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Unit 22: Development Cycle of Family in India

22.1 Origin of Family Notes

To analyse the historical origin of a family eco-researches and guess helped a lot. Now a student
of sociology does not have interest in origin related questions. Darwin and Spenser’s origin the-
ories were dominating the studies of gravel development which is considered a simple process
of one-liner development and social institutions were considered opposite to the contemporary
western European institutions but this thought is not verified by existed biological civilisation.
Len’s Morgan laid his study on many facts showing that people who live willingly, do wife
exchange on festive reasons, wife on debt, use ‘father’ for many people are uncivilized, they do
not form a ‘family’. The picture of ancient society presented by Morgan, Society was a ‘Factual
Unit’ or it (the group) has “Sib” as “the only group”. Morgan also told that due to free sex and
unknowingness of father, “The father” was not important in such society and he found “Mother
Sib” as the early groups.
Morgan’s gradual development has only historical importance. It is already pointed out that a
family “as a committee” has many types; a student who hurriedly ends up studies fails to look
upon.

Morgan’s derivations were right but they were not universal in any form.
Alongwith it, Morgan’s conclusions were rational and wise but has less
historical and real facts. Morgan had also presented the serial development of a
family.

It was forcefully advocated, since time of Morgan that seeing the accepted factor of broadcast,
such unbending, Chirology and linear evolution of institutions are not acceptable introductions.
Morgan described five serial wise development of the family, which related to monogamy sys-
tem. They are:
1. Blood Related Family: This group was based on marriage “in between the group members.”
They are brethren or collateral, means brother sister or cousins (maternal or paternal).
2. Palauan Family: “This group is based on marriage system of many sisters, step brothers
and friends.” Inter marriages with each other’s husbands and husbands inter marry each
other’s wives. It is not necessary that wives are related to men but in reality. As a groups all
wives should be relative to each other, in all circumstances they have to marry a person of
opposite sex in the group.
3. Sindyasmiyan Family: This family is based on single couple (one husband-one wife) mar-
riage. The couple do not give permission to anyone, to have sexual relationships with oth-
ers. So this type of marriage sustains only on each others consent.
4. Fatherly Dominated Family: This family is based on, one man and many wives. In the fam-
ily, a wife line separately from other wives.
5. One Marriage System: This family is also based on, one man-one wife marriage system, but
men and women have freedom of sexual relationship with consent.
In this classification, Morgan described many customs of blood related families of ancient and
modern societies.
Westermark was the first, who prominently criticised, Morgan’s scheme and its basis. Wester-
mark studies marriage institution vastly, and reached on the conclusion that origin of a family
is “male egoism” and jealousy, who did generate and possessed assests. So, the development of
a family is centered by men, not by women. It is right, because even Morgan co-related a fam-
ily’s growth with men only, whether it is child birth, succession of wealth to its offspring’s, not
to sister or mother.

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