Caste and Race in India c10.53

c10.53

Among the Kayans and Kenyaks of Borneo there are three classes, the upper, middle, and the slave.⁷ The Maoris distinguish the following orders in their society: the sacerdotal chiefs of smaller tribal divisions, the skilled artisans and other professionals, the bulk of the comparatively poor population and lastly the slaves taken captive in war.⁸ The Samoans recognize six classes: The chiefs, priests, landed gentry, large landowners, commoners, and slaves, the first not being wholly uniform.⁹ But the most distinct and unbridgeable gulf lies between the patricians and the plebeians—the two main divisions of society comprising the above classes.¹⁰ Tahitian society was divided into classes that were insuperably distinct from one another. The privileged class was composed of the reigning king, the chieftains, and their relations. Next in rank came the gentry and the farmers, artisans and fishermen forming the next class. The lowest class comprised servants and slaves.¹ Among the Hawaiians, society was marked by an exclusive class-division, all persons belonging by birth to one of the three classes. The *ariis* or the nobles, the *hakuaina* or land-proprietors and the priests, the *canaka-mowree* or the common people, comprising the small farmers, artisans and professionals, fishermen and labourers.²