Kulavruttantas are categorically published by family name, or surname,[1] and are usually in Marathi.[2] They usually document various aspects of that particular family's history, heraldry, the etymology of their name, ancestral land holdings, migration maps, and religious traditions.[3] The genealogical charts are usually sectioned based on each gharana, or branch, of the family; these are then followed by biographies of individuals within those gharanas; and followed finally by indices of births, deaths and marriages within the family.[4]
Kulavruttantas have been historically attributed to the genealogical history of Chitpavanbrahmins.[1] The Bhat family, during their rule of the Maratha confederacy, are usually credited for commissioning surveys and censuses of Chitpavan brahmin households, recorded on paper or clothscrolls.[5] These scrolls are generally used as the references of the historical and genealogical data for the compilation of these almanacs.[6] Beginning with the publication of the Kulavruttanta of the Apte family in 1915,[7] throughout most of the 20th century, several other Chitpavan families have gone on to commission or publish their own versions.[8] Historian and biographer Sadashiv Ranade has notably authored several of these.[9][10]
In the 21st century, Kulavruttants have also been adopted by several other communities as a means of documenting their genealogical data, most notably the Maratha community.[11][12]
Asia
History
