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Intro to Cultural Anthropology
Table of Contents
Unit 7 Overview: Marriage and Sexuality
7.1 Marriage Practices and Cultural Variations
7.2 Sexuality and Cultural Norms
7.3 Contemporary Issues in Marriage and Family

Marriage practices vary widely across cultures, reflecting diverse social norms and values. From monogamy to polygamy, these unions serve different purposes like economic stability, social alliances, and procreation. Understanding these variations helps us appreciate the complexity of human relationships.

Cultural customs shape how marriages are arranged and celebrated. Traditions like bride price, dowry, and arranged marriages highlight the social and economic aspects of unions. Specialized practices like levirate and sororate marriages show how cultures adapt to maintain family structures and support systems.

Marriage Types

Monogamy and Polygamy

  • Monogamy involves marriage between two individuals
    • Most common form of marriage globally
    • Can be serial (remarriage after divorce or death of spouse) or lifelong
  • Polygamy refers to marriage involving more than two partners
    • Less common but practiced in some cultures
    • Often linked to religious or cultural traditions
  • Polyandry consists of one woman married to multiple husbands
    • Rare form of polygamy
    • Practiced in some Tibetan and Himalayan communities
    • Often tied to land scarcity and population control
  • Polygyny involves one man married to multiple wives
    • More common form of polygamy
    • Found in some Islamic societies and African cultures
    • Can be linked to wealth and status

Marriage Customs

Traditional Practices in Marriage Arrangements

  • Arranged marriages involve families selecting spouses for their children
    • Common in South Asian cultures (India, Pakistan)
    • Can range from complete arrangement to parental approval of chosen partners
  • Bride price requires the groom's family to pay the bride's family
    • Practiced in parts of Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia
    • Can include livestock, property, or money
    • Symbolizes the value of the bride and compensates for loss of labor
  • Dowry consists of gifts or money given by the bride's family to the groom's family
    • Historically common in European and South Asian cultures
    • Can include jewelry, household items, or financial assets
    • Often viewed as the bride's contribution to the new household

Specialized Marriage Customs

  • Levirate marriage occurs when a widow marries her deceased husband's brother
    • Practiced in some African and Middle Eastern cultures
    • Ensures continued support for the widow and her children
    • Maintains family lineage and property inheritance
  • Sororate marriage involves a widower marrying his deceased wife's sister
    • Found in some Native American and African societies
    • Provides continuity in childcare and household management
    • Strengthens family bonds and alliances between families

Marriage Rules

Kinship-Based Marriage Regulations

  • Endogamy requires marriage within a specific social group
    • Can be based on caste, religion, or ethnicity
    • Preserves cultural identity and social boundaries
    • (Hindu caste system, royal families)
  • Exogamy mandates marriage outside one's social group
    • Often based on clan, village, or family lineage
    • Promotes genetic diversity and prevents inbreeding
    • (Australian Aboriginal moiety system)
  • Kinship systems influence marriage partner selection
    • Patrilineal systems trace descent through the father's line
    • Matrilineal systems follow the mother's lineage
    • Bilateral systems recognize both maternal and paternal lines
    • Affects inheritance, residence patterns, and social obligations

Cultural Variations in Marriage Rules

  • Cross-cousin marriage preferred in some societies
    • Common in parts of South India and Aboriginal Australia
    • Strengthens family alliances and maintains property within extended family
  • Parallel-cousin marriage practiced in some Middle Eastern cultures
    • Allows marriage between children of same-sex siblings
    • Keeps wealth and resources within the family lineage
  • Age restrictions vary across cultures
    • Minimum age for marriage differs by country and tradition
    • Some cultures have significant age gaps between spouses
    • Child marriage remains an issue in certain regions

Key Terms to Review (20)

Marital stability: Marital stability refers to the enduring quality of a marriage, characterized by a low likelihood of divorce and the presence of satisfaction and commitment between partners. This concept is influenced by various factors, including cultural norms, social structures, and individual characteristics that can promote or hinder a stable marital relationship.
Parallel-cousin marriage: Parallel-cousin marriage refers to the practice of marrying the children of a parent's same-sex siblings, such as a father's brother's children or a mother's sister's children. This type of marriage is a cultural practice that varies across societies and has implications for family structure, inheritance, and social alliances.
Conjugal Family: A conjugal family is a family unit that consists of two adults in a committed relationship, typically married, along with their dependent children. This type of family emphasizes the partnership between the spouses and their mutual responsibilities towards raising children, often reflecting the cultural norms surrounding marriage and familial relationships.
Family Structure: Family structure refers to the composition and organization of a family unit, including the roles and relationships among its members. It can encompass various forms such as nuclear families, extended families, single-parent families, and blended families. Understanding family structure is crucial as it influences marriage practices and cultural variations in how families are formed and maintained.
Affinal Relations: Affinal relations refer to the connections created through marriage, linking individuals and their families together beyond blood ties. These relationships play a crucial role in the social organization of societies, as they establish networks of kinship that can influence power dynamics, resource sharing, and social support systems. Understanding affinal relations helps reveal how marriage practices vary across cultures and how these variations impact familial structures and social interactions.
Cross-cousin marriage: Cross-cousin marriage refers to a type of kinship-based marriage where an individual marries the child of their parent's opposite-sex sibling, such as the daughter of one's uncle or the son of one's aunt. This practice is often encouraged in various cultures as it strengthens family ties and alliances while preserving property and social status within a lineage.
Matrilineal: Matrilineal refers to a system of inheritance and lineage where descent is traced through the mother’s side of the family rather than the father’s. In matrilineal societies, individuals belong to their mother's lineage, and property or titles are often passed down through women. This system can significantly influence marriage practices, family dynamics, and the roles of women in various cultures.
Bilateral: Bilateral refers to a kinship system or social structure where relationships and inheritance are traced through both the mother's and father's sides of the family. This concept is significant in understanding various marriage practices and how cultural variations influence family organization, property rights, and social identity across different societies.
Exogamy: Exogamy refers to the practice of marrying outside of a specific social group, clan, or community. This practice encourages alliances and connections between different groups, often aiming to avoid inbreeding and promote genetic diversity. In many cultures, exogamy is not just a personal choice but is shaped by social norms and customs that dictate the acceptable boundaries for marriage.
Patrilineal: Patrilineal refers to a kinship system in which lineage and inheritance are traced through the father's side of the family. In such systems, family ties and social identity are primarily connected to paternal ancestry, influencing various aspects of marriage practices, property ownership, and familial roles.
Bride price: Bride price refers to a payment made by the groom or his family to the bride's family as part of marriage negotiations and customs. This practice can be seen as a way to establish alliances between families, reflect the value of the bride, and reinforce social ties. Bride price is part of various cultural norms surrounding marriage and kinship, influencing family dynamics and relationships.
Endogamy: Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social, cultural, or ethnic group, limiting the selection of partners to those who share similar characteristics. This practice reinforces group identity and solidarity, and can serve to maintain cultural traditions and social structures. Endogamy often contrasts with exogamy, which encourages marrying outside one's own group, highlighting the various ways cultures approach marriage and relationships.
Dowry: A dowry is a transfer of parental property, wealth, or goods that is given to the groom and his family as part of a marriage arrangement. This practice often reflects social, cultural, and economic dynamics within a society and can influence marriage practices and kinship relationships. The concept of dowry varies widely across cultures, impacting how marriages are formed, perceived, and maintained within different kinship systems.
Sororate marriage: Sororate marriage is a cultural practice in which a man marries the sister of his deceased wife as a way to maintain familial ties and ensure the continuation of the lineage. This practice often serves to strengthen relationships between families and preserve wealth or property within a group. It reflects broader marriage customs that highlight how different cultures approach kinship, inheritance, and social obligations.
Levirate Marriage: Levirate marriage is a custom in which a man marries the widow of his deceased brother to preserve family lineage and provide social and economic support. This practice reflects the cultural significance of kinship ties, inheritance, and the continuation of familial identity within various societies. By marrying a brother's widow, the new husband takes on the responsibility of caring for her and her children, ensuring that the family line does not die out.
Arranged marriage: An arranged marriage is a marital union where the partners are selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, typically family members or matchmakers. This practice is often rooted in cultural traditions and social norms, emphasizing familial approval and community ties over individual choice.
Polygyny: Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man is married to multiple women at the same time. This practice is often rooted in cultural, economic, or social factors, reflecting variations in how societies understand relationships and family structures. It highlights the diversity of marital practices around the world and underscores the different ways in which societies prioritize gender roles and familial obligations.
Polygamy: Polygamy is the practice of marrying multiple spouses simultaneously, which can take the form of polygyny (one man with multiple wives) or polyandry (one woman with multiple husbands). This marital structure varies widely across cultures and has significant implications for kinship systems, family dynamics, and societal norms, shaping how relationships are formed and maintained within communities.
Monogamy: Monogamy is the practice of being married to or in a sexual relationship with only one person at a time. This concept is often seen as a social norm in many cultures, shaping how relationships are formed and maintained, and influencing ideas around family structures and sexual behaviors.
Polyandry: Polyandry is a form of marriage in which a woman has multiple husbands simultaneously. This practice can be found in various cultures and is often linked to specific social, economic, or ecological factors that influence family structures and inheritance patterns. By understanding polyandry, we gain insights into the diverse ways societies define marriage and family roles.