Social, Geographic, Linguistic and Temporal Changes in Consanguinity Among Sixteen Tribes of Central India

The paper reports on the social, geographical, linguistic and temporal change in consanguinity among 3232 married couples belonging to 16 tribes of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The inter-tribe variation in total consanguineous marriages it strikingly large (range 0.45 to 46.5%; series average 22.86%). The matrilateral cross-cousin marriages are most preferred (14.2%) followed by pa trilateral (7.52%) and uncle-between (1.14%). The coefficient of inbreeding (F) ranges between 0001 and 0.029 (series average 0.014). A considerable heterogeneity exists between the districts for consanguineous marriges. The Dravidian speaking tribes show highest frequency of consanguineous marriges (27.26%) followed by Indo Aryan (1738%) and Auslro-Asiatic (7.75%) speaking tribes. A consistent declining trend in consanguinity from older to youngest generations is seen among a majority of the tribes; there is nearly 50% reduction from the oldest generation (289%) to the youngest generation (15%). The pattern of variation in inbreeding observed among the 16 tribes of Cultural India can best be understood and interpreted by considering the geographic location of the tribes, their Injuries affiliations and socio economic development in the region

Biology · Consanguinity · Genealogy · Geography · Inbreeding · Population · Sociology · Tribe · Anthropology · Blood groups and transfusion · Demography · Hemoglobinopathies and Related Disorders · History · Genetics