Recasting Evangelization Ethnicity, Kinship, Religion and Territory: Identifying Communities in South Asia by Mark Pickett

his article focuses on the question of social organisation in South Asia, where the social system of makes the enumeration of people groups a highly complex task. Uniquely, in this continent, the demarcationT of groups for mission purposes has given as much weight to barri- ers of acceptance as to barriers of understanding. But what principles have we used to determine a barrier of acceptance? Conventionally, kinship is regarded as being the most significant principle. Ethnicity and religion are also consid- ered significant, but territory or the actual locality of a people is not. I wish to approach this issue by examining the who are the traditional inhabitants of the Valley and in particular one Newar caste. This analysis of caste in a city of will expose the inadequacies of our typical approach to identifying peoples, and should make us more aware of the signifi- cance of territory and intercaste relations.

When our Lord commissioned his followers to make disciples they were to do that with regard to social organisation: they were to make disciples of the nations (Matt 28:18-19).1 The way we define nations (Gk.ethnē ) has a huge impact on the way we distinguish unreached people groups (UPGs) and may have a dra- matic effect on the way we approach strategies to reach them. Although I think it is possible to over-emphasize UPGs, it is, nevertheless, important we get our sociology right on this issue.2 To be inaccurate and imprecise is to lead to great differences in the way resources are allocated and churches are formed.

But how do we classify those groups? Is it possible for an individual to be a Mark Pickett spent 20 years in South member of more than one group at a time? What is the relationship between Asia before moving back to the UK 3 such groups? where he teaches at Wales Evangelical School of Theology. His study of the Newar people of the Categorizing the Peoples of South Asia was published as Caste and Kinship in In South Asia the sociological phenomenon of caste has been a particularly a Modern Hindu Society (Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2014). thorny one.4 In 2010 at the “Global Mission Consultation and Celebration:

International Journal of Frontier Missiology 32:1 Spring 2015•23 24 Ethnicity, Kinship, Religion and Territory: Identifying Communities in South Asia

From Edinburgh to Tokyo,” a group ways) and the fourth is as vague and societies the best way to approach the of those working in the Hindu world fuzzy a criterion as one could pos- task of identifying people groups for acknowledged the ongoing “complex- sibly imagine, rendering it completely the purpose of church planting? The ity of caste matters.” It is common- impracticable. Only the first, caste people group concept grew largely place, in fact, among missiologists to endogamy (i.e., the marriage circle), out of reflection on communities that regard the myriad of different societal gives us the slightest hope of bringing were isolated and plainly distinct from units, usually referred to in English as clarity to the task. Indeed, this is what those of their nearest neighbours.16 In “,” as discreet people groups, the the Anthropological Survey of India they are the , or “Sched- vast majority of whom are unreached.5 argues, but I wish to demonstrate that uled Tribes.” These communities are even this criterion is problematic.12 usually distinct in multiple ways: they Joshua Project ( JP) uses two distinct often occupy a distinct territory (often principles for listing people groups.6 For the Joshua Project, leaning on the in hill country or forest), speak a Outside South Asia, the ethnolinguis- definition of thead 2000 and Beyond distinct language, and follow their own tic principle is the only way people movement, endogamy is the defin- distinct religion and culture. However, groups are distinguished on the as- ing criterion of identity and therefore most societal groups of South Asia do sumption that understanding is the should be used as the primary principle 17 not have such a distinct character. most significant barrier to the estab- in constructing a list of South Asian Most such groups, including both lishment of a church planting move- peoples. Accordingly, JP lists 2,599 peasant and urban communities (often ment.7 Within South Asia, however, people groups in India (3,487 in South 13 one and the same), live side-by-side different principles are applied on the Asia as a whole). In another article with other groups, interacting with assumption that acceptance is the most each other in complex ways.18 significant barrier to the spread of the gospel, particularly when considering church planting movements (CPM).8 Understanding Caste The difficulty that JP has with caste is But is such Probably the most complex social demonstrated by the imprecise nature fragmentary analysis setting of the planet is that of South of the principle of acceptance. In one Asia, and sociologists have argued over place “culture, religion and caste” are the best way to identify its precise interpretation for decades. used in contradistinction to language.9 South Asian society, though modi- In another place in the same article people groups for fied and transformed by South Asia’s caste community is mentioned alone. church planting? contact with modernity, still maintains The writer asserts that “this is how much of its unique complexity, which people in this part of the world self- is almost universally referred to as the identify at the deepest level.”10 caste system.

In another article on the JP web site, on the JP web site (adapted from Bill In the analysis of caste, we must begin Luis Bush reported on the work of Morrison), Luis Bush argues that the by carefully choosing our terms. The Indian members of the ad2000 and peoples of South Asia (identified as English word caste comes from the Beyond Movement, particularly that endogamous castes according to JP Portuguese for “species”—castas. It of Raju Abraham. Working with the criteria) are further sub-divided by lan- has been argued, by some, that the use data provided by the Anthropological guage, as such groups are often spread of such a foreign term prejudices the Survey of India, the Indian members across language boundaries. Accord- inquiry before we begin. They have of the movement concluded that ing to this logic, the number of people called, therefore, for an abandonment peoples of South Asia should be de- of the word in favour of indigenous groups is much higher, and conse- 19 fined according to three or four char- quently the need for engagement with terms such as jāti and . There acteristics: 1) they only marry among the unreached in South Asia is much has been much argument over the themselves (endogamous); 2) they see greater than it would otherwise seem.14 relation of the terms jāt/jāti with themselves as distinct from others; 3) varna. It is clear that the terms are not others identify them as being distinc- For the Joshua Project, then, en- synonymous as there are no substan- tive; and 4) they share similar customs, dogamy is the primary principle in use tive caste groups that can be properly food and dress.11 for the categorization of South Asian categorized as varna.20 peoples, with language constituting Of the four characteristics delineated a secondary principle.15 But is such Caste society is usually looked at (by by Raju Abraham, the second and third fragmentary analysis of South Asian both foreign observers and many are entirely subjective (in different South Asians themselves) as essentially

International Journal of Frontier Missiology Mark Pickett 25 a system of hierarchy, with Brahman Priest21 at the top and Untouchable n defining the Newar, the principle that is usually Sweeper () at the bottom.22 This invoked is that of language. This proves problem­atic approach to caste leads to an inevitable judgment on the caste system as being as not all Newars speak the . 23 I essentially prejudiced. A careful look can be said that the social order of the their many loan words derived from at the internal structure and intercaste city is hardly changed. . Due to these complexities, relations of a group called the Pengu the Newars do not easily fit into any of Dah in Nepal demonstrates, however, Four Principles for Establishing Nepal’s major societal divisions. that certain assumptions about caste do not make sense of the ethnographic Newar Identities The dominant group of modern Nepal realities of Hindu communities. Any In extending our discussion of South is that of the Indo-Nepalese Parbatiyā astute analysis of intercaste relations Asian people groups, we can expect community, who make up 38% of the 29 will significantly challenge the conven- the use of various principles to distin- total population. These are native tional wisdom on gospel work in this guish one group from another. I want speakers of the Indo-European Nepali 24 South Asian environment. It is for to look at four principles that apply to language, and are descendants, at least such an analysis I now turn to a study the Newars and, in particular, to one to a large degree, of people who mi- of identity among the Newar people. endogamous Newar caste, the Pengu grated to the Himalayan foothills from Dah. Two of these principles, I will the south and west. Sociologically, The Newars of Nepal argue, are weak and two are strong. therefore, the Parbatiyā are considered the majority community, the “nation” The modern state of Nepal is a land- Ethnicity locked country of twenty-nine million as opposed to the minority “ethnic inhabitants sandwiched between the The traditional heartland of the Newar groups.” The Parbatiyā are divided into giants of India and China (). The (a.k.a. Newah) is the Kathmandu a simple caste system, with most lin- Kathmandu Valley is a large fertile Valley situated in the foothills of the eages claiming upper-caste pedigree, bowl situated at 1,350 metres (4,400 Himalaya. According to the latest Chetri () or Bāhun (Brah- feet) in the middle hills of Nepal. The published figures, the Newars total man). At the bottom of this system 1,245,232 or 5.6% of the population are a few small Dalit castes (formerly cities of the Valley gained wealth and 27 prestige by their strategic location on of the country. The Newars occupy known as Untouchables). a unique place in the ethnic matrix the ancient trade routes between the The Madhesi groups of the Tarai (on of the country, and for the most part North Indian plains and the Tibetan the plains of Nepal contiguous with the identity of Newars is uncontested. plateau. This led to the early flower- the plains of India), are distinct from But the question of how to define ing of an artistic, urban culture with a the Parbatiya, and are divided into a Newar is a pressing one since no complex social system. The Newars are many more castes. They also demon- distinctive religion, festival or rituals the descendants of those who created strate a kinship with groups over the are universally observed by them. The this culture. border in India with whom they con- principle that is usually invoked is that tinue to maintain marriage relations. The old cities of the Kathmandu Val- of language, but that proves problem- ley are models of compact settlement. atic as not all Newars speak the Newar A third major division of Nepalese As with all Newar settlements, though language. Though they identify as society is that of the tribes speak- the cities are home to many farmers, Newars, large numbers have taken to ing Tibeto-Burman languages from they characteristically live in close speaking the national language, Nepali, the middle hills. Unlike either the proximity to each other and at some especially those who have migrated to Parbatiyā or the Tarai groups, these distance from their fields. Newar cities, 25 other areas of the country for trade. tribes do not have a developed hier- then, are densely populated. Lalitpur, archical social system but tend to be The Newar language belongs to the one of these cities, is a most hetero- more egalitarian. geneous community of around 80,000 Tibeto-Burman family and demon- inhabitants.26 Although a part of the strates an affinity with the languages The Newars do not really belong clear- modern nation state of Nepal, it still of other groups along the foothills of ly to any of these three major societal maintains many rituals that hark back the Himalaya that have migrated from divisions. Though Newar language is to the days of the kings (13th the east in ancient times.28 Most other Tibeto-Burman, their social structure to 18th centuries ad/ce) and before, aspects of Newar culture, however, is hierarchical and South Asian. But when the city was the centre of its own have a strong South Asian affinity their hierarchical social structure is not thriving kingdom. To some extent it with peoples to the south, indicated by equivalent to that of their traditional

32:1 Spring 2015 26 Ethnicity, Kinship, Religion and Territory: Identifying Communities in South Asia near neighbours, the Parbatiyā. At first Not only has national identity in the dominant caste (not a political glance, they have the appearance of Nepal begun to lose ground to the reality at present, but still economi- an . The observant visitor competing claims of ethnic commu- cally and ritually important) is another becomes aware, however, that Newar nities, but some of these groups, till important feature that is beyond the society (if we can call it that) is char- now seen as monolithic, have begun to scope of this paper but which I have acterized by great social and cultural express just how little sense of com- dealt with in detail elsewhere.39 diversity, quite unlike an ethnic group. munity they feel and maintain. Among Kinship is the most significant the Newars, as in India, intercaste Studies of ethnicity have demonstrated principle of social identification for relations have declined; but, intracaste that the phenomenon is essentially people in South Asia. This becomes solidarity has actually increased so one subjective.30 The members of a group apparent with careful analysis of finds organised bodies representing may conceive of themselves as consti- ethnographic work. I spent a number many pan-Newar caste groups, thus tuting an ethnic group even though of years researching a little-known emphasizing the significance of sub- there is no such objective “reality.” groups rather than the Newar group as caste of artisans who call themselves Ethnicity, therefore, is relational in 35 a whole. the Pengu Dah (lit. Four Groups) that “it is the outcome of an interplay in the city of Lalitpur, Nepal.40 The between self-assessment and outside- Until recently, in fact, the principle of Pengu Dah constitute a non-dominant assessment.”31 Curiously, however, for ethnicity has not really been sig- Newar artisan caste. For the most part, the Newar population as a whole, the nificant to the Newars themselves in they provide no ritual services to other 36 sense of Newar ethnicity always seems determining identity. The inclusion castes, but the crafts for which they are to have been relatively weak. of the Newars as a single ethnic group justly famous are an important aspect in the Nepal Federation of Indigenous of Newar culture. I have concluded, on linguistic, cultural, Nationalities suggests that the JP and historical grounds, that the Newars identification of the Newars of Nepal When one asks a Newar to identify constitute a people who originated in a his caste his answer is always in terms as a single group is not entirely unwar- 41 migration of Tibeto-Burman speakers ranted.37 The construction of Newar of kinship. A Coppersmith, then, from the east, who settled in the fertile would immediately reply that he is 32 ethnic identity is, however, a recent Kathmandu Valley. This population phenomenon whose significance can a Tāmrakār (by far the most com- was augmented over the millennia mask other, more important principles mon surname, or thar, of the Cop- by a regular influx of migrants from to which I will now turn. persmiths) even if he no longer works the south, who brought South Asian copper himself.42 The phrase Pengu (Indic) culture and languages with Kinship Dah simply means “The Four Groups” them, to greatly modify the culture Newar society demonstrates many that happen to be Coppersmiths, and language of the original settlers. of the features found in other caste Sweetmakers, Stonemasons and At some point, however (and probably Hindu societies throughout South Carpenters.43 A Coppersmith, then, long before the Newars were absorbed Asia.38 These include mutually endoga- or a Carpenter, would always identify into the modern nation state of Nepal mous castes and an interdependence himself by his thar (Table 1, below). in 1768–69), some of the new arrivals of the castes for ritual and economic He will not say that he is a member of were not accepted as part of the Newar services. The centrality of the king and the Pengu Dah.44 society. They were forced to live outside Table 1. The Composition of the Pengu Dah the city confines and had to beg and clean toilets to make a living. The quar- ters of these “Untouchables” can still be traditional stonemasons found today, but they may or may not occupation coppersmiths (now wood carpenters sweetmakers be ethnically distinct. Though belong- carvers) ing to Newar society in the widest sense, their identity, from the point of thar honorific T mr k r Shilp k r Sth pit B r hi R jk rnik r view of the general Newar population, ā a ā a ā ā ā ā ā a ā is still considered to be that of the out- sider.33 Furthermore, it is apparent that, far from being a throwback to some colloquial T mv h Lw h k hmi Sik hmi M rik hmi primordial self-assessment, Newar a a a ã a a a a ethnic identity is one that has grown with the impact of modernity.34

International Journal of Frontier Missiology Mark Pickett 27

Table 2. Castes of Lalitpur Thars are italicized. Traditional marriage circles (endogamous units) are in bold type. English equivalents are capitalised in keeping with South Asianist protocol. Note: The castes are listed according to the English alphabet at this point because to do otherwise would be to accept certain and, I believe, false, presuppositions about the caste system.

Bhatta: Brahman Priests at Shankamul temple Carmakār (Kulu/Kul): Drum makers Citrakār (Pũ): Painters Cyāmkhalah (Cyāme): Sweepers Dyahlā (Pwah/Pwarya; Np. Pode): Sweepers, Fishermen Kāpāli/Darsandhari (Jogi; Np. Kusle): Musicians, death specialists Kāpāli/Darsandhari (Jogi; Np. Kusle): Tailors/muhāli (shawm) players, death specialists Vādyakār/Bādikār (Dom/Dwã): Drummers, vegetable and curio sellers Karamjit (Bhāh): Mahābrāhman death specialists Khadgi/Shāhi (Nay; Np. Kasai): Butchers and milk sellers, drummers (Jyāpu): (Like the this, the largest caste, is not uniform) Awāle (Kumhah): Potters and Farmers Dãgol (Jyāpu): Farmers Maharjan (Jyāpu): Farmers Māli/Mālākār (Gathu): Gardeners Mishra: Brahman temple Priests Nakahmi/Lohakār (Kau): Blacksmiths Nāpit (Nau): Barbers Pengu Dah (here I list the colloquial title first to avoid confusion) Lwahãkahmi (Shilpakār/Shilākār): Stonemasons, now mostly wood carvers Marikahmi (Rājkarnikār/Halawāi/Haluwāi): Sweetmakers Sikahmi (Bārāhi/Sthāpit/Kāsthakār/Shilpakār/Sikahmi): Carpenters; chariot (ratha) builders (Bārāhi) Tamvah (Tāmrakār/Tamot): Coppersmiths Rajaka (Dhubya/): Washermen Rājopādhyāya (Bramhu/Dyahbhāju): Brahman domestic and temple Priests Ranjitkār (Chipa): Dyers Shrestha (Shesyah): Landowners, government ministers, civil servants and merchants Amātya (Mahāju): Ministers : Astrologers Karmācārya (Acāhju): Shaivite Tantric priests; some internal division Malla: descendants of Malla kings Pradhān (Pahmay): Government Ministers Rājbhandāri (Bhani): Royal Storekeepers Shrestha (Shesyah): Landowners, businessmen Vaidya: Ayurvedic physicians Tandukār (Khusah): Farmers, musicians Vajrācārya/Shākya Shākya (Bare): Goldsmiths Vajrācārya (Gubhāju): Buddhist Priests Vyanjankār (Tepay): Market Gardeners, farmers

32:1 Spring 2015 28 Ethnicity, Kinship, Religion and Territory: Identifying Communities in South Asia

By and large, Newars will use the ritual services) tell us very little of their own neighbourhoods) mean that vernacular identifier in reference to the household’s caste. For example, Newars on either side of those barriers a member of a particular thar, e.g., sometimes a family or lineage may have little meaningful social contact. Jyāpu of a Farmer, but prefer to use the change from calling for the services This is as true between the “lower” Sanskritic title in address, in this case of a Vajrācārya Buddhist domestic groups as it is between them and those Maharjan or Dãgol (see Table 2 on priest to calling for a Brahman priest considered higher. This means that the previous page).45 In the case of the in performing life-cycle rituals. Such a Pengu Dah (in which the four groups change makes no difference to the be- Table 3. Major Divisions in Newar Society are four thars), the members of any liefs of the household or to the marital Touchable one thar may have any of three or four prospects of that household’s daugh- Clean (water-acceptable) different surnames. For the purposes ters or sons, and the family is not Bhatta: Brahman Priests at Shankamul of analysis, therefore, I have resorted, thought to have converted or aban- temple for the most part, to the vernacular in doned their caste. This is an important Citr k r (P ): Painters each case. point as the significance of ideology, or a ā ā what outsiders usually call “religion,” Karamjit (Bhāh): Mahābrāhman For a Newar, as for other South in the analysis of caste systems has, in death specialists Asians, kinship is the most significant 49 my view, often been overrated. Maharjan (Jyāpu): Farmers principle of identification. It is not the work of carpentry or the build- There are two boundary markers, Māli/Mālākār (Gathu): Gardeners ing of ritual chariots, therefore, that however, that are significant. Among Mishra: Brahman temple Priests makes a person a Bārāhi—it is his the Newars, the so-called “Water line” Nakahmi/Lohakār (Kau): Blacksmiths identity as one of the kinship group is one of them. Those belonging to Nāpit (Nau): Barbers that builds the chariot. Occupation is “clean” castes will not accept water not the central issue—it is relation.46 from those below it.50 Pengu Dah: Artisans Lineage names are often a good way to Rājopādhyāya (Bramhu/Dyahbhāju): Furthermore, traditionally the criterion establish an individual’s identity. Such Brahman domestic and of touch was the most basic division of names as Pwāhsyāh (Stomachache), temple Priests the caste system. For older persons this Kwah (Crow), and Khica (Dog) are Ranjitkār (Chipa): Dyers continues to be very important. The specific and easily verifiable. The Pen- Cyāmkhalah and Dyahlā are consid- Shrestha (Shesyah): Landowners, gu Dah of Lalitpur, like most Newar ered polluting by all the other castes if government ministers, civil servants castes, constitute an endogamous and merchants they come into physical contact. Some group in which the various lineages castes (four in Lalitpur) are considered Tandukār (Khusah): Farmers, musicians contract marriages between each other 47 unclean, but not untouchable, by the V jr c ry /Sh ky isogamously (i.e. between equals). a ā ā a ā a majority of other castes who consider Vyanjankār (Tepay): Relations between Newar castes, as in themselves clean. So a Maharjan, for Market Gardeners, farmers other caste societies, have been charac- instance, would not accept a cup of terized as constituting a patron-client water from a Khadgi, but they would Touchable system. The relation between a patron not consider themselves polluted Unclean (water-not-acceptable) 51 and client in South Asia has tradition- merely by touch. Carmakār (Kulu/Kul): Drum makers ally been labelled a jajmāni relation. Newar communities, therefore, can be Kāpāli/Darsandhari (Jogi; Np. Kusle): Such patron-client relations have been divided into three significant groups Musicians, death specialists observed in many varied ethnographic according to considerations of ritual Khadgi/Shāhi (Nay; Np. Kasai): settings, being first described by the purity (Table 3, this page).52 It seems Butchers and milk sellers, drummers American Presbyterian missionary 48 to me that these divisions are far more R j k (Dhuby /Dhobi): Washermen William Wiser in 1936. Patron-client a a a a significant barriers to the spread of the relations in Newar society persist to Untouchable gospel than others such as barriers to this day even though the economic Unclean (water-not-acceptable) intermarriage or commensal relations interdependency typically reflected by (eating boiled rice together). The close Cyāmkhalah (Cyāme): Sweepers those relationships is a mere shadow of proximity of the Newar people to each its former self. Dyahlā (Pwah/Pwarya; Np. Pode): other presents little problem of physical Sweepers, Fishermen The precise characteristics of a house- distance. But barriers of ritual purity, Dyahlā (Pwah/Pwarya; Np. Pode): hold’s jajmāni relations (which caste often expressed territorially (most “un- Sweepers, Fishermen representatives are called to provide clean” and “untouchable” castes live in

International Journal of Frontier Missiology Mark Pickett 29

Khadgi Butchers, for example, would group of the Pengu Dah some lineages Yesu (Jesus) but no social rupture is not normally have social interaction call the Brahman priest for life-cycle inevitable.56 Religious tradition, then, with other “unclean” castes. (Refer to rituals and others the Vajrācārya. For is a weak principle when it comes to Figure 1 below.) this reason a new bride may have to Hindu identity. This is profoundly in adjust to some differences in religious Religious Tradition conflict with the way that practice, if say her natal home called a is usually understood and has signifi- Broadly speaking, Newars can be Brahman priest but her marital home cant consequences for evangelism and divided into two main religious tradi- calls a Vajrācārya.55 church planting.57 But there is yet one tions according to the orientation of more principle that is significant in the The designation “Hindu,” then, is more 53 determination of a Newar’s identity. their domestic priest (purohit). Those useful as a structural, not a philosophi- that call the Buddhist Vajrācārya cal or “religious” term. Hindu people Territory priest to perform life-cycle rituals are those who live in a society that is are termed buddhamārgi (

Cyāmkhalah

Nāpit Citrakārs

Maharjans Pengu Bhatta Dah

Kāpāli

King and Mishra Ranjitkār dominant “Shrestha” Rājaka Karamjit Caste Nakahmi

Carmakār Vajrācārya Shākya Rājopādhyāya

Māli Vyanjankār Tandukār Khadga Dyahlā

32:1 Spring 2015 30 Ethnicity, Kinship, Religion and Territory: Identifying Communities in South Asia analogous to that of the city as a whole. , on the other hand, has tradition- Newar settlements. Lives are lived in The square, or in many cases, the mon- ally exercised considerable social control. local communities, made up usually of a astery (bāhāh, bahi) has its temples and number of castes. The multicaste com- its blend of religious and secular uses: Territorial organisations, however, munity may not eat boiled rice together, farmers spread out their unhusked rice do not have the power they once had or exchange brides with each other, but to dry; women wash the family clothes because of the rising importance of they do worship corporately and carry at the well; vegetable-sellers display organisations based on single castes, out practical work together to improve their produce; men sit and talk politics; which pay scant notice to issues of ter- their neighbourhood. a post-partum mother gets an oil mas- ritoriality. They emphasize the solidarity Territory, I would argue, is much sage; and children climb on the temple of the caste in a manner that transcends more significant when it comes to guardians and play hide-and-seek. territorial boundaries. In recent decades, associations have been constituted church planting than has hitherto We have already noted the strength of among many of the thars of Lalitpur, been acknowledged. An individual is part of a local community that may the lineage and the caste, and the way analogous to organisations in India they spread throughout the city, and worship together. That community such as the All India Washermen’s Fed- in some cases beyond. But, and this is may be multicaste and not a forum for eration. For the most part these associa- significant, territory in some respects contracting marriages or eating boiled tions have economic considerations at transcends Newar lineage or caste ties. rice together, but community it is. their heart, such as to fund awards for Strong caste ties would be detrimental educational achievement.62 to the genesis and maintenance of city Another Look at Barriers of unity, for they emphasize loyalty to a Acceptance sub-set of that city. The locality, howev- er, can often cut right across the bound- We have noted four principles that are aries of these caste groups and has the involved in South Asian identity: eth- effect of weakening caste solidarity. The locality, nicity, kinship, religious tradition and territory. Missiological categories, as we Certain very important institutions however, can often have seen, have tended to acknowledge exist within the locality which regulate the significance of ethnicity and kinship much of the social and ritual interac- cut right across the (though both rather simplistically), but tion of its inhabitants. Foremost of boundaries of these have reflected sometimes a serious mis- these is the guthi, which functions understanding of religious traditions, typically as either a funeral association caste groups and have treated territory as almost or temple worship group. Membership irrelevant. The inclusion of the Newars in the guthi is exclusive to a kinship as a single people group in the JP list group, a thar group, or more unusually suggests that the principle of ethnicity to a multicaste group.59 An analysis of Territory as an organising principle, is the only relevant principle when it the plethora of belonging to the comes to counting people “groups” for therefore, no longer has the power it Pengu Dah leads me to conclude that the purpose of evangelization (though once had. The reasons for this are three- the principle of territory is fundamen- acknowledging that Newars who have 60 fold: the demise of the city as the capital tal to the constitution of the guthi. migrated to India or Bangladesh may of an independent political unit; the be considered as distinct). Musical ensembles are also found all migration of the city’s inhabitants from 61 over the city. Some ensembles are the localities to outlying “suburbs” and In India, however, the principle of constituted as guthis, with strict rules further afield; and the developing sense kinship (and caste) has assumed of membership and duty towards the of Newar identity as an ethnic group overwhelming priority for the JP list. group, where others are constituted on with the subsequent growth of solidar- Certain people are assumed to belong a more ad hoc basis. There is clearly ity of organisations based on single to a single people group on the ba- a significant difference between an castes as sub-sets of that ethnicity. The sis that they share a common name. ensemble that is a guthi and one that is traditional more or less integrated caste Such are the Badhai, the name used by not. Membership of the more ad hoc large numbers of Carpenters in India society, as a system, is also in decline 63 ensemble is somewhat fluid and, though due to the growing strength of the na- (and some of the Tarai in Nepal). A caste and territory are significant prin- tion state and the impact of modernity. promotional video recently released by ciples in their organisation, there is little a mission organisation tells us that “the loss of status if one leaves and therefore Nevertheless, territory continues to be a Badhai are one of hundreds of Hindu little social control can be exerted. The strong principle of identity in traditional tribes scattered across the .”

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Careful research on the Badhai in accor- dance with the principles I have eluci- erritory is another dimension that may not dated above, however, would lead one to have been taken into account sufficiently in the conclude that almost everything in that enumeration of people groups in South Asia. sentence is false. Although the majority T of Badhai, as far as I can find out, are Newar identity. It is only as a member Territory is another dimension that Hindu, they are certainly not a tribe and of a particular lineage that an individ- may not have been taken into account probably none live in the Himalayas. ual can prove his caste credentials (or sufficiently in the enumeration of Moreover, until recently the Badhai family members, theirs) and thereby people groups in South Asia. Tradition- 64 have almost certainly not considered have any acceptable place in society. ally, kinship groups have lived in a spe- themselves as a single group. A quick Kinship is clearly an avenue of great cific and tightly bounded locale. In that survey of web sites that carry the potential for the spread of the gospel locale, they have relations with other name suggests there are a number of message; yet, the communication of kinship groups of two kinds: (1) those attempts to create a corporate identity the gospel across kinship boundar- who constitute their caste with whom for the Badhai. This may lead to more ies should not necessarily be an issue. they intermarry, and (2) other kinship wide-scale intermarriage and have the If kinship groups have no history of groups with whom they would not effect over time of them becoming a intermarriage, then they may not want intermarry but with whom they have quasi-ethnic community, which could to begin marriage relations solely on long-established economic and ritual lend the Badhai greater political clout the basis that those individuals or relations. Relations with those of other among the many other caste groupings families are now following Christ. That neighbourhoods who share the same wishing to obtain political advantage. is a pastoral issue. Kinship boundaries title (thar) or surname might be weaker Further research is needed to discover themselves, however, are not a barrier than their relations with those in their whether such pan-Indian caste group- to communication, religious discourse, immediate locale who do not. Often, then, the traditional locality, village or ings are really that significant in the or even to corporate worship, as is urban neighbourhood, constitutes a lives of their members. If they become evidenced by the multicaste guthis and significant socio-people, to use Win- overwhelmingly important, then the musical ensembles. ter’s terminology. This is a group which sort of groups that are identified in JP have not normally had much might provide a focus for ministry. would make much more sense than psychological dissonance in their Thus, the 2000 and Beyond South they do at present. ad devotion to a plurality of deities or Asia group’s insistence on a community Conclusion philosophical systems. The adoption of being defined by endogamy is woe- a particular deity for personal devo- fully inadequate. Some communities, In conclusion, I suggest that each tion has not led to disruption of the particularly those that inhabit an urban of these four principles needs to be social system and caste relations. On neighbourhood, have traditionally revisited missiologically. Ethnicity is the other hand, the adoption of what comprised a large number of endoga- not necessarily a barrier of acceptance is seen as a foreign religion, with the mous castes. Nevertheless, this group of since many caste societies are ethnically consequent repudiation of swathes disparate endogamous castes functions mixed. Winter suggests that ethnolin- of traditional life, and with both tacit in many ways as a single community. guistic groups are helpful identifiers for and manifest rejection of the kinship Territory still constitutes something the purpose of mobilization and prepa- group, has often caused great barri- of a barrier to the acceptance of the ration for ministry. Though the Newars ers to the further spread of the gospel gospel in South Asia. Traditionally, have not traditionally seen themselves message. Furthermore, the ethno- and still today for many people, life as an ethnic group, they do have some graphic reality among the Penga Dah is lived out in a village, or the local sense of identity that lends itself to this of Lalitpur demonstrates that groups neighbourhood of a city. Established purpose. But in the work of seeking to which call themselves Hindu but city dwellers do not ordinarily have establish Christ-focused communities patronize a Buddhist priest can enjoy much to do with those who are from among all the peoples of South Asia, commensal and marriage relations the outside. Luis Bush has suggested it is important that the principle of with those who patronize a Hindu that castes may be divided by lan- ethnicity is held very loosely as other Brahman priest. Any religious di- guage. That would be true if people principles are also important. Chief chotomy demonstrates the sledgeham- sharing the same title or surname were among these are kinship and territory. mer imprecision of attempting to slot considered to belong to one and the As in other societies of South Asia, people groups into mutually exclusive same caste. Such people often speak a kinship is the primary principle of Hindu or Buddhist megablocs. range of languages as they live across a

32:1 Spring 2015 32 Ethnicity, Kinship, Religion and Territory: Identifying Communities in South Asia large swathe of territory in which vari- hand, are not so distinct. They usually Charles H. Kraft, Communication Theory ous languages are spoken. If, however, do not have a language discreet from for Christian Witness (Rev. ed.; Maryknoll, across South Asia as is common in the other groups around them. They N.Y.: Orbis, 1991), 70-71; Paul. G. Hiebert and Eloise Hiebert Meneses, Incarnational the Kathmandu Valley, people have share many characteristics with other Ministry: Planting Churches in Band, Tribal, a view of those from other places as groups in the locality. Traditionally, Peasant and Urban Societies (Grand Rapids: not belonging, even if they do share in constituting a society, individual Baker, 1995); Eugene A. Nida, Message and the same title (thar or surname), then castes situate in a locality with other Mission: The Communication of the Christian territory is a significant principle of castes. Those traditionally regarded as Faith (Rev. Ed.; Pasadena: William Carey identity. In such a case then, territorial “Untouchables”—the —were a Library, 1990), 202–206. 2 boundaries themselves are a significant clear exception to this, for they were This paper focuses on strategic issues barrier to the acceptance of the gospel always considered as not belonging to relating to caste. I address ethical issues in “Caste-Sensitive Church Planting: Revisit- irrespective of language. So to come the dominant societies and situated ing the Homogeneous Unit Principle” back to my assertion above (1), the as outsiders. Perhaps for this reason Transformation: An International Journal 57,166,000 of India and Nepal they have often regarded themselves as of Holistic Mission Studies, 32 (3, 2015): may not be one endogamous group belonging to a wider oppressed com- 177–187. but several, with fuzzy boundaries (the munity, and it is this identity, among 3 Ralph D. Winter and Bruce A. Koch national border probably not being other factors, that has led to such outline four approaches to categorizing one of them). The same may be true widespread “people movements” since people groups that may all be useful for dif- 65 for the 27,424,000 and a host of the nineteenth century. ferent purposes in “Finishing the Task: The Unreached Peoples Challenge,” in Perspec- other larger castes. This phenomenon tives on the World Christian Movement, A must not be ignored in order to fit a Reader (Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. given individual and his lineage into Hawthorne, eds., 4th ed.; Pasadena: Wil- some procrustean bed of endogamous liam Carey Library, 2009), 531–46. It demonstrates 4 caste commitments. The South Asia region includes, for the sledgeham­mer JP purposes, India, Nepal, , Bangla- The way we approach caste groups desh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the Brit- in South Asia will depend on our imprecision of slotting ish Indian Ocean Territory. The exclusion interpretation of caste. A few million of Pakistan is presumably due to its cultural people scattered across South Asia people groups into affinity to the neighbouring Central Asian may have the same title and tradition- mutually exclusive states to the north and west. I think this is ally do the same job, but until re- regrettable as other countries firmly in the region are also majority Muslim—Bangla- cently they may never have considered religious megablocs. desh and the Maldives—and significant themselves as a single people group at numbers of Muslim minorities exist in all. They have been part of many castes most of the other territories. Furthermore, that have very little to do with each some of the JP literature explicitly includes I do wonder if categorical decisions other, even though they share the same Pakistan within the region (see e.g., Luis regarding the identification of people name and traditional occupation. Re- Bush, “Christ’s Missional Challenge: 50 groups in South Asia were overly cent changes in caste have meant that largest UPGs A Case Study for South Asia” influenced by considerations of India’s October 8, 2012, n.p. [cited 11 July 2013.] such scattered caste groups with some Scheduled Tribes and Castes (Dalits) Online: http://joshuaproject.net/assets/ sense of shared identity have started for whom ethnicity and caste closely articles/south-asia-remaining-task.pdf). The to regard themselves as a single group coincide with religious tradition and difficulty of defining the western bound- (as we saw in the case of the All India ary of the region is not just a missiologists’ territory. For the dominant peoples of Washermen’s Federation above). This one as is demonstrated by the fact that the South Asia, however, we must review does not seem to be widely accepted, South Asia Association for Regional Coop- the principles of ethnicity, kinship, though, as I noticed in a cursory survey eration (SAARC) now includes Afghani- religious tradition and territory and re- stan (since 2007) and the UN Southern of caste web sites that have evidently shape our strategies for engaging these Asia region further includes Iran. been set up for this very purpose. 5 people with the gospel. IJFM S. Kent Parks and John Scott, “Miss- Tribes are largely distinct societal ing Peoples: The Unserved ‘One-Fourth’ groups that are much easier to identify. Endnotes World: Especially Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims,” 3, [cited 26 June 2012.] Online: Because of their societal identification, 1 It has become a truism that people http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/resourc- they are easier to describe and it is do not receive the gospel merely as indi- es/detail/10535. See also “Statement from generally easier to generate strategies viduals. See the following for representative the Hindu Peoples’ Task Force” Tokyo 2010, for reaching them. Castes, on the other and influential arguments on this issue: Mission Frontiers July/August 2010, 17.

International Journal of Frontier Missiology Mark Pickett 33

6 The World Christian Database, upon particularly problematic for my argument. by M. Sainsbury, L. Dumont, and B. Gulati; which the JP list is constructed, uses only Similarly, the Etnopedia web site gives a Chicago and London: Chicago University the former principle (www.worldchristian- figure of 2,500+ peoples for India and 350+ Press, 1980). The work of Louis Dumont, database.org/wcd/). The JP list is construct- for Nepal but it is not clear on what basis the champion of this idealist theory, has the ed by supplementing the WCD data with the figures were derived; n.p. [cited 7.9.13.] effect of reducing the ethnographic data to other data gathered from the field. Online: http://en.etnopedia.org/wiki/index. the level of ideology. For him the issue of 7 “People List Methodology,” 1 [cited php/Main_Page. whether castes are actual, discrete, substantial 14 12.7.13.] Online: http://joshuaproject.net/ Luis Bush, “Christ’s Missional Chal- groups is irrelevant. But it is my contention assets/articles/people-list-methodology.pdf. lenge”, 1-2, [cited 3.10.13.] Online: http:// that this is an important issue. If discrete 8 Here India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, joshuaproject.net/assets/articles/south-asia- caste groups are no more than a product of Nepal and Sri Lanka are explicitly included. remaining-task.pdf, citing Omid’s research the sociological imagination, then the caste system, as Dumont asserts, may rightly be 9 Ibid. (Omid is a pseudonym for an expatriate reduced to an ideology. Dumont’s theory, 10 researcher working in South Asia and Ibid., 2. providing Joshua Project with data on people then, is not powerful enough to explain how 11 Luis Bush, “Clash in Worldview and groups in the region). In India alone, he re- one can be a Brahman, i.e. a member of a the Peoples of South Asia,” (1998), 5 [cited ports, there are about 22,000 people groups. particular kinship group, and yet not be a 15 July 2013.] Online: http://joshuaproject. 15 About 6,000 of the 22,000 people brahman, i.e. a practicing priest. Dumont’s net/assets/articles/worldview-clash-and- groups have populations that are estimated work leads one to assume that the two peoples-of-south-asia.pdf. to be lower than 100. Bush suggests this words represent coextensive semantic fields. 12 See K. S. Singh, Communities, Seg- means they can be discounted, in which Advocates of the contrasting materialist ments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles, People case a third principle (size) has also been occupational theory of caste, such as Gerald of India National Series Volume VIII, (Delhi: introduced into the definition of UPGs. Berreman, argue that caste is based simply Oxford University Press), 1996. This massive 16 As Paul Hiebert explains, it rests on the occupations of the various groups that multi-volume work is the result of years of largely on a theoretical framework provided go to make up the society: Gerald D. Ber- research by hundreds of ethnographers and by British social anthropology, which was reman, Hindus of the Himalayas, 2nd. ed., demographers on the peoples of India. A often “reductionist and explained all of revised and enlarged; Berkeley: University quick scan of the introductory chapter of this the various spheres of human life in terms of California Press, 1972). According to him volume shows how difficult it is to define a of social dynamics.” Paul G. Hiebert, The ritual status is a direct product of a person’s caste/jāti and how the listing of communities Gospel in Human Contexts: Anthropologi- economic status, which leads to a caste rank has been such a problematic project especially cal Explorations for Contemporary Missions that is closely tied to occupation and in ef- since the national censuses began in 1881. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 89. fect denies the unique status of South Asia’s The fundamentally definitive characteristic 17 ideology. Neither of these theories are robust Ibid., 92. An issue of Mission of a community, according to the survey, is enough to account for the ethnographic data. Frontiers (vol. 32 no. 3, May–June 2010) re- endogamy. This is, however, not at all straight- 23 sponds to Hiebert’s critique of people group Brad Gill’s characterization of India forward as my research, below, demonstrates. strategy, with authors largely acknowledging (in an otherwise very helpful article) as The ASI, comparing census lists from 1881 that Hiebert has a point but not wanting to “caste-ridden” is not unusual in this respect: onwards came up with a figure of 17,129 en- drop the concept as it is biblical and does “The Dynamics of Ethnicity and Globaliza- tries (avoiding repetition of groups that they still reflect the reality for many people. tion” Mission Frontiers 32 (3) May-June considered to be one and the same though in 18 2010, 8. According to Omid, the emic per- I will not address the issue of the different territories): ibid., 8. When they then spective is to be given priority above the etic, recent mass migration of people to the independently created a list of the Peoples of to use Kenneth Pike’s terminology: “Why big cities that throws up another, also very India (POI) it came to 4,635 communities: the Community/ Caste Focus is Needed in important, set of questions. ibid., 9. This includes 587 groups that they 19 Support of Church Planting Movements, designate as “segments” but excludes “territo- I have used a simplified translit- May 2013” n.p. [cited 3.10.13.] Online: rial units.” They later added 48 more bringing eration system in this paper. A number http://joshuaproject.net/assets/articles/ the total to 4,683 communities: Ibid. Bush of names end with an “h” where this is a using-caste-to-define-peoples-in-south- reports the POI figure to be 2,795 (“Clash in lengthened vowel. 20 asia.pdf. This is a philosophical choice that Worldview and the Peoples of South Asia,” For a careful discussion of the is- has profound implications and to which, 5). It would seem that Bush is using data sues here see Declan Quigley’s masterful again, I will return. At this point, suffice it from the first edition counting major com- analysis, The Interpretation of Caste (Oxford: to say that Omid believes he has the emic munities and significant segments of these Clarendon, 1993). Quigley’s argument is a perspective and that this perspective is, first communities separately, but not dispersed reformulation of the work of Arthur Mau- and foremost, a caste perspective. I want subgroups of the major communities located rice Hocart, Caste: A Comparative Study to argue that he is right and wrong at the in different geographical areas. My thanks to (London: Methuen, 1950). same time and for the fundamental reason 21 H. L. Richard for helping solve this puzzle. The initial capital is used by South that caste is not the only principle by which See also H. L. Richard, “Community Dy- Asianists to identify a member of a caste South Asians identify themselves (as is in namics in India and the Praxis of ‘Church’” group that traditionally followed a particular fact acknowledged even in JP literature). The International Journal of Frontier Mission 24 occupation even if the individual or group caste system, and Hinduism more generally, (Winter) 2007: 185–94. concerned no longer does so. is widely misunderstood and this has led to 13 Again, it is not clear how this 22 Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus: false conclusions about people groups and precise figure was arrived at but this is not The Caste System and Its Implications(Transl. strategies to engage them with the gospel.

32:1 Spring 2015 34 Ethnicity, Kinship, Religion and Territory: Identifying Communities in South Asia

24 Caste and Kinship in a Modern Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nation- (though most of the city’s inhabitants would Hindu Society: The Newars of Lalitpur, alities, n.p. [cited 16 July 2013.] Online: know what caste they belong to once they Nepal (Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2014) is my http://www.nefin.org.np/list/Definition-of- know the person’s thar). book-length study of this community. The Indigenous/5/94/4. If the ethnic groups, or 45 Vernacular titles are not always of ethnographic data adduced in this article is “nationalities” as the Federation calls them, Tibeto-Burman origin but may be so. described in detail in this book. had been definedsocially the Newars would 46 It is possible, by eliciting the right 25 It is important, however, not to clearly have been excluded due to their information from an individual, to ascertain exaggerate the city’s density by isolating it caste-based social structure. exactly whether they belong to a certain 35 from its hinterland which, though not so More of this below. See C. J. Fuller, group or not. These criteria are based on the relevant for ritual purposes, is an important Caste Today (Delhi: Oxford University access to various shrines and temples that part of the city’s traditional economy. Press, 1996). belong to the groups involved. 26 36 The 2001 census puts the population Many authors have attempted to de- 47 In spite of this strong tendency to of Lalitpur district (that is the urban area lineate a pan-Newar ranking of castes as if isogamy, however, there is a minor theme of and a large number of villages that dot the the castes represent sub-groups that extend hypergamy (i.e. marrying women “up”) that Valley and hills to the south) at 136,200 of throughout the entire Newar range, divid- begs for attention. It is notable that the ma- which Newars constitute 40.4%. ing horizontally into a ladder an otherwise jority of reported hypergamous unions of the 27 Ibid. united community. These are reviewed in Pengu Dah are with Shresthas. Hypergamy 28 M. Paul Lewis, Gary F. Simons, and Pickett, 2014, 46–48. is a well-documented phenomenon among 37 Charles D. Fennig, eds., Ethnologue: Lan- The JP divides the Newars into the Rājputs and Brahmans of . guages of the World, 17th ed. (Dallas, Texas: three peoples on the basis of location (one The Rājputs of north India constitute the SIL International), 2013, n.p. [cited 16 July each for Nepal, India and Bangladesh, with dominant caste in many areas, in much the 2013] Online: http://www.ethnologue.com. the vast majority being in Nepal, the others same way as the Shresthas of the Kathmandu 29 Central Bureau of Statistics, 2002, being migrants). Valley do. Unlike the Shresthas, however, 38 n.p. [cited 16 July 2013]. http://cbs.gov. See e.g., Diana L. Eck, Banāras: Rājputs strongly favour hypergamous unions, np/wp-content/uploads/2012/Popula- City of Light (New Delhi: Penguin India), a characteristic that tends to seriously com- tion/Caste%20Ethinicity%20Population. 1993 (first published 1983 by Routledge promise caste solidarity as, in this stylized pdf . The figure is closer to 30% when one and Kegan Paul), Adrian C. Mayer, Caste representation, men of village A take brides deducts the Dalits from this group. and Kinship in Central India: A Village and from villages B and C but not D and E, men 30 See e.g., Claire Burkert, “Defin- Its Region (London: Routledge and Kegan of village B take brides from villages C and D ing Maithil Identity: Who is in Charge?” Paul), 1960, and Jonathan P. Parry, Caste but not A and E, and men of village C take Chapter 7 in Nationalism and Ethnicity in a and Kinship in Kangra (London: Routledge brides from villages D and E but not A and B. Hindu Kingdom (eds. David N. Gellner, Jo- and Kegan Paul), 1979. 48 W. H. Wiser, The Hindu Jajmāni 39 anna Pfaff-Czarnecka and John Whelpton; Pickett, 2014. System (Lucknow: Lucknow Publishing, Amsterdam: Harwood Academic), 1997. 40 The “h” in Dah is in fact not an 1936). Some have called for a complete 31 Andreas Höfer, The Caste Hierar- English “h” but an extension of the vowel abandonment of the notion of a jajmāni sys- chy and the State in Nepal: A Study of the and usually represented in transliterated tem citing that its misuse has led to much Muluki Ain of 1854, Khumbu Himal series form as an “h” with a subscript dot. confusion. Nevertheless, as an analytic tool, 13 [2, 1979 ]: 25-240 (Innsbruck: Univer- 41 It is polite to use the term thar the teasing out of relations between patron sitätsverlag Wagner: 47). (surname or title) rather than jāt, which is and clients can be most instructive. In this 32 Pickett, 2014 the term for caste used in common speech study I will keep the term jajmāni for this 33 Others, such as Khadgi Butchers, and may cause offence. purpose while acknowledging that such a 42 were accepted into society but regarded as In South Asian studies the initial structure may not apply to all patron-client unclean because of their occupation, and so capital shows that the reference is to a caste relations. 49 had somewhat ambiguous status. rather than an occupation. Not all those The Newars do, however, share with 34 The issue of ethnicity is not merely who work copper are entitled to that name, other Hindus a concept of purity and pollu- of academic interest. It takes on huge signif- so a copper worker who does not belong to tion. This has significance in terms of their icance when one asks whether the Newars such a lineage would be referred to as a cop- standing in the community but not to the count as one of Nepal’s “indigenous” peoples persmith (with lower case initial). extent that a ladder-like hierarchical diagram 43 or not—a question of great political impor- Other artisan groups, such as can be neatly constructed of Newar castes tance. The “indigenous peoples” movement Citrakār Painters, Ranjitkār Dyers and Na- with Brahman at the top and “Untouchables” of Nepal, organised under the umbrella kahmi Blacksmiths are not members of the at the bottom. This is the common way that of the Nepal Janajāti Mahāsangh Pengu Dah or of any other marriage circle ethnographers and other social commenta- (Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationali- for that matter but constitute endogamous tors have represented the caste system but, ties) defines an indigenous people linguis- castes in and of themselves. as you will see, is problematic. Hierarchy tically—those communities that speak a 44 The very lack of an encompassing is contested. The ladder, as it is perceived by Tibeto-Burman language—so as to include name for the group speaks volumes about its one caste, is different from that perceived by the Newars but exclude all groups thought significance for a person’s identity. What the another. This is inevitable when such castes to belong to the dominant Indo-Nepalese person is asserting is his identity as a member have no formal relations with each other. Parbatiyā and Madhesi communities, of a particular lineage or group of lineages, 50 As such, then, those above the line included Dalits: “Definition of Indigenous.” not his membership of an endogamous caste are called “lah calay ju” (lit. water goes) and

International Journal of Frontier Missiology Mark Pickett 35 those above the line refer to those below as 59 It is an interesting fact that no guthi Bush, Luis “lah calay maju” (lit. water doesn’t go). This exclusively represents the Pengu Dah as a 2013 “Clash in Worldview and the boundary is also expressed in the access to whole. All one finds when one casts the net Peoples of South Asia.” (1998). the services of certain ritual specialists, such wider are multicaste guthis. Cited 19 July 2013. http://josh- 60 uaproject.net/assets/articles/ as Brahman or Vajrācārya domestic priests Membership of guthis seems to have worldview-clash-and-peoples-of- and Nāpit Barbers for purification. been more important as an indicator of one’s south-asia.pdf. 51 The principle of marriage seems to- identity in the past than it is today. See Declan 2013 “Christ’s Missional Challenge.” day to be almost as strong as it was in times Quigley, “The Guthi Organisations of Dhu- Cited 3 October 2013. http://josh- past, which is how we can identify endoga- likhel Shresthas” Kailash 12 (1-2, 1985): 5–61. uaproject.net/assets/articles/south- 61 mous castes today. Without precise histori- These ensembles play music from asia-remaining-task.pdf. cal data, however, it is impossible to tell how either the bājã or traditions. Central Bureau of Statistics 62 strictly the rules of marriage used to be en- They also aim to limit the rampant 2002 Cited 16 July 2013. http://cbs. forced. There seems to have been a relaxing inflation around weddings and similar gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/ of attitudes towards intercaste marriage even events by establishing rules to prevent Population/Caste%20Ethinic- during the period of my fieldwork. Many ostentatious displays of wealth but are not ity%20Population.pdf. intercaste marriages are now celebrated significant when it comes to considerations Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities with full ritual, though whether this reflects of kinship and marriage. 2013 “Definition of Indigenous.” Cited changing attitudes towards caste or ritual or 63 It would seem that the Badhai are 19 July 2013. http://www.nefin. both is not clear to this researcher. also referred to as Bārāhi in the ethno- org.np/list/Definition-of-Indige- 52 Viewed from the perspective of the graphic literature. Any suggestion that they nous/5/94/4. vast majority of Newar society who consider are one caste with the Bārāhi of Lalitpur, Dumont, Louis each other to be clean. however, would be met with an emphatic 1980 Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste 53 In India a religious tradition is usu- denial by the Lalitpur lineage, which is System and Its Implications. ally called sampradaya but I did not come further evidence of the constructed nature Translated by M. Sainsbury, L. Dumont, and B. Gulati. Chicago: across this use in Nepal. of pan-Badhai caste identity. Chicago University Press. 54 David N. Gellner, Monk, House- 64 I have demonstrated in Caste and Eck, Diana L. holder and Tantric Priest: Newar Kinship in a Modern Hindu Society that caste 1993 Banāras: City of Light. New Delhi: and its Hierarchy of Ritual (Cambridge: structures emerge out of the creative tension Penguin India. (First published 1983 Cambridge University Press, 1992), 71. produced by the two antagonistic forces of by Routledge and Kegan Paul). 55 In my experience they seem to take kingship and kinship. Kingship is centrip- Escobar, Samuel. it in their stride and certainly do not see it etal whereas kinship is centrifugal. Kinship 2000 “Evangelical Missiology: Peering as a “conversion” from Hinduism to Bud- boundaries need to be markedly unambiguous into the Future at the Turn of the dhism in any way. as a way of creating stability in this political Century.” in Global Missiology st 56 H. L. Richard, “New Paradigms for climate. Notions of pollution and separation, for the 21 Century - The Iguassu Understanding Hinduism and Contextu- therefore, are not the building blocks of the Dialogue. Edited by William D. alization (including the H-scale for Hindu system but the derivatives of it. Traditionally Taylor. Grand Rapids: Baker Contextualization)” Evangelical Missions in South Asia, social order was to be main- Academic, 101–22. . Quarterly 40 ( July 2004): 316–20. tained by the regulation of social distinctions. Etnopedia 65 57 I do not have data on the marriage A phenomenon that is ongoing; cf. 3013 Cited 19 July 2013. http:// en.etnopedia.org/wiki/index.php/ customs of castes in India. However, par- Robert Eric Frykenberg, Christianity in In- Main_Page. ticipation in a sect and the question of mar- dia: From Beginnings to the Present (Oxford Frykenberg, Robert Eric. riage are very important and relevant issues. History of the Christian Church; Oxford: 2088 Christianity in India: From I would also expect that Hindu and Muslim Oxford University Press), 2008. Beginnings to the Present. Oxford identity does indeed throw up a serious References History of the Christian Church. social barrier that is rarely crossed. It may Oxford: Oxford University Press. be that the Newars are an unusual group as Joshua Project Fuller, C. J. Buddhism is still practised in a caste society 2013 “All Affinity Blocs,” Cited 19 July 2013. http://joshuaproject.net/ 1996 Caste Today. Delhi: Oxford Uni- whereas it was re-absorbed into the wider versity Press. Hindu fold in India a long time ago. There global-affinity-blocs.php. Fürer-Haimendorf, C. von are of course large-scale modern Buddhist Berreman, Gerald D. 1972 Hindus of the Himalayas, 2d ed., 1956 “Elements of Newar Social Struc- movements in India and I have no data on ture.” Journal of the Royal Anthro- them. Modern movements into Buddhism revised and enlarged. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972. pological Institute 86 (2) : 15–38. have largely been Dalit movements so I Gellner, David N. would expect that marriage circles in them Burkert, Claire 1997 “Defining Maithil Identity: 1992 Monk, Householder and Tantric have hardly changed, if at all. 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