subcaste
Division within division
A subcaste is a division within a caste, particularly in the Hindu caste system, where the four main varnas subdivide into thousands of smaller hereditary groups called jatis.
These subdivisions often reflect specific occupations, regional origins, or lineage distinctions.
The term extends to any hierarchical subdivision within a rigid social grouping: The academic world has its own subcastes of tenured faculty, adjuncts, and graduate students.
Marriage within one's group
- exogamyUnion outside one's clan
- marriageFormal union between partners
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
genealogy · ancestry · bloodline · descent · family · kinfolk · intermarriage · pedigree
Hindu hereditary social order
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
- rankPosition in hierarchy
- statusOne's relative position
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
gradation · untouchability · purity · pollution · discrimination · upliftment · reservation · mobility
Portion of something larger
- branchDivision or woody limb
- sectBreakaway religious faction
- denominationNamed religious group
- segmentDistinct part of whole
grouping · classification · category · partition · split · faction · subgroup · offshoot
Collective of connected people
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
surname · profession · hereditary · guild · trade · crafts · markers · dress
endogamy
Marriage within one's group
clan · genealogy · ancestry · bloodline · descent · family · kinfolk · intermarriage · pedigree · forebears
varna
Hindu hereditary social order
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
- rankPosition in hierarchy
- statusOne's relative position
inequality · gradation · untouchability · purity · pollution · discrimination · upliftment · reservation · mobility · dominance
subdivision
Portion of something larger
- branchDivision or woody limb
- sectBreakaway religious faction
- denominationNamed religious group
segment · grouping · classification · category · partition · split · faction · subgroup · offshoot · subsection
community
Collective of connected people
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
rituals · surname · profession · hereditary · guild · trade · crafts · markers · dress · dialect
- Castevarna, Brahmins, untouchables, Dalit, untouchability
- Indian castesBrahmins, Dalit, Rajputs, Rajput, Meena
- matchmakingmatchmaker, matchmakers, matchmaking, matchmaking services, introduction
- Caste Reformuntouchability, social equality, reservation system, reservations, affirmative action
subcastevarna
Hindu hereditary social order
caste · caste system · social class · estate
subcasteclassless society
System without social strata
egalitarianism · social equality · meritocracy · social mobility · classlessness