Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/58

TIYAN of such a marriage would inherit no property from the family of either parent. The husband would have no share in the property of his family, which devolves through the women; nor would the wife have any share in that of her family, which is passed on through the men. So there would be nothing for the children. But,on the other hand, marriage between a girl of the north and a man of the south is a different thing. The children would inherit from both parents. As a rule, Tiyans of the north marry in the north, and those of the south in the south. It was generally admitted that it was formerly the custom among the Tiyans in South Malabar for several brothers — in fact all of them — to share one wife. Two existing instances of this custom were recorded. The arrangement of a marriage, and the ceremonial which will now be described, though pertaining strictly to the Calicut tāluk of South Malabar, are sufficiently representative of a Tiyan marriage anywhere. There is, however, this difference, that, in North Malabar, where inheritance through females obtains, and the wife invariably resides in her own tarwad or family home, there is never any stipulation concerning a girl's dowry. In South Malabar, where inheritance is through the males, and where the wife lives in her husband's house,the dowry in money, jewels, or furniture, is as a rule settled beforehand, and must be handed over on the wedding day. In the Calicut tāluk, we find an exception to this general rule of South Malabar, where the subject of the dowry is not usually mentioned. In North Malabar, gifts of jewels are made in proportion as the bride's people are wealthy and generous. What is given is in the way of a gift, and forms no feature in the marital agreement.