SV: Kinship systems

[V.C.Vijayaraghavan]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lars Martin Fosse" <lmfosse at ONLINE.NO>
To: <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2000 10:25 PM
Subject: SV: Kinship systems


> Vidyasankar Sundaresan [SMTP:vsundaresan at HOTMAIL.COM] skrev 10. oktober
> 2000 22:54:
> > ps. In Naga Ganesan's recent post, the word "ethnic" appears, to talk of
> > Aryan vs. Dravidian. In order to keep the discourse on track, may I
point
> > out that "ethnic" is simply another word that attempts to bring race in,
> > through the back door?
>
> Not necessarily. Greek ethnos means "people", and interestingly, "race"
> originally could mean "people" or "nation", even "family" as well as
> "race". Both in English and German, by the way. Today, "race" seems to
have
> become specialized to mean "biological" race, whereas "ethnic" may refer
to
> groups of different cultures or nationalities that may, however, belong to
> the same "biological race". Compare the recent war in Yugoslavia, where
> three ethnic groups that all belong to the same "race" and speak almost
> identical languages have been busy making war on each other.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Lars Martin Fosse
>
> Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse
> Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,
> 0674 Oslo
> Norway
> Phone: +47 22 32 12 19
> Mobile phone: +47 90 91 91 45
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> Fax 2:  +47 85 02 12 50 (InFax)
> Email: lmfosse at online.no

This distinction between race and ethnos is fine. But to call Gonds
dravidian in an ethnic sene is also a stretch. After all Gonds themselves
call themselves Gonds and the word 'dravidian' is unknown to them. Hence
ethnicity of Gonds is just Gond and not dravidian. It is not for non-Gonds
to put different labels on them