CASTE AND RACE: COMPARATIVE APPROACHES CASTE AND RACE: Corn parati ve Approaches A Ciba Foundation Volume Edited by ANTHONY de REUCK and JULIE KNIGHT J. & A. CHURCHILL LTD. 104 GLOUCESTER PLACE 1967 LONDON, W. I ALL RIGHTSR ESERVED This book may not be reproduced iy any means, in whole or in port, without permission. Applications with regard to reproduction should be addressed to the Publishers. Printed in Great Britain THEC iba Foundation, a unique international institution, owes its inception to the generosity of CIBA Limited, Basle. However, being established under British trust law, it enjoys complete independence in practice and policy. Under the guidance of its distinguished Trustees, the Founda- tion offers accommodation to scientists from all over the world at its home in Portland Place. Foremost in its activities is the organization of small conferences, the proceedings of which are published in book form in the manner of the present volume. The Foundation convenes many other informal discussions between research workers of different disciplines and different nationalities and each year invites an outstanding authority to deliver a special lecture. An exchange programme between French and British postgraduates is conducted and a library service is available. Furthermore, the Ciba Foundation attempts in every other way possible to aid scientists, whether they be Nobel Laureates or young graduates making their first original contribution to research. The purpose of the Ciba Foundation, which is to promote international co-operation in research, mainly in the biomedical and related sciences, is symbolized in the armorial bearings by five interlaced rings representing the continents, a black sacrifi- cial cock (emblem of Aesculapius) holding a medical caduceus, and three regular hexagons for chemistry. Its domicile in London is indicated by the red sword of St. Paul and the British lion; the wyvern and the crozier, symbols associated with Basle, refer to the sponsoring firm located in this ancient Swiss town. V The Ciba Foundation or the Promotion of International Co-operation in Medical and Chemical Research 41 PORTLAND PLACE, LONDON, W.1 Trustees Sir Eric Ashby, LL.D., F.R.S. The Rt. Hon. Lord Brain, LL.D., D.C.L., F.R.S. The Rt. Hon. Lord Florey, O.M., F.R.S. The Hon. Sir George Lloyd-Jacob The Rt. Hon. Lord Todd, F.R.S. Executive Lord Brain, Chairman Council Professor Dr. F. Gross Professor Sir Alexander Haddow, F.R.S. Sir Arthur Vere Harvey, C.B.E., M.P. Sir George Lloyd-Jacob Professor F. G. Young, F.R.S. Director & Secretary to the Executive Council Dr. G. E. W. Wolstenholme, O.B.E., F.R.C.P, Deputy Director Mr. A. V. S. de Reuck, M.Sc. Assistant Secretary Miss Nadia Bland Medical Assistant Miss Ruth Porter, M.R.C.P. Editorial Miss Maeve OConnor, B.A. Assistants Miss Julie Knight, B.A. Conference Assistant Mrs. Nancy G. Spufford Librarian Mrs. Margarete Silverman DURINGt he summer of 1964, Professor George De Vos visited the Ciba Foundation in connexion with plans for its recent symposium on Confjict in Society (I 966. London : Churchill). In the course of discussion with the Deputy Director, Professor De Vos referred to his work with the Japanese pariah caste, since published in his book with Hiroshi Wagatsuma entitled Japan’s Invisible Race (1966. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press), and in a few exhilarating minutes a complete outline for a further small international and interdisciplinary conference began to take shape. The essence of the plan was to bring together anthropologists, sociologists, social psychologists and social historians to discuss the general nature of caste segregation and racist ideologies on a comparative basis, not only drawing upon studies of Indian and Japanese societies, but also calling in aid scholars and material concerned with the American Negro and the European Jew. For the whole of the programme that emerged from this ambitious conception we are indebted to Professor De Vos, whose personal warmth as well as his unstinting generosity with help and advice make him an ideal collaborator. In the extremely difficult and invidious task of selecting the membership, with all the world and many disciplines to choose from, much wise counsel was obtained from Professor Gerald Berreman and Professor Adrian Mayer, to both of whom we are deeply grateful. Professor Gunnar Myrdal was persuaded to take the Chair at the symposium, and it was our additional good fortune that Ambassador Alva Myrdal was able to accompany him for his stay at the Ciba Foundation while she was conducting talks with members of the British Government. vii PREFACE Unfortunately, Dr. Edmund Leach was unable to attend the meeting through illness, and his paper was read and discussed in his absence. However, Dr. Leach has kindly providecl comments on the discussion which have been incorporated in this volumn. For assistance in preparing these proceedings for the press the Editors are indebted to the Wiener Library of Jewish Literature and the Library of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and also to Dr. K. J. Collins of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, to whom our thanks are due. viii Page Preface vii Membership of symposium xi . . Chairman’s introduction G.Myrdal . I . I Caste, class and slavery: the taxono- Edmund Leach . 5 mic problem . . . Characterization of caste and class Discussion 17 systems Caste: a phenomenon of social struc- Louis Dumont . . 2 8 ture or an aspect of Indian culture? Place of comparison in the study of Discussion . . . 39 caste systems Stratification, pluralism and inter- Gerald D. Berreman .4!1 action: a comparative analysis of caste 6 Analogues and homologues of caste Discussion . . . 74 systems . 7 Caste in India: its essential pattern Surajit Sinha . 9 2 of socio-cultural integration 8 The historical approach to caste Discussion . . . 106 . 9 The pariah caste in Japan: history Hiroshi Wagatsuma 118 and present self-image . . . 10 Pariah castes compared Discussion 141 . . II Slavery in classical antiquity Keith Hopkins 166 I2 Classical and American slavery com- Discussion . . . 178 pared . . 13 Slavery and its aftermath in the StanleyM.Elkins 192 western hemisphere Attitudes to slavery in the New Discussion . . . 204 I World 15 Racism in Europe L. Poliakov . . 223 16 . . Positive functions of minority groups Discussion 235 I* ix CONTENTS 17 The myth of the demonic conspiracy Norman Cohn . . 240 of Jews in medieval and modern Europe Stereotyped images of despised Discussion . . . 255 18 groups 19 . . Caste and race in the psychodyna- F. H. M. Raveau 266 mics of acculturation 20 Symbolic expressiono f racial tension Discussion . . . 276 Psychology of purity and pollution as George De Vos . . 292 21 related to social self-identity and caste . . . Status anxiety and ‘‘guilt” in caste Discussion 316 22 and modern societies 23 . . . A comparative approach to caste and Discussion 327 race . . . . . . . . Index of contributors 333 Index of authors cited . . . . . . . . 334 Index of subjects . . . . . . . . . 338 X M EM BERSHlP Symposium on Caste and Race: Comparative Approaches, held 19th-21st April, 1966 G.Myrdal . . Institute for International Economic Studies, Wenner- (Chairman) Gren Center, Stockholm G. D. Berreman Dept. of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, California N. Cohn . . Centre for Research in Collective Psychopathology, University of Sussex, Brighton J. B. Cornell . Fundaglo Escola de Sociologia e Politica. S2o Paulo, Brazil N. Deakin . . Survey of Race Relations in Britain, London A. V. S. de Reuck Ciba Foundation, London . . G.DeVos Dept. of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, California L.Dumont . kale Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Centre d’ttudes Indiennes, Paris . S. M. Elkins Dept. of History, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts . F. Henriquer Research Unit for the Study of Multi-Racial Societies, University of Sussex, Brighton K. Hopkins . Dept. of Sociology, London School of Economics, London Pearl H. M. King School of Social Sciences, Brunel University. London E.R.Leach . Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge . A.C.Mayer Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology, School of Oriental and African Studies, London S.W. Mintz . Dept. of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut H.Parsin . . Dept. of Sociology, East Asian Institute, Columbia University, New York L. Poliakov. . Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris F. H. M. Raveau Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Centre Charles Richet, Paris . . S.Sinha Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta A. P. Stirling . Dept. of Sociology, University of Kent, Canterbury S. J. Tambiah . Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge . H. Wagatsuma Social Science Research Institute, University of Hawaii, Honolulu xi