[A new book written by the famed Archeologist Phillberte d'Alard starts to find it's way in to publication]
"A Dissertation of the Rajian Caste System" By Drowager Baroness Phillberte d'Alard
The lush Verdant Lands and in particular the humid jungles of Sri Raji are full of vibrance and life. These jungles are full of life and this extends to the human population as well as the fauna. With only three cities within these humid jungles the massive population in the multiple thousands are found. As I have stated in my previous work the Rajian people live under a strict caste system that permeates every aspect of Rajian life. It is my belief that understanding their caste system, even if at a glance and in broad terms, will only aid in proper study and relations should you ever find yourself dealing with those of Rajian birth.
A Brief Synopsis
The Rajian belief of reincarnation is an essential component to understanding the workings of their caste system. It is of Rajian belief that all life is within a constant cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth where your actions in life affect where you will be in your next life. It is only those who through self perfection, actualization, and piety that souls will move up the castes and eventually break out of the cycle achieving the state the Rajian call Nirvana. This movement is not always forward, as those who are wicked will be punished in their next life. Though there are thousands upon thousands of castes within the system there are four major categories that they are all wrapped into; The Brahmin caste which consists of priests and sometimes great heroes. Members of this caste are an extremely rare sight to meet. The Kshatriya is the caste of nobles and heroes of the Rajian people, they are also rare to meet. The caste of most common folk is called the Vaishya. This would include merchants, craftsmen and other more skilled professions. The class of the poor and the bottom caste is classified as Shudra. This includes farmers and others that society feels is easily replaceable. Many within Sri Raji believe that this system originated from their god of creation Brahma with the Brahmin representing the eyes and mind of Brahma, the Kshatriya representing the arms, The Vaishya representing his legs and the Shudra representing his feet.
The Shudra
Our journey through these castes will begin at the bottom, The Shudra. This caste is quite numerous and consists of many of the laborers in the rice paddies as well as those who do more manual labor. From my interviews with members of this caste who were displaced by the mists, the life of a member of this caste is quite rough. The individual spoke of how their work was as a rat catcher. Their caste within Rajian society was low even within the Shudra; they are looked down on by those that worked in the rice paddies, an example of how this hierarchy persists even within the categories. The common expectation for those of the Shudra to provide their service or good, to work until they dropped dead for as the interviewee said “My rewards, were in my next life. The better I did my role, as a woman and a Shudra, the better my next life would be.” The attitude from those higher on the caste system was generally that the Shudra are to be mindless bodies and that their duty is to serve. Beyond these expectations and the expectation that the Shudra are replaceable, the caste as a whole is illiterate. It is forbidden to teach Shudra letters as it is believed it damages their ability to serve and work. When I pressed the interviewee on this matter, saying wouldn’t written orders be easier for them to follow, their response was “It would be, but (are) the benefits are worth the risks? An educated servant is more useful than an uneducated one, but they could be inclined to forsake their duties.”
The Vaishya
The next group up in the caste system is The Vaishya, a caste of more skilled laborers and craftsmen. During my initial trip to Sri Raji the farm foreman I met was of this caste and this was also the caste my group was perceived as by the locals, though outsiders, it would be my studied assumption that we would be in the lower rungs of the caste. The Vaishya have more liberties than the Shudra; they are allowed to learn to read as well as own property. To use the analogy of the body, the Vaishya are the legs that support the rest of the body. Though fraternization between the castes is restricted it often falls on the Vaishya to manage the Shudra. As with the Shudra, this caste is much larger than the other two castes. Most that you will encounter if you travel to Sri Raji will be of either the Shadya or the Vaishya.
The Kshatriya
Moving further up the castes we come to the caste of royalty as well as many warriors. This caste is much more rare than the previous two and also seen as much less replaceable than the others are. Those in this caste are, at least by Rajian society, considered to be highly skilled and important. You are quite likely to find generals and those descended from war heroes. High ranking administrators also would also fall into the Kshatriya.
The Brahmin
Upon the pinnacle of the Rajian castes is the Brahmin, home to great heroes, priests, and even the Maharaja himself. The highest of the Brahmin would be the high priest or priestess of Kali the primary god of Sri Raji with the attendant priests falling below them and then other gods following behind. The Polythistic nature of the Rajian society makes this quite an interesting category to look at from the outside. My scholarly opinion on this matter would be that below priests of Kali would be those of Tvastri as the Rajian people, despite their superstitions, do value knowledge and wisdom and that is what Tvashtri represents. By all I have been able to find it takes quite a few reincarnations to even reach this caste let alone to push beyond it to Nirvana.
Chosen of Kali
There is one way that those of any caste can gain more respect than tied to their caste is to be chosen by Kali. When one is slain by Kali during the nightly sacrifices they are elevated from their current station as to be chosen by the gods is a great honor. Likewise those who actually RETURN from this fate are seen as being chosen by the gods themselves to have some greater purpose in life. As stated by the individual interviewed “It doesn’t matter if Brahim or Shudra. If you get chosen by Kali, everything changes. There was a man in a street near where I lived. He came back from Bahru. He was a farmer, but after that, everyone treated him with the most respect. Many Vaishya came to him with offers of food or gold, even if before that they would have simply ignored him.” From this account and what I have read, those that return seem to be treated as if they have elevated up many levels of the caste system. As to how this happens to an individual, I have found no trend or writing that indicates such beyond simply being chosen by the gods as their superstitions state.
Closing Thoughts
I think after reading through all this you see a frightening trend. It is very clear that this system is designed to oppress and only grind down those below the cult of Kali. Much like the Akiri Ma’at this is a system that is designed around ideals that on their own may be seen as positive and light but in practice they are twisted to much darker ends. The fact that Shurda are forbidden to even learn letters is just reprehensible. The strict order and theological oppression reminds me of the grip of the Iron faith in Nova Vaasa and Hazlan. The Shurda are essentially slaves in everything but name from how they are treated by society as a whole. With that said a system without the obvious corruption and oppression of those that are viewed as “expendable” are not exploited could in theory work. I do not think the mysticism of reincarnation is true, but showing an acceptable level of respect to your betters as the caste system asks is not a bad thing. Striving to self improve is also not intrinsically a bad thing. What does need to be shown is that those above need to act with the best interest of those beneath them in mind. It is THEIR duty to see that those less fortunate than them are able to survive in more ways than “work until you die and then in your next life you will be rewarded.” Beyond the scholarly benefits to understanding nations that might be interacted with, there is little to nothing that the Republique could bring benefits from the Rajian Caste System.
Interviews were conducted by Madame la Drowager Baroness d'Eaufroide Phillberte d'Alard to the Sri Rajian native Mademoiselle Indira
