Nair Polyandry http://www.kerala.cc/keralahistory/index14.

htm The Nairs used to practice polyandry reminiscent of the PandavaPanchali relationship a custom that can !e traced to Ti!et. The followin" is a summary of the custom as recorded !y #. $. %. &yer in his Cochin Tribes and Castes. && '(: )%t ten or twelve years of a"e of a "irl her mother !e""ed someone of their relations to marry her *the dau"hter+ and they did so !y tyin" a marria"e !ad"e * tali+. Then the !ride"room would leave her and "o away without any consideration of his new relationship *often !ack to the army and the !attle field+. ,he mi"ht also remain with him if he wished. &f she was not inclined to do so the mother would then "o a!out seekin" someone else to take her dau"hter to live with him. &f the "irl happened to !e pretty three of four Nairs would a"ree to live with her and the more lovers she had the more hi"hly she was esteemed. -ach man had his appointed time from midday to the next day at the same hour durin" which some si"n was placed at the door so that the others mi"ht not enter. ,he was at li!erty to dismiss whomever she disliked ... The fathers .of the children/ were named !y the mothers. &t is said that the kin"s made this law in order that the Nairs mi"ht not a!andon their service. %ccordin" to this system the fathers were not succeeded !y their sons !ut !y their nephews *sons of sisters+.) Nair Matriarchal System The Nairs had the matriarchal system of family called Tarawad or Marumakkathayam family. &t consists in theory of all persons who can trace their descent in the female line from a sin"le ancestress. &n its simplest form the family consists of a mother and her children livin" to"ether with their maternal uncle that is the mother0s !rother as the Karanavan *senior male+ of the family. &n its complex form it consists of a mother and all her children !oth male and female all her "randchildren !y her dau"hters all her !rothers and sisters..and the descendants on the sisters0 side -- in short all the relatives of the woman on the -female side livin" to"ether in the same !lock of !uildin"s dinin" to"ether in the same hall and en1oyin" the property in common. There were instances of families containin" a hundred or more mem!ers livin" in different !uildin"s in a lar"e compound. %ll the mem!ers however many their "enerations should !e a!le to trace their common descent from one ancestress. &n such a family the woman senior to others in a"e was the head of the family and she rei"ned as 2ueen !ee. 3er eldest dau"hter was prime minister. The son reco"ni4ed the supremacy of the mother5 the !rother o!eyed the elder sister and respected the youn"er sisters. The sister of the man came first in affection and responsi!ility !efore his own wife.

Today the situation is different. The senior woman is no lon"er the head of the family and she has yielded her authority to the oldest male mem!er who is $aranavan. Thus patriarchy has superseded matriarchy in extended Nair families. &n the 1oint family family property is 1oint property and no mem!er can claim or appropriate or expropriate any portion of it5 the property is held in trust for the support of the females and their descendants in the female line. The property can !e disposed of only with the consent of all the mem!ers. ,ometimes when the Tarawad or family "rows extremely lar"e the descendants of the family are divided accordin" to various female lines . Tavazhi: ta 6 mother5 vazhi 6 line/5 they would live in separate !uildin"s and own that portion of the 1oint property which is theirs in partition and which is mana"ed !y the woman0s !rother as Karanavan. #e"ally it is to the woman the fortune of the family !elon"s5 yet practically she is no lon"er the mistress of the house !ut only one of the many dependants of the Karanavan. Nairs and Marumakkathayam The Nairs follow the system of inheritance called Marumakkathayam as opposed to the traditional Makkathayam system accordin" to which property !elon"s to the father and which property is ceded to the oldest son or sons and the son succeeds the father as head of the family. The Marumakkathayam law re"ulates succession throu"h the female line. 7or instance in Travancore the heir apparent is the rei"nin" 8onarch0s sister0s oldest son *nephew+ and not the kin"0s own son. Marumakkathayam *marumakan 66 sister0s son5 dayam6 inheritance+ could have arisen as an alternative norm to patrilineal inheritance in a system where a man0s sister0s son was supposed to marry his dau"hter anyway. The Karanavan who has lately taken over from the female is entitled to the full possession and mana"ement of the property. The 1unior mem!ers le"ally have no claim to residence and maintenance. The Karanavan is not accounta!le to any one mem!er5 he is not under o!li"ation to support any mem!er of the Tarawad *family+. The only restraint on him is that he cannot alienate the family lands without the consent of all. 9hen the family divides it divides alon" the female line *Tava4tu+. :ut the female inheritor lets one male mem!er like her !rother mana"e the new Tarawad. Needless to mention that the Marumakkathayam system is no lon"er a via!le system. &t was outlawed in the early part of the twentieth century.