种姓(caste)

一般由血统、婚姻和职业决定的群体的特定社会等级。种姓源自远古，为每个正统的人规定一切社交和职业的规则和限制，在印度十分普遍。每个种姓都有自己的习俗，这些习俗对於其成员的职业和饮食习惯以及他们和其他种姓的人的社会交往都有限制。印度约有三千个种姓和两万五千多个亚种姓。大致可归入四个瓦尔纳（varna），即等级。最高的等级是婆罗门（僧侣和学者），其次是刹帝利（武士和统治者），第三是吠舍（商人和农民），最後是首陀罗（手艺人、劳动者、佣人和奴隶）。做最肮脏的工作的人地位在首陀罗之下，被称作「不可接触者」。虽然现代印度生活的许多方面已很少受到种姓的影响，但多数人在结婚时仍会考虑到社会等级。这部分是因为大多数人仍住在农村，也因为婚姻的安排是一种透过既存的亲族和种姓关系网路的家族活动。

English version：

caste

Group of people having a specific social rank, defined largely by descent, marriage, and occupation. Widespread in India, caste is rooted in antiquity and specifies the rules and restrictions governing social intercourse and activity. Each caste has its own customs that restrict the occupations and dietary habits of its members and their social contact with other castes. There are about 3,000 castes, or jatis (broadly, “form of existence fixed by birth”), and more than 25,000 subcastes in India. They are traditionally grouped into four major classes, or varnas (“colors”). At the top are the Brahmans, followed by the Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras. Those with the most defiling jobs are ranked beneath the Sudras. Considered untouchable, they were simply dubbed as “the fifth” (panchama) category. Although a great many spheres of life in modern India are little influenced by caste, most marriages are nevertheless arranged within the caste. This is in part because most people live in rural communities, and because the arrangement of marriages is a family activity carried out through existing networks of kinship and caste.

参考文章

• 什么是印度的种姓制度？地理知识