For the past couple of months, I have been jobless. Quite literally. Living in my parents' home near the outskirts of the city, I have been passing time by trying to observe and capture (capture with the lens, not literally capture them) the various species of birds that are present here.
Though the mission has been a decent success (have managed to observe over 35 different kinds and photograph about 20), what has intrigued me the most is that the caste system has made its way into the naming of the birds as well.
Consider this bird.
It is called the Brahminy Myna. Why Brahminy? Because the feathers on the back of it's head resemble the pony that is characteristic of Brahmins.
The above bird is called the Brahminy Kite. No, it doesn't have a pony as well. This kite, in contrast to other commonly found kites, is fair. This again is a general characteristic (although not exclusively) of Brahmins. Hence the name.
Guess what this birds name is? The complexion of this bird is brownish / black. Therefore it is called the Pariah Kite. Pariah is one of the lower castes in the Indian caste hierarchy. Apparently those belonging to this caste are supposed to be brownish/ black in colour.
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While the all-black crow is commonly known now as jungle crow, earlier in Telugu speaking areas, this crow was known as "mala kaki" (Mala crow). Mala is the lowest caste group in the hierarchy. And as the caste system was broadly based on racist (or colorist to be more precise) principles (although you will hear other justifications and claims), those branded as malas were also usually the blackest in complexion. The jungle crow, therefore was named after this caste group.
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It should be noted that while academics and ornithologists discourage the use of names whose origins are derived from the caste system (especially in the case of birds like the pariah kite, now called Indian black kite, or the jungle crow, which are named after "lower" caste groups), it continues to be used in rural areas.
P.S: Of these birds, only the pariah kite and the Brahminy Myna are present near my house. Though I have snapped both of them, the quality of the images was not good enough to depict the etymology of their names. All the four images have been do downloaded from the internet and no copyright infringement is intended.
Though the mission has been a decent success (have managed to observe over 35 different kinds and photograph about 20), what has intrigued me the most is that the caste system has made its way into the naming of the birds as well.
Consider this bird.
It is called the Brahminy Myna. Why Brahminy? Because the feathers on the back of it's head resemble the pony that is characteristic of Brahmins.
Guess what this birds name is? The complexion of this bird is brownish / black. Therefore it is called the Pariah Kite. Pariah is one of the lower castes in the Indian caste hierarchy. Apparently those belonging to this caste are supposed to be brownish/ black in colour.
While the all-black crow is commonly known now as jungle crow, earlier in Telugu speaking areas, this crow was known as "mala kaki" (Mala crow). Mala is the lowest caste group in the hierarchy. And as the caste system was broadly based on racist (or colorist to be more precise) principles (although you will hear other justifications and claims), those branded as malas were also usually the blackest in complexion. The jungle crow, therefore was named after this caste group.
----
It should be noted that while academics and ornithologists discourage the use of names whose origins are derived from the caste system (especially in the case of birds like the pariah kite, now called Indian black kite, or the jungle crow, which are named after "lower" caste groups), it continues to be used in rural areas.
P.S: Of these birds, only the pariah kite and the Brahminy Myna are present near my house. Though I have snapped both of them, the quality of the images was not good enough to depict the etymology of their names. All the four images have been do downloaded from the internet and no copyright infringement is intended.
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