article
Kinship and marriage regulations among the Namboodiri Brahmans of Kerala
Man • 2 (1) • Published In 1967 • Pages: 87-106
By: Mencher, Joan P., Goldberg, Helen.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The kinship and marriage practices of the Namboodiri Brahman caste have long been viewed as atypical for the region. Unlike the culturally-related Nayar caste that lived in large, matrilineally-related extended families, Namboodiri Brahmans were organized along clearly defined patrilineal descent groups that excluded females and affinal relatives. Yet, like the Nayars, members of each descent group lived in villages that included residents of other caste and lineage backgrounds. This article attributes this paradox to many unique features of Namboodiri Brahman social structure compared to other Dravidian groups. Among the most important are a strong emphasis on patrilineality and primogeniture, large dowries and a high incidence of exchange marriages, an absence of distinct affinal terms, and the prohibition of cross-cousin marriage.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Castes
- Lineages
- Kin relationships
- Kinship terminology
- Family relationships
- Residence
- Status, role, and prestige
- Real property
- Classes
- Gender status
- Basis of marriage
- Regulation of marriage
- Mode of marriage
- Settlement patterns
- Community structure
- Inter-community relations
- 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.
- Anthropologist
- 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
- Teferi Abate Adem ; 2016
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1958-1962
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1950-1967
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- central Kerala, India
- NotesAdditional notes
- Joan P. Mencher and Helen Goldberg
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-106)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- sf 80000548
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kerala (India)