The document summarizes aspects of life in ancient Indian society, including the complex caste system, family structure, and village organization. The caste system divided society hierarchically and imposed strict rules regarding social interaction and occupations. Families were typically joint and patriarchal, with women's roles focused on marriage and childrearing. Villages formed the core social unit and centered around agriculture, with castes performing specialized tasks for communal support.

1. Section 3 Notes

2. The Complex Caste System
 The three pillars of Indian life are the caste
system, family, and village
 Aryans divided society into four classes (you learned
this in the previous chapter)
 Non-Aryans were considered outcasts and held the
lowest jobs
 The caste system ensured a stable social order
 People could move up castes in the afterlife

3. Aryan Caste System

4. Caste System

5. The Complex Caste System
 To ensure spiritual purity, a web of complex caste rules
governed every aspect of life---where people lived, what
they ate, how they dressed, and how they earned a living
 Rules forbade marrying outside one’s caste or eating with
members of another caste
 High-caste people had the strictest rules to protect them
from the spiritually polluted lower castes
 “Untouchables”---lowest ranked caste---life was harsh---
received the most “impure” jobs such as digging
graves, cleaning streets, or turning animal hides into
leather

6. Caste System

7. Castes and Relationships
 http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/08/world/india-love-
commandos/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

8. Untouchables

9. Untouchables

10. Untouchables

11. Untouchables

12. Untouchables

13. Untouchables

14. The Complex Caste System
 The caste system ensured a stable social order
 People could not change their status in this life, but
they could reach a higher caste in a future life by
fulfilling the duties of their present caste
 The caste system also adapted to changing conditions,
absorbing foreigners and new occupations into their
own castes
 This flexibility allowed people with diverse customs to
live side by side in relative harmony

15. Family Life
 Ideal family was the joint family---
parents, children, grandchildren, uncles, and cousins
shared a common dwelling
 Indian family was patriarchal---the father or oldest
male in the family headed the household
 Arranged marriages were (and still are) common
 A dowry was paid by the bride’s family to the groom’s
family

16. Family Life
 In early Aryan society, women enjoyed a higher status
than in later times
 By late Gupta times, upper-class women were
restricted to their homes
 Women were thought to have shakti
 Shakti---creative energy of a woman that a man lacked
 Positive---helped to make her husband complete
 Negative---could be destructive if she didn’t listen

17. Family Life
 A woman’s primary duties were to marry, show
devotion to her husband, and raise children
 Beyond these responsibilities, women had few rights
within the family and society
 Rebirth into a higher existence was gained through
devotion to her husband

18. Family Life
 As customs changed, a high-caste widow was
forbidden to remarry
 Often, a widow became a sati (“virtuous woman”)
 This was accomplished by the widow joining her dead
husband on his funeral pyre (fire)
 Some widows accepted this painful death as a noble
duty that would wipe out both her and her husband’s
sins

19. Village Life
 The village was at the heart of life
 A typical village included a cluster of homes made of
earth or stone
 Farmers grew crops such as wheat, rice, cotton, and
sugar cane
 Each village included people of different castes who
performed the tasks needed for daily life
 Castes might include priests, landowners, herders,
farmers, metalworkers, and carpenters, as well as such
low castes as leather workers and sweepers

20. Village Life
 In most of India, farming depended on the rains
brought by the summer monsoons
 Too much or too little rain meant famine
 Each village ran its own affairs based on caste rules and
traditions
 A village headman and council made decisions
 Women at one time were able to serve on the councils
but were later restricted and their role in society
became virtually non-existent outside of their homes

21. Monsoon Flooding

22. Monsoon Flooding

23. Monsoon Flooding

24. Monsoon Flooding

25. Monsoon Flooding

26. Monsoon Flooding