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4. NEX V
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near to the male's father by the time the first child is born
to the couple. As will be shown later, these patterns have
been disrupted, particularly in the Polder Area, and the
household composition is, consequently, being modified.
Finally, I should note that, although the numbers vary, as an
average, ten individuals reside in each house. 4
The Descent System. Due to the British influence, the
East Indians practice a cognatic descent system wherein descent
is traced through both the mala and the female lines. Or, at
least, this is stated to be the legal situation. In fact,
however, the population has a strong patrilineal orientation/
preference in their descent system, and this preference is
crucial for such things as marriage and residence patterns, and
for the inheritance of the largest and most important items,
such as land, houses and tractors.
Marriage Patterns. 5 Unlike in traditional India,
marriages in the Road or Polder areas need not be strictly
"arranged" between the respective fathers. However, for the
marriage to occur, in most instances, the fathers must give
their approval. This is so because of the cost involved in
the marriage itself (a figure of G $2,000 would not be unusual).
It is because of these costs that the patrilineal
descent lines assume their importance. While it is true that
a couple could simply marry without the consent of their
fathers, the marriage itself would not be "up to code" and the
couple would receive little help in starting their married
life. The importance of this should be obvious since few young
men can financially underwrite the costs of marriage (even
excluding the cost of a large ceremony). It should also
be noted here that young men, before marriage are obligated to
share whatever financial earnings they may have with the head
of their household - i.e., their father. The significance of
this latter point is that it is almost impossible for a
young man to save enough money to finance his own wedding.
In Black Bush Polder, houses may be built only the
on
21/i acre honestead plots. However, for health reasons, the
Government decreed that no more than two houses could be built
on any single homestead. Alsn, in an economic sense, any
more houses would begin to reduce the productive capability
of the household plots which provide much of the subsistence
requirements of the Polder residents. Moreover, Guyanese
Indians traditionally do not reside tn the households of
either set of parents, upon marriage, except perhaps for a
brief period of time.