…glad all my cousins look like gorillas (these days at least)

…..for better or worse – very little can stop the juggernaut or power of love…

:first time you feel it, it may make you mad…” Huey Lewis

My wife is a Hindu from Kerala and although – as has been pointed out by others – they are allowed to marry first cousins under certain circumstances, what is striking is that when we meet other Christians from Kerala, it almost invariably turns out that there is a relationship lurking somewhere whether directly or through marriage. We seem to encounter less of this when we meet with Hindus from Kerala.

Other Christian mutineers from Kerala will be able to relate to what I am saying because part of the convo when Christian Keralites meet, seems to invariably dwell on the family name (veetu paru) and thereafter there is the invariable identification of relationships. For someone not acquainted with the strictures against Kerala Christians not being allowed to marry relatives, I would not blame them for thinking that Kerala Christians must be a pretty inbred group!

Do you have a problem in comprehension?. Get some help.

The reason why people are claiming it (marriages within the family) is not present in Kerala is because there are a far fewer Hindus in Kerala, they are either in a minority ( less than 50% ) or just hovering above 50%, so their influence is not that much and people might not be aware.

Yes, there are practically no Hindus left:

Kerala’s principal religions are Hinduism (56.1%), Islam (24.7%), and Christianity (19%). [link]

To me, “56%” is not just hovering over 50%, nor does it scream “endangered minority”. But don’t let facts or reality get in the way of myth-making. One state in India doesn’t have an overwhelming number of Hindus vs. other religious adherents and it’s a crisis!

I don’t know, JGandhi, and my knowledge is limited to personal observattion that acquaintances with ancestors from the Indian subcontinent, whatever their religion, do seem to marry cousins from home more often than is statistically expected. At a guess, this is from a desire to keep family ties despite geographical distance; indeed, if they lived in the same place as their kindred there might not be the same emphasis on it as there seems to be.

I’d assume that the South Indian Hindu culture starting with food habits and marriage practises are the same (though could differ across castes) and I think mostly that assumption is right. The reason why people are claiming it (marriages within the family) is not present in Kerala is because there are a far fewer Hindus in Kerala, they are either in a minority ( less than 50% ) or just hovering above 50%, so their influence is not that much and people might not be aware.

Regarding “gotra”, I think it is a big deal for Brahmins / upper castes, but not so for lower castes. I have heard the priests ask for Gothra when they do certain rituals like performing a puja / “thithi” commemorating your dead ancestors. I believe the sanskrit slokas differ gothra wise. But for marriage alliances gotra is not a major blocker.

I’d not worry too much about cousin marriages contributing to the genetic disorders. Not being a geneticist, I think it is a game of probability (and increase of risk from 2% to 4% is not that high), and I’d assume people take the risk for a “hot” cousin if it is allowed in their “cultural” groups. I never knew that marrying “cross cousins” was taboo in North India for long.

I think the real hard-core gotra system in the true sense only applies to southern brahmins.”

Perhaps that is so. I’m not too sure how it is in the North. So North Indian brahmins don’t use the gotra system?

Regardless, as many south indians hindus DO practise cousin marriage, how can it be considered taboo according to hindu dharma, as these people are clearly hindu?

It is also worth mention here that all Hindu communities in Kerala except the Namboodiris practiced cousin marriage. A boy could rightfully claim the hand of the daughter of his maternal uncle or paternal aunt, in marriage. Among Muslims cousin marriage is a common practice but Christians never marry among their blood relations and cousins.