Abstract
Two fishing castes, Ambiga and Harikantra, of Karnataka employ different techniques for throwing cast nets in the same habitat. Ambigas throw the net from above the head, as opposed to the far easier Harikantra method of throwing at the waist level. These different techniques are described here as memes, transmitted through learning. A logico- deductive hypothesis is developed here to explain the origin and maintenance of the memetic difference between the castes, with the help of circumstantial semiotic and anthropological evidence.
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Deb, D. Of cast net and caste identity: Memetic differentiation between two fishing communities of Karnataka. Hum Ecol 24, 109–123 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02167963
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02167963