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Marumakkathaayam among Muslims of the Northern Kerala

 

Malaysian Malabari culture has been influenced by many factors before we reached where we are today. There is no doubt that our forefathers were Hindus before the advent of Islam in Kerala. We can argue that some of us may have Arab descendance but the fact that they settled in Kerala and adapted the Malayalam language shows that they have accepted some of the local cultures. Thence, our forefathers migrated to Malaysia. Here, we were influenced by the local cultures. Where there were Malays, we adapted well since there are so much similarities especially in Islam and Shafie Mazhab in which both base our lifestyles on. Where there were more Indian(Tamil) Muslims, we swayed towards their culture and where we were isolated, we held on to some of the old Malabari cultures, though some were no more in practice at our place of origin.

The fact remains that as we travelled through time , we did carry along some of the culture of our forefathers before the advent of Islam even  as we assimilated into the Islamic brotherhood. Now with the revival of the awareness of Islam and the wider exposure to other cultures, we have come to acknowledge this fact. These inherited cultures have since  faded out especially in Malaysia as we try to become an Ummah whose lifestyle is based on the teachings of Islam.

One of the cultures used to be practiced in Northern Kerala is Marumakkathaayam. It is a practice whereby the inheritance of a person passes to his sister's children.  This culture has some similarities with the 'Adat Perpatih" which used to be practiced in Negeri Sembilan and Sumatera. As we progress down to the Southern area of Kerala the practice become less and less manifest.

The origin of this practice appears to be from the Nayar(Nair) family structure. The Nayar Hindus by tradision are martrilineal. They live in  extended families called Tarawaad. The head of the family , the eldest male, is called Karnavar. The members of the household consists of the Karnavar's sisters, younger brothers , his sisters children and his mother. If he dies the inheritence passes to his younger brothers and then nephews( sisters sons) hence the name marumakkathaayam-( marumakkal means sister's children). A man after marriage will remain in his house and his wife in hers. He visits her once in a while and is responsible for his sister's children whereas his children will be the responsibility of his wife's brother . the wife's brother is called  'alian'- thus this culture is also sometimes known as alia-santhaanam

In the south this culture is almost unheard of among the Muslims. The inheritance pattern there is partrilineal i.e from father to son. In the central Kerala there are some Muslim families who pass on the maternal family name. Thus the children are known by the mothers family names, but generally they are still closer to their fathers family.  The inheritance is from father to his children. The wife, after marriage stays with the husband's family  though she visits her parents on and off, similar to the practice in southern Kerala. The terms 'tarawad' and 'kaarnavar' are used but in a different context. 'Tarawad' refers to the man's extended family living in a household whereas 'karnavar 'is the eldest family member of the household . As we progress northward we see more and more of the marumakkathaayam culture coming into practice.

In Northern Kerala, after marriage, the husband is given an 'Ara '(room) in his wife's house. This room is made as complete as possible with all facilities set up according to the wealth of the bride's family. The husband though staying in the wife's house, may have very little contact with the wife's family, especially the ladies. He will still be responsible for his sister's children. His own children will be the responsibility of his wife's brothers. His wealth will be inherited by his sister's children. His wife may have no contact with the husband's house -as we know it - and may even be treated as an outsider if she pays them a visit. The eldest maternal uncle in a family is  known as 'Karnavar'. And the above-mentioned household will be known as a 'Tarawad'.

This was the case until 1940's when the matrilineal inheritance was abolished and the inheritance passed from father to children. The trend then slowly changed more towards a patrilineal society. Initially, a man would be responsible towards both his children and nephews and nieces. Slowly there was less and less extended family. The 'tarawad' became smaller households comprising of the basic family unit of parent and children as  the trend is now.

 The survey we have done on the website shows that there are many of us closer to the maternal uncle than to the paternal one. While this may be a coincidence or the effect of the local culture or environment, we cannot deny that the past culture may have some bearing  on how we relate to our elders.

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(We would like to thank the Malabari elders especially Tuan Hj Koya Kutty without whose inputs this article could never have materialised.)

 

 

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