The Modern Election System and Indigenous Kinship Relationships : The Case of Nirin in a Tibetan Society in North India

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify the way that the meaning of indigenous kinship has changed and reconstituted as it is utilized as a resource in modem elections in the Spiti region of north India. Kinship has supported the functioning of the modem election system. Thus, this paper focuses on kinship to examine new aspects of the overlapping region between the modem political system and indigenous kinship system. Indigenous kinship here does not mean overall kinship, but rather the kind of kinship that involves mutual cooperation in everyday lives. India is said to be "the largest democratic country." Since attaining independence from Britain in 1947, it has maintained a democratic political system despite its various and complex ethnic groups and large economic inequality. However, from the micro point of view, the democratic political system in India has not to become as established as it is in Western countries. On one hand, there is the Western idea of the modern election system, in which votes are based on individuals' intentions. On the other hand, many Asian and African societies are said to conduct elections according to "traditional" political systems, based on ethnic groups, religion, regional ties, or kinship. Such traditional political systems are seen as "backward," losing political significance with the advance of the Western system of voting. However, indigenous systems have changed under the influence of supporting the modern political system, coming to function in an original way. As E. Gellner pointed out, both modern political systems and indigenous cultural systems acquire new meanings and functions through reciprocal influence. In Spiti, the meaning of indigenous kinship has changed and been reorganized as it supports the modern election system, functioning in a particular way. This paper aims to clarify how the meaning of "indigenous kinship" has changed and been reconstituted under the influence of elections in Spiti. In the Spiti Valley, kinship has changed through the implementation of local elections. In the region, the principle of patrilineal descent used to be dominant over many domains, such as marriage and inheritance, until the end of the 19th century. There was a patrilineal descent notion, expressed by the concepts of "bone" and "meat," particular to Tibetan societies. Each patrilineal line of descent had its own "bone" name. However, currently, such the "bone" names have been forgotten, despite inheritance being carried out along patrilineal lines, and patrilocal residence is most common. The influence of patrilineal descent in marriage has also weakened. In contrast to patrilineal descent, nirin has grown in importance as a form of kinship sustaining people's daily lives over a long period. Nirin are kindred in nature, recognized through both patrilineal and matrilineal lines by ego, and also include affinities of especially close relationships. Nirin ties are characterized by boundaries dependent on personal, day-to-day relationships. Thus, a nirin relationship can be established between distant relatives as long as they interact closely. Such nirin relationships are constituted through such actions as exchanging goods, exchanging labor, eating together, helping each other, and visiting each other's house. Those practices constitute a significant base for everyday life. However, ever since 1975, when the local election system was introduced in Spiti by the Indian government, nirin have tended to be utilized politically for election campaigns. India has two national major political parties, both of which are active in Spiti. They contend over the rights of infrastructure panning and the selection of contractors in elections of village chiefs and district government officers. Party members try to acquire votes aggressively using the persuasive power of

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