Finding a wife and friends in the Indian tradition

Abstract

On modern Indian meeting websites (for example, MatrimonialsIndia. com ) the user page, in addition to other information, contains an indication of who created the profile. Among these persons, in addition to the user himself (or herself) and their close relatives (parents, brothers, sisters), some «friends» are mentioned. Not only in the early periods of history, but also in modern India, the institution of marriage remains extremely conservative. This circumstance raises the question: why do people who are not relatives of the potential bride and groom take part in creating a family? The analysis of sources from different eras shows us that contexts of this kind have been encountered before. So, for example, in the notes of Lutheran missionaries who worked in Southern India at the very beginning of the XVIII century, there are indications of the participation of some «friends» in the planning of marriage unions. There are also references to certain «friends» as the participants in the search for a bride for a young man in the monuments of ancient Indian didactic literature (Kāmasūtra). The analysis of texts and cases of the use of the term «friends» both in ancient Indian texts and in later sources shows that, most likely, it is not just about friendly ties. «Friends» most likely refer to members of the same caste group to which the potential bride and groom belong.

References

1. Benveniste E. Slovar’ indoevropejskih social’nyh terminov [Dictionary of Indo-European Social Terms]. M., 1995 (In Russ.).

2. Grantovsky E.A. O nekotoryh materialah po obshchestvennomu stroyu skifov. «Rodstvenniki» i «druz’ya» [About some Materials on the Social Structure of the Scythians. “Relatives” and “Friends”]. — Kavkaz i Srednyaya Aziya v Drevnosti i Srednevekov’e. M., 1982 (In Russ.).

3. Kudryavcev M.K. Kastovaya sistema v Indii [The Caste System in India]. M., 1992 (In Russ.).

4. Dharmapal-Frick G. Indien im Spiegel deutscher Quellen der Frűhen Neuzeit (1500–1750). Tűbingen, 1994 (In Germ.).

5. Hobson-Jobson. A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive. Calcutta, Allahabad, Bombay, Delhi, 1990 (In Engl.).

6. The Laws of Manu. Transl. by G. Bühler. — Sacred Books of the East. Vol. XXV. Oxford, 1886 (In Engl.).

7. Manu-smr̥ti with Manubhās̥ya of Medhātithi. Vol. 2. Calcutta, 1939 (In Sanskrit).

8. Mayrhofer M. Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindisches. Heidelberg, 1953–1980 (In Germ.).

9. Pallas P.S. Etwas ȕber die zu Astrahan wohnende Indianer. — Neue Nordische Beitraege zur physikalischen und geographischen Erd- und Vȍlkerbeschreibung. 1782, Vol. III (In Germ.).

10. Uhlenbeck C.C. Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der altindischen Sprache. Amsterdam, 1898/99 (In Germ.).

11. Ziegenbalg B. Alte Briefe aus Indien. Unverőffentlichte Briefe von Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg 1706–1719. Berlin, 1957 (In Germ.).