Linscoten, a 17th-century Dutch traveller to Malabar described the Nair women as the “most lecherous and unchaste nation in the Orient”, where women had multiple lovers often in one night without causing any problems. Similar was the sentiment prevalent among other medieval European travellers who were appalled with the absence of chastity and shame in Nair women. What was the reason behind this?
The local social structure in Kerala did not have its equivalents in the ideological varna system of the Hindu caste order. There were many Christian and Muslim communities along with several intermediate lower-ranking castes, and tribal communities outside the caste system. Nair’s were dominant in terms of concentration and since they followed matrilineal Kerala was predominantly perceived as a matrilineal society. But why were the Nair’s matrilineal?
One theory points to the ancient martial tradition of the Nairs. Boys as young as eight years were sent off to train in military gymnasiums so that they could master the art of warfare. Their constant zeal for military excellence surpassed any desire to husband women or regulate economic resources. So there would be no marriage in the traditional sense. A man would solely visit a woman in her natal home for sexual purposes and the offspring would be her responsibility completely. consequently, it was this nature of men purely being instruments of war rather than householders that reinforced Matriliny. This theory is more circumstantial than absolute.
However, Matriliny provided women with the freedom and security of a home. They were not dependent on their husbands for economic resources. Sexual freedom encouraged polyandry among Nair women and women were free to divorce without any stigma. Another fascinating aspect was the marriage system called sambandham, or relationship. As one scholar puts it “it was not seen as a sacred contract but as a purely fugitive alliance, terminable at will”. Relationships were remarkably flexible. Rajah of Cochin who ruled from 1895 until 1914 observed: “In the Palliyil house in Tripunithura, there was a girl who was the step-daughter of the late Rajah. She was sixteen at the time and already had a regular husband.I proposed, to become paramour to her, and, as the husband raised no objection to this course it was done so. This kind of thing was not considered improper at the time.”
For the people of Kerala, such a setup wasn’t unconventional and fit perfectly well within the historical context simply because sexual relations weren’t considered taboo. However, with the advent of the Christian missionaries and the Victorian ideals of morality and decency in India by the British, the picture began to change. Furthermore, contact with regions in the subcontinent where patriarchy was dominant also added fuel to the fire. Exposure to foreign ideas and English education also raised serious doubts among Nair men regarding such practice.
As a result, in 1912 the first impetus to the formation of nuclear family units based on the ideal notions of patriarchy in Travancore came to fruition when men were given rights to bequeath sections of their self-acquired property be it monetary or kind to their children or wives in place of the tharavad, or matrilineal joint family. Furthermore, women were given the right of maintenance from their husbands as long as they did not commit adultery. The ideals of patriarchy were perfectly put into place where the man was the breadwinner and his wife and children, his dependants. In effect, women’s rights in her own tharavad remained but with much contestation and agitation. By 1923 it was established that individual partition was to be the order of the day and that matriliny had to be abolished.
Consequently, it was deemed appropriate for women to cultivate an image that was passive, humble and ‘woman like’. Loyalty and sexual virtue to one partner were constantly emphasized. The Colonial authorities also left no stone unturned to advance this cause. For instance, the late Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi was conferred with an imperial distinction i.e. The crown of India by Queen Victoria for her unflinching moral integrity(refusal to divorce her husband) towards her husband Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Tampuran at the height of court intrigues in the 1870s.O Chandu Menon’s work Indulekha became a very influential piece of literature among women. The protagonist Madhavi is shown to be the quintessential representation of a self-assured woman who is dedicated to one man only and is appalled when her virtue is questioned. The image of a domesticated, dedicated, motherly lady came to dominate women’s magazines. The Mahila Mandiram in 1926 would strongly argue that a woman’s role was that of a mistress of the(husband’s) household and everything else should be left to the superior understanding of men.
This is not to say that the tharavad did not have problems. With the growth in family size domestic quarrels also grew across Nair households. Immediate relatives could always be favoured by senior male members at the expense of others. As a result, it wasn’t uncommon for younger members to connive assassination of elder members. An average of 487 suits was brought to court between 1897 and 1907 primarily by the younger members (nephews) against the managing senior uncles of their taravads.
Furthermore, the comfort and security given to young boys under the roof of the tharavad were considered as wasting productive energy. Moderate Nair leaders made efforts towards reducing the size of taravads into manageable units. The issue was taken up in the legislature of Travancore and by April 1925 a bill was passed terminating matriliny, permitting partition of property, and “legalising” all sambandhams. Travancore had entered the age of patriarchy. On 13th April 1925 the Maharani officially signed the Nair Regulation of which effectively abolished the practice of matrilineal kinship. Ezhava and Vellala communities also passed similar acts.
Raja Ravi Varma’s iconic painting ‘There Comes Papa’ skilfully represented these societal changes. Painted in the early 1890s in a matrilineal society, the picture depicted a woman holding in her arms her eldest boy. What was so significant about this depiction?
As the scholar, G. Arunima opines “The absent yet approaching papa signifies the crisis in Nair matriliny in the late nineteenth century. The fact that Ravi Varma chose to celebrate conjugal domesticity and the nuclear family at a time when these were comparatively unknown among large sections of the matrilineal population reveals his growing patrilineal sensibilities. There Comes Papa becomes akin to a clarion call for the end of matriliny.”
In the years that followed the passing of the legislation, approximately 33,000 taravads were dismantled and over four crore rupees were divided among the Nair’s. Matriliny began to wane and was decried as an immoral system. However, the good old days would always remain etched in the memory of Kerala women. The taravads was a tool not only for freedom but it also gave women a voice against the chauvinism that patriarchy brought along with it and which persists to date.
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