Vedas, or sacred books, must never be read; and whoever shall dare to instruct them in the mode of expiating sin, is doomed to sink with them. into Asamvrita, one of the hells with which the world of spirits is provided.' How striking the resemblance between this and American slavery! There is, also, a race of most degraded and universally insulted ontcasts, called Parayas. In many places, their very approach is sufficient to pollute a whole neighborhood. They must not * Journal of Gabriel Tissera, a converted native, in appendix of Report of American Board, 1823. When enter a street where the Brahmins live. they transgress, the higher castes will not assault them, for it is pollution even to touch them with a long pole; but through the medium of others, they often beat them at pleausure, and have often put them to death, without dispute or inquiry.'* 'For every species of labor, there is in India a particular class of men. This division of labor is regulated according to caste. The divisions of the former, however, are so much more extensive than the nominal grades of the latter, that different individvals of the same caste are engaged in different occupations. Still, whatever be a man's capacities, he can neither rise above, nor fall beneath, the calling of his father. He will perform only that kind of labor to which his own subdivision of his caste are accustomed. One man of low caste may be a dobee or washerman, and another of the same caste, a coolie or carrier of burdens, and a third, a palanquin bearer. But a dobee would scorn to act as a coolie. Even the foot pedler will not carry his own packs of goods; nor will the Hindoo servant, who provides for his master's table, bring from the market a piece of meat, or a basket of vegetables. He must em * Malte Brun, pp. 238, 240. |