Marriage What is marriage How do different cultures define it Marriage is a cultural behavior but it is universally shared Marriage o 1 A culturally approved relationship between two spouses o 2 Marriage functions to transforms the individual s status within their culture When you get married you are connected to another person Marriage changes how you view yourself and how other s see you In most cultures marriage is seen as the process of becoming an adult from being a child There is sometimes a limbo stage between being a child and becoming an adult during the engagement o 3 Connects two descent groups Connecting two kinship groups A negotiating agreement between two groups connecting the groups together o 4 Is always symbolically marked in some way EX A wedding ceremony o 5 Implies certain permitted sexual access Marriage is also about the exclusion of others o 6 Establishes legal parenthood A culturally approved parenthood in terms of family and kinship descent o 7 Creates joint property The things you own are owned by both individuals Usually o 8 Creates a new kinship line Marriage is about producing children and producing legal parenthood for those children Marriage creates new kinship lines Marriage o Is NOT always synonymous with mating Marriage is a culturally sanctioned relationship Marriage is not always about the creation of children and the actual biological mating itself Examples Igbo female and female husband marriage Igbo is a large cultural group in northern Africa Occurs when a male is never born or male offspring die before their father Eldest female become a female husband so that the family line name would continue Nuer ghost marriage A man who died before he had children his wife will marry his spirit a stand in and they will have children The spirit is usually someone related to the dead husband They believe that the children from the ghost marriage is the offspring of the spirit not of the stand in Marriage Systems Monogamy o Single spouse marriage o Most marriage are monogamous Polygamy o Multiple spouse marriage o Never the dominate form of marriage even in places that it does occur 2 varieties of polygamous marriages o Polygyny o Polyandry One husband Multiple wives marriage One wife Multiple husbands marriage Least common Plural Marriages o Why do they exist Why would someone want to be in a polygamous marriage o Plural Marriages 1 Equalize sex ratios If there were usually more females than men 2 Marrying late in life Men can marry later in life but women usually marry earlier in life Men who can support larger families take on Wives are usually much younger than the more wives men 3 Economics Practical economics of living More adults more people helping out economically 4 Political Reasons The least common reason Marriage can be about political alliances There is no single reason for polygamous marriages o Polygamous marriage are not always a good thing o Polygamous marriage can be related to the abuse of certain types of marriages Who do you Marry Incest taboo o Cultural sanctions against sexual relations with a close relative A cultural universal Strict patrilineal groups o Incest line Kinship descent is only through the male Refers to a prohibition of sexual relations Different cultures see the incest taboo in different ways Instinctive horror We think it gross when people who are related get married Not a good explanation Biological degeneration Weird mutations Not that good of an explanation either Attempt and Contempt Marry out or die out Probably the best explanation For groups to survive you have to extend your social network Creating more alliances Incest taboos promote Exogamy o Exogamy Practice of seeking a spouse outside of one s own social and kin group Marriage outside of a defined social kin group o Endogamy Marriage inside a defined social kin group Endogamy versus exogamy Exogamy o Marriage outside of a defined social kin group Endogamy o Marriage inside a defined social kin group o Examples 1 Homogamy 2 Caste Marriage People who marry within their social caste In India Pakistan 3 Royal Marriages Marriage as Group Alliance Marriage is often more than a relationship between two individuals relationship o It is about the culture and what the culture thinks of the o It s about agreements and alliances Wealth exchange between patrilineal groups o It is an economic agreement o Two types 1 Bridewealth Economic exchange from the husbands family to brides family How much the groom gives to the patrilineal group of the bride This alliance is really hard to break Divorces rarely occur When you dissolve the bridewealth you have to return the money 2 Dowry Kind of the opposite of a bridewealth A payment made from the brides family to the grooms family Also appears in patrilineal societies It is a way to give your daughter wealth Usually societies that have low female gender status Divorce Not common in patrilineal groups o Because marriages ally groups o Difficult for women to get a divorce Because of low female gender status o Men can get divorced but the usually don t More common in matrilineal societies o Because of a high gender status for women US society o Is around 50 o Contradictory to cultural beliefs we ve had a very stable divorce rate starting in the 1980 s
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