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INTRODUCTION
In discussions of the family in Kerala, a southern State in India, the term "the matrilineal family" figures very often despite the fact that patrilineal family also co-existed and that matriliny itself has had its regional variants in the State of Kerala. Previouisly comprising three distinct princely states of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar, Kerala became a unified state in 1956 as part of the linguistic reorganization of states since Indian independence. Although part of the same state, due to distinct historical, cultural and geographical reasons, these regions developed differently, each with its own patterns of social groupings and interactions.
The ideological varna system in the Hindu caste order did not have its equivalents in the local social structue in Kerala. The caste systemn at the local level care to be referred to as te jati systen. In th jati systemof Kerala, all vamas are not found in the same order as in the varna systen. There is difficulty in strict correspondence between varna and jati Arunima (2003) has noted that theories of Nambuthiri hegenomy are difficult to sustain in tte context of Malabar. Regional variations of mutual power ranking aside, Nambudiri and Nayar communities enjoyed dominance in the Kerala social structure. Besides these two dominant comunities, Kerala had many Christian and Muslim comunities and several intermediate and lower ranking castes, as well as tribal communities which were cutside tte caste system. It was tte concentration on the dominant Nayar caste and their matriliny that contributed to the perception of Kerala society being pedominantly matrilinieal but matriliny was not restricted to Nayars; it ves paractised by a large nunber of castes and ccnmnities covering nore than half the population (Saradamoni, 1999).
While matriliny existed in many Hindu, caste groups, several tribal groups and some Christian and Muslim groups, tte patrilineal family was tte norm among large Christian religious groups, while among Muslims both patrilineal and matrilineal family noms existed. The Namboodiri Brahmins, described by Aiyappan (1982:135) as "the latest of major immigrants into Kerala" followed patriliny Aiyappan refers to EMS Nampoothiripad as suggesting that the Nambudiris probably recruited and made Brahmin native men and women from what he termed "the original Nayans" (Aiyappan 1982:149). The only exeption to the patriliny of the Nantudiris was a...