Book

The traditional kinship system of the Nayars of Malabar

Prepared for the Social Science Research Council Summer Seminar on Kinship, Harvard University • [S.L.] • Published In 1954 • Pages:

By: Gough, Kathleen.

Abstract

This is a historical-functional analysis of Nayar caste kinship structure. A brief survey of the history of the Malabar (northern Kerala) coast reveals that there have traditionally been three major political areas, each with a different kinship system. The author discusses how the central area of South Malabar and Cochin (central Kerala) is differentiated into sub-castes, each having separate administrative functions, and each having a kinship system influenced by occupation, relationship to the land, and historical traditions. Evidence is presented for the emergence of a bilateral system. A concluding section deals with the structure of royal lineages.

HRAF PubDate

2017

Region

Asia

Sub Region

South Asia

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

R. H. Ewald; 1956

Field Date

1947-1949

Coverage Date

1792-1954

Coverage Place

northern and central Kerala, India

Notes

E. Kathleen Gough

Unpublished manuscript ; prepared for the Social Science Reserch Council Summer Seminar on kinship at Harvard University, 1954

The HRAF manuscript is a typed copy of a mimeographed original. Original page numbers appear in brackets in the text. Map I from the original has not been reproduced.

LCSH

Kerala (India)