The ‘Descent’ Thing to Do—Mapping Caste and Descent Across Cultures

This chapter explores the progression of lineage groups from antiquity to the early modern period, seeking to illustrate how their development was influenced by state formation processes throughout history across different regions. It will also seek to contrast the methods of tracing descent within different caste groups in different cultures, in premodern Bengal, Japan, and England. To gain exclusive hereditary control over resources and power, caste groups often concocted myths that legitimized their positions. They also created fake genealogical records to promote their mythical, noble lineages. Crafting historical texts was an important strategy that allowed powerful caste or status groups to validate their assertions, and these constructed “histories” or myths acted as a way to make the authority of upwardly mobile groups appear “natural”. Through this method, genealogies conferred legitimacy upon parvenu groups, masking the chaotic truths of their accumulation of power and/wealth. This chapter also emphasizes how dynamic and fluid premodern societies were, due to the processes of state formation and the creation of related genealogical “myths”.