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Kinship, Marriage, and Womanhood Among the Nagarattars in South India

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Kinship, Marriage, and Womanhood Among the Nagarattars in South India Kinship, Marriage, and Womanhood Among the Nagarattars in South India Yuko Nishiimura UMI Number: U056211 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U056211 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Kinship, Marriage, and Womanhood Among the Nagarattars in South India Yuko Nishimura A thesis submitted for the Ph.D. degree London School of Economics University of London 1993 F 7 07(o 2 X«2U46(2*6* Abstract The aim of this thesis is to explore the caste culture of the Naattukoottai Chettiyars or Nagarattars, a South Indian mercantile caste. Chapter 1 includes a brief history of the Nagarattars and discusses their kinship oriented entrepreneurship. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss the Nagarattars’ caste and kinship stmcture in detail and also their system of strict endogamy which serves to preserve wealth within their community. Chapter 4 examines the auspiciousness of the sumangali (married woman), describing the celebration of saandi held on the husband's 60th birthday. Chapter 5 examines the economic transactions of marriage in detail. A unique feature of this community is the three detailed marriage contract forms ( murai chittai, moi panam eludal, isai padimaanam ). Bilineal property transfer, as practised by the Nagarattars, leaves considerable moveable assets to women. Property transfer to women—especially in the form of money, gold, and saamaan (bridal goods)—as well as the reciprocal gift exchange between the bride's and groom's families, are discussed in detail. Chapter 6 focuses on two aspects of marrige rituals: first, the analysis of auspiciousness in relation to ritual items such as money, lamps, carpets, and the taali (marriage pendant), and second, the status transformation of a woman from a girl to a wife. The final part of the thesis deals with gift exchanges at funerals, and the economic morality of the Nagarattars. It is argued that their unique economic rationality is observable in their strong emphasis on auspiciousness rather than purity, as well as in exchange. All this contrasts with the Brahmanical model of religiosity, since Nagarattar morality strongly stresses the value of worldly economic activity. 3 Acknowledgement This thesis is based on the fieldwork conducted for 11 months between January 1991 to November 1991 in Southern India and was funded by the Central Research Fund (University of London) and Yanagawa Memorial Research Award (University of Tokyo) and I express my gratitude to these two funds which enabled me to conduct my fieldwork. I was also helped by the ORS Award while I was writing up the thesis. I would like to express my gratitude to those who encouraged me to come to London to complete a Ph. D. During my stay in London, two professors passed away in Japan. I would like to express thanks for the encouragement they gave me; Professor Keiichi Yanagawa of Tokyo University and Professor Tadahiko Hara of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. They guided me while I was a postgraduate student of Religious Studies in the Graduate Division of Humanities at Tokyo University. I also want to thank those professors in Japan, Nobora Karashima, Muneo Tokunaga, Hiroshi Ishii, Masako Tanaka, and Hiroko Hara for their encouragement to pursue higher studies. In India, I am deeply indebted to Dr. P.V. Krishnamoorty and his wife Raj as well as Sandya Narasimman and her family who looked after me while I was in Chettinadu in South India. I express my gratitude to all the Nagarattars I met there, especially to the women with whom I have developed long lasting friendships. However, I 4 dare not mention their names as their privacy must be protected. This thesis was written by me, but the Nagarattar women are my collaborators, as it is about their lives and marriages. (When necessary, I have used aliases in order to protect their privacy.) Similarly, I should name another collaborator, Liz Mitchell who helped me with the last stage of my thesis writing. She understood my problem with English, and helped me to tackle it. Although it is quite difficult to write in a foreign language, it nevertheless gave me much pleasure as it was through this struggle, that many of my ideas became clear. I would also like to express my thanks to Pat Caplan, who put me up in her house for a few days when I first came to London for an interview at LSE. I have been lucky to become one of the women who were inspired by her moral support and encouragement in academic studies. Academically, I am deeply indebted to the Department of Social Anthropology at LSE and those academics I came across who stimulated me and made me decide to pursue this path. My experience at the Department will always be treasured in my memory. During my study at LSE, Dr. C.J. Fuller trained me with amazing patience. Without his in-depth criticism and academic discipline, I would not have been able to finish this thesis. The training he has given me made me realize how difficult but important it is to be sincere in my academic work. 5 In Tokyo, I have been supported by my long time friend, Malini Subramaniyam and her family. To me, she is almost the enbodiment of the soul of South Indian culture, and without her encouragement, I would have given up this path long ago. Lastly, I thank Noboru, my husband. Without his understanding and support and sharing of my experiences, this thesis would never have been written and in this sense, he is a co-author of this work. He also helped me drawing most of the nicest illustrations which appear in this dissertation. Yuko Nishimura London March, 1993. Contents ListofPlates List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables List of Appendixes 1. Introduction 2. The Morality of Endogamy 3. The Internal Structure of Caste Appendix (A) A case study of VS line Appendix (B) Genelogy of VS line Appendix (C) Account of a puberty ceremony 4. Sumangali worship and the ritual of saandi 5. The Economics of Marriage Appendix (D) Groom’s account at a wedding 6. Marriage and Funeral rituals Appendix (E) Funeral accounts 7. Conclusion Glossary References 7 Plates Chapter 1: Walavu viidu 52-54 1-1 The aduppu (hearth) attached to the kitchen quarters ofwalavu waasal represents the autonomy of the pulli. 1-2 Front entrance of a prominent Nagarattar house. 1-3 A Nagarattar family in 1920s. 1-4 Front veranda of walavu viidu. 1-5 Deserted streets of Chettinadu. 1-6 An aacchi with her Brahman ‘ agent*. Chapter 3: Tiruvaadurai (photographs taken in 1960s) 175-179 3-1 Girls dressed up for Tiruvaadurai and about to go out to collect vegetables. They are carrying silver baskets, and standing in the walavu waasal. 3-2 The girl is taken to a nearby temple in the evening escorted by her maternal uncle and her close male kin. 3-3 A girl dressed up for the celebration of Tiruvaadurai. 3-4 The maternal uncle ties her a kaluttiru in the ul viidu sitting on the auspicious carpet. The maternal uncle wears white shirt and veetti, and a red silk scarf with gold stripes around his hips, which is the same costume he wears at the wedding of his niece and nephew. 3-5 Girls celebrating Tiruvaadurai gathered at the entrance of walavu viidu. 8 Chapter4: Saandi 222-228 4-1 Ramasamy gives daanam to the Brahmans on the eve of saandi. 4-2 Sumangalis prepare for the rituals at the kaliyaana viidu (ul viidu). 4-3 Sumangalis decorate the ritual platform on the eve of saandi. 4-4 An aacchi checking the list of gift-giving with her ‘agent’. 4-5 The officiant couple of saandi is surrounded by sumangalis who are their kin and affines. 4-6 The wife receives siir from her three brothers during the ritual of saandi. 4-7 Sumangalis inspect the siir. 4-8 A senior old woman who is related to the couple blows the conch shell before the couple worships the ancestors in the ul viidu. 4-9 Tying the diamond taali at thesaandi. The couple is surrounded by their kin and affines. The man holding the taali is the husband’s father’s brother, and the man holding the plate is the husband’s father’s sister’s husband. 4-10 Servants cleaning the vessels after a grand feast of saandi. Chapter5: Bridal saamaans 317-320 5-1 Preparation of the wedding: the grandmother of the bride sorts out vessels for her granddaughter. 5-2 The grandmother sorts out for her granddaughter’s wedding the linens with the help of her friends and agents. 9 5-3 Kaluttiru (the hand-shaped ornament), tombu (small gold pieces to attach to kaluttiru, and small taali (ennei taali). 5-4 Plastic saamaans, jars, bottles of Horlics,etc. 5-5 Stainless steel saamaans and brass saamaans. 5-6 Modem saamaans: steel lockers (used as wardrobes), steel chests, and pillows. 5-7 Gifts for the groom and toiletry goods for the couple. 5-8 An ‘agent’ works on the wedding account Chapter 6: Wedding rituals 379-392 6-1 Muhuurta Kaaran installs the auspicious pole ( muhuurta kaat) in the walavu waasal.
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