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

The Nairs used to practice polyandry reminiscent of the Pandava-Panchali relationship a custom that can !e traced to Ti!et. Thefollowin" is a summary of the custom as recorded !y #. $. %. &yer in hisCochin 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 *thedau"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 ofhis new relationship *often !ack to the army and the !attle field+. ,hemi"ht also remain with him if he wished. &f she was not inclined to doso the mother would then "o a!out seekin" someone else to take herdau"hter to live with him. &f the "irl happened to !e pretty three offour Nairs would a"ree to live with her and the more lovers she hadthe more hi"hly she was esteemed. ach man had his appointed timefrom midday to the next day at the same hour durin" which some si"nwas placed at the door so that the others mi"ht not enter. ,he was atli!erty to dismiss whomever she disliked ... The fathers of the childrenwere named !y the mothers. &t is said that the kin"s made this law inorder that the Nairs mi"ht not a!andon their service. %ccordin" to thissystem the fathers were not succeeded !y their sons !ut !y theirnephews *sons of sisters+.)

Nair Matriarchal System

The Nairs had the matriarchal system of family called Tarawad orMarumakkathayam family. &t consists in theory of all persons who cantrace their descent in the female line from a sin"le ancestress. &n itssimplest form the family consists of a mother and her children livin"to"ether with their maternal uncle that is the mother0s !rother as theKaranavan *senior male+ of the family. &n its complex form it consistsof 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 thewoman on the -female side livin" to"ether in the same !lock of!uildin"s dinin" to"ether in the same hall and enoyin" the property incommon. There were instances of families containin" a hundred ormore mem!ers livin" in different !uildin"s in a lar"e compound. %ll themem!ers however many their "enerations should !e a!le to tracetheir common descent from one ancestress.

&n such a family the woman senior to others in a"e was the head of thefamily and she rei"ned as 2ueen !ee. 3er eldest dau"hter was prime

minister. The son reco"nied the supremacy of the mother5 the !rothero!eyed the elder sister and respected the youn"er sisters. The sister ofthe man came first in affection and responsi!ility !efore his own wife.

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Today the situation is different. The senior woman is no lon"er thehead of the family and she has yielded her authority to the oldest malemem!er who is $aranavan. Thus patriarchy has superseded matriarchyin extended Nair families. &n the oint family family property is ointproperty 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 femalesand their descendants in the female line. The property can !e disposedof only with the consent of all the mem!ers. ,ometimes when theTarawad  or family "rows extremely lar"e the descendants of the familyare divided accordin" to various female lines Tavazhi : ta 6 mother5vazhi  6 line5 they would live in separate !uildin"s and own that portionof the oint property which is theirs in partition and which is mana"ed!y the woman0s !rother as Karanavan. #e"ally it is to the woman thefortune 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 theKaranavan. 

Nairs and Marumakkathayam 

The Nairs follow the system of inheritance called Marumakkathayam asopposed to the traditional Makkathayam  system accordin" to whichproperty !elon"s to the father and which property is ceded to the oldestson or sons and the son succeeds the father as head of the family. TheMarumakkathayam  law re"ulates succession throu"h the female line.

7or instance in Travancore the heir apparent is the rei"nin" 8onarch0ssister0s 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 asystem where a man0s sister0s son was supposed to marry his dau"hteranyway. The Karanavan who has lately taken over from the female isentitled to the full possession and mana"ement of the property. The

 unior 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 onlyrestraint on him is that he cannot alienate the family lands without theconsent of all. 9hen the family divides it divides alon" the female line*Tavatu+. ut the female inheritor lets one male mem!er like her!rother mana"e the new Tarawad. Needless to mention that theMarumakkathayam  system is no lon"er a via!le system. &t wasoutlawed in the early part of the twentieth century.