the eldest married member, another for the second eldest, and so on.[1]
In Bengal the remarkable institution of the Joint Family necessitates a special form of house, in which the family group of relatives lives. When one of the sons marries, a new series of rooms or sheds is added to the existing building for his accommodation. The house is ruled by the Karta or family manager, each group often messing apart, while the worship of the family god is carried out in common.
In Northern India traditions of war and rapine exhibit themselves in the form of the village, with narrow, winding lanes, the population crowded within the smallest possible area. In recent times the reign of law has encouraged the foundation of hamlets, an arrangement which results in more general distribution of the manure supply over the area of the village, and brings the cultivator nearer to his fields. In some towns we find a division into wards, each occupied by a special trade, with heavy wooden gates barred at sunset to protect the residents from robbers.[2] In some cities, like Baroda, where the memories of unrest still survive, the houses of the merchants are hidden away in back streets so as to divert attention from their wealth.[3]
The jungle-dwelling Bhīls build their houses apart, partly because their next door neighbour may be a witch, and may bring some calamity upon them; partly through fear of infection attributed to evil spirits; partly from the practical consideration of avoiding risk of fire.[4] In Bengal the result of long ages of peace is shown in the straggling villages and scattered huts of the rural population. In
- ↑ Census Report Bengal, 1911, i. 47. Compare the large common house occupied by the members of the Nāyar Taravād, or joint house, of a matriarchal household, L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, Cochin Tribes and Castes, ii. 47.
- ↑ Similar arrangements are found in other oriental countries, like Egypt and Persia, E. W. Lane, The Modern Egyptians, 5th ed. i. 5; S. G. W. Benjamin, Persia and the Persians, 93.
- ↑ Bombay Gazetteer, vii. 122, 521.
- ↑ Ibid. vi. 26.
