Matrilinear Succession

(Marumakkatayam) Most of Hindu
society is overwhelmingly patrilineal
(organized around the father’s familial
line). However, the Nayars of the state
of Kerala in southern India base society on matrilineal succession (the
mother’s familial line). Matrilineal succession was practiced from very early
times, although it had largely disappeared by the middle of the twentieth
century. Under a matrilineal system,
both descent and inheritance are
passed on through the mother’s line,
which is center of the family. The
woman’s husband lives in her family
home, but has no claim upon their
children, and no claim on any of their
marital property. A man has a certain
amount of control over his own family’s ancestral property—which he is
often called to manage—but the property ultimately is inherited by his sister’s children, rather than his own. In
many cases the woman’s “official” husband never actually consummates the
marriage, and the woman is free to
form long-term liaisons with other
men, according to her choice.