It would be prejudicious to say that India has only patriarchal kin system. We have enough research which shows that there has been a long prevalence of matriarchal kinship system in the south-west part of India, i.e., Kerala. Besides, there are also some islands in the eastern side of the country where matriarchy is practised.
Apart from the Nair and Teeyyar there are some Muslim groups such as Moppila who also have a tradition of matriarchal kin. A matriarchal kinship is also found among the Khasi and Garo tribes of Meghalaya and Assam.
It is quite interesting to note that studies on matriarchal kin have long been done since the first quarter of the 20th century. M. Fasset (1915), K.M. Pannikar (1918), L.K.A. Ayyar (1909-12, 1932), A. Ayya- pan (1932-34), Kathleen Gough (1952-61), K.R. Unni (1956) and C.J. Fular (1976) have worked on the matriarchal kin system in Kerala.
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The patriarchy system found among the Namboodaripad Brahmins has also been studied. Some scholars have studied the social transformation among Nairs, Moppilas and others.
It is said that Nairs were the original inhabitants of Kerala. The Brahmins later on joined them. Other groups such as Izhawa and Tiya came to this land sometime during the 3rd and the 4th century. In the earlier periods of history the King Perumal spread Buddhism. It is stated that Jainism also had its hold in Kerala.
As we find the social structure of Kerala today, the Namboodari Brahmins occupy the top place in social hierarchy. The Kshatriya rank second, and among the intermediate castes are Nairs and others. At the lowest rung are found untouchables.
One very interesting feature of Kerala’s social structure is its Christian population. These Christians are mostly Syrians. The Christians have borrowed some traits of Hindus.
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On the occasion of marriage they get tali–the counterpart of the mangal sutra. Besides the caste groups and Christians, there are Muslims, among whom the Moppilas are dominant.