RETURN TO INDIA
( Editors ' Note : Thirty years ago a
young graduate student in anthropology
went to a small south Indian village for
14 months for doctoral research. Twenty
years later she returned with her eldest
son for two weeks, and this past February
she returned again for a two-month stay.
In the years since her first visit, Louise
Harper raised three sons, taught anthro-
pology courses to scores of pre-college
students, and participated in the G.W.U./
S.I. Anthropology for Teachers Program.
In March Louise sent us the following
"Report from the Field" to share with
Anthro - Notes readers.)
The Village
The village is nestled between for-
ested rolling hills that still contain
peacocks and wild boars—but all the
tigers have gone. It is as beautiful
a setting today as the first day I came
here. The earth is red, and the areca
nut (betel nut) and coconut palms are a
lovely soft green. Flowers bloom pro-
fusely, and magenta and orange bougain-
villa cascade over the front door of the
house of the family with whom I am living.
and back compounds, to the two-room
thatched huts of the lower castes, one
room for the family and one room for the
goats. All Brahmans own cows and water
buffalo for the milk they supply, and the
Shudras may also have water buffalo and
oxen to work in the fields. Only the
lower castes own goats, a source of meat
for them.
This short report focuses on the
changes that I see for the 30 Brahman
households since my first stay here,
for it is with this caste that most of
my limited time is being spent. What I
say might or might not be applicable to
the other castes. Today, as before,
behavior, customs, and beliefs are often
so totally different for each caste that
I have come to believe there should be
one fieldworker for each caste.
New Things
Thirty years ago this village was
a remote, isolated, and conservative
society. Brides were given to villages
within approximately a 15 mile radius.
Today the village is connected to the
The village is seven miles from a
major town where the one-way narrow gauge
railway stops, connecting this mountain
area with the large city of Bangalore.
The Hindu population has almost doubled
to 775 people and there are seven castes
living here in quite separate hamlets.
To simplify, I will describe these castes
as the Brahmans, the dominant caste, who
own all the areca nut land; the Shudras
who farm the paddy or make the clay pots;
and the Untouchables, once indentured
servants, who are now hired on a daily
wage of Rs. 5 (50 cents) for a man and
Rs. 3 for a woman.
Physically the village has not
changed very much. A family or two have
moved out, and one has moved in. As
large joint families partitioned, three
new houses have been built. The houses
range from the Brahman palatial two story,
tile-roofed houses built around front
Mm^~
outside world.
Electricity came to the village
25 years ago, and both Brahman hamlets
and one Shudra hamlet utilize it.
Wealthier Brahmans have installed pumps
on their wells so women no longer have
to draw all the water. Today each room
has one light bulb. Families own
radios and perhaps a blender in the
kitchen supplementing the mortar and
pestle in the back compound. Years
ago wood stoves were always on the floor,
a common cause of death among children
when their clothing caught fire. Now
a waist-high stove is a status symbol,
and the fuel may be electricity, keror
sene, or charcoal
.
New crops are being grown. Some
grow coffee for their own use and car-
damon as a commercial crop. A couple
of houses are experimenting with cinna-
mon, clove, and cocoa. One household
grows silkworms, and two have small
industries utilizing electrical power.
One household is making and packaging
areca nut powder, and one is making
cups out of areca nut sheaves with a
"punch" machine.
Plastic has invaded the village.
Plastic buckets are used in the bathing
area and plastic trays have replaced
the gorgeous brass ones. Lower castes
use plastic water jugs to draw water
from the well. I wonder what this will
mean for the potter caste.
Besides radio communication, some
families subscribe to daily newspapers.
While visiting one house yesterday, I
was completely astounded to have a
30 year old man ask me, "Louise-amma,
what do you think about the Reagan
administration?"
The transportation system for the
village is quite different. Before,
the only way to travel was by bullock
cart moving three miles an hour. Now
practically every Brahman house has a
bicycle, five have motor scooters or
motorcycles, and a bus stops in the
village four times a day. The bus is
often given as the reason why social
change has come.
Agents of Change
Although the bus is considered the
agent of change, it has not been the
major force, (it has, however, changed
one traditional behavior. Since all
castes ride the bus, Brahmans may now
come into contact with Untouchables.
When Brahmans return from town, they do
not take a ritual bath to cleanse them-
selves from this pollution before they
touch other members of the family. ) In
my opinion, the major changes affecting
the Brahmans stem from two simultaneous
developments. The limited amount of
available land became insufficient to
support the growing Brahman population,
and, at the same time, public education
became available. Men could then train
in alternative occupations. There are
now two school teachers, a doctor, one
man working for the army, and another
in a bank. Thirty years ago Brahman
boys and only a few girls attended ele-
mentary school. Since then a high
school was built two miles away, and a
college was founded in the town seven
miles away. Today girls with only a
high school education are having diffi-
culty finding grooms since many suitors
are asking for women with a B.A. degree.
This education shift has changed
marriage patterns. During my first
field trip, the first post-puberty
marriages were just being performed, and
a bride of 15 was considered old. Older
people can still remember brides of six
years and grooms of eleven. The appro-
priate ages now seem to be 18 to 25
years for women and 25 to 30 years for
men. Since women are so much older and
educated, they are given much more choice
in deciding on their future husbands.
Although there may be an occasional
"love" marriage (and the English word
is used) , almost all marriages are
st illjj arranged by a girl's father.
He searche-s for - the groom $ but
the girl can veto his choice. Women
are also adding their own qualifications
and prefer men who work in the city.
This means that they will live in a
nuclear family without a mother-in-law
in the house.
In fact, the nuclear family has
become more common in the village. Of
the 30 Brahman households, 18 are now
nuclear. Couples are deciding that two
children are enough, even if two girls
are born, and after that the wife will
have the "operation." This seems to be
the most accepted method of birth con-
trol, but other methods are known.
Pollution
Because so many villagers have had
contact with city life, patterns of
pollution have changed. Girls in the
city do not observe the menstrual taboos,
When girls return to the village they
adapt to the old rules of "sitting out-
side" the sacred part of the house. No
one should touch them, they must not
cook, and they sleep separately. At
the end of three days, all women may
now bathe in the family bathroom rather
than in the small pool in the areca nut
garden.
Patterns of pollution from saliva
have also changed. When I first came
to this village, I had to remove my own
banana leaves on which all meals were
served, but now someone in the family
will do this. Before,where meals had
been eaten, all areas had to be washed
with a small amount of purifying cow-
dung. Now a damp rag will suffice.
Within the village the pattern of
pollution from Untouchables has not
altered to a great degree. Low caste
villagers are not allowed in the Brahman
houses nor in one of the temples. When
giving some item to Untouchables, one
still places that item on the ground,
because earth does not pass pollution,
and then they pick it up. Even today
while I was washing my hands in the
back compound, the Untouchable servant
with a heavy load on her head did not
pass me for fear we would touch.
Status of Women
With the assurance that comes with
education and wider contacts, women are
no longer shy in public. Modern couples
will walk side by side and even touch.
Women no longer eat off their husbands'
used plates. Brahman women can now earn
a small amount of money by husking areca
nuts or sewing blouses on a sewing machine
for others to wear. Although older hus-
bands still choose saris for their wives,
younger women go to town to select their
own. Thirty years ago women remained in
the rear of the house and back compound
or hid behind the front door if they
wanted to know what was happening. Today,
in the late afternoon one can now see
women sitting by the street "watching
the world go by."
Attitudes Toward Ohange-
It is very interesting to me that
such rapid change within a single genera-
tion is not condemned. One does not hear
the elders talking about "the good old
days" nor criticizing the younger people.
Several times, in fact, I have heard it
said:
"What was good for the olden days
was fine; but what is new for today
is also fine."
Or as one older informant explained:
"When my father was alive he went
to town three times in his life.
When his yonnger brother became head
of the household he went twice
a year.
I used to go once a week.
My son may now go every day .
"
Louise Harper
Former anthropology teacher
Washington International
School, Washington, D.C.