June 1, 2020 • 11 mins
You have your role, and you can't do anything else. This is the fundamental idea of a Caste System. Join us in today's episode as we discuss what Caste Systems are and how you use them.
For sources, the transcript, and free bonus content, visit www.writersworldpodcast.weebly.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Does it get any better from here? Am I going to be a peasant for life?
(00:10):
My name is Ken Mears. And I'm Melissa Fales.
And welcome to Writer's World.
According to Wikipedia, quote, cast is a form of social stratification,
(00:43):
characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life,
which often includes an occupation, ritual status,
and a hierarchy and customary social interaction and inclusion based on
cultural notions of purity and pollution.
And quote, that is one definition.
Ken, how would you explain what the cast system is?
(01:07):
As it's been explained to me by my fantastic publishers at Teapot's Way
Media, quote, a cast system is a categorization system defined by the
idea that you are born into your place within the cast and that will never
change. Your status will never change because your DNA will never change.
End quote. According to them, this is mostly done religiously or tribally.
(01:29):
Now, the difference between this and a hierarchical system is that you can't
change your position in it. You're stuck the way you're born.
And there are real world examples of the cast system.
Some may have heard of India's cast system, which is divided into many cast.
The six most significant, according to Prospect Magazine, are Brahmin,
(01:53):
the highest of all the cast and traditionally priest or teachers.
Brahmins make up a small part of the Indian population.
The Kesthriyati, meaning protectors of the gentle people.
They were traditionally the military class.
And then the Vishya, a caste that is influential in trade.
The Vashya were traditionally cattle herders, agriculturists, artisans,
(02:17):
and merchants. And then there were the Shadrah, the lowest of the four
ancient social classes.
The Shadrahs were considered so low as to be prohibited from the study of
the Vedis, the earliest texts of sacred Indian literature.
Dalits were considered the lowliest people of all the cast.
And they're typically associated with occupations regarded as ritually
(02:40):
impure, such as those involving wastes or carcasses.
These people are traditionally regarded as untouchable.
Indian law prohibits discrimination by case, although case identities remain
of great significance on the local level, especially in relation to marriage.
A survey in 2005 found that only 11% of women had married a man of color.
(03:00):
And that only 10% of women had married a man of different caste.
And quote, Japan also had a caste system.
According to Wikipedia, quote, in Japan's history, social strata based on
inherited position rather than personal merit were rigid and highly formalized.
At the top were the emperor and the court nobles.
(03:20):
Below them, the population was divided into four classes, samurai, peasants,
craftsmen, and merchants.
Only samurai were allowed to bear arms.
They were not allowed to kill any peasant, craftsman, or merchant,
who he felt was disrespectful.
Merchants were the lowest cast because they did not produce any products.
End quote.
The caste system of Korea is also really interesting if you are interested
(03:44):
in further real life examples.
And you can find a summary of that on Wikipedia.
If you want more examples on that page, there are a lot of real world examples
you can study for ideas for your caste system.
Of course there are fictional cast, which we can be great for gaining
a clear picture of what you might want.
(04:04):
Ken, is there any real life caste systems you would like to share?
I mean, not particularly.
There are plenty of examples when you look into it.
The world has done its fair job of making caste systems.
I think Melissa covered some good ones.
Well, what are some fictional caste system examples you can think of, Ken?
One that has sort of been explained to me is the caste system of Harry Potter.
(04:26):
See, in that world, there's a system based on how you're born.
The way it was explained to me at least is pure bloods were on top.
Then there were like the half bloods, mudbloods, and finally the muggles
in that world based on how you were born.
You're sort of ranked differently.
So you can kind of see the idea of a caste system within that fictional owl.
(04:47):
And it's not nearly as strict as other caste systems that you will see.
For example, I'm reading Don Quixote right now, and it's interesting to
read about they're not nearly as strict caste system as India, but
they're loose caste system.
In Don Quixote, their system is based a lot on wealth and position,
(05:08):
but you are allowed to do different jobs.
It may seem strange that I mentioned that people can do different jobs than
what their parents did in Don Quixote, but in several caste systems, you
can't move from your job at all.
You inherit it.
And there's a lot of pride and responsibility in Don Quixote.
They feel in the rank, but you can still move up and down those ranks
(05:30):
while at other systems you may not be able to.
In Pride and Prejudice, actually in a lot of 18th century, early 19th
century literature, there's a lot of stigma in rank and position.
That you can see, but it's not set, if that makes sense.
Now moving on to the question, how do I create a caste system?
(05:51):
First, I think it is important to ask yourself, do I need a caste system?
There are always variances in power from an individual to the government,
or an abusive teacher, to a student.
There's a difference between social stratification, which quote,
refers to society's categorization of its people into groups based on
(06:12):
social economic factors like wealth, income, race, education, gender,
occupation, and social status, or derived power, end quote.
And that came from Wikipedia and case, which is characterized by endogamy,
which quote, is the practice of marrying within a specific social
group or ethnic group, end quote.
(06:35):
And not advancing anywhere from your family's hereditary lifestyle.
Therefore, I would say that not every story needs a case system because
there's a difference between the social dividences and the actual set in place systems.
Ken, do you think that every story needs a case system?
(06:58):
I really don't think so, especially if your story is within like a family
or a small community with only like one kind of person.
You'll generally see caste systems in a larger, usually world spanning story,
where you have lots of different people from different castes.
Now that leads to the question, Ken, how does someone create a case system?
(07:20):
Either intentionally or accidentally.
I personally accidentally created a caste system in my world of the
middlelands, which I'll talk a bit about more later.
I think that if you're intentionally creating castes, you're going to
think that if you're intentionally creating caste system, you may want
to start by thinking of what different castes there could be and kind of
what the history of those castes may be.
(07:41):
For example, castes could come from bloodlines or from species.
With the peoples of your world categorized into different castes,
you can think about what the hierarchy is with those groups.
From there, it's just sort of defining what makes one caste better or worse
than the others and what privileges are exclusive to certain groups.
Yeah.
And from what I have seen, case systems are often determined by jobs.
(08:06):
The untouchables in India deal with waste and carcasses.
And so you could create one based off of jobs or maybe what they look like.
Like Ken mentioned, to create a case system, I would recommend determining
what makes someone at the top of the totem pole and what makes someone at the bottom.
Then I would determine if your character likes the system they are in or not.
(08:28):
Does it play a big role or a small role in the story?
How you include the caste system is up to you.
You might just have intense social stress, education, discrimination,
or a cultural mindset that your character is affected by.
For example, a common case system is king versus peasant and your case
(08:49):
system could start off as simple as that.
It is very unlikely that a peasant would ever marry a princess if you are being
realistic in a strict case system.
But maybe you have more of a social structure and that's loose and it could happen.
It's up to you to decide.
How do you think can someone could include the case system in their writing?
(09:11):
Generally through subtle means by doing things like hinting that so and so from
this group use themselves as superior or certain people being barred privileges
due to who they are.
It really doesn't have to be super complex or laid out.
It can be done subtly.
What are some of your case systems, Kenz, or ones that you think are cool?
(09:33):
So I can only think of one caste system that I've created and that's the caste
within the middle lands.
And of course, me being me, I created it accidentally.
I seem to do that kind of thing a lot.
Basically within the world of middle lands, there are the different species.
Those that I've shown within my first book or two include humans, trolls,
(09:54):
elves, giants, and dragons.
I've also mentioned things like fairies, but I haven't gone in depth anywhere with them yet.
So within the caste system, the bare bottom is pretty much the trolls.
Because of all the bad things their species has done, they are relegated to being considered
generally the lowest of the lows by most.
Then they are the humans.
(10:15):
Humans are generally considered pretty average and have most rights and that sort of thing.
Then we have the elves who consider themselves superior to pretty much everybody because of
their technology and society.
Then if I understand my own caste system right, we have the dragons.
The dragons don't really interact much, but they respect the giants and keep to themselves
(10:36):
not really daring or wanting to interact with the other species and just kind of distancing
themselves.
And finally, there are the giants who don't really consider themselves superior, but those
that interact with them can't help but kind of respect them and leave them alone.
We hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com and our Instagram
(11:00):
is writers without an apostrophe world podcast official.
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writers world podcast.
And if you want your questions answered, our email is writersworldpodcast at gmail.com
Until next time, I've been Ken Mears.
And I've been Melissa Fales with Writers World.
(11:21):
And keep on writing.
Does it get any better from here? Am I going to be a peasant for life?
(00:10):
My name is Ken Mears. And I'm Melissa Fales.
And welcome to Writer's World.
According to Wikipedia, quote, cast is a form of social stratification,
(00:43):
characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life,
which often includes an occupation, ritual status,
and a hierarchy and customary social interaction and inclusion based on
cultural notions of purity and pollution.
And quote, that is one definition.
Ken, how would you explain what the cast system is?
(01:07):
As it's been explained to me by my fantastic publishers at Teapot's Way
Media, quote, a cast system is a categorization system defined by the
idea that you are born into your place within the cast and that will never
change. Your status will never change because your DNA will never change.
End quote. According to them, this is mostly done religiously or tribally.
(01:29):
Now, the difference between this and a hierarchical system is that you can't
change your position in it. You're stuck the way you're born.
And there are real world examples of the cast system.
Some may have heard of India's cast system, which is divided into many cast.
The six most significant, according to Prospect Magazine, are Brahmin,
(01:53):
the highest of all the cast and traditionally priest or teachers.
Brahmins make up a small part of the Indian population.
The Kesthriyati, meaning protectors of the gentle people.
They were traditionally the military class.
And then the Vishya, a caste that is influential in trade.
The Vashya were traditionally cattle herders, agriculturists, artisans,
(02:17):
and merchants. And then there were the Shadrah, the lowest of the four
ancient social classes.
The Shadrahs were considered so low as to be prohibited from the study of
the Vedis, the earliest texts of sacred Indian literature.
Dalits were considered the lowliest people of all the cast.
And they're typically associated with occupations regarded as ritually
(02:40):
impure, such as those involving wastes or carcasses.
These people are traditionally regarded as untouchable.
Indian law prohibits discrimination by case, although case identities remain
of great significance on the local level, especially in relation to marriage.
A survey in 2005 found that only 11% of women had married a man of color.
(03:00):
And that only 10% of women had married a man of different caste.
And quote, Japan also had a caste system.
According to Wikipedia, quote, in Japan's history, social strata based on
inherited position rather than personal merit were rigid and highly formalized.
At the top were the emperor and the court nobles.
(03:20):
Below them, the population was divided into four classes, samurai, peasants,
craftsmen, and merchants.
Only samurai were allowed to bear arms.
They were not allowed to kill any peasant, craftsman, or merchant,
who he felt was disrespectful.
Merchants were the lowest cast because they did not produce any products.
End quote.
The caste system of Korea is also really interesting if you are interested
(03:44):
in further real life examples.
And you can find a summary of that on Wikipedia.
If you want more examples on that page, there are a lot of real world examples
you can study for ideas for your caste system.
Of course there are fictional cast, which we can be great for gaining
a clear picture of what you might want.
(04:04):
Ken, is there any real life caste systems you would like to share?
I mean, not particularly.
There are plenty of examples when you look into it.
The world has done its fair job of making caste systems.
I think Melissa covered some good ones.
Well, what are some fictional caste system examples you can think of, Ken?
One that has sort of been explained to me is the caste system of Harry Potter.
(04:26):
See, in that world, there's a system based on how you're born.
The way it was explained to me at least is pure bloods were on top.
Then there were like the half bloods, mudbloods, and finally the muggles
in that world based on how you were born.
You're sort of ranked differently.
So you can kind of see the idea of a caste system within that fictional owl.
(04:47):
And it's not nearly as strict as other caste systems that you will see.
For example, I'm reading Don Quixote right now, and it's interesting to
read about they're not nearly as strict caste system as India, but
they're loose caste system.
In Don Quixote, their system is based a lot on wealth and position,
(05:08):
but you are allowed to do different jobs.
It may seem strange that I mentioned that people can do different jobs than
what their parents did in Don Quixote, but in several caste systems, you
can't move from your job at all.
You inherit it.
And there's a lot of pride and responsibility in Don Quixote.
They feel in the rank, but you can still move up and down those ranks
(05:30):
while at other systems you may not be able to.
In Pride and Prejudice, actually in a lot of 18th century, early 19th
century literature, there's a lot of stigma in rank and position.
That you can see, but it's not set, if that makes sense.
Now moving on to the question, how do I create a caste system?
(05:51):
First, I think it is important to ask yourself, do I need a caste system?
There are always variances in power from an individual to the government,
or an abusive teacher, to a student.
There's a difference between social stratification, which quote,
refers to society's categorization of its people into groups based on
(06:12):
social economic factors like wealth, income, race, education, gender,
occupation, and social status, or derived power, end quote.
And that came from Wikipedia and case, which is characterized by endogamy,
which quote, is the practice of marrying within a specific social
group or ethnic group, end quote.
(06:35):
And not advancing anywhere from your family's hereditary lifestyle.
Therefore, I would say that not every story needs a case system because
there's a difference between the social dividences and the actual set in place systems.
Ken, do you think that every story needs a case system?
(06:58):
I really don't think so, especially if your story is within like a family
or a small community with only like one kind of person.
You'll generally see caste systems in a larger, usually world spanning story,
where you have lots of different people from different castes.
Now that leads to the question, Ken, how does someone create a case system?
(07:20):
Either intentionally or accidentally.
I personally accidentally created a caste system in my world of the
middlelands, which I'll talk a bit about more later.
I think that if you're intentionally creating castes, you're going to
think that if you're intentionally creating caste system, you may want
to start by thinking of what different castes there could be and kind of
what the history of those castes may be.
(07:41):
For example, castes could come from bloodlines or from species.
With the peoples of your world categorized into different castes,
you can think about what the hierarchy is with those groups.
From there, it's just sort of defining what makes one caste better or worse
than the others and what privileges are exclusive to certain groups.
Yeah.
And from what I have seen, case systems are often determined by jobs.
(08:06):
The untouchables in India deal with waste and carcasses.
And so you could create one based off of jobs or maybe what they look like.
Like Ken mentioned, to create a case system, I would recommend determining
what makes someone at the top of the totem pole and what makes someone at the bottom.
Then I would determine if your character likes the system they are in or not.
(08:28):
Does it play a big role or a small role in the story?
How you include the caste system is up to you.
You might just have intense social stress, education, discrimination,
or a cultural mindset that your character is affected by.
For example, a common case system is king versus peasant and your case
(08:49):
system could start off as simple as that.
It is very unlikely that a peasant would ever marry a princess if you are being
realistic in a strict case system.
But maybe you have more of a social structure and that's loose and it could happen.
It's up to you to decide.
How do you think can someone could include the case system in their writing?
(09:11):
Generally through subtle means by doing things like hinting that so and so from
this group use themselves as superior or certain people being barred privileges
due to who they are.
It really doesn't have to be super complex or laid out.
It can be done subtly.
What are some of your case systems, Kenz, or ones that you think are cool?
(09:33):
So I can only think of one caste system that I've created and that's the caste
within the middle lands.
And of course, me being me, I created it accidentally.
I seem to do that kind of thing a lot.
Basically within the world of middle lands, there are the different species.
Those that I've shown within my first book or two include humans, trolls,
(09:54):
elves, giants, and dragons.
I've also mentioned things like fairies, but I haven't gone in depth anywhere with them yet.
So within the caste system, the bare bottom is pretty much the trolls.
Because of all the bad things their species has done, they are relegated to being considered
generally the lowest of the lows by most.
Then they are the humans.
(10:15):
Humans are generally considered pretty average and have most rights and that sort of thing.
Then we have the elves who consider themselves superior to pretty much everybody because of
their technology and society.
Then if I understand my own caste system right, we have the dragons.
The dragons don't really interact much, but they respect the giants and keep to themselves
(10:36):
not really daring or wanting to interact with the other species and just kind of distancing
themselves.
And finally, there are the giants who don't really consider themselves superior, but those
that interact with them can't help but kind of respect them and leave them alone.
We hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com and our Instagram
(11:00):
is writers without an apostrophe world podcast official.
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writers world podcast.
And if you want your questions answered, our email is writersworldpodcast at gmail.com
Until next time, I've been Ken Mears.
And I've been Melissa Fales with Writers World.
(11:21):
And keep on writing.
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