article
Female initiation rites on the Malabar Coast
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland • 85 • Published In 1955 • Pages: 45-80
By: Gough, Kathleen.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This paper presents a lengthy discussion of the similarities and differences in a form of ritual marriage for prepubescent girls between four regional caste groups, each with a different kinship system: the matrilineal, uxorilocal Nayars of central Kerala (South Malabar and Cochin); the matrilineal, virilocal Nayars of northern Kerala (North Malabar); the matrilineal, virilocal Tiyyars of northern Kerala; and the double unilineal, patrilocal Tiyyars of central Kerala. The findings are summarized in a chart. The author interprets the rite from the standpoint of psychoanalytic theory, in particular a theory of repressed incestuous desires.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Basis of marriage
- Regulation of marriage
- Mode of marriage
- Nuptials
- Special unions and marriages
- Castes
- Rule of descent
- Residence
- Provinces
- Cultural participation
- Lineages
- Military organization
- Polygamy
- Sexual intercourse
- Puberty and initiation
- Revelation and divination
- Spirits and gods
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Kerala
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2017
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- South Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle; 1966
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1947-1949
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1510-1949
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- northern and central Kerala, India
- NotesAdditional notes
- E. Kathleen Gough
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 80)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- sn 79006341
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kerala (India)