Louis Dumont and the essence of Dravidian kinship terminology: The case of Muduga

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of relationship terms among the Muduga of Kerala, South India, and also attempts to provide a reasonable elucidation of the issues precipitated in the recent discussions on the subject of Dravidian kinship by Rudner (1990, 1997), Parkin (1996, 1997), and Busby (1997). Accepting that Dumont's model has its own impediments, I argue that his paradigmatic structure nonetheless does adequately represent the essence of the Dravidian terminological system. I base my discussion of Dravidian terminology on evidence from the Muduga of Kerala as well as other neighboring Tamil communities. Copyright © by The University of New Mexico.