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A gotra (lit. "cow-pen" or "cow-shed" in archaic rigvedic Sanskrit) is a patrilineal classification and identification of a caste in India.
Origin of gotra
The Sanskrit term "Gotra" was initially used by the Vedic people for the identification of the lineages. Generally, these lineages mean patrilineal descent from the mythical sages or rishis.
The lineage system, either patrilineal or matrilineal, was followed by the South Asian and Central Asian tribes. In the present day Hinduism, Gotra is applied to all the lineage systems. Many Hindu castes have lineages that do not follow Vedic classification. In South India, Tulu and Malayalee communities have their own lineage system that is matrilineal. The Tulu lineage system is called bari or bali and Malayalee lineage system is called illam. All these lineages work in similar fashion when it comes to marital relationships.
Marriages and gotras
The reasoning determining this marital incompatibility might be that marrying within one's gotra would be akin to marrying one's sister and would be akin to incest. However, in south India, this definition of incestuousness took some peculiar forms. In some communities, where the gotras passed from father to children, marriages were allowed between uncle and niece. However, in matrilineal communities, like Malayalis and Tuluvas, where gotras passed from mother to children, uncle-niece marriages were forbidden. A much more common characteristic of south Indian Hindu society is a marriage between cross-cousins (between children of brother and sister). Thus, a man is allowed to marry his mother's brother's daughter or his father's sister's daughter but is not allwoed to marry his father's brother's daughter. A father's brother's daughter is treated as a sister. Even this cross-cousin marriage is frowned upon by the rest of the Hindu society.
North Indian Hindu society not only follows rules of gotra for marriages, but also have many regulations which go beyond the basic definition of gotra and have a broader definition of incestuousness.
List of gotras
See also
External links
Caste | Families | Gotras | Hindu philosophical concepts | Kinship and descent
"Gotra"