Distinguish between North Indian and South Indian kinship system.

  There is a fundamental difference in this regard between North and South India. In the first place, broadly speaking, in the South a family tries to strengthen existing kin ties through marriage. In the North, on the other hand, a family tends to affiliate with a separate, set of people to whom it is not already linked

(1) In northern India there is a prevalence of the patriarchal kin system. In the south, however, there exist both patriarchal and matriarchal systems of kinship. The matriarchal kinship system is found in Kerala among the Nairs, Moppilas and Teeyyars.

Karve also finds matriarchal system in the east among the Garo (Megha- laya) and Khasi tribes. There are no traces of matriarchal kin system in north. However, patriarchal system is also popular among castes of southern parts of India along with matriarchal system.

(2) In the north sapinda marriage is prohibited, whereas in the south cross-cousin marriage has the status of a preferential marriage.

(3) Bride-price marriage is not recognized in the north. In the south it is a conumon practice in mariage.

(4) Normally, village endogamy is not preferred in the north. In the south, on the contrary there is no prohibition against endogamy, that is, one can marry from his own village.

(5) In the north, there is a specific kinship terminology for blood kin and marital kin. In the south, there is no difference in kinship terminology between these two groups.

Kinship terminology depends largely on the language. Karve has studied both the Indo-Aryan language family and the Dravidian language family.

It is on the basis of these two language families that she has studied Indian kinship organization. She calls the DraVidian language family the mainstay of kinship organization.

According to Mandelbaum, the structure of Dravidian Kinship terminology “can be derived from a few postulates, a principal one being that the children of brother and sister should marry. The term used for cross-cousin of the opposite sex (a man’s mother’s brother’s daughter and usually also his father’s sister's daughter) has the connotation of prospective or possible spouse. By extension all potential mates are called cross-cousin”.

Co-operation among kins is periodically str engthened by maniages within that circle.

In his analysis of South Indian Kinship, Nur Yalman says:

“Brother and sister must be separated but their offspring must also be united”.

In view of this, Mandelbaum observes:

“In most of North India, by contrast, there is a centrifugal rather than a centripetal tendency in making maniage alliances. A prospective match is seen more as an opportunity to ally two different sets of kin than- as a way of strengthening an existing set”

Secondly, in Northern India “unilineal kin are often linked to a particular locality either in fact or by implication, so that village exogamy is conunon. In the Souther usage, the emphasis is more on bi-lateral connections, and there is little or no territorial exogamy”.

Thirdly, “affines in the south may co-operate and are involved in each other's affairs in a way that is not tolerated in northern jatis™.

Kinship system refers to a set of persons recognized as relatives either by virtue of a blood relationship or by virtue of a marriage relationship. According to the Dictionary of Anthropology, kinship system includes society recognized relationships based on supposed as well as well actual genealogical ties. These relationships are the result of social interaction and are recognized by society.

Kinship system represents one of the basic social institutions. Kinship is universal and in most societies plays a significant role in the socialisation of individuals and the maintenance of group solidarity, It is supremely important in the primitive societies and extends its influence on almost all their activities — social, economic, political, religions, etc.

Types of Kinship:

Affinal Kinship: The bond of marriage is called ‘affinal’ When a person marries, he establishes relationship not only with the girl whom he marries but also with a number of other people in the girl's family. Moreover, it is not only the person marrying who gets bound to the family members of the girl but his family members also get bound to the family members of the girl.

Thus, a host of relations are created as soon as a manage takes place.

Consanguineous Kinship: The bond of blood is called consanguineous kinship. The consanguineous kin are related through blood whereas the affinal kin are related through marriage. The bond between parents and their children and that between parents and their children and that between parents and their children and that between siblings is consanguineous

Regional differences regarding Kinship systems and marriage in North and South India:

North India: In North India, there are mostly patrilineal groups, with descent traced in the male line from father to son. Members of a patri-lineage cooperate in in ritual and economic activities.

Caste endogamy is strictly practiced. Further, marriage is prohibited within the same gotra or clan and village exogamy is commonly Thus, marriage prohibitions tend to bar marriage over a wide area in terms of kinship as well as space.

South India: The Southem zone presents a very complicated pattern of kinship system and family While there is dominance of patrilineal and patrilocal system, but simultaneously matrilineal (descent from matemal line) and matrilocal systems also exist. Rules of marriage also vary in South India.

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