Sapinda

(“having a common body”) Term for
people having common ancestry, who
could thus be said to share the same
body through the ancestor. This relationship was held to cease after seven
generations on the father’s side, and
after five on the mother’s. Men and
women who were sapinda were theoretically forbidden to marry, although this
prohibition has been routinely ignored
in southern India since very early times.
See also marriage prohibitions.