Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Note on Transliteration
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 The Hadhrami Roots
- 2 Family and Inheritance Laws: Continuities and Changes
- 3 Religious Spaces and Disputes
- 4 Reformist Trends
- 5 Education and Social Mobility
- 6 Mappilla Leadership and Political Mobilization
- 7 Mappillas in the Twenty-first Century: A Standing Applause
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - Family and Inheritance Laws: Continuities and Changes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Note on Transliteration
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 The Hadhrami Roots
- 2 Family and Inheritance Laws: Continuities and Changes
- 3 Religious Spaces and Disputes
- 4 Reformist Trends
- 5 Education and Social Mobility
- 6 Mappilla Leadership and Political Mobilization
- 7 Mappillas in the Twenty-first Century: A Standing Applause
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Geographical location played an important role in determining the social behaviour of the people of the southwest coast. Malabar was traditionally divided into vadakke or north Malabar and thekke or south Malabar by the Korapuzha or the Kora river. This river functioned as a social boundary for the Hindu Nayar women of north Malabar who, by custom, did not cross the river as it meant losing one's own caste. Similarly, for the Mappillas too, it was a social frontier. Says Hamid Ali, ‘The more one proceeds to the north in the district beyond Korapuzha river, the more strict is the observance of the rule of the matrilineal system of descent.’
Systems of Descent
The matrilineal system of descent in Kerala is called marumakkathayam. The origin of the marumakkathayam system is still debated among anthropologists, sociologists and historians. In Malabar, it is believed that the marumakkathayam system was a fall-out of some kind of practice of polyandry, the evolution of which has not been historically researched. The practice was most common among the Hindu Nayars. The most accepted view on the origin of the marumakkathayam was the peculiar social custom of having hypergamous relationships between a small section of the Nayar elite and the Nambudiris in certain regions of Kerala, and also the occupation of Nayar men in the royal militia because of which they were away from their homes for an indefinite period of time.
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- The Malabar MuslimsA Different Perspective, pp. 33 - 61Publisher: Foundation BooksPrint publication year: 2012