Proverb Analysis
The proverb, "a father’s sister and brother’s daughter must not see the same lamp," implies a restriction on marriage alliances. Specifically, it suggests that a girl should avoid marrying into the same household where her paternal aunt (father's sister) has previously married. This reflects deep-seated rules governing kinship and marriage patterns in North India.
Kinship Rules Explanation
- Option D: Repetition of intermarriage in the same household and same direction is barred. This option directly addresses the proverb's core meaning. If a paternal aunt marries into a specific household, allowing her brother's daughter (the niece) to marry into that same household is a prohibited repetition of alliance ('same direction' refers to the lineage connection).
- Option A: Cross-cousin marriage is barred. Louis Dumont's ethnographic work emphasizes prescriptive marriage rules. In many North Indian systems, marrying into the father's sister's husband's lineage (where the aunt married) can be classified as a form of cross-cousin marriage. This prohibition helps maintain distinct alliance circles and prevents over-saturation or unwanted entanglements with already affinally related groups.
- Option B: Uxorilocal marriage is barred. Uxorilocal residence (husband joining wife's family) is distinct from marriage alliance rules. The proverb focuses on who one can marry, not where one lives after marriage.
- Option C: Exogamy is barred. Exogamy, marrying outside one's kin group, is a fundamental principle for alliance formation, not something to be barred. The proverb concerns *how* exogamous marriages are regulated, not whether they occur.
Final Conclusion
The proverb illustrates specific marriage regulations aimed at preventing certain types of alliances and repetitions. Therefore, the barring of cross-cousin marriage (A) and the prohibition of repeating intermarriage in the same household and direction (D) are the correct explanations.
Important Questions from Indian Family, Marriage & Kinship
- Who developed the concept of ‘seed and earth' as a way to understand the gendered division of labour and cultural construction of gender?
- Which of the following option(s) is/are CORRECT?
- Flavia Agnes (2013) writes, “Despite all the positive impact of the campaign revolving it, the Delhi gang rape incident does not foreground the different types of violations that take place in our society. Rather, it reinforces the popular perception that rape takes place in lonely places, late at night, by strangers and that rapists are brutes or psychopaths who deserve to be hanged. But most rapes take place in the privacy of our homes, in our schools. Rapes by family members are seldom reported."
From the above excerpt, which of the following statement(s) is/are CORRECT?
i. Progressive mobilisations protesting violence against women can themselves reproduce patriarchy
ii. Contrary to popular perception, sexual violence against women happens only in the privacy of our homes
iii. According to popular perception, rapists are brutes or psychopaths Patriliny is a kinship term that refers to_________.
- Which of the following author(s) highlighted the connection between kinship terminology and kinship structure in India?
