Commensality

This word refers to patterns of social
exchange, particularly those associated
with eating. In traditional Hindu society,
the hierarchical status distinctions
between different social groups were
both marked and maintained by strict
rules on exchanges and sharing.
Traditional marriage customs illustrate
the role of social groups, in which people
married those who belonged to their
own particular jati (“birth”), or social
subgroup. Another arena in which these
concerns were quite visible was that of
food. Cooked food is believed to be
extremely susceptible to ritual impurity
(ashaucha) and can transmit impurities
to the person eating it. To shield
themselves from this source of impurity,
groups with higher social status
would not accept cooked foods from
groups with lower social status. In
contrast, lower-status groups would
accept cooked foods from groups with
higher status.
These concerns over maintaining
social status set up certain eating patterns whose influence is still evident.
Higher-status groups, particularly brahmins, would generally eat with members of their own community and only
when a brahmin had cooked the food.
For groups highly concerned with ritual
purity, the best meal is one cooked at
home by a family member, because this
ensures the food’s purity. Even in modern times, the most orthodox brahmins
will eat food cooked outside the home
only when it cannot be avoided. It is
always considered preferable to eat food
brought from home, whether one is on a
long journey or merely at lunch in the
office. Although in earlier times, the
groups with the highest status would
generally not eat with others, this custom has changed. Thus brahmin office
workers may eat lunch with colleagues
from many different communities, but
they would never think of inviting them
for a meal at their homes. For further
information on the way that exchanges
reveal status differences, see McKim
Marriot, “Hindu Transactions: Diversity
Without Dualism,” in Bruce Kapferer
(ed.), Transaction and Meaning, 1976.