Unit 3 ~ Chapter 8

Marriage

What is marriage?What is marriage?No definition of marriage is broad enough to

apply easily to all societies and situations; therefore, we start with this commonly

quoted definition by the Royal Anthropological Institute:

Marriage is a union between a man and a woman such that the children born to the

woman are recognized as legitimate offspring of both partners.

This definition isn’t universally valid for several reasons, among them are:• In many societies, marriages unite more than two spouses (plural marriages).

• Some societies recognize various kinds of same-sex marriages.

Plural MarriageMost non-industrial food producing societies allow plural marriage, or

polygamy.

There are two forms of polygamy:

Polygyny - where a man has more than one wife.

Polyandry - where a woman has more than one husband.

Polygyny• Most common form of plural marriage.

• In some societies, men marry when they are older (18-30), while women marry between 12-14. When the women naturally outlive their husbands, they join other polygynous unions as widows.

• The number of wives can indicate a man’s social status.

• Plural wives can play political roles, as representatives of different clans, provinces, etc.

• For this to work, there has to be an understanding among the existing spouses.

Polyandry

• Very rare, mostly occurs in South Asia - Tibet, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka.

• Sometimes this is due to a shortage of females.

• Sometimes the polyandry is fraternal (a female marries all brothers in a family).

• Polyandry restricts the number of wives and heirs. This is effective in a society where resources are scarce.

Same Sex Marriages

• By and large illegal in the United States. (Legal in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and some other European countries.)

• Other societies allow same sex marriages as a necessity to preserve a family’s patrilineage. (See next slide for example.)

Example: In Sudan, a Nuer woman can marry a woman if her father has only daughters, but no son to carry on the family’s name. The daughter becomes the “socially recognized” husband of another woman. It is a symbolic relationship rather than a sexual one. The “wife” has sex with a man or men, whom the female “husband” approves of, until she gets pregnant. The child is accepted as the offspring of both the female husband and the wife. Although the female husband is not the actual genitor (the biological father of the children), she is the pater, or socially recognized father. Therefore, the paternal descent line is continued.

Why do we marry?• In many non-industrialized societies,

there are two types of people: strangers and kin.

• Marriage is one of the primary ways to convert strangers into family.

• Therefore, exogamy (the practice of seeking a spouse outside of one’s group) is often necessary.

Exogamy• Links people to a wider social network

• By forcing members to marry out, a group increases its

allies.

• In many cultures, marriage alliances can be maintained between groups even when one spouse dies: Sororate - if a wife dies, the husband marries her sister

Levirate - a widow marries the brother of her deceased husband

The opposite of Exogamy is Endogamy• Endogamy - marrying a person from within your own

group.• Examples include:

India’s Caste System - must marry within your social classRoyal incest (including brother and sister) - only a sibling has the royal mana and is therefore the only appropriate wife for a king. (Eqypt & N. Africa)

Other kingdoms, including European royalty, also have practiced endogamy, but based on cousin marriage rather than sibling marriage. This also ensured that

royal wealth remained in the same family lineage.

Outside of industrialized societies, marriage is often a relationship between groups, rather than individuals.

In the United States, we see marriage as an individual decision, predicated upon romantic love.

Descent groups often assist with marriage by contributing the the bridewealth, a customary gift before, at, or after the marriage from the husband and his kin to the wife and her kin.

A bridewealth compensates the bride’s group for the loss of her companionship and labor. Moreover, it makes the children born to the woman full members of the husband’s descent group.

The opposite of a bridewealth is a dowry, which is money or substantial gifts provided from the wife’s family to the husband’s family.

A dowry correlates with low female status. Women are perceived as burdens. When husbands and their families take a wife, they expect to be compensated for the added responsibility (best known from India.)

DivorceEase of divorce varies among cultures:

• Marriages that are political alliances between groups are harder to break up than marriages that are more individual affairs.

• Payments of bridewealth also discourage divorce.

• Divorce is more common in countries where women have more rights.

• Divorce is harder in patrilocal societies as the woman may be less inclined to leave her children.

Divorce in the United States• The U.S. has one of the world’s highest divorce rates.

• The U.S. has a very large percentage of gainfully employed women.

• Americans value independence.

NOTE: Polygamy is illegal in America, but Americans do practice serial monogamy, through multiple marriages and divorces.