Research Items

Abstract

IN the foot-hills of the Himalayas north-east of Dehra Dun is the Doon district occupied by Rajputs who came from farther south in comparatively recent times. Dr. D. N. Majumdar (Calcutta Review, March 1939) has given an account of the family life of these people, who are tall and fair with long heads, leptorrhine noses, hazel or blue eyes, curly hair and jovial disposition. They have maintained the purity of their Indo-Aryan descent although surrounded by the Mongoloid Gharwalis and other hill tribes. They build substantial timber houses of three or four stories against the severe winters and have small terraced farms with cattle and sheep. Like the Todas and Kotas and the Tibetans, they are polyandrous, several brothers having one or more wives in common under the same roof. The oldest born child is conventionally fathered upon the eldest brother, the next child on the second, and so on. In case of partition the eldest brother receives the largest share of the property. In a village in vestigated, the number of married males was four times that of the married females. The number of children is low, four or five brothers between them having only three or four children, and there is a preponderance of male children. The number of barren women is high, divorce of the wife is frequent and is followed by remarriage. A woman who has produced children fetches a much higher bride-price than one who has not. This fraternal polyandry they believe is derived from their Aryan ancestors, the Pandaras, but Dr. Majumdar gives reasons for thinking that it has been borrowed from other sources more recently. He also agrees with Westermarck that there are other causes of polyandry besides a paucity of women.