The place of mothers is respected in all societies irrespective of their social, cultural, and geographical differences. The mother‐child relationship is considered one of the most sacred in the world. This article explores the age‐old customary ‘child selling’ prevalent in Western Odisha, a voluntary and non‐remunerative practice of childcare during infancy to save children from illness and Yama, the Hindu god of death, where the ‘caring mother’ belongs to the bottom of the social hierarchy, mainly from the (ex‐)untouchable castes. According to popular belief, Yama does not visit the untouchables because of their ‘filthy’ environment and their gods. Hence, it is considered a safer place for children, especially weak ones or those with the chronic illnesses of the upper castes, to conceal themselves from the evil eyes of Yama. The epistemology of this article aims to explore the hegemonic nature of the caste systems, which overwhelms the revered mother‐child relationship. Further, it tries to understand the (re)production of caste and legitimization of sociopsychological conditions for the marginalization and backwardness of ‘caring mothers’. Despite the sacred and intimate relationship between the ‘caring mother’ and child, the institution of ‘ritual selling’ reproduces caste inequalities, and again the former becomes an ‘untouchable’.

中文翻译：

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印度西奥里萨邦的“卖童”习俗和“未曾接触过的母亲”：理解种姓等级制度的合法化

母亲的地位在所有社会中都受到尊重，无论其社会、文化和地理差异如何。母子关系被认为是世界上最神圣的关系之一。本文探讨了西奥里萨邦盛行的古老习俗“卖童”，这是一种在婴儿期自愿且无报酬地照顾孩子的做法，目的是为了让孩子免于疾病，以及印度教死神亚玛（Yama），其中“慈爱的母亲”属于“卖童”。社会等级制度的底层，主要来自（前）贱民种姓。根据普遍的看法，阎罗王不会拜访贱民，因为他们的环境“肮脏”，而且他们的神灵也很肮脏。因此，对于儿童，尤其是体弱的儿童或患有上层种姓慢性病的儿童来说，这里被认为是一个更安全的地方，可以躲避阎摩的邪恶目光。本文的认识论旨在探讨种姓制度的霸权本质，它压倒了受人尊敬的母子关系。此外，它试图理解种姓的（再）生产和社会心理条件的合法化，导致“关爱母亲”的边缘化和落后。尽管“慈爱的母亲”和孩子之间有着神圣而亲密的关系，但“仪式销售”制度却再现了种姓不平等，前者再次成为“贱民”。