1. Marriage, Family &
Kinship patterns

2. What is Marriage?
Socially recognized, stable, & enduring union between two adults that publicly acknowledge their rights & obligations & form a new alliance between kin groups.
A religious union between two individuals who practice the same belief system.
A union that allows for the right to expect sexual relationship access.
An institution conferred by society is backed by legal, economic & social forces.

3. Defining marriage is not always Universally valid
Examples: Plural marriages, Long term common law marriages & legal Same sex marriages.
Legal Same sex marriage- Sudan: the Nuer
If a father has only daughters he can request one daughter to stand in as a son and marry another female in order to give her father heirs- continuing his patrilineage . The female husband is socially recognized and the union is a social & symbolic relationship – not a sexual one.

4. Marriage & Mating patterns
Mating is biological: mates are secured & held solely through individual effort
Marriage is cultural with 5 distinctions as listed below:
Monogamy
Polygyny
Group Marriage
Serial Monogamy
Cousin Marriage
Mating patterns are not always monogamous.
Common in US / Canada- Adultery

5. Monogamy & Polygamy
Monogamy: taking of a single spouse- legally viewed & recognized form of marriage- in many cultures.
Polygamy: the taking of more than one spouse . Two varied forms: Polygyny: one man(husband) two or more women (wives). Polyandry: one woman (wife) two or more men (husbands). Sororal Polygyny: marriage between a man and two or more woman who are sisters.

6. Polygyny
African Polygyny
USA Polygyny

7. Common Culture areas for Polygyny
Nigeria - Kanuri peoples
Australia – Tiwi peoples
Madagascar- Merina

8. Napali, Nepal Polyandry
China Polyandry
Napali, Nepal Polyandry

9. Common Culture areas for Polyandry
N. West Nepal
Tibet- Niyma
Sri Lanka

10. Marriage Patterns- cont.
Serial Monogamy:
where a man or woman marries a series of partners in succession.
Example of Serial Monogamy: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

11. Marriage patterns- cont.
Sororate: when a man marries the sister of deceased wife-known as a family of “wife-givers” supplies a “wife-taker”.
Levirate: when husband dies – wife marries one of the deceased husband brothers.

12. Cousin Marriage patterns
Patrilateral – Parallel
Man marries his father’s brother’s daughter.
Matrilateral Cross-Cousin
The marriage of a mother’s brother’s daughter to her father’s sister’s son.
This form of marriage pattern favored in societies that are hierarchical.
ex: Arab societies
This form of marriage pattern favored in societies within food foragers as it will maintain ties of solidarity. ex: Australian Aborigines.

13. Cousin Marriage patterns

14. Bride wealth/Bride Price
Marriage Exchanges
Bride wealth/Bride Price
Groom ‘s family pays brides family – they are compensated for the work loss.
Bride Service
For designated time after marriage- groom works for brides family.
This form of exchange is found primarily in cattle-herding societies. ex: the Nuer, East Africa
This form of exchange is found in various hunting/gathering cultures.
ex: the Yanomami, Venezuela/Brazil

15. Marriage patterns, cont.
Dowry
Payment of woman's inheritance at marriage-given to new husbands family.
Dowry Bans
This has been outlawed by the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 & amended in ’84& ‘86-husband’s family still demands a dowry payment of specific amounts of cash or goods & often made after a wedding. There have been deaths registered at 179 “unnatural deaths” of young wives whose families have not completed the dowry payments by a contracted date. Government of India reported that between dowry deaths rose 46 %. Some young wives will commit suicide than continue the beatings, burnings from in-laws.
This form of exchange is found in patriarchal cultures.
ex: Mumbai, India

16. Marriage patterns, cont.
Progeny Price
A gift from the new husband and his kin to the new wife and her kin. This is a way to compensate to legitimize any children that are born within this union, to the new husband’s descent group

17. Marriage patterns, cont. 2
Arranged marriages
Refers to marriages that are arranged by the parents or other relatives of the bride and groom.

18. Households & Family Households Family Family and Roommate Nuclear
Refers to a group of people occupying a common dwelling.
Two common forms of households:
Family and Roommate
Family
Refers to a group composed of a woman w/dependent children & at least one adult male joined by marriage or blood relationship.
Nuclear
Family consists of parents (one or both) and their children
Extended
Formed w/ three or more generations.
Parents, children, grandparents.
Family
Share all economic resources and have expectations of mutual obligations or an enduring relationship.
Roommate
Do not share economic resources or have expectations of obligations or an
enduring relationship.
Single-parent
Family consisting of one parent and the children.
Joint
Consists of siblings w/their spouses children. Share work & resources.

19. Marriage & Social Organization
Exogamy
Marriage outside of the family group in order to extend kinship to other groups and extend .
Universal Incest Taboo
Cultural rule that prohibits sexual relations between parents to children of opposite sex or siblings to each other.
Endogamy
Marriage w/in a particular group or category of individuals- such as cousins or in-laws.

20. Identity & Incest pattern
Patrilineal group: Lakher- Southeast Asia
When Incest would not be considered as incest

21. Endogamy- example Koli Patel woman and child- India.
Endogamy group marriage pattern.
Polydactyl- genetic trait- six fingers
on one hand.

22. Other Marriage patterns
Two-Spirits
The pattern the cultures of the Great Plains, Southwest & California, two women or two men might marry, have sexual relations, share a household, family responsibilities. They were publically recognized as forming legitimate couples.
Ghost Marriage
In some African societies w/patrilineal descent, marriages can be contracted in ways that emphasize importance of descent and continuity of patrilineal kin groups.
Nuer
If a married man died without sons, one of his younger brothers married his widow. The children of the new couple were considered heirs of the deceased. This permits an elder brother to maintain hi patrilineage even after death.