Types of marriage

Monogamy
Monogamy is a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse during their lifetime or at
any one time (serial monogamy).
Anthropologist Jack Goody's comparative study of marriage around the world utiliing the
!thnographic Atlas found a strong correlation "etween intensive plough agriculture# dowry and
monogamy. This pattern was found in a "road swath of !urasian societies from Japan to $reland.
The ma%ority of &u"'&aharan African societies that practice e(tensive hoe agriculture# in contrast# show
a correlation "etween )*ride price#) and polygamy. A further study drawing on the !thnographic Atlas
showed a statistical correlation "etween increasing sie of the society# the "elief in )high gods) to
support human morality# and monogamy.
$n the many countries which do not permit polygamy# a person who marries in one of those countries a
person while still "eing lawfully married to another commits the crime of "igamy. $n all cases# the
second marriage is considered legally null and void. *esides the second and su"se+uent marriages
"eing void# the "igamist is also lia"le to other penalties# which also vary "etween %urisdictions.
&erial monogamy
Many societies that are considered monogamous in fact allow easy divorce. $n many western countries
divorce rates approach ,-.. Those who remarry do so on average / times.
0ivorce and remarriage can thus result in )serial monogamy)# i.e. multiple marriages "ut only one legal
spouse at a time. This can "e interpreted as a form of plural mating# as are those societies dominated "y
female'headed families in the 1ari""ean# Mauritius and *rail where there is fre+uent rotation of
unmarried partners. $n all# these account for 23 to 45. of the )monogamous) category.
&erial monogamy creates a new kind of relative# the )e('). The )e('wife)# for e(ample# remains an
active part of her )e('hus"and's) life# as they may "e tied together "y transfers of resources (alimony#
child support)# or shared child custody.
*o" &impson notes that in the *ritish case# serial monogamy creates an )e(tended family) 6 a num"er
of households tied together in this way# including mo"ile children (possi"le e('s may include an e('
wife# an e('"rother'in'law# etc.# "ut not an )e('child)).
These )unclear families) do not fit the mould of the monogamous nuclear family. As a series of
connected households# they come to resem"le the polygynous model of separate households maintained
"y mothers with children# tied "y a male to whom they are married or divorced.
7olygamy
7olygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners. 8hen a man is married to more than
one wife at a time# the relationship is called polygyny# and there is no marriage "ond "etween the
wives9 and when a woman is married to more than one hus"and at a time# it is called polyandry# and
there is no marriage "ond "etween the hus"ands. $f a marriage includes multiple hus"ands and wives# it
can "e called group marriage.
A molecular genetic study of glo"al human genetic diversity argued that se(ual polygyny was typical
of human reproductive patterns until the shift to sedentary farming communities appro(imately 2-#---
to ,#--- years ago in !urope and Asia# and more recently in Africa and the Americas.
As noted a"ove# Anthropologist Jack Goody's comparative study of marriage around the world
utiliing the !thnographic Atlas found that the ma%ority of &u"'&aharan African societies that practice
e(tensive hoe agriculture show a correlation "etween )*ride price#) and polygamy.
A survey of other cross'cultural samples has confirmed that the a"sence of the plough was the only
predictor of polygamy# although other factors such as high male mortality in warfare (in non'state
societies) and pathogen stress (in state societies) had some impact.
Marriages are classified according to the num"er of legal spouses an individual has. The suffi( )'gamy)
refers specifically to the num"er of spouses# as in "i'gamy (two spouses# generally illegal in many
states)# and poly'gamy (many spouses).
&ocieties show varia"le acceptance of polygamy as a cultural ideal and practice. According to the
!thnographic Atlas# of 2#4/2 societies noted# 2:3 were monogamous9 5,/ had occasional polygyny9
,:: had more fre+uent polygyny9 and 5 had polyandry.
;owever# as Miriam <eiten writes# social tolerance for polygamy is different from the practice of
polygamy# since it re+uires wealth to esta"lish multiple households for multiple wives. The actual
practice of polygamy in a tolerant society may actually "e low# with the ma%ority of aspirant
polygamists practicing monogamous marriage. Tracking the occurrence of polygamy is further
complicated in %urisdictions where it has "een "anned# "ut continues to "e practiced (de facto
polygamy).
<eiten also notes that 8estern perceptions of African society and marriage patterns are "iased "y
)contradictory concerns of nostalgia for traditional African culture versus criti+ue of polygamy as
oppressive to women or detrimental to development.)
7olygamy has "een condemned as "eing a form of human rights a"use# with concerns arising over
domestic a"use# forced marriage# and neglect. The vast ma%ority of the world's countries# including
virtually all of the world's developed nations# do not permit polygamy# and there have "een growing
calls for the a"olition of polygamy in many developing countries.
7olygyny
Although a society may "e classified as polgynous# not all marriages in it necessarily are9 monogamous
marriages may in fact predominate. $t is to this fle(i"ility that Anthropologist =o"in >o( attri"utes its
success as a social support system? )This has often meant 6 given the im"alance in the se( ratios# the
higher male infant mortality# the shorter life span of males# the loss of males in wartime# etc. 6 that
many women were left without hus"ands and had to "e killed at "irth# remain single# "ecome
prostitutes# or "e siphoned off into celi"ate religious orders. 7olygynous systems have the decided
advantage that they can promise# as did the Mormons# a home and family for every woman.)@45A
Bonetheless# polygyny is a gender issue which offers men asymmetrical "enefits. $n some cases# there
is a large age discrepancy (as much as a generation) "etween a man and his youngest wife#
compounding the power differential "etween the two.
Tensions not only e(ist "etween genders# "ut also within genders9 senior and %unior men compete for
wives# and senior and %unior wives in the same household may e(perience radically different life
conditions# and internal hierarchy.
&everal studies have suggested that the wive's relationship with other women# including co'wives and
hus"and's female kin# are more critical relationships than that with her hus"and for her productive#
reproductive and personal achievement.
$n some societies# the co'wives are relatives# usually sisters# a practice called sororal polygyny9 the pre'
e(isting relationship "etween the co'wives is thought to decrease potential tensions within the
marriage.
>o( argues that )the ma%or difference "etween polygyny and monogamy could "e stated thus? while
plural mating occurs in "oth systems# under polygyny several unions may "e recognied as "eing legal
marriages while under monogamy only one of the unions is so recognied. Cften# however# it is
difficult to draw a hard and fast line "etween the two.)
As polygamy in Africa is increasingly su"%ect to legal limitations# a variant form of de facto (as
opposed to legal or de %ure) polygyny is "eing practised in ur"an centres. Although it does not involve
multiple (now illegal) formal marriages# the domestic and personal arrangements follow old
polygynous patterns. The de facto form of polygyny is found in other parts of the world as well
(including some Mormon sects and Muslim families in the Dnited &tates).
$n some societies such as the Eovedu of &outh Africa# or the Buer of the &udan# aristocratic women
may "ecome female 'hus"ands.' $n the Eovedu case# this female hus"and may take a num"er of
polygamous wives. This is not a les"ian relationship# "ut a means of legitimately e(panding a royal
lineage "y attaching these wives' children to it. The relationships are considered polygynous# not
polyandrous# "ecause the female hus"and is in fact assuming masculine gendered political roles.@43A
=eligious groups have differing views on the legitimacy of polygyny. $t is allowed in $slam and
1onfucianism# though in most areas today it is uncommon.Judaism# 1hristianity and ;induism have
allowed polygyny in the past# "ut it is prohi"ited today.
7olyandry
7olyandry is nota"ly more rare than polygyny# though less rare than the figure commonly cited in the
!thnographic Atlas (2F:-) which listed only those polyandrous societies found in the ;imalayan
Mountains.
More recent studies have found ,/ societies outside of the 4: found in the ;imalayans which practice
polyandry.$t is most common in egalitarian societies marked "y high male mortality or male
a"senteeism. $t is associated with parti"le paternity# the cultural "elief that a child can have more than
one father.
The e(planation for polyandry in the ;imalayan Mountains is related to the scarcity of land9 the
marriage of all "rothers in a family to the same wife (fraternal polyandry) allows family land to remain
intact and undivided.
$f every "rother married separately and had children# family land would "e split into unsustaina"le
small plots. $n !urope# this was prevented through the social practice of imparti"le inheritance (the dis'
inheriting of most si"lings# many who went on to "ecome celi"ate monks and priests).
7lural marriage
Group marriage (also known as multi'lateral marriage) is a form of polyamory in which more than two
persons form a family unit# with all the mem"ers of the group marriage "eing considered to "e married
to all the other mem"ers of the group marriage# and all mem"ers of the marriage share parental
responsi"ility for any children arising from the marriage.
Bo country legally condones group marriages# neither under the law nor as a common law marriage#
"ut historically it has "een practiced "y some cultures of 7olynesia# Asia# 7apua Bew Guinea and the
Americas 6 as well as in some intentional communities and alternative su"cultures such as the Cneida
7erfectionists in up'state Bew Gork. Cf the 4,- societies reported "y the American anthropologist
George 7. Murdock in 2F5F# only the 1aingang of *rail had any group marriages at all.
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