Jati
Topic: Gender, Religion and Caste in Politics · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 9 "Family and Community"
Meaning
A jati is the caste group, or a smaller division of one, into which a person is born. People usually marry within their own jati. A jati was often linked to a traditional occupation. In everyday Indian speech it is often called a "community". The caste system is made up of thousands of such jatis, ranked from "high" to "low".
Example
In a village, a person may be known as part of a particular potter or weaver jati. Their family usually looks for a marriage partner from the same jati.
Don't confuse with
- Caste hierarchy: a jati is a single group a person belongs to. The caste hierarchy is the ladder that ranks all such groups against one another.