Matrilineal Memories:Performativity and the Matrilineal Social System among the Marginal Communities in Tuḷunāḍ in South India

Abstract

Matriliny, or the succession of lineage through the female line, has been a distinct characteristic of the Tuḷu-speaking region (Tuḷunāḍ) of coastal Karnataka in South India. Termed Tammale Aravatta Kaṭṭ, this matrilineal social systemhas had significant implications on the property arrangements in large households, thus also guiding the ritualistic ‘praxis’ of the Tuluvas. Although the matrilineal system of the Tuluva people has undergone remarkable changes since the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, traces of the system are maintained in the cultural realm of day-to-day existence. This paper is an attempt to analyze the traces of matriliny that are encoded in the “collective memory” (Halbwachs) of the Tuḷuvas. It will delve into the forms of orality such as folk songs and ritual performances through which the memories of matriliny are sustained and transmitted. The study will examine how the predominantly oral communities like Tuḷuvas rely on the mnemonic devices as containers of communitarian values and histories.  As a particular focus, this study intends to bring to fore and understand the matrilineal memories of the marginal castes/tribes of the region, thereby shifting the focus away from dominant caste practices of matriliny that have already been under extensive scholarly scrutinization. In the process, the paper will also attempt to understand the power dynamics at play at both cultural and representative grounds.