Tribe in Malayalam
Tribe as a descent group is ഗോത്രം (gothram), go-thram, the old word for clan and lineage. It still appears in formal Malayalam about tribal communities and in talk about family lines going back generations. The dictionary piles many archaic senses on it, but clan and tribe are the live ones.
Clan, tribe, family, mountain, forest, temple, field, water, cowshed, community, herd of cows, quiver, crown, ornamental umbrella, wealth.
അവർ ഒരേ ഗോത്രത്തിൽ പെട്ടവരാണ്.
avar ore gothrathil pettavaraan.
They belong to the same tribe.
All Malayalam words for “tribe”
- ഗോത്രം (gothram) — Clan, tribe, family, mountain, forest, temple, field, water, cowshed, community, herd of cows, quiver, crown, ornamental umbrella, wealth.
- ജാതി (jaathi) — Caste, kind, tribe, race, rank, position, nut-meg tree, jasmine, hearth, fire-place.
- അന്യം (anyam) — Another, race or tribe.
- ദേവകുലം (devakulam) — The tribe of Gods.
- രാക്ഷസന് (raakshasan) — Mythological tribe of cannibal giants, demon.
- വേടന് (vedan) — Hunter, aboriginal hill tribe.
ജാതി (jaathi) means caste and kind rather than tribe proper, and വേടന് (vedan) names a particular hill community, not tribes in general.
Common questions
How do you say tribe in Malayalam?
Tribe is ഗോത്രം (gothram).
Is gothram the same as caste?
No. Caste is ജാതി (jaathi); ഗോത്രം (gothram) is the narrower descent group or clan within it.