A joint family in India is a family system where members share common resources, responsibilities, and traditions. Jointness is reflected in shared cooking and eating (commensality), living in the same house, joint ownership of property, cooperation, and shared rituals. Ritual bonds include ancestor worship, family deity worship, and observing pollution after births or deaths.
A joint family can include multiple married couples related lineally (e.g., father and son) or collaterally (e.g., brothers). Types of joint families vary, such as collateral, lineal, or supplemented joint families, depending on the members and relationships.
Joint families may span generations, often including three or more, and are traditionally defined by shared property and obligations. The prevalence of joint families varies by caste, region, and socio-economic factors, influenced by education, mobility, and occupational changes.
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