Definitions of Caste

Caste

Casta is a term with two different etymological origins, and therefore with several different meanings. The concept can come from the gothic word kastan and refer to ancestry or lineage. For example: “The Baron of Chestwire is part of an aristocratic caste that has ruled these lands for centuries”, “Illustrious Castes must not mix with the people, my lady.

In the same way, we must not overlook the fact that this meaning of caste can also be used with nuances when referring to animals. Thus, for example, it is common to speak of a breed dog, which is one that is not the result of having crossed different breeds.

In some societies, castes are groups that make up a special social class and tend to remain separate from the rest for religious, racial, or other reasons. One of the countries where there is a caste system is India, where castes are groups that belong to a larger ethnic unit.

The Indian castes are closed groups linked to the hereditary; in other words, membership is a birthright. It is said that the original castes of the Asian nation were four: priests, warriors, farmers and workers.

In the historical past, castes were also especially important. A good example of this is medieval society or even during the colonization process carried out by Spain. Thus, both in the Philippines and in America, he established a society that was based on three classes: the white, who were the Spanish; the black and the indigenous.

Those three social strata were considered to be pure. However, little by little, the establishment of relationships between members of each other began to occur, so the situation led to the creation of castes.

Crosses was the name by which those were also known that were quite numerous and that were created according to the classes to which the progenitor and mother of the creature in question belonged. Thus, for example, when a mulatto and a Spaniard were mixed, the son was considered to belong to the Moorish caste; and if the stem was the fruit of a Spaniard and an indigenous woman, it was framed within the mestizo caste.

Zambo, mulato, chamizo, albino or coyote was the name of another of the many castes that emerged during the colonization process carried out by Spain after the Discovery of America.

In another sense, chaste can come from the Latin castus and refer to one who abstains from sexual enjoyment. Chastity is a voluntary behavior that consists in the moderation of sexual pleasures for religious, cultural or social reasons. The ways in which each person carries out their chastity can vary: for married people, being chaste implies fidelity; for Catholics who are not married, chastity means abstinence.

Chaste is also what does not possess sensuality: “We live a chaste and pure love”, “He is a chaste man, with all his energy put into helping others”.

Caste