By: Nicole Johnson
- Women basically didn't have rights and had to follow harsh rules
- Since women were considered irresponsible and irrational in love, parents decided who they would be married to them early before they got caught into any "scandal".
- When women were 8 or 9 they were sold to men in their 20s. They would formally get married once the girl hit puberty.
Nevertheless, it became increasingly common for girls as young as 6 or 8 to be married as Indian society. The prime concern of negotiating the marriage was to find out the compatibility between the two families. Basically they were in the same social class.
There were many kinds of marriage but the main kinds included:
Brahma Marriage-
Brahma Marriage took place only after school is completed by the boys, then the father of the girl will test him to make sure he was fit for his child. (upper class)
Daiva Marriage-
Davia Marriage is regarded to be inferior to the Brahma marriage. After waiting for a reasonable time to get a suitable man for their daughter when parents fail to find anyone, they go looking for a groom in a place where a sacrifice is being conducted. The ceremony would include many decorations and sacrifices.
Arsha Marriage -Marriage between the with the sages or rishis. The girls father would be given a gift of a milk cow and a bull but if they could not afford this gift then the girl would have to marry an old man, so this kind of marriage was not considered noble.
Gandharva Marriage
Those couples who are not permitted by their families to get married to each-other seek refuge in this form of Hindu marriage. .The Gandharva form of marriage is somewhat similar to the present day love marriage, but it was considered Really bad because this form of marriage was done by passionate impulses, which were not allowed.
Asura Marriage
A male who was unfit to marry the female but he had money bribed the parents into allowing him tom marry her.
Paishacha Marriage-
In this EARLY form of Hindu marriage the woman was kidnapped from her family and then forced to marry. considered bad because of excessive use of force.
Rakshasa Marriage-
This type of marriage is considered the most inferior form of Hindu marriage and has been prohibited in the later ages. It was where men picked whom they had to marry when the woman was intoxicated, asleep or insane.
Social structure |
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Their were four classes: from higest to lowest: the priest (brahmins), warriors and aristocrats (kshatriyans), peasants and merchants (vaishyas) and serfs (shudras).
The different classes built guilds which meant that they lived in the same area of town, socialized with each other, intermarried, and helped take care of the needy (sometimes).
There was NO marriage in between the classes.
It was very common for many generations of the same family would live within own household with the eldest father present would be the "lead"of the house.
Aryan migrants turned increasingly from herding to agriculture through use of iron which helped them greatly to advance into regions previously not accessible or usable for agriculture.
Jati was a group of guilds which helped keep the social class together. They organized their own courts, resolved differences, regulated community affairs.
The different classes built guilds which meant that they lived in the same area of town, socialized with each other, intermarried, and helped take care of the needy (sometimes).
There was NO marriage in between the classes.
It was very common for many generations of the same family would live within own household with the eldest father present would be the "lead"of the house.
Aryan migrants turned increasingly from herding to agriculture through use of iron which helped them greatly to advance into regions previously not accessible or usable for agriculture.
Jati was a group of guilds which helped keep the social class together. They organized their own courts, resolved differences, regulated community affairs.
In Magadha: a kingdom located in the centre of the Ganges plain, the top paying job was deforestation.
How Hinduism effected social pressure |
The religion revolved around ritual sacrifices offered by the priest in hope that the Gods would give them a large harvest, so the priest were exempt from taxes ad were given very generous gifts. This is also why the priest became so wealthy and therefore the upper class. Hinduism attracted the common person, they were suppose to meet their caste responsibilities. The Hindu teachings had a major effect on those who were members of the religion's lives.
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