marumakka&aliasantana

MARUMAKKATHAYAM   Introduction Marumakkathayam is a form of matrilineal succession. This form of succession is  prevalent among many sects throughout the world. These include the Minangkabau culture of  West Sumatra, the Naxi of hina, the !itksan of "ritish olumbia, the #ro$uois onfederacy %&audenosaunee', the &opi, the "erbers, The (ndangs of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia and our  sub)ect matter, the practise of Marumakkathayam o r *liyasantana system among Nairs and "unts of #ndia. The system was largely followed by the Nairs including all castes of +oyal amilies, some of the *mbalavasis, *rayars, -hava, some tribal groups and Mappilas in North Malabar of  /erala state, South #ndia. Definition Thee def Th defin initi ition on of Marum arumak akka kath thay ayam am in Madr Madras as Maru Marum makka akkatt ttay ayam am *ct 0123 0123 is 4Marumakkattayam5 means the system of inheritance in which descent is traced in the female line line and 4Mar 4Marum umak akkat katta taye yee5 e5 means means a pers person on gover governe ned d by Maru Maruma makka kkath thay ayam am 6aw 6aw of  #nheritance. 4Tarawad5 means the group of person forming a )oint family with community of   property governed by Marumakkathayam 6aw of #nheritance. * Tavahiused Tavahiused in relation to the female, is defined as the group of person consisting of that female, her children and all her  descendants in the female line. *nd a tavahi used in relation to a male, is defined as the tavahi of the mother of that female Origin The origin of the marumakkathayam marumakkatha yam system still lies in obscurity. There are various theories with regard to the origin of the marumakkathayam system. . #n order to ascertain the origin of the marumakkathayam it is necessary to go back to its early stages and examine the condition of  society which have rise to it. Sir &enry Maine views that the origin of society was in patriarchal families, that polyandry and kinshif through females were of temporary duration liable to be  brought about at a stage in the progress of a society by peculiar circumstances under which it may be placed.7 *ndrew 6ang observed that 8the *ryan races have generally passed through the stage of scarcity of women, polyandry, absence of recognied kinship and recognitions of  kinship through women. 9f the *ryan races there can be no $uestion that they too had passed through the several stages before reaching the final one of paternal kinship. So the maternal family and inheritance in the female line need not necessarily be the result of polyandry. *mong the Tibetians, the Todas, the *imons of :apan and other races that practiced polyandry and had hardly any system of settled marriage;, marumakkathayam was found among some of the kshatriyas, vellalas and muslims also but polyandry was never practiced by them Circumstances Responsible for it The early hera kings who ruled /erala in the Sangam age, followed the patrilineal system as was shown by the Sangam literature. "ut the descendant of the heras in the medieval times followed the matrilineal system.02 s property was inherited by his nephews and not his sons. #t is clearly evident that under this system, the family family managem management ent and proper property ty was under under the male male head. head. 9nly 9nly succes successi sion on was through through women. *nother important practise in this system was that the property was always )ointly owned, unlike other systems like