Page 130 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Unit 5: Kinship

In the example of a matrilineal family, what is the kinship relationship of women to one another? It Notes
is that of a daughter, mother, sister, mother’s mother, mother’s sister, and sister’s daughter. What is
the kinship relationship of women with men? Males are related to women as brother, son, daughter’s
son, and sister’s son. What is the kinship relationship of males to one another? It is that of brother,
mother’s brother and sister’s son. All these kinship relations are based on blood. There are no relations
by marriage. This is because husband visits the family occasionally. We, therefore, find: (i) absence of
companionship between husband and wife and between father and children; and (ii) there is complete
independence of women as regards their livelihood from the earnings of their husband is concerned.
This is how some southern families differ from the northern families.
Matrilineal Joint Family
Matrilineal joint family, called Tarwad, is found amongst the Nairs at Malabar in Travancore and a
few other groups. The important characteristics of Tarwad are: (1) the property of Tarwad is the
property of all males and females belonging to it. (2) Unmarried sons belong to mother’s Tarwad but
married sons belong to their wife’s Tarwad. (3) Manager of Tarwad property is oldest male member in
the family, called Karnavan (his wife is called Ammayi). (4) Karnavan is an absolute ruler in the family.
On his death, the next senior male member becomes Karnavan. He can invest money in his own name,
can mortgage property, can give money on loan, can give land as gift, and is not accountable to any
member in respect of income and expenditure. (5) When Tarwad becomes too large and unwieldly, it
is divided into Tavazhis. A Tavazhi in relation to a woman is “a group of persons consisting of a
female, her children, and all her descendents in the female line”.
Tarwad before and after 1912 are two different things: (a) before 1912, Tarwad property was indivisible,
but now it can be divided; (b) before 1912, Karnavan was the absolute ruler of Tarwad, but now his
authority has become limited; (c) before 1912, members of Tarwad were not entitled to maintenance
unless they lived in the family house, but now members have become entitled to maintenance outside
the ancestral house; (d) before 1912, ancestor worship of Karnavan was common, but now it is no
longer common; (e) before 1912, relations between husband and wife were formal, but now the relations
have become informal and personal and more close and intimate; (f) before 1912, the self-acquired
property of a member of a Tarwad went to Tarwad after his death, but now it goes to his widow and
children, and in their absence to mother and mother’s mother.
Thus, Tarwad of Nairs has now disintegrated after the enactments of 1912 Act (Travancore), 1920
Act (Cochin), 1933 Act (Madras), and 1958 Act (Kerala). Woman’s property now goes to her sons
and daughters and then to her father and husband. Kapadia (1947: 348) has also written that the
fact that more than 90 per cent of veedus (houses) have only one Tavazhi shows the extent of
atomization of Tarwads in the last few decades.
Clan Organization and Marriage Rules
How are clans of a caste organized and what are the rules of marriage obligations?
Caste A
divided in five exogamous classes

Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5
Families Families Families Families Families

A A A AA B B B BB C C C CC D D D DD E E E EE
1 23 4 5 1 23 4 5 1 23 4 5 1 23 4 5 1 23 4 5

The important characteristics of clan organization are:
1. Each clan (composed of a number of families) possesses a name of some animal or a plant or some
other object.
2. A person from one clan can seek a spouse from any other clan except his own. However, this
choice is theoretical because of the rule of exchange of daughters.

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