Sambandham was an informal mode of marriage followed by
Nairs,
Samantha Kshatriyas,
Kshatriyas, and
Ambalavasis among their own communities as well as with the
Nambudiris, in what is the present day state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...
, India. All of these were
matrilineal
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
communities.
Sambandham also denoted reciprocal marriage among Nairs and this term was not just used to denote hypergamous marriages between the
Nambudiris and the
Nairs.
The custom is no longer observed. Alternate names for the system were used by different social groups and in different regions;
they included ''Pudavamuri'', ''Pudavakoda'', ''Vastradanam'', ''Vitaram Kayaruka'', ''Mangalam'' and ''Uzhamporukkuka''.
Practice
Among Nairs
The Nair women were allowed to take a number of husbands, the number could be of dozens but usually there were three or four regular sambandam husbands. The Nair women also had temporary relationships with the Nair soldiers passing through the area. There were no resentment among the Sambandam husbands who also had numerous sambandam wives and they would also arrange schedules to avoid overlaps when they visited their wives at night. The visiting husband placed his weapons outside the bedroom door and if another husband arrived, he might sleep in the
veranda
A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure.
Although the form ''vera ...
after seeing his weapons. If the women became pregnant, one of the husbands usually accepted the child. If no appropriate man accepted the child, then she is deemed to have had sexual intercourse with a man from a lower caste or even from a man belonging to one of the lower Nair sub-castes. The women was punished in front of the entire enangar, disowned her caste and could be sold as a slave.
Among Nambudhiri Brahmins
Among the
Nambudhiri's, the eldest son was only allowed to marry a brahmin woman and make an inheritor to the family's property. The remaining younger sons had sambandam relationships with the Nair women, the elder sons also had sambandham relationships with Nair women along with their Brahmin wives. The Brahmins considered this as
concubinage
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubin ...
because of their paternal lineage and the Nairs however considered this as legitimate marriages because their lineage passed in a maternal line.
Since, the brahmin man was considered more
ritually pure than his sambandam Nair wife, he could not touch her or her children or eat in her house during the day-time while he was in a state of ritual purity.
Malabar marriage act
Act IV of the
Malabar Marriage Act, 1896, defined Sambandham as "an alliance between a man and a woman, by reason of which they, in accordance with the custom of the community to which they belong, or to which either of them belongs, cohabit or intend to cohabit as husband and wife."
See also
*
Kettu Kalyanam
*
Malayali Brahmins
References
{{reflist
Sources
* Moore, Melinda. "Symbol and Meaning in Nayar Marriage Ritual." American Ethnologist. 15 (1998) 254–273
* Gough, K. (1961) Nayar: Central Kearla, in Schneider, D. M. & Gough, K. (Eds.) Matrilineal Kinship. Berkeley & Los Angeles, p298-404
* Karl, R. (2003) Women in Practice: A Comparative Analysis of Gender and Sexuality in India
2003 Marleigh Grayer Ryan Student Prize Moore, M. (1998) Symbol and Meaning in Nayar Marriage Ritual, American Ethnologist 15:254-73
* Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi (1975) ''An Introduction to the Study of Indian History''.
* Dirks, Nicholas. "Homo Hierarchies: Origins of an Idea." Castes of Mind. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2001.
Indian castes
Indian surnames
Kerala society
Telugu society