A Cultural or
political boundary?
I think most of us will recall that in the past, we had some strict rules when it came to marriages. People from Malabar would not marry
from families down South or up North. Let us take a look at that rule or custom
and see what it was all about during and after the days when the Calicut
Zamorins feuded with the Kolathunad rulers.
One can always argue if it was a rule or a custom, perhaps
the latter is a more appropriate usage, we shall soon see. The details come out
in various clarifications sought during the long discussions held to formulate
what is known and the Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission of 1891. It is
not my intention to discuss the practice of a Sambandham marriage, for it is a
complex and vast but totally misunderstood subject, so we can get to it some
other day.