Marumakkathayam
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This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (January 2012) |
Marumakkathayam was a system of matrilineal inheritance prevalent in the present Kerala State in India. Under the Marumakkathayam system of inheritance, descent and succession to the property was traced through females. The mother formed the stock of descent and kinship as well as the rights to the property was traced through females and not through males.
Marumakkathayam literally meant inheritance by sisters children as opposed to sons and daughters. Word ‘Marumakkal’ in Malayalam means nephews and nieces. The joint family under matrilineal system is known as Tharavad and it formed the nucleus of the society in Malabar. This customary law of inheritance was codified by the Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932, Madras Act No. 22 of 1933 published in the Fort St. George Gazette on 1 August 1933. Malabar was part of the Madras Presidency during British Rule. The definition of Marumakkathayam in Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932 is ‘Marumakkathayam’ means the system of inheritance in which descent is traced in the female and ‘Marumakkathayee’ means a person governed by Marumakkathayam Law of Inheritance. ‘Tarawad’ means the group of person forming a joint family with community of property governed by Marumakkathayam Law of Inheritance. This system of inheritance is now abolished by The Joint Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975 by the Kerala State Legislature.[1]
Modern changes and adaptations[edit]
This section does not cite any references (sources). (October 2012) |
By the beginning of the 20th century, marumakkattayam was increasingly seen as an undesirable remnant of a feudal past, and discontented groups including Nair men sought to bring reform. In the states of Kochi and Tiruvitankoor, and the British Indian province of Malabar, which later joined together to form Kerala in 1957, laws came into force in 1920, 1925 and 1933 respectively that prohibited polygamy, installed formal marriage and recognised land as formal property that could be inherited. The following regard of the husband as the wife's guardian undid the very concept of marumakkattayam. However, the system continues to hold sway over Keralite culture and social personalities, and the tharavadu remains the focus of the emotional make-up of many Nairs. Even today, in most families, children carry their mother’s last name, and not of their father.
References[edit]
- ^ "CiNii - Transformation of the Marumakkathayam System in Malabar: The Malabar Marriage Act, 1896 and the Nayar Tarawads". ci.nii.ac.jp. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
Further reading[edit]
- den Uyl, Marion (2000). "Kinship and Gender Identity: Some Notes on Marumakkathayam in Kerala". In Böck, Monika; Rao, Aparna. Culture, creation, and procreation: concepts of kinship in South Asian practice. Berghahn Books. pp. 177–190. ISBN 978-1-57181-911-6. Retrieved 19 October 2012.