Turban Tales

A Bhatti in orange

Once upon a time, in Rajasthan: The Land of Kings, there existed a city of gold. It was used as a famous trade route to Pakistan for merchants that would transport copper, jewels and beautiful cloth using camels that could travel long distances and withstand the desert heat. Within this city, lies a Golden Fort run by the Warrior Caste: Bahttis.

A Brahmin doing
Pooja by the Ganges

While it is important to note that modernisation (especially in the major cities) is decreasing racist attitudes, in a lot of India tradition still prevails. The tradition I refer to, is the Caste system; it categorises locals into one of four main castes: Brahmana (Brahmins), Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The explanation I most connected with broke down these 4 castes into physical divisions on the body. Brahmins are the highest, the head, the intellectuals and the priests. Much like during Feudal times, they held the most power and respect in the community and commonly wore white turbans and 'Janaeu' (symbolic white thread) around their body. Kshatriyas are in charge of public service & defence,  the warriors/ protectors, the physically strong, the chest. Under each caste falls hundreds of subcategories, all of which are distinguishable through certain earrings, dress or colours. The Bahtti's for example are one of the Kshatriyas and the men were known for wearing white dress with saffron turbans that stood for bravery. From what I've been told, the 3rd and 4th ranks (Vaishya and Shudras) tend to merge into one another, they are the businessmen, merchants, traders, farmers and physical labourers described on the body as the stomach; they would wear more bronze. And finally a group that is ostracised from the caste system completely but is understood by most locals as being the lowest: the Dalits or The Untouchables that can be known to wear bright red turbans and would typically work as slaves (but now do jobs that have least societal and monetary gain such as rubbish collectors or street sweepers); the anatomical division would be around ones hips and sexual organs. When I was told of these physical divisions I couldn't help but conjure up an image of Freud's 3 divisions of consciousness: 'The superego' being the highest, most Brahmin-like and 'The Id' being the lowest, most animalistic, sexually impulsive in the band around ones sexual organs (like The Untouchables).

Through this piece I aim to describe and not validate, what I have come to understand about this ancient system throughout my time in India. Note that there has not been much mention of women in my descriptions of dress; this is partially due to my lack of exposure to them and their opinions, given that India is such a male-dominated patriarchal society in which women tend to stick together and not fraternise with foreigners as much. But also, as A. explained to me: the caste system historically allowed for a functioning society in which one was physically and mentally 'suited' to their role. This working role was typically taken on by the man while the women remained at home, cooking, cleaning and nurturing the kids. But women's dress and garments were also distinguishable as to what caste they belonged to. The shorter the dress, the lower the caste as it was more practical for doing physical labour. The type of jewellery (i.e. gold, silver or bronze) also indicated ones status, although jewellery adorns all Indian women.
Individuals were (and still commonly are) expected to marry within their caste or risk being disowned by their family (one of the greatest cultural sins). I made a comparison to the caste system in western society with socioeconomic status (albeit to a lesser extent). In Psychology, one attraction hypothesis is that we tend to choose partners from the same socioeconomic status as ourselves. I suppose this is due to the likelihood of meeting, shared values, friendship groups etc. but it is far less rigid. The deterministic nature of the Caste system is inherently discriminatory and must have profound effects on ones psyche.

Rajasthani ladies

Untouchable kids

So much so,  that between the 12th and 16th century The Bahtti's in Jaisalmer, in true Warrior fashion committed the Transgressive act of 'Jauhur' (ritual mass suicide, stemming from the sanskrit word life & defeat) 2.5 times in favour of allowing their women to be shamed and giving up their Golden Fort to Mughal invaders. It was a fascinating, bone chillingly beautiful ritual. The women would dress in their finest clothes (often their wedding dress') and walk one by one, with their children into the fire; their last glimpse of the golden city they were nobly departing from. There was a drummer who stood at the front of the fort and would play the beats of whatever was taking place at the time (i.e. a birth, marriage or Jauhur). So as the last of the women faded into the light and the rhythm began to change, the men would charge out in their saffron turbans to face their deaths. Ironically, during the battle as the sun set and the night became cool, the men would set aside their differences and enjoy a game of chess together regardless of what side they were fighting for (only to continue the battle at sunrise).

An Illustration of Jauhur

The final '0.5 Jauhur' occurred in the 16th Century during which there was no time for the usual ritual ceremony, so the men cut the throats of their wives and children to save their dignity before going to fight... After much invasion and through a cleverly thought out scheme, the Bahttis eventually reclaimed their land and today, there's much care taken to maintain the beautiful city in which fascinating stories linger under each layer of golden sand. As for the Caste system, hopefully one day it will no longer serve a purpose and transform into just another story that makes up India's rich history...

-The End- 

Music of the day: Rajasthani Gypsy music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA37uhK7IXQ&list=PLB674F3A632EBE1ED