35- A ^Comparative Study of the Marriage Customs of 



the Cochin Castes. 



By L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer. 



[Read at the First Indian Science Congress, January 17th, 1914.] 



i 



In encyclopedical and philosophical works, several differ- 

 ent definitions of the word ' marriage ' are met with, and most 

 of them are of merely juridical or ethnical nature, compre- 

 hending either what is required to make the union legal or 

 what in the eye of an idealist the union ought to be. Broad- 

 ly defined, marriage is nothing else than a more or less durable 

 connection between male and female lasting beyond the mere 

 act of propagation till after the birth of the offspring. This 

 excludes all loose connections, which, by usage, are never hon- 

 oured with the name of marriage. 



Marriage and Celibacy.— So indispensable does marriage 

 seem to man, that a person who does not marry is looked 

 upon with contempt or is at any rate disdained. Among the 

 Hindus, celibacy is regarded as an impiety and misfortune ; 

 " an impiety, because one who does not marry puts the happi- 

 ness of the manes of the family to peril; a misfortune be- 

 cause he would receive no worship after his death." A man's 

 happiness in the next world depends upon his having a con- 

 tinuous line of male descendants whose duty it is to make the 

 periodical offerings for the peace of his soul. Hence it is that 

 marriage has become a religious duty, the twelfth samskara 

 incumbent upon all 8 Until he finds a wife, a man is only half 

 of a whole : and among the Hindus of the present day, a celi- 

 bate is considered to be a useless member of the society ; c and 

 is looked upon as beyond the pale of nature,' and all women 

 without exception are bound to marry. Mahomedans also 

 consider marriage a duty both for man and woman. It was 

 declared to be an institution ordained for the protection of 

 society, and in order that human beings may guard themselves 

 from foulness and unchastity.* Among the Hebrews also celi- 

 bacy is unheard of, and marriage is, as among the Brahmans, 

 looked upon as a religious duty. According to the Talmud, 

 the authorities can compel a man to enter into wedlock with a 

 woman of the race, and he who lives single at the age of 20, 

 is accursed by God, as if he were a murderer. There is a 

 Jewish proverb which says, that he who does not marry is no 



1 Source Book for Social Origins : part iv, Sex and Marriage, page 455. 



2 Laws of Manu, ch. ix, verse 137. 

 8 I bid . , ch . ii , verse 66. 



* Islam by Ameer All Syed, page 29. 



