The Nayar social arrangement is characterized by?

• A. West Indian society had no nuclear family; a woman could have sexual relations with any man she wished (up to a maximum of 12) and the biological father of the children was therefore uncertain. The mothers brother, rather than the father, was responsible for looking after the mother and the children.
• B. Nuclear family with monogamous father
• C. Patriarchal authority with paternal lineage
• D. Adoptive care networks

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is how kinship and family organization shape who raises children and how lineage is traced. In the Nayar arrangement, the usual nuclear family isn’t the organizing unit. Instead, kinship is matrilineal and matrilocal: households center on the mother's family, and the mother’s brother often plays a central guardian role. A woman may have sexual relations with several men, and the biological father of her children isn’t considered the primary caregiver or guardian. Because of this setup, the responsibility for children tends to lie with the maternal relatives, especially the mother’s brother, rather than with a single, formally married father.

This contrasts with a monogamous, male-headed nuclear family, where the father is typically seen as the primary authority and the lineage is traced through the paternal line. It also differs from a patriarchal system with strong paternal lineage, where the father’s position and the nuclear family are central. While there are networks of care in many societies, the defining feature of the Nayar pattern is the matrilineal, matrilocal structure with a maternally centered guardianship and ambiguous paternity.