1.

How did clans (family groups) come into existence?

Answer»

Right from 1000 BC, the Brahmins began to divide people into clans or classes. Each clan was given a name of a Vedacharya. Members of that clan were considered his followers.

There were two important rules regarding the clans:

1. A woman leaves the clan of her father and accepts the clan of her husband.

2. Members of one clan, can’t marry members of the same clan.

The Brahmin laws regarding the clans were not obeyed by all people. Rulers like the powerful Satavahanas, who ruled parts of Western India between 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD, did not follow the Brahmin laws. The wives of the Satavahana kings retained their fathers’ clan name. The clan names like ‘Gautama’, Vasishta’, etc. were of their fathers.



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