Marumakkathayam

PRACTICE AND CURRENT STATUS

Government Law College, Ernakulam

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. II. III. IV. V.

Introduction History & Practise Decline & Current Status Conclusion Index of Authorities

I.

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 China, the Gitksan of British Columbia, the Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee), the Hopi, the Berbers, The Undangs of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia and our subject matter, the practise of Marumakkathayam or Aliyasantana system among Nairs and Bunts of India. The system was largely followed by the Nairs including all castes of Royal Families, some of the Ambalavasis, Arayars, Ezhava, some tribal groups and Mappilas in North Malabar of Kerala state, South India. It is a form of hereditary succession or other inheritance through which the subject's female relatives are traced back in a matrilineal line. The word Marumakkal in Malayalam means nephews and nieces. An example is the former princely state of Tiruvatankoor, where the royal lineage passes from the king to his nephew, rather than his son. The family lived together comprising of a mother, her brothers and younger sisters, and her children. The joint family under this system is known as Tharavad. The oldest living male member was known as the karanavar and was the head of the household and managed the family estate. Lineage was traced through the mother, and the children "belonged" to the mother's family, while all of the family property remained jointly owned. This joint ownership of property1 was shared by the members of the Tharavadu tracing their descent from a common ancestress. Marumakkathayam gives huge importance to the role of women in the family hierarchy. Unlike in many other Indian traditions, they were not considered unwanted births or lesser beings, to be married away and never to return or be part of their real family. They acquired a higher social status; they inherited family property and the family home. For example,
1

Also known in Malayalam as Mudal Sambandham.

in a Marumakkathayam family, the sister of a man came first in affection and responsibility before his own "wife". At their husbands homes, where they visited occasionally, they were treated as special guests. But, it still meant that their happiness was determined by the men folk, like many other social systems prevalent in India. Among other negatives of this system, families without an elder male member made a certain sense of insecurity. The system remained in its peak till 1975, when it was finally abolished by the Kerala Government2 due to several reasons which will be later discussed.

Joint Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975.

II. HISTORY & PRACTISE

Malabar was part of the Madras Presidency during British Rule. The law regarding Marumakkathayam was covered under Madras Marumakkathayam Act 1932.3 The definition of Marumakkathayam in the Act explains the system of inheritance in which descent is traced in the female and Marumakkathayee means a person governed by this Act. As per Section 3(h) of Hindu Succession Act, "Marumakkattayam law" means the system of law applicable to persons.(a) who, if this Act had not been passed would have been governed by the Madras Marumakkattayam Act, 1932, the Travancore Nayar Act, the Travancore Ezhava Act, the Travancore Nanjinad Vellala Act, the Travacore Kshatriya Act, the Travancore Krishnanavaka Marumakkathayee Act, the Cochin Marumakkathayam Act, or the Cochin Nayar Act with respect to the matters for which provision is made in this Act, or

(b) who belong to any community, the members of which are largely domiciled in the State of Travancore-Cochin or Madras (as it existed immediately before the 1st November, 1956) and who, if this Act had not been passed, would have been governed with respect to the matters for which provision is made in this Act by any system of inheritance in which descent is traced through the female line.

Madras Act No. 22 of 1933 published in the Fort St. George Gazette on 1 August 1933

Before the Hindu Succession Act, the customary law of Marumakkattayam and Aliyasantana had been modified by the statutory law. The main enactments modifying the law are: Malabar Marriage Act, 1896, Malabar Wills Act, 1896, Madras Marumakkattayam Act, 1932, Mappilla Marumakkattayam Act, 1939, Madras Aliyasantana Act, 1949, Regulation of the State of Travancore-Cochin. These acts are mostly inter-connected with each other. Like the testamentary powers in the Malabar Wills Act, 1896 which provides rules for execution, attestation, revocation and revival of the wills of persons governed by Marumakkattayam system. Similar provisions have been enacted in Regulations of the State of Travancore-Cochin. Once, this system used to be a great support for the women in Kerala. The system gave women the basic rights and succession carried on through matrilineal system as opposed to rest of the country. But in the due course of time, patriarchy had superseded the matriarchy. In this system the oldest brother was known as the karanavar and was the head of the household and managed the family estate and the lineage was traced through the mother. In the event of a partition, the shares of the children were clubbed with that of the mother. The karnavar's property was inherited by his nephews and not his sons. It is clearly evident that under this system, the family management and property was under the male head. Only succession was through women. Another important practise in this system was that the property was always jointly owned, unlike other systems like Dayabhaga and Mitakshara, where the property rests in the hands of male members only i.e. Karta and the Coparceners.

III. DECLINE & CURRENT STATUS

The Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975, abolished Marumakkathayam and other allied systems. It abolished the joint family system among Hindus in the State of Kerala. Section 7 of the Act states that: (1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, any text, rule or interpretation of Hindu Law or any custom or usage as part of that law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to have effect with respect to any matter for which provision is made in this Act. (2) The Acts mentioned in the Schedule, in so far as they apply to the whole or any part of the State of Kerala, are hereby repealed.

It also repealed the following acts pertaining to the same subject4; a. The Madras Marumakkathayam Act, 1933 (XXII of 1933) b. The Madras Aliyasantana Act, 1949 (IX of 1949) c. The Travancore Krishnavaka Marumakkathayee Act (VII of 1115) d. The Cochin Marumakkatyam Act, XXXIII of 1113

As per schedule under Sec 7(2)

The system disintegrated with time. The period of wars and freedom struggles were over. Land ceiling laws reduced the extent of possession under the tharavadu and they gradually dwindled in size and wealth. Economic changes in society and ideological and cultural perspectives acquired by the educated middle class and the changes in the value system affected the joint family tharavads. The unitary nuclear family suited people better. The very structure of the matrilineal kinship also underwent tremendous change. There was always the issue of greed and selfishness in families, but most of the time, the lack of proper legal remedies and awareness promoted the negetives of the system. Obviously, time and circumstances evolved but the system did not and let to its decline.

IV. CONCLUSION
The system of Marumakkattayam was the only one prevalent in India which provided property rights and ownership to women as against men. But the change went so rapid that 32,900 families were partitioned in Travancore alone by 1938. Nairs switched over to the patriarchal model of kinship and inheritance. The partition of tharavadus into individual shares (Alohari Bhaagam) followed the enactment of Land Reforms Ordinance that stipulated upper limits on land holdings. Many tharavadus, already bursting at the seams with internal dissensions and strife, collapsed under the pressure. The matrifocal system disintegrated. Fathers took charge of their sons and daughters and husband and wife started living together with their offspring. The "Marumakkathayam Law" which sanctioned dismantling of the tharavadus and the partition of property, came into vogue in the year 1933. 32,900 families were partitioned in Travancore alone by 1938. The tharavadu system of living became a thing of the past by the 1940s. Naalukettu and Ettukettu structures began to collapse, or were sold of. At present, the system remains for the sake of its legend and supposedly remains among some families in the erstwhile Malabar region.

V. INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
Books/E-books: 1. Family Law in India, Prof. G.C.V. Subba Rao (2009 ed.) 2. Culture, creation and procreation: Concepts of kinship in south Asian practice, Monika Bock & Aparna Rao 3. Paras Diwan, Family Law, Allahabad Law Agency, (2005 ed.) Websites: http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110000281870/ http://www.matriarchalage.com/article/5952/nair_matriarchy http://fermat.nap.edu/books/0309075548/html/162.html http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/glossary.htm http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/prd2/keralam/kathayam.htm http://hinduonnet.com/lr/2003/12/07/stories/2003120700380600.htm http://www.yotor.com/wiki/en/ma/Marumakathyam.htm http://www.yotor.com/wiki/en/ma/Marumakathyam.htm http://keralanairs.tripod.com/id9.html

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