5 ms·

How does one tell if Indians are Brahmins? Is there some trick to decoding firstname lastname?

statictype 5y ago
Generally you can tell by the person’s last name. Especially if they are north indian. In the south its also possible but more tricky as the surname tends to be the fathers’s name and not an ancestral name that gets carried down.
- xqcgrek2 5y ago
  What last names correlate with caste?
  - hawk_ 5y ago
    It's more like a dictionary lookup[0] than some general pattern. Also there are many regional variations. So if you have come across a particular lastname before you happen to know they are brahmin. [0] - https://www.momjunction.com/articles/brahmin-caste-surnames-last-names-meanings_00649615/ https://www.momjunction.com/articles/brahmin-caste-surnames-...
  - fault1 5y ago
    It depends on area/region/language/place, so it's probably too way too many to list. You can look at common conventions here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_name
jazzyjackson 5y ago
In case you were just waiting for the punchline: “they’ll tell you”
thaumasiotes 5y ago
The easy, traditional way is that Brahmins can't eat meat. Indians in America have often discarded that tradition. But I think about 2/3 of Indians in America are Brahmins, so you do pretty well by just assuming everyone is a Brahmin.
- baybal2 5y ago
  Lol, that is by no chance a pre-requisite. I lost count for beef/pork eating supposedly high caste members in the West, who at the same time were shaved head, janeu/tilaka wearing, and demonstratively religious.
  - jaldhar 5y ago
    "shaved head". Right there is the sign that you're bullshitting. Except for some South Indian temple employees and possibly elders who came over with their grandchildren nobody does that (and believe me I've looked for them.) Now tilaka etc. Slightly more likely but bear in mind (I presume you are North Indian based on your spelling of janoi am I right?) in many places vegetarianism isn't an absolute norm even amongst Brahmans. Also I would presume purely as a matter of sociology vegetarianism would be one of the distinctive features least likely to go because it is something increasingly fashionable in the larger community whereas janoi etc. are not.
    - VRay 5y ago
      Man, this thing you people have going on is really confusing You should just discriminate based on something straightforward like car size or hat color
- dilawar 5y ago
  Brahmins are vegetian are a PR scam,even in India. Women folks may be a bit more vegetarian but definately not the males. Also remember that its very easy here in India to preach something in public and do the opposite in private (not being cynical here). We are a tolerant society and especially tolerant of hypocrisy.
  - manquer 5y ago
    Not in practice, most aren't but it is more about it being forbidden to them in principle (and few other groups) and it being allowed for others. As you probably already know, vegetarian diet is not always black and white and can become complex with rules on days of the week, specific days on lunar calendar etc.
mc32 5y ago
I think vegetarianism may be a possible indicator. I believe there are shibboleths they use to suss each other out as well such as asking about ancestral village, charity customs, etc. (speaking about actual Indians as well as 0-gen and 1-gen. Obviously if immigrants somewhere those tendencies disappear over time.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- fault1 5y ago
  Might be possible, but at least in parts of India, vegetarian is extremely rare among all hindus (this is the case at least in West Bengal where my family is from). In other parts of India, vegetarian is kind of the norm, amongst all hindus, and many non-hindus as well. See for example: https://www.worthview.com/vegetarians-vs-non-vegetarians-percentage-india/ https://www.worthview.com/vegetarians-vs-non-vegetarians-per...
  - baybal2 5y ago
    In India itself, most actual elites are completely non-religious. Nehru specially got himself a christian chef, so he can cook him beef, and pork, without having to hear too much whispers behind his back.
- jelliclesfarm 5y ago
  True. Mostly food/regional cuisine. It is not unusual for people to congregate in groups with others who share the same cuisine, prayers, customs..as long as there isn’t any illegal discrimination, I don’t understand what the fuss is about..this is how long lasting friendships are formed ..based on common interests, likes, customs and hobbies. Before it was your fav death metal band that attracted two people, it was their prayers. Some people still spend their entire lives saying prayers and not really listening to Swedish death metal yet just because they emigrated. Storm in a teacup.
cowmoo728 5y ago
It is very tricky. There is a lot of coded language around childhood neighborhood, school, profession of the parents, diet, and other things that westerners are not aware of. It often requires local knowledge. When two Indian people in the US are getting to know each other they may ask each other these questions to suss it out. It can be difficult, even for people that grew up in India, particularly if they are meeting someone from a different region that they are not familiar with.
amriksohata 5y ago
It's very wooly, the article has a more hidden agenda
- pessimizer 5y ago
  The article is completely anodyne. If there's an agenda here, it's well hidden in very few paragraphs.
jelliclesfarm 5y ago
I can do better and even tell which district a Brahmin lady is from with a few clues from her kitchen and the terms she uses to describe the dishes. And how it tastes. Cuisine is very regional. Sometimes traditional attire/sari style and jewelry can indicate even the sub sect of Brahmins. Hair style(for weddings) and sari drape. We can tell from the design of the wedding chain/pendent(we don’t wear rings. Wedding chains are hidden behind clothes we wear and not publicly visible. In some families they add coral or gold beads for every child born for example. Some Brahmin women stamp their arms with a religious symbol and only women who have that singed design can enter their kitchens. For example, I myself couldn’t enter some kitchens even though I am a Brahmin because I don’t have the symbol and hence don’t observe the same ritual purity as they do in their kitchens) Every family has a unique design/stamp on their wedding jewelery..it’s rather broad but easy to join dots with other clues and very easy to map six degrees. Accent even if we speak the same language, which festivals they observe and use of certain terms to describe food too. But I can only tell for women/kitchen details. I don’t know about menfolk. My aunt could tell where someone is from just by looking at the weave of their wedding sari …but that’s a generational thing, I guess..

Generally you can tell by the person’s last name. Especially if they are north indian. In the south its also possible but more tricky as the surname tends to be the fathers’s name and not an ancestral name that gets carried down.

xqcgrek2 5y ago
What last names correlate with caste?
- hawk_ 5y ago
  It's more like a dictionary lookup[0] than some general pattern. Also there are many regional variations. So if you have come across a particular lastname before you happen to know they are brahmin. [0] - https://www.momjunction.com/articles/brahmin-caste-surnames-last-names-meanings_00649615/ https://www.momjunction.com/articles/brahmin-caste-surnames-...
- fault1 5y ago
  It depends on area/region/language/place, so it's probably too way too many to list. You can look at common conventions here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_name

jazzyjackson 5y ago

In case you were just waiting for the punchline: “they’ll tell you”

thaumasiotes 5y ago

The easy, traditional way is that Brahmins can't eat meat. Indians in America have often discarded that tradition. But I think about 2/3 of Indians in America are Brahmins, so you do pretty well by just assuming everyone is a Brahmin.

baybal2 5y ago
Lol, that is by no chance a pre-requisite. I lost count for beef/pork eating supposedly high caste members in the West, who at the same time were shaved head, janeu/tilaka wearing, and demonstratively religious.
- jaldhar 5y ago
  "shaved head". Right there is the sign that you're bullshitting. Except for some South Indian temple employees and possibly elders who came over with their grandchildren nobody does that (and believe me I've looked for them.) Now tilaka etc. Slightly more likely but bear in mind (I presume you are North Indian based on your spelling of janoi am I right?) in many places vegetarianism isn't an absolute norm even amongst Brahmans. Also I would presume purely as a matter of sociology vegetarianism would be one of the distinctive features least likely to go because it is something increasingly fashionable in the larger community whereas janoi etc. are not.
  - VRay 5y ago
    Man, this thing you people have going on is really confusing You should just discriminate based on something straightforward like car size or hat color
dilawar 5y ago
Brahmins are vegetian are a PR scam,even in India. Women folks may be a bit more vegetarian but definately not the males. Also remember that its very easy here in India to preach something in public and do the opposite in private (not being cynical here). We are a tolerant society and especially tolerant of hypocrisy.
- manquer 5y ago
  Not in practice, most aren't but it is more about it being forbidden to them in principle (and few other groups) and it being allowed for others. As you probably already know, vegetarian diet is not always black and white and can become complex with rules on days of the week, specific days on lunar calendar etc.

mc32 5y ago

I think vegetarianism may be a possible indicator. I believe there are shibboleths they use to suss each other out as well such as asking about ancestral village, charity customs, etc. (speaking about actual Indians as well as 0-gen and 1-gen. Obviously if immigrants somewhere those tendencies disappear over time.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
fault1 5y ago
Might be possible, but at least in parts of India, vegetarian is extremely rare among all hindus (this is the case at least in West Bengal where my family is from). In other parts of India, vegetarian is kind of the norm, amongst all hindus, and many non-hindus as well. See for example: https://www.worthview.com/vegetarians-vs-non-vegetarians-percentage-india/ https://www.worthview.com/vegetarians-vs-non-vegetarians-per...
- baybal2 5y ago
  In India itself, most actual elites are completely non-religious. Nehru specially got himself a christian chef, so he can cook him beef, and pork, without having to hear too much whispers behind his back.
jelliclesfarm 5y ago
True. Mostly food/regional cuisine. It is not unusual for people to congregate in groups with others who share the same cuisine, prayers, customs..as long as there isn’t any illegal discrimination, I don’t understand what the fuss is about..this is how long lasting friendships are formed ..based on common interests, likes, customs and hobbies. Before it was your fav death metal band that attracted two people, it was their prayers. Some people still spend their entire lives saying prayers and not really listening to Swedish death metal yet just because they emigrated. Storm in a teacup.

cowmoo728 5y ago

It is very tricky. There is a lot of coded language around childhood neighborhood, school, profession of the parents, diet, and other things that westerners are not aware of. It often requires local knowledge. When two Indian people in the US are getting to know each other they may ask each other these questions to suss it out. It can be difficult, even for people that grew up in India, particularly if they are meeting someone from a different region that they are not familiar with.

amriksohata 5y ago

It's very wooly, the article has a more hidden agenda

pessimizer 5y ago
The article is completely anodyne. If there's an agenda here, it's well hidden in very few paragraphs.

jelliclesfarm 5y ago

I can do better and even tell which district a Brahmin lady is from with a few clues from her kitchen and the terms she uses to describe the dishes. And how it tastes. Cuisine is very regional. Sometimes traditional attire/sari style and jewelry can indicate even the sub sect of Brahmins. Hair style(for weddings) and sari drape. We can tell from the design of the wedding chain/pendent(we don’t wear rings. Wedding chains are hidden behind clothes we wear and not publicly visible. In some families they add coral or gold beads for every child born for example. Some Brahmin women stamp their arms with a religious symbol and only women who have that singed design can enter their kitchens. For example, I myself couldn’t enter some kitchens even though I am a Brahmin because I don’t have the symbol and hence don’t observe the same ritual purity as they do in their kitchens) Every family has a unique design/stamp on their wedding jewelery..it’s rather broad but easy to join dots with other clues and very easy to map six degrees. Accent even if we speak the same language, which festivals they observe and use of certain terms to describe food too. But I can only tell for women/kitchen details. I don’t know about menfolk. My aunt could tell where someone is from just by looking at the weave of their wedding sari …but that’s a generational thing, I guess..