Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu/553

Rh these so-called Māppillas were followers of marumakkathāyam rules and customs long before they embraced the faith of Islam." "In the case of the Māppillas," Mr. Vaidyanatha writes, "it is more than probable that there were more numerous conversions from marumakkathāyam families in the north than in the south. The number of makkathāyam adherents has always been small in the north. According to marumakkathāyam, the wife is not a member of the husband's family, but usually resides in her family house. The makkathāyam Māppillas, curiously enough, seldom take their wives home. In some parts, such as Calicut, a husband is only a visitor for the night. The Māppillas, like the Nāyars, call themselves by the names of their houses (or parambas)." It is noted by Mr. P. Kunjain* that the present generation of Moplahs following marumakkathāyam is not inclined to favour the perpetuation of this flagrant transgression of the divine law, which enjoins makkathāyam on true believers in unequivocal terms. With the view of defeating the operation of the law, the present generation settled their self-acquisition on their children during their lifetime. A proposal to alter the law to accord with the divine law will be hailed with supreme pleasure. This is the current of public opinion among Moplahs. It is recorded in the Gazetteer of Malabar that "in North Malabar, Māppillas as a rule follow the marumakkatāyam system of inheritance, though it is opposed to the precepts of the Korān; but a man's self-acquisitions usually descend to his wife and family in accordance with the Muhammadan law of property. The combination of the two systems of law often leads to great complications.