The Interpretation of Caste
Declan Quigley(Author)
OUP India (Publisher)
Published on 1. February 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
196 pages
978-0-19-565171-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book provides a radical alternative to prevailing theories of caste which either build on indigenous rationalizations of the Brahman's supremacy or reduce hierarchy to material factors. Drawing on a wide range of historical and ethnographic sources as well as four years' fieldwork, Declan Quigley proposes a comparative approach which locates caste-organized communities in the context of complex agrarian societies generally. At the heart of caste, he argues, there is a tension between the centralizing forces of kingship, with its associated ritual, and decentralizing forces of kinship. Dr Quigley believes that it is this tension, rather than Brahminincal ideology, which generates the characteristic patterns of hierarchy and the preoccupation with purity and pollution. In making kingship central to the explanation of caste proposed by A M Hocart over half a century ago, and offers an elegant and wide-ranging comparative interpretation of facts which have until now eluded satisfactory explanation.
More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New Delhi
India
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Illustrations
table, 8 Schaubilder
8 line figures, table, bibliography
ISBN-13
978-0-19-565171-3 (9780195651713)
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Schweitzer Classification