Evaluating the marriage, family, and home life of the Malayali People in Kerala India

Assessing the Malayali people’s marriage, families, and homes in Kerala, India; how that culture has evolved and withstood the weight of time.

People I Reach: Teachers of writing at my school, as well as classmates in my class (1102),

The unique and complex family, marriage, and home life cultural system of the Malayali has allowed it to develop and survive the test of time.

Around the 16th century, interactions between locals and traders from around the globe led to the development of the Malayali culture. I Knew this through my library research, but I will do further readings to reinforce my argument about the success of the hybrid culture.

The marriage, family, and home life developed along the religious sects, which are the Hindus, the Syrian Christians, and the Muslim subculture.

I knew about the Hindus, Syrian Christians, and the Muslims of the Kerala; I was not aware that their cultural lifestyles are almost similar in all aspects.

The Kerala people have thrived in the education sector as well as the agricultural activities they partake owing to the tropical climate.

I knew about agriculture; however, I was surprised that they are also successful in matters dealing with education.

Counter Arguments

THEY SAY: The marriage, family, and home life of the Malayali people are just an extension of the culture of the Hindu people who are dominant in India.

I SAY: True, but the presence of Christians who have a distinct lifestyle point to the fact that the culture developed from contact with foreigners; especially Portuguese.

Preliminary Research Questions:

At this stage, I have four main sources:

An Article (by Modern Asia Studies). I will use article to look at the development of the Hindu sub-culture of the Kerala people between 1750-1850

A book (by George Mathai) that looks at the people, history, and culture of the Malayali people

A book (by Roland Miller, a Professor of Islam) that looks at the Mappila Muslim Culture

A book (by Sidney George) that looks at the lifestyle of the Syrian Christians of Kerala