Mar 20, 2016

Portrait of a Kulin Brahman (High Caste Priest) - Eastern Bengal 1860's

Portrait of a  Kulin Brahman (High Caste Priest) - Eastern Bengal 1860's

The Kulin Brahmans were a branch of the Hindu priestly class in Bengal whose social organisation included a well-established system of polygamy, where one man could take as many wives as he wished. The contemporary records of James Wise in his 'Notes on the Races of Eastern Bengal' records that the marriage of a daughter into a reputable Kulin family meant a raise in social standing and public esteem for her family. A noted colony of Kulin Brahmans was based at Lakshmipasa, in the Jessore District of Bangladesh.

Source: British Library (bl.uk)