Did the untouchables worked as servants craftsmen and laborers true or false?
About 3,600 years ago, a group of cattle herders from Central Asia settled into India. Thisgroup of people, called the Aryans, brought with them their beliefs, customs, and writing system(Sanskrit). They introduced a rigid caste structure that divided people into four classes.2Under this setup, Brahmins or priests made up the highest caste. They held a tremendous amount of powerover everybody else. They were the only ones who could both study and teach the holy texts, known as theVedas. They were also the only ones who could perform sacrifices and other religious rites. Because of theirauthority, people of other castes often gave them generous donations. By giving Brahmins (also spelled asBrahmans) valuable goods, people of other castes believed that they would be rewarded in their next life.3Next to the Brahmin class was the Kshatriya (pronounced "shuh-TREE-uh") class. It consisted of warriorsand rulers. Kshatriyas' main duties were to govern and defend the country. Though they could learn the Vedasas Brahmins did, they could not teach the holy texts. As Kshatriyas were responsible for the national defense,they underwent extensive military training. They were the experts in archery, swordsmanship, and hand-to-handcombat.4The Aryans categorized farmers and merchants as their society's third caste, called the Vaishya(pronounced "VYSH-yuh"). Vaishyas were expected to tend cattle, to farm, or to trade. Like Kshatriyas, theycould only learn, but not teach, the Vedas.5Beneath the Brahmin, the Kshatriya, and the Vaishya castes was the Shudra (also spelled as Sudra) caste. Itrepresented the majority of the populace. People in this caste did menial, labor-intensive work. They took on theduties of servants, craftsmen, or laborers. Shudras received little informal education. They were not allowed tolearn the Vedas, so they could not participate in the initiation ceremony that boys of the three upper castes wereentitled to when they began learning the holy texts. The ancient Indians believed that a person who had theinitiation ceremony was "twice-born." The first was, of course, the person's physical birth. The second was hisspiritual birth. As Shudras could not learn the Vedas, they would never experience a spiritual birth. Thus, theyhad only one birth.6Though Shudras were the lowest of the four classes, they were still better off than the so-called outcastes.The outcastes, as the name suggests, were people who did not belong to any of the four castes. They did workthat nobody else wanted to do. They swept the streets. They collected garbage. They cleaned up toilets. Andthey disposed of dead animals or humans. The outcastes could not live in cities or villages. They led a lonely,humiliated life. When they ate, they could only take meals from broken dishes. When they traveled, they neededto move off the path if someone from a higher caste was approaching. When they entered a marketplace, theyhad to strike a piece of wood to announce their presence, so that other people could avoid them. The outcasteswere not allowed to drink from a public well. They were not allowed to enter a temple. And they were notallowed to study. Given that they stirred fear and were despised everywhere they went, nobody in the ancientIndian society wanted to see, hear, or touch them. This group of people in India suffered the worst fate. Theysimply became known as the untouchables!7The Aryans' caste system came from local legends. When Brahma, the god of creation, made humans, hismouth became the Brahmins, his arms the Kshatriyas, his legs the Vaishyas, and his feet the Shudras. Talesaside, the caste system was a very important element in ancient India. It followed a specific set of guidelines(called the Laws of Manu) that dictated every person's behavior. The guidelines set rules from the type of jobs aperson could hold to the type of foods a person could eat. According to the Laws of Manu, each caste wasrepresented by a color. White was for the Brahmins, red for the Kshatriyas, yellow for the Vaishyas, and bluefor the Shudras. Marrying someone within a person's own caste was norm. Marrying someone outside of aperson's caste was rare, but possible. Children born from an inter-caste marriage needed to follow a different setof rules to determine what caste they belonged to.8The ancient Indians believed that each person had an eternal soul that could be reborn in a new body afterdeath. While that person could never move from one caste to another in this life, he or she could be reborn to adifferent caste in the next life. If the person did a lot of good deeds (such as giving Brahmins generousdonations) in this life, he or she would have the chance of being reborn to a higher caste in the next life. If theperson did a lot of horrible things (such as committing a crime) in this life, he or she would risk being reborn toa lower caste in the next life.
