Sistema de la lengua latina: elementos básicos

The question remains, how does this dispute answer the question of how caste travels and whether Dumont’s notion of caste is applicable to the dispute within the Gujarati community of Rylands. The notion of purity was altered, the community was not dominated by Brahmins; in fact when

interviewees were asked about castes in Cape Town, Brahmins were not mentioned. However, the absence of the Brahmin did not eliminate notions of purity that they resemble. Vegetarianism is considered to be a sign of high class, this was illustrated by Lynch’s discussion on the patidars;

patidars in Rylands are strictly vegetarian. In passing, an interviewee mentioned that he does not mind

his children marrying outside of their religion or ethnicity but they must remain vegetarian. This was also a cause for discrimination against the mochis, they were meat eaters and they worked with leather, both of these factors render them impure.

With regards to hierarchy, as noted earlier there is no mention of Brahmins in Cape Town but

Untouchables still remain at the bottom of the hierarchy. The patidars view themselves as high caste within the Rylands context as a result of their relative purity, and the situation here seems to follow the dominant caste model that Srinivas proposed (Srinivas, 1966:8). The mochis, who are perceived to be Untouchables, do not view themselves as such and therefore do not consider themselves to be polluting. The mochis have re-imagined their history and created a narrative that allowed them to justify a claim of Kshatriya heritage. In their eyes, this claim disassociates them from Untouchability. While they claim that they were forced to do leather work, they have not distinguished themselves from their mochi identity, in fact they have claimed it with pride. Therefore the mochis do not view their status in terms of purity, they define status in terms of spiritual, financial, educational and professional success. They determine status by socio-economic indicators.

Dumont’s notion of separation does occur. Castes maintain endogamy and separation occurs during commensality, this has been illustrated by the two anecdotes in which the mochis were given

separate crockery and food prepared by them was consumed. Their effect on the food and crockery was considered to be polluting, the dish was not considered to be purified by washing it, separate dishes had to be used. Finally interdependence, interdependence is based on a patron-client relationship. The mochis in Cape Town were not dependent on this relationship; they were

economically independent, their customers consisted of a variety of ethnicities that occurred in the Cape. Patidars were also not dependent on the mochi for their services. The patidars, in an open market system, were able to purchase non-leather and/or shoes from other ethnicities. However, trade specialisation has been a factor in Cape Town. Dhupelia-Mesthrie (2012) discusses three

families that have maintained their traditional mochi occupation of shoe making and repair. They have created a monopoly as a result of the skills developed in their traditional occupation.

The dispute in Rylands illustrates the use of caste as a basis of discrimination in the struggle of control over the Gujarati community. Mitra Hall allowed the mochis to control the space within which religious and social activities of the entire Gujarati community occurred. This role was removed with the forced exit of Mowbray under the Group Areas Act of 1950. The fear of the removal of this role resulted in them partaking in underhanded activities that ensured allocation of land in Rylands. The CHCS also sought control of the space within which community activities would occur, they felt undermined when the mochis received the land as they believed they represented the entire community thus entitling their control over that space. The mistrust felt by the CHCS motivated them to pass a clause stating that members cannot belong or promote caste organisations. They hoped that this clause would prevent further betrayal and allow the community to develop without prejudice. The mochis viewed this clause as discriminatory as they were the biggest caste with significant membership in their caste organisation. Thus in summation, caste does travel and in Cape Town, it was recreated rather similarly to its manifestation in India. The dispute between the mochis and patidars illustrates the usage of caste as a discriminatory factor resulting in the division of the community.

Conclusion

This study addressed the issues of caste that have shaped Indian identity, with reference to the Indian community in Rylands, Cape Town. The dissertation explores a dispute in Rylands that led to a split in the community and the construction of two separate temples. The split occurred as a result of caste discrimination and its implications. The mochis were perceived to be Untouchables and were

discriminated against, they therefore feared losing control over the space in which social and religious activities by the Gujarati community took place. The patidars feared caste pollution resulting in their discriminatory actions against the mochis. Whether this situation can be correlated to Dumont’s theorising and notions of the caste system is the crux of this study. What is clear from the onset is the divergent experience of the other Indian communities in South Africa and the diaspora; as indentured labourers were subject to harsh living and working conditions. These conditions made adherence to caste rather impractical, therefore providing an explanation of the dilution or abandonment of caste in the indentured communities. From this explanation it can be inferred that the migrants’ mercantile experiences provided them with the freedom and ability to reconstruct notions of caste. The way in which caste has been recreated is interesting; lower castes attempted to improve their hierarchical standing by reimagining their history. This recreation of caste and its consequences have shaped the direction of this study