In South Asia, Iabour recruitment in agriculture is an important issue and is relevant to the analysis of social structure. 1. Webster (1987: 297-312) and Allen (1987: 92-103) have emphasized the custom of agrlcultural labour exchange among the Newars in the Kathmandu Valley asserting that It offers an example of the existence of the pnnclple of "horlzontal" solidarity and equality amidst the hierarchically ordered caste society. Following Das and Uberoi, Allen calls it "complementarlty" and argues that the existence of such is not unique to the Newars but can also be found in other caste-structured Hindu communities though in weaker forms. On the other hand, Dumont (1970) and especially Parry (1979: 3-4) stress the role of Inequality in structuring both inter- and intra-caste relations. Keeping this difference of interpretaion in mind, I put forward materials on agricultural labour recruitment among the Newars, Parbate Hindus, and in Mithila, compare them with other sources from India and the sub-Himalayan areas, and try to consider and clarify the significance of thls theme in the scope of the analysis of the caste system. 2. In a Newar village In the Kathmandu valley, there are three ways to recrult labour from outside the household. They are: l. bwala' (exchange labour including the 'group bwala' and 'unstructured bwala') formed mainly by caste-peers with agnatic kin as its core, 2. gwdli (help with no direct compensation), 3. jydmi (day labour). I counted about 20 parties of 'group bwala' in 1970 but only one in 1978, when villagers hired many day labourers. But even in 1978, there were many instances of 'unstructured bwala'. The importance of gwdli has been always small.

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l. The Household in Tibetan Society -A case study in Lahuli valley, Himachal Pradesh, India TANASE Jiro In recent social anthropological studies of Tibetan societies, there is a tendency to emphasise the Importance of household. According to these studies, household is important for Tibetans not only as an economic but also a political unit, and the status of people tends to be judged according to the households to which they belong. For example, Aziz said that the concept of household "stands out as the keystone around which social relations are articulated". Polyandry, which has stimulated anthropologists' curiosity for a long time, also seems to be practiced because of the ideolgy of the household. In Tibetan society, the partition of estates is avoided, and polyandry is valued because of its effect of strengthening the solidarity of the household. But curiously, what "household" means as a folk concept has not been well-argued. Usually, to be called a household, a group of people must share their livelihood and live together. But the author has found no term implying such a kind of group in Lahuli society. The purpose of this paper is thus to describe Lahulians' ideas concerning their house (hyum) and family (jin-mad) without using the concept of household. 2. Lahul is located in the north area of Himachal Pradesh, India. The population density of this area Is just below 4 persons/km^2 since the whole region is mountainous. Because of its high altitude, the climate is cold and snow covers the whole area from November to May. During this period it is nearly impossible to work outside and all roads leading out of Lahul are closed. Villages are located along three rivers that flow from the Great Himalaya.

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This paper deals with the conception of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness in rites of passage in Uttar Pradesh in Northern India. Many anthropological studies of ritual concentrate upon the conception of pure and impure in relation to the caste system. While the concepts of purity and impurity play an important role in Hinduism, the concepts of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are another significant theme. The focus here is on the vital ritual roles of the lower castes and of women not only in removing inauspicious but in promoting auspicious. Part I discusses previous studies of the auspicious-inauspiclous dua]ity, and describes the research fieldsite. Part n gives an ethnographic account of marriage, childbirth, and funeral rituals. In Part ul , I analyze the role of the priests and the lower service castes (e.g. barbers, washermen, Ieatherworkers) represented in these rites of passage. I conclude that priests, who are considered "pure" are connected with inauspicious elements, and that the "impure" service castes are connected to the auspicious. Caste hierarchy is, surprisingly, inverse to positive value. The Literature: L. Dumont (1966) suggested that the temporary pollution of childbirth and death are connected with the permanent pollution of caste. V. Das (1982) criticized this theory, showing that there is a Hindi term for pollution through childbirth or death, but not a term for pollution through caste. Furthermore, pollution through death is inauspicious, but pollution through childbirth is auspicious. F.Marglin's study of devadasi (1985) Iooks at auspiciousness and kingship. She points out that devadasi has a dualistic character. Because she is married to a god, her fertility is auspicious, and augers prosperity for the kingdom. devadasi also sings auspcious songs and dances. She is conceived of an as auspicious woman. But because she is a woman, she cannot enter the pure inner room of Jagannath temple because of her pollution. G.Raheja (1988) Iooks at the dominant caste which has a position equivalent to kingship at the local level. She describes the ritual aspects of the jajmani system as one where many service castes work for the dominant caste to remove pollution. Looking at the jajimani system from the perspective of ritual relationships, the Brahman is at the top of the hierarchy in terms of purity, however his status is lowered by receiving dan (ritual gifts) from the dominant caste during rites of passage. Raheja concludes that rites of passage are supposed to remove the inauspiciousness in order to obtain auspiciousness.

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