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104 Marumakkatayam system. It is thus clear that the matriarchal system of Malabar should have come into existence only after the arrival of the Brahmans into the Kerala country, and that the patriarchal system alone has been in vogue for ages everywhere in South India since the earliest historic times. Whether the matriarchal system was entirely due to the influence of the Nambudri Brahmans or whether there had been other causes at work in that direction, it is beyond the scope of this essay to determine.

As for the absence of this division from Kerala, it may be said that this disaffection did not find its way amongst the non-Brahman castes of that country on account of the iron-hand of the Nambudris, which kept them down under its strong grip. Further, the people of Kerala led a comparatively simple life, as at present ; there was no building of large temples; and there was no such demand for skilful labour of the artizans and weavers as in the Tamil districts. The Kainmalas, therefore, never aspired for Brahmanhood, nor did the Nambudris invest them with the sacred thread as the Brahmans in the other parts of India did.

The forms of marriage prevalent among the ancient Dravidians were gandharvam (Tam. களவு) and rakshasam or marriage by capture as we have shown in a previous essay. And the marriage tie was so loose that it could be broken at the will of either party as we now see among the lowest castes.