Chandala
Chandala ( Sanskrit : चाण्डाल , cāṇḍāla ; in modern Indian languages Chandal ) is a contemptuous term from Sanskrit literature for those regarded as low-class. They belong to the group of Scheduled Castes (see box ). The term Chandal is also used as a dirty word in India.
Early Indian Literature
The term first appears in the Manusmriti and the Mahabharata in connection with the division of caste. In the Manusmriti, the chandala is the descendant of a male Shudra and a Brahmanin that has arisen through the “mixture of caste” . With the Sapaka, they are assigned the lowest position; they stand outside of society.
“The habitation of the Chandalas and Cavpacas (sapaka) should be outside the village; they should not be allowed any dishes (apapatra); their property consists of dogs and donkeys. Her clothes should be clothes of the dead and her jewelry of iron. They should take their food from broken plates; and they have to wander around constantly. "
Faxian's observations
The Buddhist Chinese pilgrim Faxian mentions in the records of his trip to India in the early 5th century that the Chandalas are the only ones who eat onions and garlic and live separately from the others. They need to be noticeable when they come into cities or marketplaces so that contact with them can be avoided. The Chandalas are the only ones who hunt and sell meat, which marks their status as untouchables.
Chandalas today
Many Dalits in northern India, especially the states of Maharashtra , Orissa , Uttar Pradesh , Bihar and West Bengal , are referred to as Chandals. Efforts have been made in Bengal to change the name to Namasudra in order to escape the negative effect of the term.
Use of the term outside of India
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche took in several of his writings with the term (in an older German transcription Tschandala ) u. a. Reference to the Christian religion. The use of the term by him goes back to the French writer and Indologist Louis Jacolliot and his work Les législateurs religieux . Nietzsche also accepted Jacolliot's gross mistakes.
The Swedish author August Strindberg published a novel in 1889 with the title Tschandala, influenced by Nietzsche's writings .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Louis Jacolliot: Les legislateurs religieux. Manou, Moïse , Mahomet . Librairie Internationale, Paris 1880
- ^ August Strindberg: Tschandala. Story from the 17th century. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 2001, ISBN 3-458-34441-1
literature
- Koenraad Elst: Manu as a Weapon against Egalitarianism. Nietzsche and Hindu Political Philosophy, in: Siemens, Herman W. / Roodt, Vasti (eds.): Nietzsche, Power and Politics. Rethinking Nietzsche's Legacy for Political Thought, Berlin / New York 2008, 543-582.