Under a single roof

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three-year-old Ruzaina is the youngest member in a giant house overlooking the concrete lanes that criss-cross the village of Falessery, one among the 11 villages which constitute the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep. Her birth took the total number of members in her family to 30, which is relatively a lesser figure for an average Minicoy family known for houses with 10-20 rooms housing up to 50 people.Of all the 11 inhabited islands in Lakshadweep, Minicoy stands apart for its fierce adherence to traditions of matriarchy and joint family. People here watch the news breaks related to conflict over caste and gender equality in the mainland with surprise.
While other islands like Kavaratti and Andrott are slowly breaking away into independent families with own houses, people of Minicoy thrive on centuries-old village system and the idea of one house for all. “We have never found it difficult to stick together. You wouldn’t believe, there are hardly any internal family fights. This is what keeps us going,” says Ayesha, who makes sure members of six different families in her house are taken care of without fail.
They take turns among themselves to keep the kitchen running; starting from 5am with breakfast and winding up with dinner at night. At the beginning of every month, Dalaika, the 92-year-old eldest member of the family gets everyone together and together they sift through financial requirements. The budget is drawn and every earning member pitches in, there are no squabbles over who spends more or less. Minicoy is the island with the highest life expectancy and the islanders say that they also own the richest reserves of patience.
“In Minicoy, almost all people in a family are physically active, which accounts for the highest life expectancy. The normal lifestyle diseases are a rarity here. While men are mostly employed in ships, women take care of family duties, attending to kids’ education, purchase, managing finance and so on,” says Dr K P Hamsakoya, medical officer in-charge, government hospital, Minicoy.
“The islanders are rarely under any kind of stress, their occupations and duties keep them active and they are very tolerant. So naturally they grouse little and rules out chances of fights within family,” says Shahjahan, a political worker and contractor.
Although there are sub-divisions in caste like Manikfan, Takrifan and Raveli, the people of Minicoy have long gotten over the barriers. “There was a time when there were strong caste equations in Minicoy just like in Kerala, but we have made sure that it doesn’t matter any more,” says Elji Abraham, former panchayat chairperson and NCP state vice-president, Lakshadweep.
The notice pasted on the oldest village house in the island at Falessery with its wooden pillars and brick-tiled floors prominently displays the name of men and women village heads. The local administration heavily relies on this village system to communicate important notifications and when a bell is rung, the village comes together at the village house, a tradition they have held on for centuries. In family and village, women and men share powers and duties equally. “We don’t know if it is gender equality or not, but it’s a norm to share duties and responsibilities. Respect just follows. Kids are educated, be it girl or boy and when they get a chance for a job, there are no restrictions whatsover,” says Moosa, a villager at Minicoy.
The men have to look for brighter earning options because they are supposed to give, not receive, in marriage. Koya, who is employed in ship paid Rs 4 lakh and 35 sovereigns of gold coupled with new garments at the time of his marriage. A recent marriage saw the groom gift his bride Rs 10 lakh and 60 sovereigns of gold. “It’s the tradition of Lakshadweep where men live at wife’s house. When people in other islands find new jobs, many of them settle in Kochi with their family, but in Minicoy the joint family system is pretty intact,” added Koya.