ANTH Chapter 8 + Marriage

what is marriage?

socially approved union between two or more adult partners that regulates the sexual and economic rights and obligations between them

what is a common law marriage?

*  people living together as a couple without being legally married (has been heavily stigmatized)
* However, as society has generally become more secular, the stigma has decreased and common law marriages are becoming more popular

what was same-sex marriage legalized in Canada?

2005

what is the postpartum sex taboo?

the rule that a husband and wife must abstain from any sexual activity for a period of time after the birth of a child

what is a marriage of convenience?

* where the marriage is contracted for economic, political, or personal reasons rather than love or forming long-lasting relationships

what is the incest taboo?

prohibition of sexual intimacy between close relatives (also forbids marriage)

what is preferential cousin marriage?

* a preferred form of marriage between either parallel or cross cousins
* Cross cousins: children of siblings of opposite sex (this is preferred because usually they will have a different last names)
* Parallel cousins: children of siblings of the same sex

what is the inbreeding theory?

 mating between close kin, who are likely to carry the same harmful recessive genes, tends to produce a higher incidence of genetic defects that results in higher mortality rates

what is the family disruption theory?

 mating between a mother and son, father and daughter, or brother and sister would create such intense jealousies within the nuclear family and they would not be able to function

what is role ambiguity?

 confusion about how one is expected to behave within the family (e.g., I’m My Own Grandpa song)

what is the childhood familiarity theory?

children who are brought up together, whether related or not, are not sexually attracted to one another

what is exogamy?

marrying outside a certain group

what is endogamy?

marrying within a certain group

what is an arranged marriage?

* a marriage in which the selection of the spouse is outside the control of the couple
* The decision is made primarily by one’s parents or other influential relatives
* In some cultures, marriage is betrothed when they are still children (or even before birth)

what is levirate?

* the practice of a man marrying the widow of his deceased brother
* Found in patrilineal societies and is closely associated with placing a high value on having male heirs

what is sororate?

the practice of a woman marrying the husband of her deceased sister

what do levirates and sororates demonstrate?

marriages are not simply contracts between individuals but between groups of people

what is a ghost marriage?

a form of marriage common among the Nuer whereby a woman remains married to her deceased husband

what is monogamy?

the marital practice of having only one spouse at a time

what is serial monogamy?

the practice of having a succession of marriage partners, but only one at a time

what is polygamy?

having two or more spouses at the same time

what is polygyny?

the marriage of a man to two or more women at the same time

what is sororal polygyny?

a form of polygynous marriage whereby a man marries his wife’s sisters or other female relatives

what is polyandry?

the marriage of a woman to two or more men at the same time

what is fraternal polyandry?

the marriage of one woman to one or more men who are brothers (village in the Himalayas re. the video)

what is polyamory?

intimate relationships between three or more people at the same time

what is bridewealth?

* compensation given upon marriage by the family of the groom to the family of the bride to legitimize the marriage
* Essentially a payment for her to bear children

what are child-drought brides?

girls younger than 18 are being married off to lessen the burden on their families

what is bride service?

work or service performed for the bride’s family by the groom for a specific period of time either before or after the marriage

what is a dowry?

goods or money transferred from the bride’s family to the groom or groom’s family to legalize or legitimize a marriage

what is dowry death?

deaths of young women either murdered or driven to suicide in an effort (for the man) to obtain a dowry

what is neolocal residence?

a residence pattern in which the married couple has its own place of residence apart from the relatives of either spouse

what is patrilocal residence?

a residence in which the married couple lives with or near the relatives of the husband’s father

what is matrilocal residence?

a residence pattern in which the married couple lives or near the relatives of the wife

what is avunculocal residence?

a residence pattern in which the married couple lives with or near the husband’s mother’s brother

what is ambilocal (bilocal) residence?

a residence pattern in which the married couple may choose to live with either the relatives of the wife or the relatives of the husband

what are the functions of marriage?

* Regulates mating, reproduction and child rearing in a socially approved way
* Regulates sexual division of labour
* Creates a set of family relationships that can provide for the material, educational, and emotional needs of children
* Legitimizes children
* Provides women in technologically simple societies support
* Defines social positions of individuals e.g., adulthood
* Establishes legal rights and interests e.g., over property, children
* Serves as an instrument of political relations between individuals and groups

what are the exceptions to marriage being a sexual union?

* Marriages of convenience
* Nayar exception

what is a Nuer ghost marriage?

* a Nuer woman whose husband has died remains legally married to him.
* Ideally, she should remarry her deceased husband’s brother
* Any children are socially defined as the offspring of her first dead husband

what is an afterlife marriage (Minghun)

Traditional Chinese beliefs hold that an unmarried life is incomplete. So, some parents will marry their deceased sons to “ghost brides” (in fact, girls and women are killed sometimes in order to be sold as ghost brides)

what are the processes of marriage?

* Process through which families and kinship groups are formed
* Descent groups are interlinked
* Process of achieving reproduction, both socially and biologically