The video "Dadi's Family" gives us a close-up view of family life and kinship relations in India. View this film with lecture material on kinship in mind. Dadi (which translates "grandmother") and her extended family are members of the Djats caste of farmers; when Indians marry, they practice caste endogamy and village exogamy. Their descent system is based on patrilineal descent. They practice patrilocal residence. You will have to be familiar with these terms. Keep the following questions in mind as you view the video:
1. What is the makeup of an extended family in India?
2. How does dowry function in this society?
3. How does this family structure enhance or detract from the family's economic status?
4. How do post-marital residence rules affect family relations?
a. In particular, pay attention to the role and status of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.
5. What are the roles of women in this society? How do they change throughout a person's life? In what way is the birth of girls and boys valued in this culture?
6. Think about the status of women; Dadi claims that women make up the "inferior caste;" how true does this seem to be as you view the film?
7. Are there ways that women exert power and influence within this patrilineal kinship system? Does Dadi come across to you as a weak individual subject to male control, or does she appear to be a strong individual who can assert her influence?
8. What pressures and conflicts occur within the extended family?
9. What evidence is there for social change?