Lesson 22. Indian Castes
Subject: history.
Date: 12.12.2011.
Purpose: to form an idea among students about the class division that existed in all societies of the Ancient World.
During the classes
– New concepts: castes, brahmanas, Buddhism.
Current control of knowledge and skills.
Task 1 - work on the map.
Know exactly the dates and years in history,
And remember: you are nowhere without a map.
1. Find the river on the map: Nile; Tiger and Euphrates; Indus and Ganges.
2. Show on the map Egypt, Mesopotamia, India.
3. Show on the map: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean.
Assignment 2 - Questions on the paragraph:
1. Tell us about the geographic location and nature of India.
2. Tell us about the activities of the ancient Indians and the difficulties they faced.
3. Tell us what you know about Indian religious beliefs.
Plan for learning new material
1. The myth about the origin of castes.
2. Inequality of castes.
3. The origin of Buddhism.
1. Study the first question of the plan. The myth of the origin of castes.
Teacher's explanation
The resulting inequality among Indians was reinforced by religion. The priests in India compiled the Brahma Book of Rules, which stated that from birth every Indian belonged to one of four castes.
Dictionary work.
Castes are large, closed groups of people in India, differing in their rights and responsibilities from birth to death.
The Indians believed that each caste originated from some part of the body of the god Brahma.
Work in a notebook:
I caste - brahmanas - the caste of priests from the mouth of Brahma (white);
II caste - warriors - from the hands of Brahma (red);
III caste - farmers - from the thighs of Brahma (yellow);
Caste IV - servants - from the dusty feet of Brahma (black).
The Indians believed that people of different castes were also different from each other in birth, like animals of different breeds. A person whose parents were farmers can never become a priest or a noble warrior. After all, a cow cannot give birth to a piglet or a foal.
Working with the class:
1) Think, were the castes really closed groups of people?
2) Think why the division of people in India into castes is called a myth?
Textbook material
The myth of the origin of the four castes. (A caste is a group of people with certain rights and responsibilities. Caste membership was inherited.) Every Indian from birth belonged to one of four castes: priests, noble warriors, farmers, servants. Indians believed that each caste originated from some part of the god's body. Br a hmm. Brahma priests a us emerged from his mouth, and therefore they know how to say prayers. Warriors came out of the mighty hands of Brahma and therefore know how to fight. Farmers, those who plow the land and graze the cattle are made from his thighs. A servants are below all, because they arose from the dusty feet of his feet.
Indians believed that people of different castes were as different from each other in birth as animals of different breeds. A man whose parents were farmers could never become a priest or a noble warrior. After all, even a cow, for example, cannot give birth to a foal or a piglet. The children of brahmanas, growing up, became priests, and the children of servants became servants.
2. Study of the second question of the plan. Inequality of castes.
Working with the class
The question of caste inequality can be sorted out in the course of the assignment to the class.
5 minutes are given to each row to read their section. 1st row reads about the life of the brahmanas; 2nd row reads about the life of warriors and farmers; The 3rd row reads about the life of the servants. Further, the students are asked to answer the question "If I were ... (brahmana, warrior, farmer, servant)."
Textbook material
How the brahmanas offered sacrifices. The brahmanas were considered the wisest and most respectable in India. They were invited to every house where they wanted to make sacrifices to the gods. The owner of the house promised them a rich gift for this, usually a cow. First, the brahmanas kindled a fire by rubbing two wooden sticks. Then they sang a song of praise to the gods and invited them to visit - to sit on bundles of grass by the fire, inhaling the smell of food that was thrown into the fire. The Indians thought that the grains of rice and barley, butter and milk do not burn in the sacrificial fire, but are carried away to heaven - to the gods with smoke. If the gods are full and happy, they will in gratitude give people a good harvest in the fields. So people and gods fed each other.
The periods of a brahmana's life. The life of a brahmana was divided into three periods: learning, starting a family, hermitage. The priests needed to know with what words to address the gods, how to feed them and how to glorify them. The brahmanas studied this carefully and for a long time. Usually a brahmana gave his son to study when he was seven years old. He brought him to the house of a teacher - also a brahmana - and left him to live there. The boy had to obey the teacher and honor him like a father and mother. Turning your back on the teacher was considered unacceptable. One could approach him only with bare head and without sandals, and when greeting, the students bowed so low that they touched the teacher's feet. They repeated everything he said, word by word, trying to memorize entire books. Getting up at sunrise, the disciples did all the housework: they brought water, put firewood in the hearth, grazed the cows. When the boy was sixteen years old, the parents presented the teacher with a cow, and the son looked for a bride.
After the brahmana learned and got a family, he himself could take disciples into the house, make sacrifices to the gods for himself and for others. When a brahmana had grandchildren and his head became gray, he could leave the house to his eldest son, and he himself went to hermits. (A hermit is a person who has refused to communicate with other people, living in solitude.) He built a hut in the forest, slept on bare ground and ate only forest fruits, striving to achieve a blissful state of peace of mind far from people. Some tortured their bodies, starved, stood for weeks and months with an arm raised or on one leg, remained silent for years. They believed that after such torment, at a new birth, they would remain brahmanas or even live with the gods in heaven.
Castes of noble warriors, farmers and servants. The Indian kings themselves were from a caste of noble warriors and surrounded themselves with people from this caste. The warriors participated in battles on elephants or in chariots, and in peacetime they feasted in palaces, went hunting or organized archery competitions. People from the warrior caste believed that their ancestors were ancient kings and heroes such as Frame. For this reason alone, they are much higher than ordinary farmers, and even more so servants. But the farmers, who had their own homes, fields and livestock, scorned the poor servants. The servant had no right to accumulate property and make sacrifices to the gods, asking them for help. He had to obey his master unquestioningly and honor all people of the higher castes, especially the brahmanas.
The Untouchables. The worst was for those of the servants who were called "untouchables." They were even forbidden to live in the village. They slept in miserable shacks outside of it, and ate garbage. Nobody sat down at the same table with them - it's like with some dirty animal. The "untouchables" wore special clothes so that no one accidentally came up to them and touched them. And when they entered the village to remove garbage or do other dirty work, people tried to leave the street so as not to see these despicable creatures.
The inequality between castes seemed natural and eternal to the Indians. If a person from a lower caste dared to raise his hand against a brahmana, the king ordered that his hand be cut off. If he addressed a brahmana with teachings, boiling oil was poured down his throat and his tongue was pierced with a red-hot iron. Religion gave people only one consolation: if simple farmers and servants are submissive to their fate, then after death they can be born as warriors, kings and even brahmanas.
But some ancient Indian sages did not attach much importance to caste differences. So, Buddha, the founder of the Buddhist religion, taught that the main thing is a person's personal merits, not his origin.
3. Study of the third question of the plan. The origin of Buddhism.
Working with the class
In examining the question of the origin of Buddhism, the teacher relies on the class, using their knowledge gained while reading The Legend of Buddha.
Note to the teacher
Buddha is the name given to the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama (623-544 BC), who, according to legend, came from the royal family of Shakyas in Northern India.
Question: What was the main content of the Buddha's sermons, which became the main tenets of Buddhism?
Vocabulary work
Buddhism is a religion that originated in Ancient India in the 6-5th centuries. BC e.
Question: Under what ruler did the unification of India take place?
Ashoka - ruler from the Maurya dynasty of the ancient Indian Empire in 268-232. BC e. The state of Ashoka covered the territory of almost all of India and part of modern Afghanistan. Patronized Buddhism.
Question: Why do you think Ashoka patronized Buddhism?
Textbook material
Legend of Buddha. There was once a young prince Gaut in India a ma. He lived in a beautiful palace. The servants held a white umbrella over his head so that the rays of the sun or raindrops would not touch him. He thought that everywhere life is also beautiful, and did not even assume that there was grief, pain and death. But one day he met a decrepit old man and realized that old age is inevitable. I met a sick man and realized that he would not be healthy forever. He thought about death and decided to become a hermit. He wandered for a long time, starving and enduring hardships. And one day, when he was sitting cross-legged under a huge tree, indulging in deep thought, he gained wisdom. Since then, they began to call him B at dda(Enlightened One, Sage).
Buddha said that all life is accompanied by suffering, but you can improve your lot if you always tell the truth, strive for good, not take someone else's and not feel anger and envy towards anyone. A person must free himself from endless desires for more and more riches and pleasures. Then he will no longer be born again and again on this earth. Everyone - rich and poor, king and slave, brahmana or servant - can become Buddhist, that is, a follower of Buddha, and be saved from suffering and new births.
For many years the Buddha wandered around India. He had many students. They were called "beggars" because they collected alms.
When in the 3rd century BC. e. India united, King Ashoka declared his devotion to the teachings of the Buddha. He urged not to kill living beings, support the "beggars", honor parents and show mercy to slaves and servants. Later Buddhism spread throughout the world.
Indian numbers. We call the numbers Arabic because we borrowed them from the Arabs. And the Arabs themselves admitted that they received the numbers from the ancient Indians.
In India, for the first time, they began to write numbers in the same way as we are accustomed to: the extreme digit on the right indicates the number of units, to the left of it - tens, even more to the left - hundreds.
Chess. In ancient India, the army consisted of infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants. But the Indians believed that the royal power was not in the number of soldiers, but in the skillful leadership of the state. A wise counselor, a brahmana, is most useful to the king. In India, they invented a game for kings - chess (nowadays a chariot figure is called a rook, and an adviser is called a queen).
4. Questions and tasks of self-control.
1) Why did the Indians worship the brahmanas?
2) What was the fate of the boy, who was born in a brahmana family, and what - in the family of "untouchables"?
3) What punishment could threaten the "untouchable" in this life and after death? What hopes did their belief in the transmigration of souls give them?
None of the countries of the Ancient East had such a clearly defined social division as in Ancient India. Social origin determined not only the range of rights and obligations of a person, but also his character. According to the "Laws of Manu" the population of India was divided into castes, or varnas (that is, destinies predetermined by the gods). Castes are large groups of people with certain rights and responsibilities, inherited. In today's lesson, we will consider the rights and obligations of representatives of various castes, we will get acquainted with the most ancient Indian religions.
The Indians believed in the transmigration of souls (see the lesson) and the practice of karmic retribution for actions (in the fact that the nature of the new birth and the peculiarities of existence depend on the actions). According to the beliefs of the ancient Indians, the principle of karmic retribution (karma) determines not only who you will be born in a future life (human or some animal), but also your place in the social hierarchy.
The brahmanas, according to the idea of the Indians, appeared from the mouth of Brahma, the kshatriyas from the hands of Brahma, the vaisyas from the thighs, and the sudras from the feet. The Kshatriyas considered their ancestors to be ancient kings and heroes, for example, Rama, the hero of the Indian epic Ramayana.
In India, there was a strict hierarchical system, communication between representatives of different castes was limited by strict rules. New ideas emerged within the framework of a new religion - Buddhism. Despite the fact that the caste system was not rooted in India, Buddha taught that the personal merit of a person is more important than origin.
The position of man in Indian society had a religious explanation. In the sacred books of deep antiquity (ve-dakh), the division of people into castes was considered original and established from above. It was argued that the first brahmanas (Fig. 1) came out of the mouth of the supreme god Brahma, and only they can recognize his will and influence him in the direction necessary for people. Killing a brahmana was considered a greater crime than killing any other person.
Rice. 1. Brahmanas ()
The kshatriyas (warriors and kings), in turn, arose from the hands of the god Brahma, therefore they are characterized by strength and strength. The kings of the Indian states belonged to this caste, the kshatriyas were at the head of state administration, they controlled the army, they owned most of the military booty. People from the warrior caste believed that their ancestors were ancient kings and heroes such as Rama.
Vaisyas (Fig. 2) were formed from the thighs of Brahma, therefore, they got benefits and wealth. It was the most numerous caste. The position of the Vaishiyev Indians was very different: the wealthy merchants and artisans, the entire city elite, undoubtedly, belonged to the ruling strata of society. Some vaishyas even held positions in the civil service. But the bulk of the Vaishis were pushed aside from public affairs and were engaged in agriculture and handicrafts, turned to the main payers of taxes. Strictly speaking, the spiritual and secular nobility looked down on the people of this caste.
The Shudra caste was replenished from among the conquered foreign Zemstvo people, as well as from immigrants who broke away from their clan and tribe. They were considered people of a lower order, emerging from the feet of Brahma and therefore doomed to grovel in the dust. Therefore, they are destined for service and obedience. They were not allowed into the communities, removed from any positions. Even some religious rites were not arranged for them. They were also prohibited from studying the Vedas. The punishment for crimes against sudras was usually lower than for the same acts committed against brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaisyas. At the same time, the Sudras still retained the position of free people and were not slaves.
At the lowest level of ancient Indian society were the untouchables (pariahs) and slaves. The pariahs were assigned fishing, hunting, meat trading and killing animals, processing leather, etc. The untouchables were not even allowed to the wells, for they could allegedly desecrate clean water. It is said that when two noble women went out into the street and accidentally saw the untouchables, they immediately returned back to wash their eyes and cleanse themselves of filth. However, the untouchables still formally remained free, while the slaves did not even have the right to their identity.
The creators of these legal norms were the brahmanas - the priests. They were in a special position. In no country of the Ancient East did the priesthood achieve such a privileged position as in India. They were the servants of the cult of the gods, headed by the supreme deity Brahma, and the state religion was called Brahmanism. . The life of the brahmins was divided into three periods: learning, starting a family, and hermitage. The priests needed to know with what words to address the gods, how to feed them and how to glorify them. The brahmanas studied this carefully and for a long time. The period of study began at the age of seven. When the boy was sixteen years old, his parents presented a cow as a gift to the teacher, and they looked for a bride for the son. After the brahmana learned and started a family, he himself could take disciples into the house, make sacrifices to the gods for himself and for others. In old age, a brahmana could become a hermit. He renounced the blessings of life and communication with people in order to achieve peace of mind. They believed that torment and hardship would help one gain liberation from the endless chain of rebirth.
Around 500 BC e. in the north-east of India, in the Ganges valley, the kingdom of Shagadha arose. There lived the sage Siddhartha Gautama by the nickname Buddha (the Awakened One) (Fig. 3). He taught that a person is related to all living beings, therefore, none of them can be harmed: "If you do not even kill flies, then after death you will become a more perfect person, and whoever acts differently becomes an animal after death." A person's actions affect the circumstances under which he will be reborn in the next life. A worthy person, passing through a series of reincarnations, reaches perfection.
Rice. 3. Siddhartha Gautama ()
Many Indians believe that by dying, Buddha became the chief of gods. His teachings (Buddhism) spread widely in India. This religion does not recognize the inviolable boundaries between castes and believes that all people are brothers, even if they believe in different gods.
Bibliography
Homework
The fourth caste was created from the feet. The caste of servants ... Castes are closed groups of people with certain rights and responsibilities, inherited. The transition from caste to caste was prohibited.
The main god is Brahma. From parts of his body, castes originated
From his lips the god Brahma created the highest caste of priests - the brahmanas. They wore white clothes.
From his strong hands, Brahma created a caste of warriors and rulers - the kshatriyas. Its representatives wore red clothes.
Those people who worked, plowed the land, raised livestock, came out of the thighs of the god Brahma and made up the caste of farmers - Vaisyas. They wore yellow clothes.
And from the dusty feet of the god's feet appeared the servants - the sudras. They were also engaged in craft, which was considered by the ancient Indians an unworthy occupation. Their clothes were black.
This is how the god Brahma divided people, and therefore, it was impossible to move from one caste to another, the son of a peasant could never become a warrior.
It is also impossible to choose occupations for yourself, they have long been determined and chosen by God for everyone.
Was it possible to conclude marriages between representatives of different castes?
And in general, different castes had different things: clothes, food, houses, classes.
