Prelims · 6 Indian Society · 6.5 Family, marriage and kinship

6.5.5 Kinship zones of India and matrilineal communities: Karve, Nairs, Khasis and Garos

Irawati Karve mapped India into four kinship zones with different marriage rules, and pockets such as the Nairs of Kerala and the Khasis and Garos of Meghalaya show that matrilineal descent has long co-existed with the dominant patrilineal pattern.

  • APPSC Group 2 · Prelims
  • Standard level
  • 8 min read
  • Full course

Key terms

  • Irawati Karve
  • kinship zones
  • northern zone
  • central zone
  • southern zone
  • eastern zone
  • Nairs
  • marumakkathayam
  • tharavad
  • karanavar
  • sambandham
  • talikettu kalyanam
  • aliyasantana
  • Khasis
  • Ka Khadduh
  • Garos
  • nokna
  • nokrom
  • machong
  • Lakshadweep
  • matriliny

What this note covers

  1. Core factsFoundation
  2. ExplainedStandard
  3. DeeperAdvanced
  4. Mains writingMains writing
  5. Common trapsFoundation
  6. Quick revisionFoundation

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