From 1937 until 1960 the late Professor D. N. Majumdar, and his students at Lucknow University worked intermittently among the residents of Jaunsar-Bawar, a small region of the lower Himalayas in the northwest corner of the state of Uttarakhand, India.
This monograph is a product of field research covering a period of twenty two years in which Majumdar worked in Jaunsar- Bawar almost every year for some weeks during the summer recess. The total period of his stay in the area has been in all four years and eleven months (Majumdar, 1963: ix). The book provides valuable and hitherto unavailable ethnographic data on the Indo-Aryan speaking Hindus who are its subjects. They are called as representatives of the Western Pahari culture area by Grierson / Berreman, distinguishable linguistically and by a number of other features including a widespread incidence of fraternal polyandry.
Ethnography examines various aspects related to life of the Jaunsarese and also explains certain crucial parameters of academics of various social institutions prevailing in their society and their importance in the social structure of Jaunsaris.
In Jaunsar-Bawar the preferred form of marriage is fraternal polyandry which with the addition of multiple wives is termed “polygynandry” by the author and is the most frequent type of family
The fraternal polyandry of Jaunsar-Bawar in the western Himalayas of India is described in the monograph by examining the domestic groups it creates. The form and composition of these groups vary within the society so that structures commonly associated with the terms monogamy, polygyny, and group marriage, as well as polyandry and polygynandry, occur simultaneously in a community and, over time, in many families. All are manifestations of a single set of principles and beliefs about the nature of marriage, family, and the domestic group. The variations are the result of changes in family composition during its life cycle (the developmental cycle) and in response to circumstantial and optional factors.
Generalisations about polyandry, its causes and consequences, can only apply to this society if they encompass the temporal and situational diversity of the domestic group. The developmental cycle of the domestic group explains most of the intra-cultural variation in the Pahari family.
Majumdar conducted his fieldwork in three villages of Jaunsar- Bawar viz. Lohari, Baila and Lakhamandal. While selecting these villages a two-fold consideration was kept in mind by Majumdar: firstly, the villages were representative of the culture of the region under study and second the villages were to be of suitable size and setting. Easy rapport with the villagers of these field centres helped them to select these villages (Majumdar, 1963: 29).
- Village Lohari is in Khat Dhanau, and is the biggest constituent village from the point of population as well as cultivation.
- Village Baila is in Khat Bharam and a larger culture area.
- Lakhamandal belongs to Khat Baundar. (Majumdar, 1963: 31).
Trained in Malinowskian tradition of fieldwork, Majumdar and his fellow field workers while exploring for this ethnography have employed popular methods of field research in Anthropology. In the words of Majumdar, “The study of the demographic structure of villages has been made on the basis of the village census and family–wise genealogies. The census is recorded in prescribed forms for families in the area, and the genealogies are taken according to a model designed for the polyandro-polygynous type of family. Besides, certain narrative accounts have been collected through structural interviews with various families and individuals, and general observations have been made with regard to the conditions of the village settlement. Reference data have also been gathered from various official sources and checked with our field findings” (Majumdar,1963: 32).
Polyandry, though far more restricted than polygyny, is still being practiced in various parts of the world. From the distribution of polyandry, it appears that it is not a primitive institution. The evolutionists have explained polyandry as an important phase in the development of marriage.
A family among the Jaunsaris, as among the plains people, forms a domestic unit, with patrilocal residence, patrilineal descent, patronymic designation and patriarchal authority. Further, it often takes the form of a joint family which, as found normally among the local Brahmins and Rajputs (Khasas), is a union of all male members of all living generations, in the patrilineal line of descent, along with their wives and their unmarried sisters and daughters. Often there are also the married sisters and daughters who remain in the family before the consummation of marriage or after divorce or on being widowed. Child marriage was also customary. Often a girl’s wedding is celebrated during her infancy, but she remains at her father’s home till her puberty. It is also a custom that a married sister or daughter, even after consummation of marriage, frequently returns and stays in the parental home for months, though she is not a member of the family. The polyandrous family of Jaunsar-Bawar differs from that of other parts of Uttar Pradesh. The nuclear family is not as stable as we find in a monogamous society; the wives are not permanent members of the family. During festivals and on other occasions they go back to their mait or parental village, and divorce is so frequent that seldom does a wife stick to a family for many years. It is in this sense that the family assumes a unilateral character and thus forms the unit of the lineage system (Majumdar,1963:71-72).
The high castes of Jaunsar-Bawar, Brahmins as well as Rajputs, live in joint families; but what distinguishes the Jaunsari family from the joint family of the Hindus of the plains is the absence of a horizontal joint family.All the brothers marry together, and have one or more wives in common, instead of having separate wives. In fact, the Jaunsari family system is not only polyandrous but a combination of paternal polyandry and polygyny. All men of each generation who are brothers marry together with one or, as is usually the case, more than one wife (Majumdar, 1963:72).
Traditionally, the eldest brother is the representative of the family, as well as the controller of all the brothers, in matters of marriage and conjugal life. It is he who marries the wife or wives, and it is through him that his brothers have access to the common wives. In principle and in practice, all the brothers form an inseparable group as ‘fraternal husbands’ in the name of the eldest brother.
The wives, on the other hand, join the union individually, one after another, in the same way as is usually found in polygynous system, except that the single husband is substituted by the polyandrous group of husbands. This form of marriage may, therefore, better be known as polygynandry, and this union a polygynandrous family unit, instead of being known by the popularly used term ‘polyandrous’ (Majumdar, 1963:72).
As intermarriage between Brahmans and Rajputs is permissible, and as marriage outside the group is tabooed, they constitute a single endogamous group; while each separate group among the Doms constitutes a single endogamous group, arranged in hierarchical order. Again, no man is allowed to marry within the same village. This has given rise to a subtle distinction in the status of a woman; as a ryanti when she is in her husband’s village and as a dhyanti when she goes back to her own village.
Polyandry is a common form of marriage in Jaunsar-Bawar, where all the brothers are the common husbands of a wife or wives and the family therefore is patrilocal and patriarchal. It is the eldest brother who gets married and all others ipso facto become her husbands. But so long as he is in the house they cannot have sexual relations with her under the same roof. The usual practice among other brothers is to follow her to the field, or else, to wait for the eldest brother to be absent from home for some work; since all the management of the household is in his hands he is mostly away. To a married woman all the brothers with whom she has to live are known by a single term khawand, meaning husband. There is no word in Jaunsari terminology to differentiate her relationship with her husband’s brothers. Similarly, all the brothers are called Baba (or father) by the children born out of this polyandrous union. The only distinction that may be drawn between one brother and another by the children is according to the function they perform. The brother who looks after the goats is called Bakrawa-Baba, one who tends sheep as Bhedava-Baba, and the third who looks after the cows as Ghair-Baba. If there is a brother who looks after the buffaloes, he is known as Mohishava-Baba, and so on (Saxena, 1955:28).
It is obvious that the husbands of a woman are always brothers with the same set of fathers, although if their fathers had shared more than one wife among them, all the brothers need not be the sons of the same mother. These brothers may have one wife among them, or they may have two or three wives, or even more, in common. Thus, we may come across a peculiar combination of polyandry and polygyny, termed polygynandry. But nowhere has polyandry been given up even with the plurality of wives. All the wives have to share bed with the eldest brother turn by turn, and so it goes on in the strict order of precedence among all other brothers. Asecond wife may be taken in if there is great disparity in age between that of the first wife and any other brother. In such cases, either the eldest brother marries again according to custom more for the sake of younger brother or the younger brother himself takes a new bride. But that does not mean that polyandrous relationship ceases. In the former case the eldest brother may have access to the new bride and in the latter case the younger brother may retain his sexual relationship with the older wife. A second wife may also be introduced in the family, if the first wife does not give birth to a child within a reasonable limit of time. In this connection it may be mentioned that a barren woman enjoys a very low social status. She may even be supposed to be possessed by a witch and incurs a great social wrath which may end in her being turned out of her husband’s family.
The additional wife is generally a sister of the first one, but sometimes she comes from a different family. In order to avoid quarrels between co-wives a certain ceremony is observed when the newly wedded wife comes into the house. The new wife is made to sit in a corner of the room and the old one sits opposite her. Two elderly women stand by each holding a lighted stick in her hands. The light is held in such a manner that the shadow of one wife does not fall on the other.Athird woman joins their hands and each gives the other a silver coin. If there be more than one wife in the house, this ceremony is repeated with each one of them (Saxena, 1955:30).
The senior most woman in the house, usually the first wife of the Sayana, is known as Sayani. She looks after the household matters and makes the domestic assignments among the womenfolk. She is the commander as well as the caretaker of all ryantis (or wives) in the family. Traditionally, a special and privileged status is given to the first among all the wives. She is more respected than her co-wives. All other wives have equal status, but those who have proved their fertility are more favoured by the husbands. Often additional wives are taken for begetting children, though usually the number of wives depends upon the economic condition of the family and the amount of work for women to perform.
Women are great assets to their husbands. They not only perform the household work, such as cooking, washing, cleaning, fetching water and rearing of children, but also help their husbands in grazing cattle, collecting fuel, as well as in agricultural operations. They may be helped voluntarily by their daughters and their husbands’ sister or sisters who, generally known as dhyantis, are frequent visitors to the family. However, dhyantis are by tradition not allowed to take part in any hard tasks (Majumdar, 1963:74).
Although the family economy demands the maintenance of a joint unit, division of families does take place occasionally, either among the brothers or between the fathers and sons. It seems that the main causes calling for the division of a family are the quarrels between women, especially when one or more of the husbands take a fancy to one of their common wives. Otherwise, it may result from the division of labour among the family members, especially when the size of the family has grown beyond the desirable limit, and working hands are few.
Often one or two of the brothers, with special attachment to one of their wives, may choose to establish a new household, while the rest stay back together until further division of family takes place (Majumdar, 1963:74-75).
Regarding the formation of polygynandrous joint family among the Jaunsaris, Majumdar ascribes it to geo-economic cause, security of family property, a mean of adjustment to their economic means and personal needs as well as it is also considered convenient for companionship. Although joint family system is a dominant feature of the Khasas or the Brahmin society, yet simple or nuclear families are also found. The nuclear families, however, tend to become joint in course of the process that characterises family life among them. Generally speaking, the high caste group maintains a big household and, in general, a more complicated form of family, whereas the lower castes employ simpler forms.
Majumdar believes that it is the local geo-economic setting which appears to have created the complicated form of ‘polygynandrous’ marital union. In a joint family of two or three generations, the combinations different forms of marital union in different generations complicated the issue of the composition and the type of the family (Majumdar, 1963:77).
Some other characteristic features associated with Jaunsari marriage
- The girls and boys usually get married mostly at very early age or in other words we can say that age at marriage among Jaunsaris is between 10 to 13 years. The tradition of early age at marriage is associated with Durhonj (equivalent of Gauna of plains of Uttar Pradesh). Betrothal often takes place at a very tender age. Parents decide the fate of the marriage i.e. the boy’s father along with his relatives visits the bride’s house and if some agreement is reached then boy’s father gives an earnest money (bondho/ jeodhan) to the girl’s father. In this way betrothal is organized. Kartik, Pausha, Magh, Phalgun and Baisakh are considered auspicious months for marriage.
- After fixing of an auspicious date by Brahmin, one or two days before the fixed date, the bridegroom’s father along with a batch of relatives goes to the bride’s house. The bride’s people show him their herd of goats out of which he selects a few and slaughters them with his own hands. The boy’s father also gives one or two ornaments to the bride and after enjoying a feast his party comes back.Aday later the bride (jojolty) is brought to the bridegroom’s house with her dowry (painta) and accompanied by her relatives and other members of her party. The size of her party (jajoria) depends upon the type of the marriage to be celebrated. All the members ofAal are expected in the jojora or marriage party. There are three categories of marriage, but the difference among them is only of degree: (1) Bewa – Bride’s party consists of 5-10 persons and there is little or no dowry. It is the simplest form of marriage. (2) Boee Daudee – The party consists of 20-30 persons or even more and the dowry is carried by 8-10 persons (paintrus). (3) Bajdya– This marriage is celebrated among the rich Zamindars and sayanas. The invitation is extended to the whole khut. The bride’s party may consist of 500- 2,000 persons, or even more. More than 50 goats are slaughtered on such occasions and ghee, rice and superior wine (phool) are freely served. The dowry is carried by thirty to forty men. In this connection it is interesting to note that it is the bride’s party that goes to the bridegroom’s village and all the ceremonies are gone through under the roof of the bridegroom’s home (Saxena, 1955:33-34).
- The marriage ceremony is quite a simple affair. It consists of a vermilion mark (tilak) being applied to the bride and the bridegroom by the Brahman and then the mother-in-law applies a tilak to the forehead of the bride. Some hymns in the local dialect are also recited by the priest (purot). Atilak is also applied to the head of a he-goat, which is then sacrificed and thus the marriage is announced. But now more elaborate Vedic rites are gradually being observed. Not only are the services of a Brahman priest being availed of, but also seven rounds of the sacred fire (phaira) are performed, and Sanskrit mantras recited as in the case of orthodox Hindu marriages. The bride’s party usually arrives in the evening and the whole marriage ceremony is finished in a very short time not more than half an hour. The guests are then entertained to a big feast and served with the best wine (Saxena, 1955:35).
- However, the impact of education has risen the age at marriage among both boys and girls. Love marriages and inter- caste love marriage are getting common.
- Divorce (chhoot) is frequently resorted to due to adultery, disloyalty or even slightest slip on the part of ryanti. When a wife is divorced, her parents or the new husband have to pay her former husbands an amount of money, as demanded by them as compensation or chhoot or kheet (alimony). Remarriages and widow remarriages are also frequently seen now a day.
Conclusion
Social organisation of Jaunsaris is based on caste hierarchy. Different Hindu castes, namely, Brahman, Rajput, Badai, Bajgi, Nai, Deor, Lohar, Sonar, Kolta and Nat are there. Clan organisation is not at all elaborate and effective, but village exogamy is. Inter-caste marriages and hypergamous and hypogamous unions do take place. Exclusive polyandry has been modified to some extent, and bipolyandry, polygyny and monogamy are practised. Descent succession, inheritance and residence are reckoned in male line. Family structure is basically polyandrous. The eldest male member is the authority in the family. The Jaunsari polyandry is exclusively fraternal. In case of fraternal polyandry village exogamy is considered important among them. Infant marriage is common but cross-cousin marriage is absent and sexual freedom in some form or other is/was permissible among them. (Mukherjee, 1963) The affinal kin of the Khasas is known as soga, which means the affinal relatives or the ‘kindred’, excluding the agnates. The term soga has its Hindi equivalent rishta, to which reference has been made by many a well –informed Jaunsari informant. The practice of cross-cousin marriage may orient the kinship structure by eliminating the ego’s mother’s cognate, a separate kin group. Due to the customary rules of lineage and village exogamy, the terms dai and soga have not only their kinship connection, but also their territorial significance. The sogas are those outsiders who are related to the speaker by an affinal tie (Majumdar, 1963:97). In between the co-wives, the senior one in order of their marriages is addressed by her junior co-wives as dadi, which means ‘elder sister’, whereas in return she addresses others by name, as divorce and remarriage are common features in this society, a newcomer among the cowives may be older in age than some of the earlier ones. In that case, both of them would address each other as dadi. In the term of reference, they refer to each other as shokh or by name according to seniority (Majumdar, 1963:102).
It may be added that although there is no ‘preferential marriage’ typified here, the Khasas do prefer to marry with the soga, whose family condition is better known to them than those of the non-related caste men (Majumdar,1963:113).
Spouse relationship is the most complicated and most important of all the interpersonal relationships in the Khasa family, in view of its polygynandrous composition. The interrelationship between the spouses should be in the spirit of cooperation and mutual help. However, whatever economic or other importance it may have for the foundation of this family system, a family, as soon as it is established, functions more as an affectionate unit than an economic corporation.
There is in the Khasa family much affection and mutual care between the husbands and the wives, as well as between either the co-husbands or the co-wives themselves. Interpersonal jealousy is remarkably absent. In fact, a wife here has a much greater responsibility than that of a monogamous wife, as she has to cater to the needs and satisfaction of all husbands to the same degree, despite her possible liking for or dislike of someone or the other among them. The conjugal relations between husbands and wives are usually cordial, though either side is always on guard against the other, lest his or her partner may go to clandestine paramours (Majumdar, 1963:124).
The fraternal co-husbands, on the other hand, share their common wives without quarrel or even bitterness (Majumdar, 1963:125). Strict taboo on marriage among agnates exists, as conveyed by the term baba and kaka used for their paternal uncles in the aal and dai chara, respectively (Majumdar, 1963:126). There is an absence of specific names for the ‘amitate’ and other kin groups and the classificatory use of kinship terms for these kin. It seems that the Khasas are content with a dichotomization of their kin into the dai, who are barred by a taboo from marriage with the Ego, and the soga, with whom Ego’s family has an affinal tie (Majumdar, 1963:128). They remarry widows, practice levirate, sororate and polyandry, recognise divorce as legal, and as against the Hindus of the plains intermarriage between the various Khasa groups is not tabooed and children born of such marriages do not suffer any social stigma (Majumdar, 1963:249).