Akasha

Akasha (Sanskrit ākāśa आकाश) is a term for "æther" in traditional Indian cosmology. The term has also been adopted in western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century.

Indian cosmology

The Sanskrit word is derived from a root kāś meaning "to be visible". It appears as a masculine noun in Vedic Sanskrit with a generic meaning of "open space, vacuity". In Classical Sanskrit, the noun acquires the neuter gender and may express the concept of "sky; atmosphere" (Manusmrti, Shatapathabrahmana). In classical Vedantic Hindu philosophy, the word acquires its technical meaning of "an ethereal fluid imagined as pervading the cosmos". In many modern Indo-Aryan languages, the corresponding word (often rendered Akash) retains a generic meaning of "sky".

Hinduism

In Vedantic Hinduism, Akasha means the basis and essence of all things in the material world; the first material element created from the astral world, (Akasha (Ether), Earth,Water,Fire,Air,) in sequence). It is one of the Panchamahabhuta, or "five elements"; its main characteristic is Shabda (sound). The direct traslation of Akasha is the word meaning "sky" in Hindu.

Nair

The Nair /ˈnɑː.jər/, also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom historically bore the name 'Nair'. These people lived, and continue to live, in the area which is now the Indian state of Kerala. Their internal caste behaviours and systems are markedly different between the people in the northern and southern sections of the area, although there is not very much reliable information on those inhabiting the north.

Historically, Nairs lived in large family units called tharavads that housed descendants of one common female ancestor. These family units along with their unusual marriage customs, which are no longer practiced, have been much studied. Although the detail varied from one region to the next, the main points of interest to researchers of Nair marriage customs were the existence of two particular rituals — the pre-pubertal thalikettu kalyanam and the later sambandam - and the practice of polygamy in some areas. Some Nair women also practiced hypergamy with Nambudiri Brahmins from the Malabar region.