The Eighteen Guilds in Ancient India

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Aemilius
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The Eighteen Guilds in Ancient India

Post by Aemilius »

from Buddhist India by Rhys Davids T.W., chapter on the Economic conditions

1. The workers in wood. They were not only carpenters and cabinet-makers, but also wheel- wrights ; and the builders of houses, and of ships, and of vehicles of all sorts .
2. The workers in metal. They made any iron implements weapons of all kinds, ploughshares, axes, hoes, saws, and knives. But they also did finer work made needles, for instance, of great lightness and sharpness, or gold and (less often) silver work of great delicacy and beauty .
3. The workers in stone. They made flights of steps, leading up into a house or down into a reservoir ; faced the reservoir; laid foundations for the wood- work of which the upper part of the houses was built; carved pillars and bas-reliefs; and even did finer work such as making a crystal bowl, or a stone coffer. Beautiful examples of these two last were found in the Sakiya Tope.
4. The weavers. They not only made the cloths which the people wrapped round themselves as dress, but manufactured fine muslin for export, and worked costly and dainty fabrics of silk cloth and fur into rugs, blankets, coverlets, and carpets.
5. Leather workers, who made the numerous sorts of foot-covering and sandals worn by the people mostly in cold weather ; and also the embroidered
and costly articles of the same kind mentioned in the books.
6. Potters, who made all sorts of dishes and bowls for domestic use ; and often hawked their goods about for sale.
7. Ivory workers, who made a number of small articles in ivory for ordinary use, and also costly carvings and ornaments such as those for which India is still famous.
8. Dyers, who coloured the clothes made by the weavers.
9. Jewellers, some of whose handiwork has survived, and is also so often represented in basreliefs that we know fairly well the shape and size of the ornaments they made.
10. The fisher folk. They fished only in the rivers. There is no mention of sea-fishing known to me.
11. The butchers, whose shops and slaughter- houses are several times mentioned.
12. Hunters and trappers, mentioned in various passages as bringing the animal and vegetable products of the woods, and also venison and game, for sale on carts into the city. It is doubtful whether they were formed into guilds. But their industry was certainly a very important one. The large stretches of forest, open to all, separating most of the settlements ; the absence of any custom of breeding cattle for the meat-market; the large
demand for ivory, fur, sinews, creepers, and all the other produce of the woods ; and the congeniality of the occupation, all tended to encourage the hunters. And there is no reason to suppose that the very ancient instinct of the chase was confined to the so-called savages. The kings and nobles also, whether Aryan by blood or not, seem to have taken pleasure in it, quite apart from the economic question of food supply. But men of good birth followed it as a trade; and when brahmins did so they are represented as doing so for profit.
13. The cooks and confectioners, a numerous class, probably formed a guild. But there is no passage saying that they did.
14. The barbers and shampooers had their guilds. They dealt in perfumes, and were especially skilled in arranging the elaborate turbans worn by the wealthier classes.
15. The garland-makers and flower-sellers.
16. Sailors, occupied for the most part in the traffic up and down the great rivers, but also going to sea. In some of our earliest documents ' we hear of sea voyages out of sight of land ; and in the later documents, such as the Jatakas, the mention of such voyages is frequent. So the earlier documents speak of voyages lasting six months made in ships which could be drawn up on shore in the winter. And later texts, of about the third century B.C., speak of voyages down the Ganges from Benares to the mouth of the river and thence across the Indian Ocean to the opposite coast of Burma ; and even from Bharukaccha (the modern Baroch) round Cape Comorin to the same destination. It is clear, therefore, that during the whole of this period the occupation of sailor was neither unfrequent nor unimportant.
17. The rush-workers and basket-makers.
18. Painters. They were mostly house- painters. The woodwork of the houses was often covered with fine chunam plaster and decorated with painting. But they also painted frescoes. These passages tell us of pleasure-houses, adorned with painted figures and patterns, belonging to the kings of Magadha and Kosala ; and such frescoes were no doubt similar in character to, but of course in an earlier style than, the well-known ancient frescoes of the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. on the Ajanta Caves, and of the fifth century on the Sigiri Rock in Ceylon.
It is doubtful with regard to two or three in this list whether they were organised in guilds (scniyo, puga). But it is certain that these were among the most important branches of handicraft apart from agriculture; and most of them had, no doubt, their guilds not unlike the mediaeval guilds in Europe. It is through their guilds that the king summons the people on important occasions. The Aldermen or Presidents (jetthakti or pamukha) of such guilds are sometimes described as quite important persons, wealthy, favourites at the court. The guilds are said to have had powers of arbitration between the members of the guild and their wives. And disputes between one guild and another were in the jurisdiction of the maha-setthi, the Lord High Treasurer, who acted as a sort of chief Alderman over the Aldermen of the guilds.


Any thoughts on this?
Some occupations are lacking in this list, for example miners and the workers who processed the ore.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: The Eighteen Guilds in Ancient India

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Europe had similar guilds in mediaeval and renaissance times and they were associations of skilled workers. As such, they oversaw apprenticeships and admission to various ranks of the trades. There was no real need for them in unskilled and semiskilled occupations, so the gaps Rhys Davids mentioned are probably real gaps, i.e., occupations not governed by guilds.

:coffee:
Kim
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Aemilius
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Re: The Eighteen Guilds in Ancient India

Post by Aemilius »

I would say that most occupations require skills and knowledge of some special kind, like fore example mining and processing the ore require knowledge of metallurgy, knowledge of rocks, stones, metals, heat and chemicals that were needed. It seems that for some reason mining and metallurgy were not valued highly, although they were absolutely necessary for the making of many things, like tools, weapons, ornaments, coins, etc... and begging bowls and razors that even monks and nuns were carrying. Mines and metallurgy had existed in India for several thousands of years at the time of Shakyamuni.
Mining very likely used the workforce of slaves, and was dangerous.
Possessing a razor at the time of Shakyamuni implied possessing several small objects: the razor itself, a whetting stone, small bottle of oil for the maintenance of the razor blade to prevent rusting, a case for these objects, and possibly also shampoo or detergent.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
Danny
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Re: The Eighteen Guilds in Ancient India

Post by Danny »

Do you know that guilds could exact real violence upon those that were not qualified and masters of their trades, that moved into their territory, you don’t queer into my manor and extract wealth without permission, pretend...or as we used to call them .. cowboys, and the law upheld that....
It’s why you have “civil law” today.

And it’s still relevant today.

A Cowan

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cowan
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Aemilius
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Re: The Eighteen Guilds in Ancient India

Post by Aemilius »

Hello cowan! I am a cowan too. I know very little about the history of guilds. There is so much material in this topic that you could spent the rest of the year studying it. According to the Encyclopedia of Voltaire the ancient mystery religions, that depended on initiation, continued in guilds long into the christian era. Some popes tried to eradicate these ancient initiation lineages and practices within guilds. Apparently the masons are the only surviving mystery religion guild, or rather a not surviving mystery religion, because it was christianized at a certain time. Before that it was a transmission and initiation of Egyptian gods and goddesses.
I know that the guilds have been a restrictive influence in many societies on planet Earth, not only in Europe. Even mathematics was a jealously guarded secret craft, in the beginning period in Italy and the rest of Europe. Before its secrets were revealed and made a more public property.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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