Aliyasantana, literally "

nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...

niece In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

" in Tulu, is the

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

system of

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

practiced by

Tuluva The Tulu people or Tuluvas are an ethno-linguistic and ethno-cultural group from Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts ...

community in the Tulunaad region of Karnataka, India. It is similar to the ''

Marumakkathayam Marumakkathayam was a system of matrilineal inheritance prevalent in regions of the Indian state of Kerala. It is similar to the Aliyasanthana system followed by the Bunt community in Karnataka. The word "Marumakkathayam" originated from the ...

'' system of the

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Nephew here means son of one's sister (brother's son is not considered as the heir).

Origins

Myth of origin

According to the Keralolpathi, a text by the

Nambuthiri The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Namboothiri, Namboodri, Namboori, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of th ...

Brahmin community, it mentions that

Perumal, a

Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

prince from medieval Kerala, migrated to the Tulu region via boat. He settled there, married a Jain princess, and introduced the Aliya Santana to them. This narrative highlights the historical connections and cultural exchanges between Kerala and the Tulu region during that period. Another popular belief in

Tulunadu Tulu Nadu, or Tulunad, is a region and proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (pl. 'Tuluver') are speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, and are the predominant ethnic group of the region. Sou ...

is that it had its source in the law promulgated by Bhūtāla-Pāndya, the sovereign prince who ruled this country at one time and that it was introduced by him. The popular version of it is contained in the Memorandum submitted to the Malabar Marriage Commission by one of its members, Mundappa Bangēra. "The Bhūtāla-Pandya's Aliya-santāna Law” shows that it was introduced by a despotic prince called Bhūtāla-Pāndya about the year 77 A.D., superseding the makkala-santana or inheritance from father to son which then prevailed (in what is now South Kanara). It is said that when the maternal uncle of Dēva-Pāņdya wanted to launch his newly constructed ships with valuable cargo in them, Kundōdara, king of demons, demanded a human sacrifice. Déva-Pāņdya asked his wife's permission to offer one of his sons but she refused, while his sister, Satyāvati, offered her son Jaya-Pandya, for the purpose. Kundōdara, discovering in the child signs of future greatness, waived the sacrifice and permitted the ships to sail. He then took the child, restored to him his father's kingdom of Jayantikā, and gave him the name Bhūtāļa-Pāņdya. Subsequently, when some of the ships returned with immense wealth, the demon again appeared and demanded of Dēva-Pāņdya another human sacrifice. He again consulted his wife, she refused to comply with the request and publicly renounced her title and that of her children to the valuable property brought in the ships. Kundādara then demanded Deva-Pāņdya disinherit his sons of the wealth which had been brought in those ships, as also of the kingdom and to bestow all on his sister's son, Jaya-Pāņdya or Bhūtāla-Pāņdya. This was accordingly done. And as this prince inherited his kingdom from his maternal uncle and not from his father, he ruled that his own examples must be followed by his subjects and it was. Thus the aliya-santāna system was established on the 3rd Māgha śudha of the year 1 of the era of Sālivāhana called Išvara about A.D.77. Bhūtāļa-Pandya is said to have ruled for 75 years and his nephew, Vidyadyumna-Pāņdya, for 81 years.

Salient features

*The heir is a part of the mother's family. *The inheritance of lineage identity in the form of

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

or in the form of ancestral house is through the mother. Marriage between people of same gotra is prohibited. *Inheritance is matrilineal, but in all aspects the husband is the head of the household. All Tuluvas practice matrilineal system of living. *After marriage, it's common for husband to live at his wife's home (though this is not widely practiced in the modern era). *The uncle is generally the head of the family and is known as "Gurikare" in Tulu, meaning Yajamana in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

. *Among Tuluvas, brothers usually manage the matrilineal family land on behalf of their sister.

Matrilineal communities

Billava The Billava, Billoru, Biruveru or Bhil, Bhillava people are an ethnic group of India. They constitute 18% of the total Karnata population. They are found traditionally in Tulu Nadu region and engaged in toddy tapping, Agriculture, cultivation an ...

* Bunts (except Parivara Bunts) * Devadiga *

Mogaveera Mogaveera is a fishermen community in the Tulunad region of South West India. They dominated the maritime business of the region. History The Mogaveeras are the fishermen community of Tulu Nadu. The Mogaveeras have also been porters or pa ...

* Kulala

References

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External links