I have visited temples in London (Tamil - Murugan Temple in Archway), Hindu
Temple in Berkshire, Temple in France & several local & one main Durga Temple
(& a separate Kali Maa) in Mauritius. Non of which had turned away anyone.
My wife, born & bred of Tamil stock in Mauritius whose family can be traced
back to Madurai in TN was raised in this system. There are levels within the
caste system, for instance a girl from a lower caste would find it difficult in
the villages to marry someone from the SAME caste system if she were a "level"
below him, and so on.
Very distressing for both girl & boy who love each other & wish to marry, but
the system is there, taken extremely seriously by the elders & they will not
budge. If they do marry in secret or run away, they are then shunned by their
families and neighbours also.
This is in Mauritius, a very progressive society in all other respects, with
50% Hindu but the balance is made up of Creoles - mostly Catholics
(descendants of the original African slaves), other Catholics , Muslim,
Chinese, Jews (mostly from ships disembarked during WW2), & of course a mish
mash of Europeans who have been there for generations (Portuguese, French,
Dutch, English).
But in the temples, I have not seen any segregation or any castes separating
themselves, arriving early to avoid the crowd or late so that they are not in
the midst of the lesser classes, or otherwise. All mix together in prayer, the
Priests do not discern from one caste to the next, some who are not in the
caste system, be they very poor or very rich mix together in prayer. Not ALL
followers of Hinduism are assigned caste to live by, by birth or marriage. My
wife & I are a typical example, though if her parents had insisted she had
married inside her race & religion, THEY would have chosen a "nice boy" for her.
Fortunately, like Goans, Mauritians are fighting their aged grandparents &
parents for equality & right to choose who they marry. In towns & cities this
works well, but old family ties & money talks, so marrying someone outside your
"caste" or below your level is not seen as correct.
Shame, but time will heal this disgusting practice, although it seems the
majority accept the chosen girl or boy that their parents & grandparents have
thrust upon them. Perhaps a little more protesting from both sides may solve
the problem. But when you see the families together, it all seems very normal
for them, they do not object because they appear to think (probably right so)
that the parents are so concerned for the girl or boy's future, that they would
choose only the best for them. So another family with same ideals is created.
In these cases, agreed arranged marriages within their own caste seems to be
alright, for all parties concerned.
At least its not a forced marriage in these cases, unlike some so-called
arranged marriages in Northern India & their neighbours marrying first cousins
to keep the cash within the family.................... and no doubt we have
dozens of families here in the UK that go back home to Pakistan & Bangladesh
with their teenage daughters "on holiday" but then come back married to some
stranger from a village that mother or father was brought up in, only to find
herself in turmoil, one foot in UK and ther other in their ancestral homeland
...........
John Monteiro
