social organisation: family, marriage and...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 5
Social Organisation: Family, Marriage and Kinship
Marriage establishes family, a basic unit of society, and creates bonds of kinship. As elements of
social organisation, family, marriage and kinship link individuals to individuals, individuals to
groups and a group to several groups. Family, marriage and kinship are, thus, interlinked aspects
of any human society. They are fundamentally associated with ideas and attitudes in a society.
‘The study of these ideas and attitudes is the fundamental part of study of culture’ (Kapadia 1947:
2). We need to interpret and explain these ideas in order to understand a society or a community.
This chapter deals with the Masan Jogi family, marriage practices and kinship structure in
order to understand their social organisation of their community. As a basic unit of community
living, family is something different among Masan Jogis. While taking a glimpse through their
rites of passage, we take a closer look at family, the strong foundation of Masan Jogi community,
as well as their marriage practices and kinship structure.
The Family
Traditionally, Masan Jogis moved from place to place with their families. The householder
walked the distance from one village to the other carrying the belongings in one parade (a pan),
and the children in another hanging on his shoulder (see Picture 5.1). As ascetics, Masan Jogis did
not own any immovable property. Therefore the question of succession, heir or inheritance did
not arise in the community. Children got married and followed the same profession as their
parents as they began living separately.
From my observation of Masan Jogi families in Shevgaon I gathered that a typical Masan Jogi
family consists of husband, wife and their unmarried children. Generally, sons in a family, when
married, start living separately. In some cases, a married son, his wife and children may continue
to live in the same household for short time till the young couple prepares a place to live
independently. Elderly parents usually live with the youngest son. Both boys and girls are equally
welcome, there is no preference shown for any gender. There is no distinction made between boys
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Picture 5.1: A Masan Jogi carrying things in two parade
Source: Fieldwork collection
and girls as such. They are generally treated as equals. Boys usually are more outgoing than girls
and, as they grow, get into some livelihood activities and start earning at a very early age. Girls
generally remain attached to their mothers. As they grow, they learn the household tasks, such as
cooking, taking care of children, etc. When they attain puberty they are sent to their husband’s
place. In fact, there are more females than males in the community. Out of a total population of
495 Masan Jogis in Shevgaon, 266 (53.73%) are women and 229 (46.37%) are men (see Table
5.1).
The community has a strong workforce of 123 (24.85%) persons in the age group of 18–30
years. It is the highest among all the age groups. If this group is taken as a focal point, then 272
(54.95%) fall into the category of younger population consisting children (35.35%) and
adolescent (19.60%) groupings. On the other hand, there are 100 (20.20%) persons above 30
years of age. Thus, the Masan Jogi community at Shevgaon is largely a young community.
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Table 5.1: Population composition of Masan Jogis at Shevgaon
Age group Gender
Total Female Male
1. 0–10 96 (54.86)
35.69
79 (45.14)
34.96
175
35.35
2. 11–17 56(57.73)
20.82
41(42.27)
18.14
97
19.60
3. 18–30 72 (58.54)
26.77
51(41.46)
22.57
123
24.85
4. 31–50 31(47.70)
11.52
34(52.30)
15.04
65
13.13
5. 51–above 14 (40.00)
5.20
21(60.00)
9.29
35
07.07
Total 269 (100)
100.00
226 (100)
100.00
495
100.00
Notes: Figures in parentheses refer to row-wise percentages;
figures below the frequency refer to column-wise
percentages.
Source: Fieldwork data
Family Life
The Masan Jogi community is patriarchal in nature, in which the descent is traced through males
and the eldest man is considered as the head of the family. However, the role of women in
decision making is valued both at the domestic and the community levels. From my observations,
I gather that all the decisions affecting the family are taken in consultation with women. Often the
process of making a decision involves husband and wife equally. For instance, if the wife feels
that the family must go for the Pochamma festival in the month of October, she would start
thinking how it can be planned by initiating a discussion with her husband. Then both would be
thinking how it can be organised, finally arriving at a decision. If the husband makes a plan about
any activity, such as visiting relatives in another town, he first shares the thought with his wife,
who joins in the process of decision making. Then, together they will arrive at a decision.
Though, mostly men participate in the Jat panchayat discussion, women are free to express their
opinion and make points if they wish to (see Ch. 7). Domestic violence or harassment of wife is
not tolerated in the Masan Jogi community. In the event of any ill treatment meted to wife, the
wife simply returns to her natal home without informing anyone at the husband’s house. The issue
then is taken up at the jat panchayat and dealt with firmness and the husband is punished with
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heavy fine. If the issue leads to separation of the husband from the wife, then the man loses
prestige in the community, so much so that he finds it extremely difficult to get another wife.
Family life is the basic norm seriously followed in the Masan Jogi community. There are no
individuals, everyone lives in a family. If a married man dies, the widow gets married to another
suitable man. She takes the children along to the man she marries. The man may already have his
own children to look after. He has also to take care of the wife’s children born from her previous
husband, till they are married. Similarly, if the wife dies, the widower gets married to another
woman. In case of the death of both parents, the orphaned children are taken care of by the
relatives of the man or the woman. Sometimes they are distributed among the relatives to avoid
burdening a single family. Therefore, there are no widows, widowers or orphan children in the
community, nor are there any single-parent families.
If a married son together with his wife and children live with his parents, he submits his
earnings to the parents. In such households, the daughter-in-law has to work under the
instructions of the mother-in-law. The relationship between the daughter-in-law and the mother-
in-law is usually under strain. The married son generally favours the views of his mother; the
daughter-in-law has to adjust to the situation. If she quietly ‘runs away’ to her home or attempts
to or commits suicide, the mother-in-law is directly held responsible. In such case, the jat
panchayat accuses the mother-in-law and the husband and levies heavy fine for harassing the girl.
The family also loses its prestige in the community.
The relationship between the married son and his father is sort of equals. The son deals with
his father with due respect. The father too considers his married son as the head of the family;
therefore, he deals with him as if almost equal. Their conversations remain brief and revolves
around various transactions, either money or family dealings.
Moderate expression of emotions is yet another facet of Masan Jogi life. The men folk relax
with watching television shows or playing cards. Women are seen mending each other’s hair or
busy themselves doing something or the other. I seldom came across a group, be it of men or
women, found joking, bursting with laughter together. Strange though it may be, I found, even
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smiles are rare. There is no escalation of emotions to any extreme. One does not go into euphoria
or get oneself drowned by sorrow. When a loved one returns home after a long time, the person is
received with limited expression in words or gestures; there may not be a hilarious applause or
exuberant welcome. Similarly, a death or loss of a loved one is moaned for a short period. The
depth of grief is demonstrated in moderate expression. Masan Jogis do no wail aloud or for a
prolonged period. For instance, Ganga, a middle aged woman, was overwhelmed by tremendous
grief as she lost her son in an accident. Ganga only expressed her grief for a while and she got
over the loss in a few days time.
Having been associated with the community for a long time, I have never come across any
event in which affections are showered over children physically by hugging, embracing or
kissing. On the contrary, it is often observed in many other communities how toddlers become a
centre of playful conversations. Adults and elders are seen taking interest in the little ones by
playing or talking to them. In the Masan Jogi community, children play around the house by
themselves; when hungry they contact the mother for food. After eating, they go back to their
group and play. After the birth, the child remains with the mother till it is weaned away. The
social or social-psychological reason behind such intriguing demeanour of the community is hard
to explain.
In earlier days, whatever little that belonged to the family was shared with the sons equally.
The daughters received some ornaments, usually of silver or other ordinary metal, carefully
preserved by the mother. The value of the assets may not be much in terms of wealth; it does bear
high sentimental value for the succeeding generation. As the community moved into non-
traditional occupations (see Ch. 3), owning wealth in terms of a house, shop or other forms
became a common practice. The tradition of distributing the wealth equally among all the sons
acquired more importance. The parents touch Rudraksha (the fruit of Elaeocarpaceae ganitrus a
large evergreen broad leaved tree), in order to show that they conscientiously followed
equanimity in distributing their asset to all the sons. This practice is common among Masan Jogis;
I could record several such events. It is usually done in the presence of relatives and community
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members. The group that gathers on this occasion is of mostly community members, who just
happen to be there together.
Rites of Passage
Pregnancy, Birth and Infancy
Pregnancy is a special period for women. Several cultures prescribe rituals to be performed at
different stages of pregnancy. In rural Maharashtra, the practice of dohale jevan, (the meal of
desire), is arranged during the seventh month of pregnancy. It is believed that the mother
expresses the desires of the foetus that longs to eat certain special food items. Therefore, the
pregnant woman is provided with whatever she asks for eating. This is called Dohale in Marathi.
It is also called ‘dohad’, of two hearts, the desire is not only of the pregnant woman but also the
foetus in her womb (Joshi 1965: 781–83). This is also an occasion for the mother to prepare
herself for the birth of the child.
The women informants told me that there is no such ceremony performed during pregnancy
among Masan Jogis. I also conversed with pregnant women independently and as a group. On
various occasions, I spent time with them allowing them to express their views and concerns
about pregnancy and child birth. Radha told me the entire episode of her second delivery that had
taken place three weeks before. For Masan Jogi women, the period of pregnancy is not much
different; it is business as usual. They carry out their routine works in and outside of the house. It
was easily noticed when someone in a family fell sick, even with simple cold and cough, the
person was rushed to the nearest clinic. There is no hesitation to spend exorbitant amount for the
treatment. On the contrary, one may be surprised to know that pregnant women in Masan Jogi
community seldom visited any doctor. In fact, some women reported to me that they did visit the
doctor during their pregnancy, not for anything related to pregnancy or foetus but mainly for
usual aches and pain in the body.
During Radha’s second delivery, she could not get labour pangs. She struggled for quite some
time, but could not push the child in the womb. Someone was sent to the doctor to get a pill that
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could help Radha to gather all her strength to push the child. After taking the pill, it took Radha
another bout of struggle for nearly half an hour to deliver the baby. After hearing Radha’s story, I
gently prodded her, “When you were in the depth of your struggle, did not the thought of going to
the doctor came to your mind?” She peacefully said, never, I never thought of going to the doctor.
She did not forget to add, I will not go to the doctor in future too. Further discussion on the topic,
which continued later in different times with different ladies, revealed that the understanding of
illness and pregnancy are two different things in the minds of Masan Jogis. Illness is caused by
some evil spirit and that needs to be attended to as early as possible. Pregnancy, on the other
hand, is understood as a natural process. The belief in nature, that it takes care of itself, is strong
among Masan Jogi women. Therefore, one does not need to worry about it so much. In fact,
seeking help from a doctor is the last resort.
Women deliver at home with the help of the traditional attendants called dayeeni. Dayeenis
are elderly illiterate women who have long-standing experience in attending on women in
childbirth. As experts in their own way, they are confident in dealing with the most difficult of
cases. They boast of rendering safe deliveries for decades without any child mortality due to
complications. No informant reported on still births or miscarriages. No reference was made to
deliberate abortions. With strict prohibition on pre-marital and extramarital relationships, there
appear to be no deliberate abortions. However, it was difficult for me to seek information on these
sensitive topics. There are eleven senior women in Masan Jogi community who work as dayeeni.
They are ever ready to help to any woman in need at any hour of the day or night. The dayeeni is
not formally paid; it is an honorary service they render. Preliminary knowledge in childbirth will
certainly prove a great advantage to the community. When I brought this to the notice of some of
the dayeenis, they showed no interest. With the belief that everything is taken care of by nature
and assistance of confident dayeeni without basic knowledge in childbirth, there is every
possibility of overlooking several health issues related to reproductive health, pregnancy, post-
natal care, etc.
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The new born and the mother are confined to the room for few days during the post-natal
period. Often the mother takes ordinary diet and resumes her household work after the fifth day.
In rural Maharashtra, even if the daughter does not go to her natal home for delivery, the mother-
in-law or the senior women take interest in bathing and cleaning the child every day. First, the
centre of the scalp is massaged carefully with oil, and then oil is applied to the whole body of the
child. The senior woman sits on a stone stretches her legs forward together, resting the heals on
another stone. It becomes a bridge, on which the child is put in a sleeping position alternately on
the stomach and back as it is given warm water bath. After the bath, the child is waddled in cloths
and put to sleep. Then the mother, or in her absence, a senior lady from the house assists the
young mother stretching her strained limbs and giving her bath. These are common practices
women take delight in performing and showing their affectionate concern to the daughter after the
delivery. I have not come across a Masan Jogi child being given a bath or the mother being cared
for after her delivery. It is only when issues arise attention is given to the child or the mother.
As the child grows, it goes out of the house and plays by itself or joins other children. There
are minimum instructions and guidance given to the children. Parents often told me that they
wanted their children to be well educated and well placed in life. When I suggested them to train
their children, they were not keen.
Branding of Children
Branding of children after birth is a common practice among Masan Jogis. Though the practice is
waning out, it is still prevalent in the community. Branding provides a special mark of
identification of Masan Jogis. Boys as well as girls are branded within a week after the birth. The
understanding is that the child must be branded as early as possible. As an itinerant community,
Masan Jogis moved from village to village and often faced the problems of child lifters and infant
stealers. Being a sojourner family, it was difficult to trace the culprit. Branding serves to identify
Masan Jogi children. Many adults and children showed me the branded marks on their stomach.
In some cases, branding marks were very clearly seen even after the person attained forty years of
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age. One can imagine how big the wound must have been when the person was branded. Many
bore faint spots which were noticed after careful scanning of the naval area.
I did not witness any branding event. The informants reported me how children are banded. A
red hot metal rod is pressed on the stomach, usually to imprint a square-shaped mark around the
naval point (see Figure 5.1). An extra line is marked on the upper side of the naval point in
honour of goddess Pochamma and to create imbalance in the symmetrical shape. It is a painful
process the newborn has to undergo. The women told me how the child cries with excruciating
pain without displaying any emotions.
Figure 5.1: Branding mark
Source: Fieldwork data
The shape of the branding can be round or zigzag too. It has to be around the naval point.
Masan Jogis believe that naval point is the centre of human body. If it is protected in this way, all
the ailments can be averted in life. Some of them even claim that the person who is branded does
not get any stomach ailment in her/his whole lifetime.
Some community members told me that the practice of branding is a very ancient one. Ages
ago, an epidemic broke out and, many children fell ill for a short time and died. No one could
provide me information as to what kind of epidemic it was, whether it was small pox, measles or
any other kind. From their description it appears o have been severe dehydration due to diarrhoea.
Everyone panicked and thought it was a wrath of goddess Yellamma. People went on pilgrimage
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to Yellamma seeking her intervention during the calamity. A shaman in the Yellamma temple
prescribed branding for children. It was found effective. Since then the practice is prevalent in the
community. The story does not provide many details. Due to the interventions of health
professionals, the practice of branding children is gradually waning away.
Naming Ceremony
I had an opportunity to attend the naming ceremony of Arjun Shankar Kadminche’s daughter.
After few rounds of suggestions, the name Rani was finalised for the girl. In Masan Jogis’
understanding the naming ceremony is a way of welcoming the child into the community in
which it has to spend the whole life time. The ceremony is performed on the fifth day after the
birth of the child. It is an auspicious day, for, at the end of that day, in the night, the goddess
writes the future of the child, gives the child the destiny and grants it a lifespan. When I enquired
the name of the goddess, no one could name it. She apparently resembles goddess Satvai. Satvai
is the goddess of fortune, lifespan and fertility; she is also none other than Mother Earth
(Tribhuvan 2005: 31). In order to obtain bright future, a great destiny and long prosperous
lifespan for the child, the goddess has to be worshiped during the day. It is a common belief
among Masan Jogis that the goddess resides around the pit where the bath water of the baby
accumulates. Therefore, the ritual begins with worshiping the pit. Being male, I could not
participate in the worship anytime. However, the women informant acted it out for me.
The worship begins by placing five pebbles on the edge of the pit. Five is the complete
number, maintain Masan Jogis. The pebbles represent five deities who’s names are unknown.
They also symbolise the five gifts the goddess bestows, namely, fortune, destiny, lifespan, health
and protection. Next to each pebble a few grains of wheat, jowar and rice are placed. A bit of
saffron and vermillion powder is offered to each pebble. The mother of the new born child makes
obeisance to the pit by touching her forehead to the ground. She then takes the child and touches
its head to the pit.
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After worshiping the pit, the Sarpanch together with the prominent men representing different
clans/lineages assemble in front of the house. They do not squat by folding legs, but sit on their
heels. The father of the child serves them country made liquor. Everyone from the assembly takes
turn to sprinkle few drops of liquor around with his fingers as he lifts his glass a little and
suggests a name for the child. A name can be rejected or accepted by the group. The group may
ask for the reason for suggesting a given name or question the appropriateness of that name.
Sometimes, a name may spur discussion in the group. Only the name that is seconded by most
men in the group and accepted by the parents is finally chosen as the name for the child. The
choice of names is drawn from what the Masan Jogis come across during their rounds in the
villages and contact with other communities through their business of metal scrap. The names
associated with Lord Shiva, such as Shivram, Shivappa, Shankar, were popular at one time.
Three-letter Marathi names were most popular a few year ago, such as Laxman, Ankush or
Prahlad. The present trend is towards Sanskritic names; the new born in recent times bear such
names as Ravindra, Savitri or Akash.
Puberty Rite
The celebration of puberty among Masan Jogis is a prelude to preparing the young girl for
motherhood. Physiologically, the girl is ‘educated’ in her reproductive cycle without getting
traumatised by the first instance of menstruation. She is prepared as a childbearing woman by
feeding her nutritious food on the occasion. And the celebration is to announce to the community
that she is ready for marital ties. From the cultural point of view, the puberty rite is closely
connected with fertility and prosperity, repeatedly expressed through various symbols, gestures
and ritual ways. It is also an initiation rite for girls by which they are lead into adulthood. There is
no initiation or puberty rite for boys in the Masan Jogi community. My enthusiastic women
informants invited me to witness puberty rite more than once. However, I thought, being male, it
was inappropriate for me to be present at a ceremony exclusively meant for women. The women
informants explained the rite to me in detail and responded to my quarries without any inhibition.
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The puberty rite for girls is celebrated three times in three successive months beginning with
the first menstruation. The rite can be divided into three stages. In the first stage, the girl is put in
a makeshift hut away from the house, the second stage is when she is given a ceremonial bath and
the third stage is when she is taken into the house.
At the first instance, the girl informs her mother about her first menstruation. She then gets a
small temporary hut prepared at a distance from the house with the help of the father or the
brothers. It is a simple hut with three sticks tied together at the top end, while each end of the
stick is separately placed on the ground, in the shape of a tripod. The sticks are covered with long
cloth or a chadar, a thin cotton blanket used as a covering to sleep. The girl lives in the hut for the
next seven days, she is served food in the hut and, during this period, the girl is not allowed to
come out of the hut. During this period of her ‘impure’ days, she must not be seen by anyone. She
sleeps in the hut in the night accompanied by an elderly lady. During these days the girl wears old
clothes.
On the seventh day, five young married women apply turmeric paste and oil on the entire
body of the girl early in the morning. She is then given a ceremonial bath. After the bath, she is
given a fresh set of clothes, or new clothes, if affordable, to wear. Then she is asked to sit on a
wooden plank. Women, young and old, adore the girl by putting grains of rice on her head and
then applying vermilion on her head called kumkum. Five brass water jars called ‘tambya’ are
placed in a row filled with water in front of the girl. A tinge of turmeric and vermilion powder is
sprinkled over the jars. The girl performs obeisance to the seat. She is then given a small jar full
of rice-water to drink. For the first three times, she takes a sip from the jar, gargles and then spits
it out. This signifies that her term of impurity is over. Then the girl drinks the whole jar of rice-
water.
The wife of the Sarpanch, or a young married lady in her absence, breaks a dry coconut above
the head of the girl. Then she lifts the girls and brings her into the house where she is made to sit
on another plank. The young lady then is honoured by the relatives and friends. The relatives and
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friends throng to visit the girl. They bring along gifts of dry dates, jaggery, dry coconuts and other
eatables.
Masan Jogis do not observe the concepts of pure and impure meticulously. On her first
menstruation, the girl is put in a hut away from the house as a gesture of temporary impurity as
part of the ritual. Impurity is not associated with menstrual cycle every month. The five young
ladies who apply turmeric paste on the girl’s body are considered auspicious on the occasion
symbolising personified prosperity. As young women who have gone through the experience,
they provide support and understanding to the young girl. The turmeric paste is considered for its
purifying effect. The girl is purified of impurities as she comes out of her menstrual period by
applying turmeric paste on her body. It also serves to give smooth tone to her skin, a feature
considered important at this stage. Rice grains too stand for fertility as they possess potential to
grow into plants bearing much fruit. The gesture of putting rice grains on the girl’s head is to wish
the lady to ‘anek lekre houn samadhan pav’ (flourish like the grains and be continent in life). The
gesture of applying kumkum, (the vermilion spot), on the girl’s forehead is to honour the young
lady as she enters the new stage of her life.
The five jars again are auspicious and symbolic of the occasion. As a representation of womb,
the jars contain water symbolising life. The girl humbly bows to the seat symbolising her role as
life giver before occupying it. Rice-water provides physical strength for the purpose. In order to
emphasise the strength-giving quality of rice-water, the women informants told me how farmers
drink a good amount of rice-water in the morning, a common practice among farmers in Andhra
Pradesh, before starting their strenuous work in the fields.
In the third part of the ritual, the wife of the Sarpanch represents community’s support to the
young on attaining adulthood. The relatives and friends express their loving support to the young
lady in her newly acquired role and adult, a would-be mother. The dates, coconut and other fruits
too, are symbolise prosperity and fertility; the eatables are meant to provide nutrition to the
prospective mother.
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It is only at the first instance of menstruation, the girls are made to stay in a hut. They are not
secluded in any form during their later menstruations. The celebration during the second and third
months is simple and short. Traditionally, after the puberty rite, the girls would start wearing half
sari till she gets married; but the practice is no more followed in Shevgaon. Girls are seen as
nascent children till they attain puberty. After the ceremony, they do not mix with children or play
with them. Their interaction with the boys of their age is not curtailed, it is but occasional. After
the puberty ceremony, the girls behave with a sense of maturity and responsibility, and most of
the time they are seen with their mother or adult women. They keep themselves busy with
household chores. Others treat them as adults and responsible persons. Boys, till married, are
regarded as growing children. For them, adulthood dawns with their marriage, after which they
exhibit mature behaviour and are treated so.
Funeral Practices
In olden days, the Masan Jogis buried their dead. Traditionally, when someone died in the
community, the conch shell was sounded to announce the death. The dead body was washed and
kept in sleeping position in the house. The relatives and friends mourned the death by crying for a
short while. No one cried when the dead body was taken out of the house. After bringing out of
the house, the corpse was kept in sitting position on a long cloth. Four men would lift the cloth by
holding the four corners. Thus, in the sitting position the corpse would be carried to the burial
ground in a procession with dance and music. It was then buried in sitting position. The
Lingayats, also known as Veera Shaiva sect of Shaivism, bury their dead in sitting position. When
I asked some Masan Jogis whether there is any connection between the Lingayats and Masan
Jogis, they told me that, we were known as Lingayat Wani, a sub group of Lingayats. No one
could provide me with further information as to what was the connection between Masan Jogis
and Lingayats and was there any intermarriage among them, etc.
After the burial, everyone returns to the house of the deceased person and sits quiet for a
while. Then, relatives from the mother’s side or even the father’s side serve country made liquor
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to all the adults. This is to indicate that they all share the sorrow of the family. After sipping the
liquor, everyone gradually moved to their homes. The members of other clans bring cooked food
for the family as they are not to cook food on that day.
Recently, Masan Jogis stopped burying their dead. Claiming their conversion to Buddhism in
recent years as part of a political move, Masan Jogis now cremate their dead in the sleeping
position. Two years back I attended a funeral of an old man who died due to old age, and about
six months back I attended another funeral of a young man who committed suicide. There was no
substantial difference between the two funerals and the tenth-day celebration. In both cases, the
dead bodies were washed. New cloths were put on them. Then they were put on the biers, and
were carried to the location near the stream, where they were cremated. Men women and children
from the community were present for the funeral.
Masan Jogis believe that the soul of the dead takes birth into some animal. It is found out on
the burial night. A little mud is spread on the ground in a corner of the house. It is uniformly
levelled by hand. A lamp is lit at the place and a tokri, (an iron basket) is kept over it in a tilted
position for the whole night. On waking up on the next day, footprints of the animal are found on
the mud. It is believed that the soul has gone into the family of animal of which the footprints
appeared. The footprint could be of cows, buffalo or, of any four legged animal or bird. The
family then tries to be good to that particular animal by feeding it whenever possible.
Masan Jogis may be dealing with dead bodies and stay in the graveyards, but when they have
to deal with ghosts or spirit of the dead, they are afraid to the core. They believe that, if the soul
of the dead is not satisfied in its earthly life, it may move around the place and haunt a person and
cause harm to him or her. To prevent this, the family members take the hair and some mud of the
grave in olden days and take ash after cremation now, to a location in Andhra Pradesh where a
sage lives. The sage, after performing certain rituals, ties the ghost to a tree. This appears an
hypothetical place as no one could tell me the exact details.
Generally, the Hindus in rural areas of Maharashtra perform the dahava, which literally
means the tenth day after death. It is a purifying ritual celebrated on the tenth day after the death
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by shaving heads of close male relatives of the dead. First, all the relatives gather at spot on the
bank of river where naivadya, specially prepared food items are offered to the dead. When a crow
eats this offering, it is considered as accepted by the spirit of the dead. If crow delays in picking
up the eatables offered, it is a sign that the spirit is not happy. In this case the relative speak out
aloud promising the spirit that they would fulfil its wishes. Then the wishes are spoken out one
after the other. If a crow picks up eatable at the instance of speaking out a particular wish, it is
considered as the wish of the spirit. The relatives faithfully fulfil it as early as possible.
Masan Jogis celebrate this purifying ritual of dahava on the third day after the death of the
person. As an itinerant community, Masan Jogis stayed for three days in one graveyard after
which they moved to another graveyard of another village. The funeral and the ‘tenth day’
celebration had to be conducted in three days. The group goes to the pond or any water source
nearby where they may take bath or just have a symbolic wash. No naivadya is offered. Male
relatives of the dead do not shave their heads. After sounding the conch shell, the members of
other clans bring tea and eatables to the family of the deceased person. The sounding of the conch
shell is the announcement that the sutak¸ the period of impurity due to death is over. Country
made liquor is given to the adult males. After consuming the eatables, the family of the deceased
person serves meal to the whole community. The traditional meal contains rice and tamarind
chutney, a paste made by grinding tamarind, chillies and garlic together.
All the clan members of the deceased attend the dahava. It may so happen that the news of
death may not reach some clansmen who are located at remote places. Therefore, they may not
appear at the time of dahava. Whenever they come to hear of the death, they have to perform a
short ritual of the dahava in the place where they are by taking a bath in the name of the deceased
person and offering food to the community members living in the vicinity. With this their sutak is
over.
Masan Jogis have modified the ritual recently by incorporating certain local customs. They
put the food offering at the place where the dead was cremated, but they do not wait for a crow to
pick the eatables up or do not speak out promise to fulfil any wishes of the dead. They place five
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small stone at the place to represent some gods, on which they put a pinch of vermilion and leave
the place.
Marriage
I was present for several marriages in the Masan Jogi community at different times. From my
own observations and from the reports of the informants, I gather that marriage is considered to
be an important aspect of life in the community, and life without marriage is considered
incomplete. If someone dies without getting married, it is considered unfortunate. No one wants
to die such unfortunate death. One requires to be married in order to live in the community
meaningfully, as there is no concept of single individual in the community. The sole exception to
this is a sanyasin who changed her name Radha to Radhika Das and now resides in Hanuman
temple at Rajkot, Gujarat (see Picture 5.2). Radha’s married sister, brother-in-law and parents
narrated story to me in three sittings. Twice I spoke to Radhika over the phone and she happily
responded to my quarries. She told me how she spends her time in the temple. When I asked her
when her she would visit to Shevgaon, she replied saying that it was not possible, for she had
dedicated her life in the service of god in Rajkot. Her voice sounded as that of a happy person
completely renounced and devoted to god.
The story of Radhika runs like a fairy tale. Many years ago, when Radhika was about five
years old, the family had halted for few days in Pandharpur, famous for the Shri Vitthal temple in
Maharashtra. Being the centre of devotion, there were kirtans (devotional singing), performed
every night. According to her parents, on one of those nights, as kirtan was going on, Radhika got
up from her sleep in the middle of the night and joined the crowd in listening to the kirtan. When
the crowd dispersed early in the morning, Radhika got confused, she joined one of the groups and
moved with it to a distant place. The parents searched for Radhika but could not find her
anywhere. Finally, they gave up searching for her and accepted the fact that they lost their child
forever. It took some time for them to come to terms with the loss. After about forty years, when
the parents were in Gujarat, on their annual rounds, Radhika recognised them. The parents and
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Picture 5.2: The only sanyasin from the Masan Jogi community
Source: Fieldwork collection
her siblings were overjoyed to see Radhika alive. She narrated the whole of her story and finally
told them that she would not join them as a family member, for she had become a sanyasin, a
celibate woman dedicated in service of god. Since then, Radhika’s parents travel to Rajkot every
year to visit Radhika. In October 2011, I met Radhika’s brother in Shevgaon but did not see her
parents. Radhika’s brother told me that they had gone to Rajkot to meet Radhika and would return
after a week or two.
Since there is no institution of celibate life in the Masan Jogi community, the community
finds Radhika’s way of life as something unusual. They just cannot comprehend how one can live
without marriage. Although the community respects Radhika’s way of life, but many are not fully
convinced by it. The community members appreciate the celibate life Radhika has opted for, than
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to have got married to someone from other community. They invariably comment without
hesitation, saying that, if she had to marry someone from other community, it would have
disgraced the community; thank god, she has opted for a better way of life. It is important to note
that Radhika has become a sanyasin by accident and not by choice. And secondly, as a sanyasin
she resides out of the community.
Apart from the family life and procreation, the institution of marriage in Masan Jogi
community appears to maintain moral standards and curtail promiscuity. Close observation shows
that no one, male or female, can cast lustful eye at anyone. It means, no sexual promiscuity in any
form, be it under the garb of friendship, courtship or even harbouring sexual desire of sort or
dealing with men or women with intent of gratifying sexual desire, is tolerated in Masan Jogi
community. The community does not accept any aberration in this unwritten law. If anyone is
found erring in this matter, he or she is severely punished or expelled from the community. This
is basically for the smooth functioning of the community, to avoid quarrels and fights among the
families and to maintain the identity of the community. This is summed up when a Masan Jogi
says, “Our women never indulge in such degrading activities”.
The rule is applicable to all including the school-going boys and girls. No boy or girl from the
Masan Jogi community can become friendly to any boy or girl from the community or from
another community. If anything of that sort occurs, stringent action is taken against the offenders
by the jat panchayat. This, claim Masan Jogis, rids the community of many problems as well as
complications and maintains peace in the community.
I often noticed how girls and boys as well as men and women were at ease with themselves in
each other’s presence. No one views an interaction between a young boy and a girl, or a man and
a woman with suspicion. In contrast to this, women in other communities are always seen ill at
ease when they are in presence of men. Many, if not all, become self-conscious so much that they
repeatedly try to cover their chest with the padar, the end portion of their sari. Quarrels between
husband and wife do escalate and finally end up in separation of the spouses. However, suspicion
or doubt about the fidelity of the partner has never been the cause of breaking of marriages in the
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Masan Jogi community. In view of maintaining the ethnic identity of the community, the basic
understanding is every man has his woman and every woman has her man, so that no one goes to
other communities in search of a partner. Apparently, the practice of child marriage stems from
this idea.
Table 5.2: Age at marriage
Age Gender
Total Female Male
1. 0–3 61 (55.96)
39.87
48 (44.04)
41.03 109
40.37
2. 4–10 28 (63.64)
18.30
16 (36.36)
13.67 44
16.30
3. 11–18 37 (53.63)
24.18
32 (46.37)
27.45 69
25.55
4. 19–above 27 (56.29)
17.65
21 (43.71)
17.95 48
17.78
Total 153 (56.66)
100.00
117 (43.33)
100.00
270
100.00
Notes: Figures in parentheses refer to row-wise percentages;
figures below the frequency refer to column-wise
percentages
Source: Fieldwork data
Out of total 270 married persons in the Masan Jogi community at Shevgaon, 153 (56.67) are
women and 117 (43.33%) men. The largest number of persons (109 or 46.67%) is married at the
age less than three years, the highest among all the other married categories (see Table 5.2).
Among 222 (82.22%) persons were married at the age less than 19 years, 126 (46.67%) are
women and 96 (35.55%) are men. The largest segment of Masan Jogi population married at the
age less than 19 years. In all these categories, the percentage of women is higher than that of men.
Only 48 (17.78%) of all married persons were over 19 years of age when they married.
Masan Jogis follow clan or gotra exogamy. Marriages among the same gotra or surnames are
not allowed in the community. All those who are with common surnames are of one gotra, and
therefore, cannot marry each other. Marriage between .paternal and maternal cousins are
prohibited. A boy can marry his paternal aunt’s daughter (FrSiDo) or a boy can marry his
maternal uncle’s daughter (MoBrDo). Before the marriage ties are fixed, both boy’s and girl’s
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ancestry up to fourth generation are traced to check whether they are related as either maternal or
paternal cousins. If the ancestors are found to be maternal or paternal cousins, the boy and the girl
cannot get married.
Masan Jogis follow monogamy as a rule. When the wife is sick or cannot bear children
second wife is allowed. Divorce is permitted in the case of prolonged sickness of the wife.
Levirate or sororate marriages are not found in the community. There is no dowry system, nor is
there a practice of bride price in Masan Jogi community. The groom’s family buys new set of
clothes for the bride and her family and vice a versa.
As a rule, all marriages are arranged in the Masan Jogi the community and there is no
exception to this. The traditional marriage took place when the community gathered together in
one place once a year. All were child marriages, contracted mostly below five years of age.
Marriages of children yet to be born were also fixed already. A simple canopy was raised by
fixing four wooden poles in the ground. It was covered with tree leaves. The bride and groom
wore simple clothes. A man would ask the groom, ‘Where did you find this girl?’ The groom
would reply saying, ‘I found her at certain place.’ Here the groom would mention the name the
bride’s place. Then the man would ask the groom again, ‘Who is she?’ Then the groom would
reply saying, ‘She is my wife.’ Then he would tie the mangalsutra, (a necklace of black beads),
around the bride’s neck. A simple meal was served to the crowd.
Masan Jogi marriages can be broadly categorised into three types: (i) child marriage, (ii)
youth marriage and (iii) marriage of the elderly, which includes bigamous marriages and
marriages of widows/widowers. Apparently, everyone is married as a child. In this type of
marriage, the alliance is fixed by the respective families of the children. The age group of these
children range from those just born to the early teens. The alliances are fixed very informally. The
boy’s parents would say addressing the parents of the girl in a very casual way ‘How about giving
this girl to us?’ If the parents of the girl are in favour of the proposal, they would respond saying,
‘We know that our daughter will be surely happy in your house’, and the conversation would
continue on various topics. The favourable response is taken as an agreement and the tie is
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finalised over a cup of tea. This is considered as marriage in the earlier days. The girl would
remain with her parents till she attained puberty. After the puberty ceremony, there may be a
simple formal ceremony of marriage held at bride’s place. It could also be held at her relative’s
house for the sake of convenience. The bride and the groom wore old clothes on the occasion. In
some exceptional cases, new but simple and ordinary clothes were bought for them. The meal that
was served on the occasion included rice, daal (lentils), and tamarind chatni. After the marriage
ceremony, the girl would go to her husband’s house.
Except for the extravagant celebration at the time of marriage ceremony, the basic structure of
chid marriage has remained the same. The structure varies in the content of the conversation or in
the way of seeking alliance, which largely depends upon economic condition of the families.
There is no fixed pattern set for child marriages. It all depends on the parents: how they want the
marriage to be celebrated. Some choose to go in for the full-fledged marriage ceremony soon after
they get the favourable response from the girl’s parents. Generally, the girl goes to her husband’s
house only after she attains puberty. If the parents agree upon, the girl goes to her husband’s place
soon after the marriage ceremony. Everyone in the Masan Jogi community is apparently married
when they were children. I asked a young boy studying in 9th standard whether he was married
when he was a child. The boy replied in the negative. In the course of the conversation later, he
said that a sort of marriage did take place when he was a child. Initially, many denied having
married in their childhood, but later confirmed the same. We can confidently say that child
marriages are common among Masan Jogis.
The marriage ceremony is simple. There is no officiating priest. The Sarpanch blesses the
nuptials with few words of blessing uttered over the bride and the groom. A huge canopy is
erected on the occasion and most expensive musical band is hired together with blasting music
system. At the end of the ceremony festive meal is served to the whole community.
The child marriages are celebrated in the interest of the adults; the children, the bride and the
bridegroom, are hardly aware of all that happens around. These marriages, to be sure, almost
invariably create problems among the families. The alliances that are fixed are not always
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accepted by the grown up children. Either one or both may have their own choice of partners.
Though the marriage bond was not established by performing a formal ceremony, the separation
has to be finalised by the Jat panchayat, which involves money and prestige. It may so happen
that, after the alliance is fixed, there is a long time till the girl attains puberty. During this period,
the parents of either the boy or the girl may choose another girl or boy, as the case may be. This is
regarded as breach of contract, a serious offence in the community, and leads to a dispute. It is
sorted out in the jat panchayat sitting. In this case too, both parties have to meet the heavy cost of
Jat panchayat sitting. The reason for separation can be frivolous or important. Seldom is such a
dispute settled amicably.
Youth marriage takes place between a boy who has reached the age between late teen and
early twenties and a girl who has attained puberty. This type of marriage follows certain structure
and norms. Getting the information about the eligible boy and the eligible girl is the first stage in
the process. It is followed by the formal way of seeking alliance. The parents of the eligible boy
take the initiative in this regard. Then there is finalising the marital tie and, finally, the marriage
ceremony. The whole process may take few weeks to several months, depending on the situation.
It is not disclosed to anyone until the alliance is finalised.
After the puberty ceremony, the message that a particular girl is now available for marriage is
spread across the Masan Jogi communities in different locations by word of mouth through
relatives, mentioned in their usual casual conversations. The parents of the eligible boy who is
interested in getting their son married confirm the news and obtain some preliminary information
about the girl such as whose daughter the girl is, their surname, etc. through their relatives. The
boy’s parents talk this over with their close friends and relatives and, in the process, gather some
more information from them as they trace the genealogy up to third or fourth generation of the
girl. If the male ancestors of the boy and the girl in the fourth ascending generation were either
maternal cousins if not brothers, or if the female ancestors of the boy and the girl in the fourth
ascending generation were either maternal or paternal cousins, if not sisters, then they give up on
that girl. For, in such case, the boy and the girl belong to the same clan; therefore, they cannot get
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married. However, if the ancestors of the boy and the girl of the fourth ascending generation are
not cousins, and then the parents of the boy approach the Sarpanch for his opinion. The Sarpanch
discusses the possibility of the alliance with acquaintances and endorses the idea. If he has other
information causing impediment to the proposed alliance, he advises the family accordingly.
Having received support from the Sarpanch for the proposed alliance, the parents of the boy
proceed to contact the parents of the girl and communicate to them of their intention of visiting
the family in the near future for discussion.
On receiving the message from the parents of the boy, the parents of the girl begin enquiring
into the ancestry of the boy’s family. If they find no clan relationship, the parents of the girl
approach the Sarpanch of the area they live in and discuss with him the possibility of the alliance.
If the Sarpanch endorses the alliance and if the parents of the girl are interested in the proposed
alliance, they await the visit of the boy’s parents. If the parents of the girl are not interested in the
alliance for some reason, they do not dissuade the parents of the girl in the straight forward
manner. The parents of the girl send a polite message to the parents of the boy through the
relatives living in their proximity. If the parents of the boy do not receive the communication and
they still visit the girl’s house, the parents of the girl receive them courteously and communicate
their view politely. If everything goes well, the parents of the boy together with their Sarpanch
and one or two others visit the house of the girl.
On the arrival of the parents of the boy with their Sarpanch, the parents of the girl spread a
mat for them to sit as a gesture of welcome. Then, after the guests settled down, the formal
dialogue begins. The father of the boy would say something like this, ‘We will be happy to have
your daughter in our house. Whatever we eat we will also share with her.’ If the parents of the girl
are in favour of the proposed alliance, they would respond saying, ‘We know, you will not let our
daughter go hungry. She will be certainly happy in the family.’ The dialogue goes on for a while.
If the girl’s parents respond consistently favourably, the alliance is taken as accepted by them.
Then the date and place of the marriage are decided. If the girl lives far away from the place of
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the boy, usually the girl is moved to the place of a relative living in the boy’s locality, where the
marriage then takes place. The guests are served a sumptuous meal after which they depart.
The family of the groom has to purchase new set of clothes for the girl and her parents. The
family also buys new set of clothes for the Sarpanch and his wife according to their choice. The
house where the wedding is to take place is decorated with mango leaves. The girl and the boy are
brought in front of the house where all the guests from the bride and the groom sides remain
assembled. The Sarpanch, while uttering some words, ties a knot with the corner of the scarf on
the shoulder of the boy and the corner end of bride’s sari. There is no fixed format of words that
the Sarpanch says while blessing the wedding. The wedding is solemnised. A meal is served to
the guests. The bride then is taken to live in the house of the boy. No marriage, however, takes
place against the wishes of the girl.
In the marriage of the elderly, a person would be getting married for the second time. The
reason could be the death of a spouse or the wife is sick for a long time or she has not been able to
bear children. It is a simple marriage solemnised in the presence of few family friends or
relatives. It is known as a ‘private’ marriage, as the formalities are carried out within the four
walls of the house.
In this type of marriage, the process of seeking alliance usually begins with men who are
interested in getting married. They take initiative in seeking the alliance from a separated woman
or widow. In some cases, alliances are also sought from young unmarried daughters from very
poor families. In order to help the family, young girls opt for over-aged grooms.
Two such marriages have taken place in the community recently. I spoke to persons
concerned individually so as to know the family life in their households and reasons for the
second marriage. In one case, the first wife of the man died after giving birth to two sons and a
daughter. He married a woman separated from her husband with two daughters and two sons. All
the children of the husband and the wife are staying in the household. Though they have no
wealth they are happy being together.
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In the second case, the wife developed a severe heart ailment after the marriage of her four
daughters. The man, 55 years then, decided to get married to another lady. He found a girl of 16
years and got married to her. The parents of the girl who are extremely poor, thought that their
son-in-law might help them. The girl on her own came to tell me how her life was ruined by
getting married to the man who was older than her father. She did try to break away, from the
man but could not succeed.
In this type of marriage the alliance is sought in a clandestine way. The groom, accompanied
by a friend or two, visits the house of the prospective woman and talk things over with her and the
relatives. When they agree on the conditions, a date is fixed. On that particular day, the groom,
accompanied by the Sarpanch and few male relatives or friends, go the prospective bride’s house.
Without any paraphernalia, the Sarpanch solemnises the marriage. A simple food is served on the
occasion. At times, the meal is avoided to simplify and shorten the ceremony. Then the groom
takes the bride to his house. No special welcome is organised for the couple at the groom’s place.
The newlywed woman joins the routine of the family from the next day itself. People generally
accept the new comer without showing any expression of surprise. The previous wife, if she is
around and the children accommodate the new wife and her children without raising any issue.
Because, if the new wife lodges a complaint with the jat panchayat, the man will have to pay
heavy fine. Moreover, he will lose his prestige in the community and may lose the wife too.
The wife who has come into a new home with this type of marriage enjoys the same role in
the community as any other wife. Nevertheless, the status of this type of marriage cannot be
equated to the status of other types of marriages. This type of marriage is understood to be for
convenience and adjustments to certain prevailing situation.
Kinship Terminology
‘In the various forms of the family, sib, clan, and community, interpersonal relationships are
structured in such a manner as to aggregate individuals into social groups’ (Murdock 1949: 91).
The base of these relationships often hinges finally on the hierarchy related to wealth, prestige or
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status. Masan Jogis, till recent times, owned no property and had no hierarchy related to status or
prestige. Therefore, there are no property inheritance norms that are governed by the kinship
structure, and kinship is not influenced by status or prestige hierarchy. There occur no kinship-
specific roles assigned to individuals in any ritual or ceremony. Not surprisingly, therefore,
kinship ties are not strong among Masan Jogis; the traditional and historical roots of the
community do not penetrate into the deep past.
Table 5.3 shows the kinship terminology used by Masan Jogis at Shevgaon. The kinship terms
of address and the kinship terms of references are mostly Telugu, pointing to the community’s
origin in present day Andhra Pradesh. Some Marathi terms are incorporated because of the
influence their migration and settlement in Maharashtra.
Older persons address the younger persons by name; whereas younger persons address the
elders by the kinship terms. They may twin the kinship term with the proper name of the person
in order to distinguish persons of the same kinship category when required. Masan Jogis use
many kinship terms of reference as terms of address, too. In very few cases the terms of address
are a slight modification of the terms of reference.
The terms for mother and father, that is, amma and ayya, are typical south Indian kinship
terms (especially Telugu) retained by the Masan Jogis, as opposed to aai and baba commonly
used in Maharashtra. So also, the term for elder brother, is anna. The middle brother is called
nidipi anna and he is usually addressed as anna without adding the suffix nidipi. Similarly, the
youngest brother is shinna tammud (shinna means small), usually addressed as tammud. The
eldest sister is pedd, (the big), hence she is pedda shellya, addressed as akka, a typical word for
eldest sister in south Indian languages. For the youngest, the suffix shinaya (the small), is added.
The kinship term for male paternal cousins are chulat anna, chulat tumud, etc., and for female
paternal cousins, it is chulat shellya. The term chulat is also used in Marathi for the paternal
cousins. Similarly, maternal male cousin is mavas anna or mavas tammud; and maternal female
cousin is mavas shellya. Again, the terms mavas is also used for maternal cousins.
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Table 5.3: Kinship terminology
Description Term of Reference Term of Address
Mo Amma Amma
Fa Ayya Ayya
ElBr Anna Anna
MiddleBr Nidipi Anna Anna/Nidipi Anna
YoBr Shina Tammud Tammud
ElSi. Pedda Shellya Akka
MiddleSi Nidipi Shellya Nadipi Shellya
YoSi Shina Shellya Shellya
BrWi Vadnya By name
BrSo Kodaku By name
BrDa Biddya By name
SoWi Kodal By name
DoHu Alladu
SoSo Manmadu By name
SoDa Manara By name
DaSo Manmadu
DaDa Manmaral
SiHu Bamardi Bava
SiSo Manaludu By name
SiDa Mavardal By name
SiDaHu Alludu
HuSi Sister-in-law Mardal
HuBr Mardi Mardi
WiSi Mardal Mardala
WiBr Bamardi
FaBr Shinaya Shinaya
FaBrWi Shinamma
FaBrSo Chulat anna
FaBrDa Chulat shellya Chulat Shellya
FaSr Menatta
FaSrHu Menamma
FaSiSo Bava
FaSrDa Gardal
FaFa Tata Tata
FaMo Avva Avva
MoBr Menamma Menmama
MoBrWi Mennatta Manatta
MoBrSo Bava Bava
MoBrDa Vadnya Vadanya
MoMo Avva Ayya
Continued
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Description Term of Reference Term of Address
MoFa Tata Tata
MoSi Pedamma
MoSiSo Mavas Tamadu
MoSiDa Shellya
HuMo Atta
HuFr Mama
WiMo Atta
WiFa Mama
HuBrWi Yaral
WiBrWi Yaral
WiSiHu Sadkud
Key to abbreviations: BrDa = brother’s daughter, BrSo = brother’s son, BrWi=
brother’s wife, DoHu = daughter’s husband, ElBr =Elder brother, ElSi = elder sister,
Fa = father, FaBr = father’s brother, FaFa = father’s father, FaMo = father’s mother,
FaSiSo = father’s sister’s son, FaSr = father’s sister, FrBrDa = Father’s brothr’s
daughter, FrBrSo = father’s brotherson, FrBrWi = father’s brother’s wife, FrSrDa =
father’s sister’s daughter, FrSrHu = father’s sister’s husband, HuBr = husband’s
brother, HuBrWi= husband’s brother’s wife, HuFr = husband’s father, HuMo =
husband’s mother, MiddleBr = middle brother, MiddleSi = middle sister, Mo =
mother, MoBr = mother’s brother, MoBrDa = mother’s brother’s daughter, MoBrSo =
mother’s brother’s son, MoFa = mother’s father, MoMo = mother’s mother, MoSi =
mother’s sister, MoSiDa = mother’s Sister’s daughter, MoSiSo= mother’s sister’s son,
MrBrWi = mother’s brother’s wife, SiDa = sister’s daughter, SiDaHu = sister’s
daughter’s husband, SiHu = sister’s husband, SiSo = sister’s son, SoDa = son’s
daughter, SoSo =son’s son, SoWi = son’s wife, WiBr = wife’s brother, WiFa = wife’s
father, WiMo = wife’s mother, WiSi = wife’s sister, WiSiHu = wife’s sister’s
husband, YoBr = younger brother, YoSi = younger sister.
Source: Fieldwork data
One’s daughter’s husband is alladu, and sister’s daughter’s husband is also alladu. If the wife
is speaker, her husband’s sister is mardal to her, and her sister is mardal to her husband. The
terms atta and mama used by husband and wife for each other’s mother and father respectively.
The kinship term yaral applies to both husband’s brother’s wife when wife is the speaker and
wife’s brother’s wife when the husband is the speaker.
The term menatta applies to both, father’s sister and mother’s brother’s wife. Similarly,
father’s mother as well as mother’s mother is avva, and father’s father and mother’s father is tata.
Husband’s sister’s husband is sadkud, who is considered almost as brother. The term saadu is
used for this kinship in Marathi.
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The suffix mavas is added to kinship term for maternal cousins. Female paternal cousins are
addressed as vadnya. The same term is used to address Brother’s wife. It sounds quite similar to
vahini, a term used to address Brother’s wife in Marathi. Since cross-cousin marriages are
accepted in the Masan Jogi community, the kinship term for mother’s brother’s daughter is also
vadnya.
Masan Jogi kinship structure is simple in nature. Most of the kinship terms of address and the
kinship terms of reference for maternal and paternal cousins are similar. They differ only in the
suffixes. They indicate taboos or potential partners for contracting marriage. Maternal and
paternal cousins are considered as brothers and sisters with consanguine relations. Hence, no
marriage can be contracted among them. Whereas, cross-cousins are non-consanguine relations
among whom marriage can be contracted. When finalising proposals for marriages, the ancestry
of the prospective bride or groom is traced, mainly to check whether they are related as parallel
cousins or cross-cousins. A proposal is finalised, only when the prospective bride and the groom
are cross-cousins.
Summary
We have studied various aspects of family, marriage and kinship in Masan Jogi community.
Family as a basic unit in the community provides social security to individuals. Widows are
remarried and orphans are taken care of by relatives. Therefore, the family is simple and it is
essentially an unit of the community. Masan Jogi family life is marked with moderate expression
of emotions even at occasions of happiness or sorrow. Branding of children, though is waning, is
not completely eradicated. Child marriages are common, as a rule everyone is married as a child.
This marriage may not last; hence, everyone is married at least twice. The elderly marriages do
not appear to be common among Masan Jogis. Partner’s fidelity has not been the cause of marital
disputes; however, marriages and marital life give rise to many other disputes. In the absence of
ownership of property, norms of inheritance and succession, the kinship structure of Masan Jogi
remains simple in which parallel cousins are considered as brothers and sisters and cross-cousins
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are prospective marriage partners. Ancestries of both the proposed partners are traced to the
fourth ascending generation to check whether the boy and the girl are cross-cousins or not.