The institutional social system of Gotra, which represents lineage tracing in Indian tradition, originally held what practical material meaning during the Early Rigvedic phase?

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The word Gotra is derived from Go meaning cow and tra meaning shelter. In the early nomadic layers of the Rigveda, it meant a common cattle enclosure where the primary wealth of a kin-group was pooled. In Later Vedic times, as pastoral groups settled down, it shifted its meaning to denote ideological descent from a common ancestral rishi, enforcing exogamy laws.

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