a Pe KINSHIP ORGANIZATION IN INDIA 28% “Baa can be used either by a man or by a woman referring tod {yy the relations of the wife or the husband renpetively. They are « ee hhusband’s household, they come more often in contact with these Nina's (mother’s father’s) house. Maikd, nahyar, pihar, pekd are ‘words used for the mother’s or the father’s house. q With the help of these kinship terms a person can designate, accurately the most distant kin in a few words. The English \>, O4itinds. One cai yo ship terms in India make certain jokes possible in an Indian lan~ So», suage, but they would be untranslatable in English. A favourite ‘ow! We one is to ask a child “is your mémi married?” or “is your phuphé. Ve A\) - a variation, “How many of your mamis and phuphas brother and a phuphé is the husband of the father’s sister’ The: question generally follows questions like “how many mausis (mother's sisters) are married?”, ete. which are legitimat QT Se Nord uncle and aunt, he learns to his horror that the word cousin. is even worse and can be applied almost to any relation including: Cars fe silien of the uneles and aunts and their chien too. In /Marathi when a woman says such and such @ person is my “mévasa- so ‘sdeiei ewlat-bhavajaya” the very complicated relationship (mévas- w Sdsict — husband's mother’s sister's, oulal-bhdvjaya — father’s secondary relatives of the husband. ot) Swords ‘uncle’, ‘aunt’, and ‘cousin’ are the most confusing to a ‘married’ je" By definition a mami is the wife of the mother’s. questions and the child may slip and answer the first ‘question brother's son’s wife) is clear in every detai ee ‘asurdl means the father-in-law’s house, while nanihal is the. S ee o& -ver know which relation is meant. The kin- ‘are married?” Ww AY) saying “I do not know” and then everybody laughs. An Indiar x qWMecis quite hurt when, after mastering the indefiniteness of th tion of each term and the many occasio using them arises point out to the different ways in which fami) gnd Kinship are organized in the European and the Indian s [and also the dif nd_influence ‘the family in the life of the individual, je many social groups in which an i which he becomes a member, the family and the caste are the most ‘The large joint family 'y and gives him secu- represents a person's the "important groups have_beon,-since-very-ancient-times, the Brahmins KINSHIP ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHERN ZONE 115, who may stand by him and pelp him when the no longer suffices. Lastly, ‘the caste within which he must ;, controls his social behavi- our through its council and is a means of regulated contact with other similar units. Other civic units, especially the state, dwindle jnto comparative insignificance before the family. All a man’s jll-gotten gains, say by embezzling a group of other individuals or the state, are spent on the huge joint family or the even larger Kindred. In recent years in one of the Indian states a high offci condemned in all the papers for unlawful practices which gave Jarge funds, was praised unstintingly by a man who described as follows: “May he be blessed, and may his riches increas feeds over a hundred of his kindred daily. No po tive is sent away empty-handed.” In a society where no s: political order was evolved for general security or welfare, a large family used to be the sheet anchor iff all times. Old "hard and family loyalties, called ‘nepotism’ in Western terminology, still play havoe in Indian publ the northern’ zone ki fe. Yegion to region and, within each region, from caste to as reference to Appendices 2 and 8 will show. The study of these differences is very fruitful for the understanding of the social structure of each region but one needs a certain norm for under- taking a comparative study. The following sketch attempts to give such a norm, giving an ‘idealnorthern pattern by ref to/practices‘and attitudes found most commonly among a majori of the castes in the northern zone. There are certain groups in India whose social prestige makes others copy their institutions, at least in name. “The two_most mn has been made of the gotra-system ce_the clan-system of the nan-Aryans. ‘ions possessing gotras.— There is however no cas! India besides Brahmins which possesses the elaborate pravaras in- cluded in the gotra-organization. Many lower castes also have jotras and even primitive people talk of their clans as gotta or There is reason to believe that Brahminhood was bestowe aneient times on people not born Brahmins, but in modern ti ip behaviour changes slightly tram ,ct 4 & 2 few people can pass into the Brahmin fold, even though they A KINSHIP ORGANIZATION IN INDIA possess a system of exogamy which tries to_imitate and is there- fore sit to the Brahmin gotra system. (The Kshatriya rank on the other hand has been much more elastic and during the ‘histori. cal period many foreign tribes and lesser castes have assumed, and fare even now assuming, the name and status of Kshairiva. In doing this they create caste genealogies tracing their descent to the famous Kshatriya heroes of mytholor ce Shri-Rama, Shri. Krshna and the Pandavas. In all regions this process of whole castes becoming Kshatrivas. rarely involves intermarriage among. all castes cl: i status even of one region. Sometimes it has helped in welding different tribal elements into one caste or group arranged in hyper- gamous divisions. 4" “The tendency towards hypergamous stratification i all caste clusters, The Brahinins for example are ‘divided into (1)¥ffose who do not have to earn their living by officiat- ing at domestic ritual and (2) those who do it for mer generally own land and engage in literary studies. are family priests, or priests offci ‘who officiate at holy places when people take their baths in the holy. fivers or offer worship, are held to be rather lower in status than. the family spriests” Among the priests at holy places (kéetra in Sanskrit) those who officiate at funerary rites hold again a position Jower than those who officiate at auspicious ceremonies. In Bana: ras, Mathura, Ayodhya, Gaya, Nasik, Rameshwar and all over India in the sacred places there are these Brahmins who are gene- rally well off but are held to belong to a very low status among frahmins. ‘The Brahmins of each of these divisions marry only ‘among themselves, but may sometimes receive a bride from a Slightly lower division but not from a division many steps lower than their own. us a Brahmin of the first clas: belonging to a learned fami the daughter of a Maha- brahmana who officis to which a man marries a girl b: to one which is only of a in a phenomenon called kulinism in Bengal. In Bengal a class ‘of Brahmins, supposed to be descendants of learned people called in by a medieval king, call themselves kulin and the rich of families whose kulin descent was not universally acknow. Jedged hoped to marry into kulin families. ‘The kulin groom could always demand a very high price and it is reported that some kulin © \ Fhe actual rule of marriay KINSHIP ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHERN ZONE 117 families who had sons only, made a business of it by getting the sons to marry a large number of wives. Sometimes the poorer ‘vives oF those born with a slightly lower status were never brought gs brides to the husband’s home at all. They lived at their parental ir lord and master, who every time ‘Kulin youths were said to make the round of their wives’ houses, extorting money and living off in-law. This resulted in a curious custom by which the children would be brought up at the maternal uncle's house. Sometimes they would be acknowledged and taken to the father’s house but quite often they lived with the mother's people. The matrimonial difficulties of this class were so great that a wave of suicide swept over Bengal, where girls of poor kulin parents chose death rather than bring ruin on their parents, through the payment of exorbitant dowry. The system was broken by the social reformers and the spread of education among girls.!" «Arhere are many castes which claim to be either Kayastha or Vaishya and these are generally endogamoug,~ Among Kshatriyas there is a fairly well established hypergamy but the best examples Vv. of hypergamy are found in the central zone among the Rajputs af and” Marathas.~ The-Rajput clans of the north follow the customs ‘of Rajputs Of the central zone. ‘Those practices are described in the chapter on the central zone and need not detain us here as they do not form the core of the kinship practices of the northern zone. fhe organization of the family is essen! northern I ic pattern which has its roots in the Indo-Aryan patriarchal family“ ¥ as described in the last chapter. We have also seen that the modern Kinship terms are mostly derived from the old Sanskrit terms. It is therefore not surprising to find that the marriage regu- lations are based mainly on considerations of consanguinity. The it rule of avoiding marriage with somebody who is removed hy loss than seven degrees from the father and five degrees from the mother is quoted by all castes from the highest to the lowest when asked about marriage practices. is however that a person ( ldren of his mother’s sil ings and cousins and (b) with theKINSHIP ORGANIZATION IN INDIA (is father’s sisters and the children of his father ‘This rule is the same as the one which was in ‘Yogue in ancitht northern India. A person must not marry in his patri-family and must avoid marriage with the sapinda-kin. In almost all castes in the northern zone the marriage of cousins (re- moved even by two or three degrees) is viewed with great disfavour though a few cases occur as exceptions. ‘This rule is elaborated in different ways in different communi Among the Brahmins, who possess gotras in the old Brahmanie sense of the word, a man marries outside his own gotra and also that of his mother’s. Just as the taboo on the father’s kin embraces the patri-clan so the taboo on the mother's kin embraces the whole of the matri-clan. Besides this there is also a taboo on marriage with cousins, In the western and central parts of the norther: zone there is also local exogamy inasmuch as Brahmins and other castes of the same village, even if they are of different gotras, do not intermarry. In the Punjab and the Delhi region this is known as the rule of sésan. The Brahmin families in one sdsan are prohi. bited from intermarrying even though they belong to different gotras. A sdsan is a royal charter by which Brahmins were given jand by the ancicht and medieval kings in India. All those settled in one village by such a sdsan observe exogamy. In Bengal there is no local exogamy, nor do people avoid the mother’s gotra. ‘The word gotra is used in slightly different meanings by different non-Brahmin castes, Sometimes a caste is divided into exogamous groups called gotra with no further divisions. Sometimes a caste is divided into exogamous gotras or endogamous gotras with fur- ions. ‘The relationship of gotra, the larger di jons and the function of both these \¢ marriage will be clear from the foljowing: examples. ~The Jat is an agricultural and a fighting caste of south Punjab, Delhi and northern Rajputana. It is divided into exogamous gotras wwe rule is that a man must not marry into (1) his his own gotra, (2) his mother’s gotra and (3) his father's mother’s gotra. Not so long ago, and among the orthodox people even now, a man also had to avoid his mother’s mother's gotra.) ey of the Jat Ramjilal of Rathee gotra of the village of Bahadurgadh near Delhi. KINSHIP ORGANIZATION OF-THE NORTHERN ZONE 119 GENEALOGY OF A JAT PAMILY* (the gotra is given in brackets after the name) Ramji Lal ( Rathee ) A. x Dhapan ( Dabbas ) oe Harke Ram (Rathee) A x Sarti(Chillar) © Phulo © Labi Singh A | (Rathes) | “(Deswal) a ge ashen) Bhaspel (Ae) I ‘Sumitra (Rathee)© Harnarain Singh A (Rathse) | Laxmi(Lather) © Mange'Ram AB (Deswal ) ° (Deswal ) Harnarain Singh cannot marry into the gotra (1) Rathee being is own gotra, (2) Ahlawat, his mother’s gotra and (8) Cl his dadi’s — father’s mother’s gotra. Hari Singh could not marry Bimla, his father’s sister's daughter because Rathee is one of the gotras (mother’s) which Bimla has to avoid. Neither can 2 man marry his mother’s brother's daughter as her gotra would be the same as his mother’s gotra. In the same way the children of two sisters cannot marry as the gotras of their mothers would be common. The same rule can be stated as follows. Two people can contract marriage if their gotras, their mothers’ gotras and their respective fathers’ mothers’ gotras are different. ‘This rule makes for very wide marriage alliances. ‘The actual geographical area in which marriages are contracted is further widen exogamy. ‘those families, the boundaries of whose touch must not marry among themselves. ‘This e seemnd bhdiedra i.e. brotherhood of boundaries. ‘T! a sketeh of a few villages, ‘The Rathee village Sankaul is situated in the middle of six other ges having its boundaries touching each of them. wes (8) and (5) are Rathee villages and so marriage between them; but though the other villages belong to other gotras there is no intermarriage between them and the villase Sankaul. (See Appendix 2) * Kindly supplied to me by Mr. RalKINSHIP ORGANIZATION IN INDIA KINSHIP ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHERN ZONE 121 ‘A,B,C, D, L, M, Nand P. Then a man born in gotra A with his mother B, father’s mother C and mother’s mother D will be re- presented by the formula ABCD; he can marry a girl having the four gotras L, M, N and P representing the formula LMNP. We we then the following genealogy and marriages of boys born in ca lage S| village 6 Balsur | - Mandauti ee village 4 | village (1) ABcD a x LMINP © 3 2 : i Bahadurgdh | (2) ALBM A x NDP O Among the Kayasthas there are twelve endogamous divisions @) ACN A x EME O each of which is further divided into many exogamous groups ‘possessing a name, territorial or occupational, besides also a gotra (4) ABCD A x LMNP O like the Brahmin gotras. The gotras do not seem to have any ‘function in marriage regulations. Chhedalal is a Kayastha belong- ing to the endomagous division Mathur of the exogamous sub- In marriage he had to (2) his mother’s family (8) his dadi’s (father’s mother’s) family Kal is ndni's (mother’s mother’s) family Chhadchh married a woman of the Mahavanika family. [N.B. owN NAMES ARE IN THICK TYPE.] Dilwaria A x Kakerani O Bilria 4 x Chhadchholi O | =o * Dilwaria A x Bilria © ‘er four generations a boy will have the same gotra formula and 0 can marry a woman with the same gotra formula as the wife of sreat-grandfather i.e. he can marry his cross-cousin removed ‘by two degrees. He can also marry a parallel cousin (his great- ‘mother’s sister's grand-daughter) twice removed as will be een from the genealogy given below. It belongs to the Khinvasra ily whose casta is Oswal Jain Vaishya. liram Khinvasra married Gangubai. The four gotras of m-are: (1) own gotra Khinvasra, (2) mother’s gotra = » (8) dadi's gotra—Karnavat, and (4) nani’s gotra— Kankaria fangubai’s four gotras are: (1) Bhandari, (2) Kunvad, Parakh, and (4) Darada. All these are different. Again in next generation Motilal, the son of Dhundiram, has the gotras Khinvasra, (2) Bhandari, (8) Dudhedia, (4) Kunwa¢ married Rampyari whose gotras are (1) Kocher, (2) Sank Lodha, and (4) Bapna, It will be noticed that two of Mot! gotras are different from his father's. The father’s two grand jothers’ (father’s and mother’s mothers’) gotras Karnavat and inkaria are dropped. Father’s and mother's maternal uncles’ ras become his own grand-mother’s gotras, He could therefore ‘marry into the gotra of his father’s father’s mother or mother’s ither's mother's mother. He could have a bride who has the ‘same great-grandfather through the femal He can never marry a Khinvasra, which This idanee of four gotras makes it impossible for a person , however far removed the Mabavanik A x Agerinl © (Chhedalal Dilwaria 4 x Kailas Mahavanika O 1 Baby boy A Dilwaria In the case of the baby boy, while seeking a marriage partner, are: (1) Dilwaria, his own; (2) Maha- is father’s mother’s and (4) Ager- He can marry into the fat . Kakarania and Chhadchholi. ¢ endogamous group Mathur Kayastha. istrated schematically in the following way ast eight gotras to be in existence to full lance of four gotras. Let us eall these gotras his great grandmothers people are of course of ‘This usage can b It is necessary for the condition of avaX fe KINSHIP ORGANIZATION IN INDIA KINSHIP ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHERN ZONE 128. AE Khimvasta 4 x Karnavat 0 Aharon, x Kankia © Akharam Dudhedia A 1 yudhedia Suaiinamanate os i f — — { blnvasca Ax Rajibal Dudhedia © Chabubat > Navlakhe A Gulabehand A x Rajubal © Dudhedia | CRhipeeray "(Duden _ I Bagmar © x Hirachand Khinvasra 4 Dalichand Navlakha A, I : = Subnadra Khinvasra © Naviakha © x Ramm A J ee (neeeeeteeress cea) Hiralnand Ax Somubai © Dhndiram (A x Gangubai © Khinvastay “CBagmar) —CKhinvasra (Bhandari ) Subhidra © x Popaial CRhiavasra)~ 7 Camm ) 4 7 1 Popatlal Bamm A 7 Stasi | AX Misribai © Motilal A x Rampyari O ‘As there are always more than just eight exogamous divisions 7 Bhinvasra CD) CRhhinvasra) CKochar ) in most castes one does not come across many examples < . - marriages of cross or parallel cousins removed only by two jubai O x Umedmal A grees. In any genealogy there are generally many more than \ CBiedia) CNavlakha ) cht gotras represented, as we can see from the fragment of | Same\as et invasra genealogy where there are eighteen gotras connected by _ Dalichand 2 ~ (CNavlakha ) ‘ sarsbel ©. x Bebusshed A ss system as explained by Murdock and it has the same function, CNaviakha) ~CBamm ) ‘namely the avoidance of marriage of kin removed by less than two »~ | © degrees. Popatlal A. ‘Whether this rule is to be derived from the old sdpindya rale or (Bamm ) ication of tHe old rule in imitation of a non- kinship may be, and also makes it impossible for a person to mari It may be noted any relative nearer than two degrees in any other lineage. ‘ith the girl Subhadra shown in genealogy above is a marriage of blo fons. ‘The genealogy ‘of Popatlal and Subhadra at a glance is as follows : Akharam is the great grandfather (father’s mother's father) of Subhadra and the great-great-grandfather (mother’s father’s mother’s father) of Popatlal. Because the descent is through three womien, who each changes her gotra on her marriage, the rule of four gotras is not violated. The four gotras of Subhadra are: (1) Khinvasra, (2) Bagmar, (3) Raysohoni, and (4) Dudhedia’ those of Popatlal are: (1) Bamm, (2) Navlakha, (3) Kunklody and (4) Nahar.* * This family belongs to Rajputana and is now resident in Poona. Soni castes in Rajputana follow north Indian rules of marriage. § [ gotra rule goes much beyond the rule forbidding con- sanguine marriages. ‘The latter rule has no reference to patri- or le of the joint patri- or matri-family. in degrees of kin are to be avoided on 's and mother’s side. This four gotra rule on the other and embraces the patri-clan of four relatives irrespective of whether any person in these clans is a kin or not. In effect, it | prevents marriage with near kin of the same type as given in ancient rules. The kula had no fixed name but had a locality. From such beginnings the local families may have taken on names mased on locallity like Agarwal (those from Agra), Bilria (thoseee from Brindaban), or from occupations like Mahavanik (the gré KINSHIP ORGANIZATION IN INDIA which became clans in the true sense. It would b& ‘hove, not in the next two generations at least. Also, there is a prejudice against exchanging daughters. Jn Rajasthan Rajputs are divided into hypergamous clans but part from clan hypergamy a hew kind of hypergamy has resulted i During the middle ages, they jpread all over Northern India, Wherever they spread they are nupposed to have mixed with local people so that the status of the ‘puts becomes lower and lower the more easterly they are. In , therefore, cugtomiagy for eastern brides to "This rule of marriage is given in a saying, ithe girl from the east, the boy from the west” (Piirab ki bet pacchim kd. beté)?! A record of Rajput marriages over areas in probable period from which the rule of four gotras is in force in the communities of the northern zone and in the northern portioy of the central zone. Besides the three gotra and four gotra rule, yhere is also a on gotra rule which states that a person must avoid his own gotra for marriage This rule in the northern zone is always accompanied by a rule which forbids marriage with near relations, or whic of the mother, mother's sister ang led gotra, Each gotra is further divided into pat called jat or jati2? A person must not marry in his gotra nor the jat of his mother, of his father’s sister and of his mother sister. The genealogy given below is that of a man Bhansal gota, born in the Jalan jat (patri-lineage). His sons daughters and son’s daughters are born in the same gotra and as his, His chi Tran. The children of his son, two grandsons and one grand daughter all marry into the Gar Gotra but into different jats patri-lineages — of that gotra. but rarely does it happen that a village which receives a daughter i (See Appendix 2 for the data on two north- ‘Tt must be remembered that this new material .cted in 1962, about ten years later than Dr. Marriot ‘There is thus a wider and wider jiances, but there is always an outer limit for this expansion sh is different for each caste. This region of endogamy may “comprise from a few administrative districts to a whole linguistic tion of the field for marriage is due to the lage, though professing: ( gorra-Bhansal ) { ansdhar 4 x Narmaddbai © Shrinlas Ax Sarasw (jat-Satia) ‘Cjat-Jalan ) (Jar-Jalan) — (jat-Purega ) Ugorra-Ger) — (gotra-Bhansal) (‘gotra-Bhansal ) (gotra-Iran ) Manibai O x (jat-Shravei ) (Cjat-Jalan ) ( jat-Choudhari Gat) (gotra-Bhansal) ( gotra-Bhansal ) (gotra-Gar ) Gat ( (gotra~Bhansal) — (gotra~ Gar)[KINSHIP ORGANIZATION IN INDIA KINSHIP ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHERN ZONE 127 AE ee Et lrul Gxogumy tend to spread the afl group over 9 camy tively large area and to include a considerable number of f¢ within it. It would be interesting to find out the exact the inner and outer circles of exclusion and inclusion in northern areas and among different castes. ‘The interdependence and complementary nature of the two wi —the joint family and the is seen algo in the custom neota. When a man secks not first a family affair but where people meet and have a smoke in the evening. astrologer, who generally takes a round of villages in the itinera and knows of people and families in a wide region, has always list of prospective grooms and brides of different castes and sug. gests a likely person. ‘The first preliminaries are concluded through the astrologer and some mutual friends of the groom and§ the bride and enquiries are made as regards the sum of money ex. peeted as dowry or bride-price. Then one calculates the probabl expenses of a marriage and, if one has about a little over a half or two-thirds of the money required, formal proceedings are entered! into by sending the astrologer and the barber with a definite pro- posal. The portion of expenses which cannot be borne by the family is made good by the village community. At a particula time in the wedding ceremony all the invited guests give money presents to the groom or the bride. ‘The money is given in cash and received in a big metal dish and a village dignitary keeps ea fal record of the eash given by each guest. ‘The family whi receives cash gifts must return them to the respective fa when a similar occasion arises. This gift is called the neota. noota registers are kept for generations. The people who pay these gifts need not belong to the caste of a man. They represent. most of the families of a village. A new-comer ean enter the neota- circle by starting to make a gift. ‘The neota account can be closed 10 turned out to be a cheat. The story goes on to Sq iiving ts duee/agutae? Onsternause pines! lide aonicttiiry’ added yw she saved herself in an awkward situation. ‘The thing to” toit. Aman knows almost toa rupee how much eota money he 4 ote is that the absence of a girl away from her parent's home can expect. Members of the patri-fa the joint family | could be so long that she could no longer remember how her infant bring gifts, but they are not neota gifts. T rother looked.** turned at some future date. ‘The most substan A novel by Rabindra Nath Tagore called Nauka Dubé (The sink- by the bride's or groom's mother’s brother. The: bri Ing of a boat) is based on another groom's father’s sister on the other hand receives gifts on all occa- ‘as an honoured guest. Is and boys were generally married when they were ldren2* The bride is not finally sent to the groom’s house unt reaches puberty. Till that time she goes to her parents-in- 's house for a few days as a guest. ‘The groom is called to take vig the bride on an auspicious day after the bride hes her first ses and a ceremony called ‘gauna’ is performed,* Fruit is piled the lap of the bride. Rich presents are given to her, to the and to his parents. Generally ceremonial cohabitation s place. Sometimes it is deferred until the groom and bride to the groom's house, Between the marriage and gauna cere- a period of anything from a few months to a few years can jlapse depending: on the ages of the groom and the bride. Among e castes the bride accompanied by a woman from her father’s house is taken to her husband’s home immediately after marriage returns to her parental home after short stay. When she with the husband after gauna, she comes back but rarely on “Early marriage to a stranger and the separation from the mother’s house have given # peculiar tone to all the northern folk engs and have given rise to certain situations cleverly exploited in OA folk song of the Delhi region tells the following story: oung wife was met by a stranger at the village well. The mnger pretended to be her younger brother from whom she had peen separated since the time of her departure from her parental fiouse after her marriage and who had been very young at that ti ple well at my father’s house except our poor mother who is On hearing this the young wife ymie and demanded to be sent back ling mother. ‘The parents of her hi and warned her that the stranger might not be her brother at a || the river Ganga. ‘The night was falling and the boat, [by winds, capsized. ‘The groom managed to swim ashore in the | darkness and fell asleep under a bush. The next morning on