Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7

Edgar ThurstonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.0
Word count
719K words
Chapters
72

Tags

English Originals Social SciencesCulture Human GeographyAnthropologyIndian SocietySocial ObservationAcademic MonographFieldworkFolk CustomsCaste SystemCross-Cultural ViewTribal Culture

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7 by Edgar ThurstonAuthor: Thurston, Edgar, 1855-1935,Language: English, Class: DS: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Asia, Release Date: Jun 21, 2013

Editor's review

Volume 7 of Castes and Tribes of Southern India is the final volume of Edgar Thurston's seven-volume ethnographic compilation, belonging to public-domain literature in history and Asian studies. The book systematically records the distribution, customs, and social structure of various castes and tribes in southern India, serving as an important primary reference for studying colonial-era southern Indian society. As the seventh volume, it continues the entry arrangement of the first six volumes, consisting mainly of specific ethnic group entries, suitable for consultation rather than continuous reading. For readers in South Asian studies, anthropology, or colonial history, the book has considerable reference value; general readers may find the information dense and lacking in narrative. When reading, use the index and table of contents to locate needed entries, and note the perspective limitations of its era.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Read the table of contents and editor's notes first to understand the range of ethnic group entries in this volume, then consult as needed.
  2. Use it as a reference book, locating specific entries with the indexes of the first six volumes rather than reading page by page.
  3. Note the colonial descriptive framework while reading and compare it with contemporary research, maintaining a critical perspective.
  4. Read alongside historical maps of southern India to help understand ethnic distribution and regional relationships.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

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FAQ

Is this book the complete seven-volume set? The material provided here is only Volume 7, the final volume of the seven-volume set, not the complete set. Volume 7 typically contains entries for the later alphabetical range of ethnic groups; check the table of contents for the specific scope. For complete material, readers need the first six volumes as well. A single volume can be consulted independently, but the overall framework requires the full set.
Is this book suitable for general history enthusiasts? This book is an ethnographic compilation recording ethnic group information in entry form, lacking continuous narrative and posing a relatively high reading barrier. General history enthusiasts with only a casual interest in the southern Indian caste system may find the content dry and information-dense. It is advisable to first understand the background through secondary research or introductory works, then consult specific entries as needed.
What should readers note when reading? The book was compiled in the colonial period, and its classification framework and descriptive perspective carry obvious limitations of the era; readers should treat it as a historical document rather than contemporary authoritative discourse. Focus on specific folk records, but maintain critical thinking about value judgments and classification methods. Also, the English original contains many technical terms; keep reference books or relevant background materials at hand.
What is the relationship between Volume 7 and the first six volumes? The seven volumes are arranged alphabetically by ethnic group names. Volume 7 continues the entry sequence of the first six volumes, covering castes and tribes in the later alphabetical range. The volumes form a continuous sequence of entries rather than independent themes. Therefore, locating a specific ethnic group may require cross-volume searching; confirm which volume contains the target entry before reading.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Edgar Thurston Author · British · 1855–1935

Edgar Thurston (1855–1935) was a British zoologist, anthropologist, and ethnographer. From 1885 to 1908 he served as curator of the Madras Government Museum, where he also taught anatomy, and he later became Superintendent of the Ethnographic Survey of the Madras Presidency. Thurston's writing is marked by field investigation and systematic classification, with close attention to the social groups, customs, and beliefs of southern India. His major work is the seven-volume Castes and Tribes of Southern India (1909); he also wrote Omens and Superstitions of Southern India (1912). These works have long been regarded as important reference materials for the study of southern Indian society and folklore, and eight of his works are held in this collection.