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An Anthropological Study of the Religion
of the Jainas
NOEL RETTIG
[ The purpose of this study by Noel Rettig who considers himself a Jain is to present the aspects of the primitive religion of Jainism which are of most interest to a student of the anthropological sciences. The article has its own limitations, coming as it does from the pen of one who is not born and brought up in the faith. But still it is of interest, since in it one may find a sincere effort on the part of a foreigner to understand what may be called the oldest, yet most organised form of religion of the world. The literary sources from which he has drawn are indicated at the end. He has, however, tried to improve on the literary source by checking with some Jains at this moment residing in the United States.--Editor. ]
Introduction
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Jainism may very well be, contrary to the opinions of many anthropologists and students of comparative religion, the oldest living faith. The consensus today is that Hinduism is by far the most ancient but this does not lead far, since “Hinduism” is really a non-entity. The word “Hindu” refers first and foremost to the people of India who are a mixture of the Aryan and Dravidian races. If a scholar, therefore, wishes to sum up under one title the religion of the many native sects of India, it is more correct to use the term Brahmanism, or perhaps Vedism. But these terms do not include one native ancient faith of India, namely Jainism, which is a most unique and distinct religion.
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