I

• The okka is the basic social unit among Coorgs, a patrilineal and patrilocal joint family.
• It is impossible to imagine a Coorg apart from the okka of which they are a member; their life is deeply shaped by it.
• People not belonging to an okka have no social existence, and pressure is applied to ensure children born out of wedlock are integrated into their father’s or mother’s okka.
• Membership of an okka is acquired by birth, and a person’s association with their okka continues after death, as they become part of a group of apotheosized ancestors (karavavCl) who protect the okka.
• Ancestors are worshipped, and offerings of food and drink (bharavi) are occasionally made to them.
• Historically, boys in an okka would graze cattle, hunt, and play games together. As adults, they jointly managed the ancestral estate under the leadership of the head of the okka.
• Marriage within the same okka is forbidden, and the taboo extends to agnatic relatives outside the okka. Children of sisters are also prohibited from marrying each other.
• An okka’s immovable property is typically impartible and passed down without division. Partition only occurred when every adult member desired it, though this was rare.
• The preference for leviratic unions (marriage of a widow to her deceased husband’s brother) strengthened the okka.
• Offices like the headmanship of a village or temple were hereditary, usually passing to the eldest member of the senior agnatic branch.
• Every high-caste okka must send members to participate in weddings, festivals, or communal tasks (e.g., repairing roads, weeding temple grounds). Adult males must attend village dances or hunts.
• Failure to participate results in a fine for the defaulting okka.
• Members of an okka live together from birth to death, bound by strong ties and cooperation in common tasks.
• After death, members become ancestors who continue to oversee their okka and demand propitiation from descendants.
• The okka is a continuum through time, with living members forming only points in it. Coorgs believe the okka’s life extends beyond its members.
• The desire for the continuation of the okka is strong, and its extinction is considered a great calamity.
• When threatened with extinction, traditional devices are used to perpetuate the okka.
• The ancestral house and estate are sacred, and weddings and funerals are traditionally performed in the ancestral house.
• The unity and solidarity of an okka are expressed through ritual, with its strength projected to a mystical plane.
• While an individual is identified with their okka, the okka is not undivided internally; internal tensions exist, especially among women, and elementary families within the okka are potential groups for fission.
• Principles of segregation by sex and generational unity also operate within the okka, uniting some members against others.
• Every Coorg okka has a friendship (aruVlime’) bond with a neighboring okka, involving ritual and social duties, often leading to affinal relations.
• Traditionally, each Coorg okka had one or more Poleya or other low-caste families attached as slaves, an hereditary relationship between families, not individuals.
• The okka is the basic social unit among Coorgs, a patrilineal and patrilocal joint family.
• It is impossible to imagine a Coorg apart from the okka of which they are a member; their life is deeply shaped by it.
• People not belonging to an okka have no social existence, and pressure is applied to ensure children born out of wedlock are integrated into their father’s or mother’s okka.
• Membership of an okka is acquired by birth, and a person’s association with their okka continues after death, as they become part of a group of apotheosized ancestors (karavavCl) who protect the okka.
• Ancestors are worshipped, and offerings of food and drink (bharavi) are occasionally made to them.
• Historically, boys in an okka would graze cattle, hunt, and play games together. As adults, they jointly managed the ancestral estate under the leadership of the head of the okka.
• Marriage within the same okka is forbidden, and the taboo extends to agnatic relatives outside the okka. Children of sisters are also prohibited from marrying each other.
• An okka’s immovable property is typically impartible and passed down without division. Partition only occurred when every adult member desired it, though this was rare.
• The preference for leviratic unions (marriage of a widow to her deceased husband’s brother) strengthened the okka.
• Offices like the headmanship of a village or temple were hereditary, usually passing to the eldest member of the senior agnatic branch.
• Every high-caste okka must send members to participate in weddings, festivals, or communal tasks (e.g., repairing roads, weeding temple grounds). Adult males must attend village dances or hunts.
• Failure to participate results in a fine for the defaulting okka.
• Members of an okka live together from birth to death, bound by strong ties and cooperation in common tasks.
• After death, members become ancestors who continue to oversee their okka and demand propitiation from descendants.
• The okka is a continuum through time, with living members forming only points in it. Coorgs believe the okka’s life extends beyond its members.
• The desire for the continuation of the okka is strong, and its extinction is considered a great calamity.
• When threatened with extinction, traditional devices are used to perpetuate the okka.
• The ancestral house and estate are sacred, and weddings and funerals are traditionally performed in the ancestral house.
• The unity and solidarity of an okka are expressed through ritual, with its strength projected to a mystical plane.
• While an individual is identified with their okka, the okka is not undivided internally; internal tensions exist, especially among women, and elementary families within the okka are potential groups for fission.
• Principles of segregation by sex and generational unity also operate within the okka, uniting some members against others.
• Every Coorg okka has a friendship (aruVlime’) bond with a neighboring okka, involving ritual and social duties, often leading to affinal relations.
• Traditionally, each Coorg okka had one or more Poleya or other low-caste families attached as slaves, an hereditary relationship between families, not individuals.

II

• In Coorg, agnatically related males form a corporate body that enjoys the bulk of the rights in the okka.
• Men are assured continuous residence in the okka they belong to, whereas women leave their natal okka upon marriage to join their conjugal okka.
• Men have a strong sense of belonging to their okka, while this is absent in all but the oldest women.
• A woman has to leave her natal okka upon marriage, which causes a break in residential continuity with legal and other consequences.
• Women take a long time to be accepted into their conjugal okka, often only gaining a sense of belonging once their children are grown.
• Sons are seen as the hope and pillars of the okka, ensuring its continuity, while daughters leave to enrich and perpetuate a different okka.
• A woman is not considered a full member of an okka in the same way as a man, and her legal rights are always inferiorto those of a man.
• Women have some compensations as they enjoy rights in two okkas (natal and conjugal), unlike men who only have rights in one.
• A girl is maintained in her natal okka until marriage or throughout her life if she remains unmarried.
• A woman has the right to return to her natal okka if her husband is impotent, ill, or if her mother-in-law treats her poorly, or if she is divorced (unless for a serious offense like adultery with an Untouchable).
• If a woman is guilty of serious offenses like adultery with an Untouchable, she loses all rights in both her natal and conjugal okkas.
• At marriage, the woman’s relatives give her gifts such as jewelry, clothes, and vessels, which remain her property. In the event of a divorce, she can bring these gifts back to her natal okka.
• Rights in an okka are symbolized by twelve pebbles or ‘twelve pieces of gold’ (pannaran-dachchi pon), with most of the rights transferring to the conjugal okka upon marriage.
• The bride’s family friend transfers eleven pebbles to the groom’s family friend, while one pebble remains in the natal okka, indicating that the bride retains some rights there.
• A woman retains a connection to her natal home, called ta mané (mother’s home), and always feels tender towards it.
• A woman is entitled to be maintained by the funds of her conjugal okka and must contribute to domestic work under the guidance of the mistress of the house (manépaņikārti).
• In many cases, the mistress of the house is also the mother-in-law.
• A woman can cultivate a patch of ground for ginger, turmeric, and raise fowl and pigs, with the income being entirely hers, even against her husband or children. However, she must first complete her domestic duties for the day.
• Leviratic unions (marriage to a brother of the deceased husband) helped integrate a woman into her conjugal family.
• The saying “I will not come down the steps I have climbed up” reflects the permanence of a woman’s membership in her conjugal okka.
• If her husband dies and there are no heirs, a widow may be called upon to raise up seed for the okka by entering into an okka parije or makka parijé alliance, but she is not allowed to raise up seed for her natal okka.
• The Coorg culture places significant importance on the continuity of the okka, with rights and responsibilities related to it being passed down through generations.
• Rights in a joint family are referred to as sammanda, which can be given or withdrawn. At marriage, the bride acquires rights in the groom’s house (sammanda).
• Sammanda refers to the legal aspect of marriage, while marta refers to the solidarity aspect. Both are integral to marriage.