Co-Inheritance Of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups And Lineages In ‘Parayi Petta Panthirukulam’: An Evaluation Of Human Motifs In A Popular Folktale In Kerala, India.

Abstract

Parayi petta panthirukulamis a popular folktale in Kerala, India. People with the family names and caste affiliations accounted in the folktale, who are believed to be the descendants of Vararuchi, live in Shoranur, Pattambi and Thrithala of Palakkad district of Kerala state. Despite the huge difference in their caste and social ranks, these families are traditionally bound together by rituals and religious customs. Six male individuals each were identified from six lineages of Vararuchi and their blood samples were collected from the selected individuals on FTA cards (Whatman) after obtaining their informed consent. The blood stain on FTA cards was used for PCR reactions following manufactures protocol. Haplotypes were determined at 17 Y-chromosome loci using a AMPFlSTR Yfiler Kit (Applied Biosystems) following the instructions of the manufacturer. Haplogroup affinity of each individual was predicted based on the haplotype data using the online software WhitAtheys Haplogroup Predictor . Based on the results we concluded that true descendants of Vararuchis sons may have been either extinct through time due to different genetical or social reasons or severely declined in relation to the descendants of the own men of a family lineage.