Adoption Among Kerala Christians
As far as Kerala is concerned, among the Syrian Christians of Travancore, there is an ancient custom of adoption. If a Syrian Christian had only one daughter, she becomes the heiress to his property after his death. If, on the other hand, he has several daughters and no son or sons, the elder daughters are given in marriage with proper streedhanom (dowry), and sometimes even a portion of his property. When the youngest daughter is given in marriage, her husband becomes the adopted son of his father-in-law and assumes the latter’s family name. He generally resides with his wife in her house along with his father-in-law and mother-in-law. This peculiar custom has been noted by Rao Bahadur L.K. Anantakrishna Ayyar in his book on the Anthropology of Syrian Christians printed and published from the Cochin Government Press, Ernakulam in 1926.
Read more about this topic: Christian Law Of Adoption In India
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