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MARRIAGE Marriage is one of the universal social institutions established to control and regulate the life of mankind. It is closely associated with the institution of family.Infact both the institutions are complementary to each other. It is an institution with different implications in different cultures. Its purposes, functions and forms may differ from society to society but it is present everywhere as an institution. Patterns of Marriage Cultural norms, and often laws, identify people as suitable or unsuitable marriage partners. Endogamy and Exogamy
Some marital norms promote endogamy, marriage between people of the same social category. Endogamy limits marriage prospects to others of the same age, race, religion, or social class.
By contrast, exogamy mandates marriage between people of different social categories.
In rural areas of India, for example, people are expected to marry someone of the same caste (endogamy) but from a different village (exogamy). On the one hand, the logic of endogamy is that people of similar position pass along their standing to their offspring, thereby maintaining the traditional social hierarchy. Exogamy, on the other, builds alliances and encourages cultural diffusion. Monogamy and Polygamy
In high-income nations, laws prescribe monogamy (from the Greek, meaning “one union”), marriage that unites two partners.
Whereas monogamy is the rule in high-income countries, many lower-income countries – especially in Africa and southern Asia – permit polygamy (from the Greek, meaning “many unions”), marriage that unites three or more people.
Polygyny and Polyandry Polygamy takes two forms: (a) polygyny and (b) polyandry.
By far the more common form is polygyny (from the Greek, meaning “many women”), marriage that unites one man and two or more women. For example, Islamic nations in the Middle East and Africa permit men to four wives. Even so, most Islamic families are monogamous because a very few men can afford to support several wives and even more children.
Page 32
Polyandry (from the Greek, meaning “many men” or “many husbands”) is marriage that unites one woman and two or more men. One case of this rare pattern is seen is Tibet, a mountainous land where agriculture is difficult. There, polyandry discourages the division of land into parcels too small to support a family and divides the work of farming among many men.
Residential Patterns Just as societies regulate mate selection, so they designate where a couple resides.
In preindustrial societies, most newlyweds live with one set of parents who offer them protection, support and assistance. Most common is the form of patrilocality (from the Greek, meaning “place of the father”), a residential pattern in which a married couple lives with or near the husband’s family.
However, some societies favour matrilocality (from the Greek, meaning “place of the mother”), a residential pattern in which a married couple lives with or near the wife’s family.
Industrial societies show yet another pattern. Finances permitting, they favour neolocality (from the Greek, meaning “new place”), a residential pattern in which a married couple lives apart from both sets of parents.
Rules of Marriage: No society gives absolute freedom to its members to select their partners. Endogamy and exogamy are the two main rules that condition marital choice. Endogamy: It is a rule of marriage in which the life-partners are to be selected within the group. It is marriage within the group and the group may be caste, class, tribe, race, village, religious group etc.We have caste endogamy, class endogamy, sub caste endogamy, race endogamy and tribal endogamy etc.In caste endogamy marriage has to take place within the caste. Brahmin has to marry a Brahmin. In sub caste endogamy it is limited to the sub caste groups. Exogamy: It is a rule of marriage in which an individual has to marry outside his own group. It prohibits marrying within the group. The so-called blood relatives shall neither have marital connections nor sexual contacts among themselves.
Forms of exogamy:
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Gotra Exogamy: The Hindu practice of one marrying outside one's own gotra.
Pravara Exogamy: Those who belong to the same pravara cannot marry among themselves.
Village Exogamy: Many Indian tribes like Naga, Garo, Munda etc have the practice of marrying outside their village.
Pinda Exogamy: Those who belong to the same panda or sapinda( common parentage) cannot marry within themselves.
Isogamy: It is the marriage between two equals (status)
Anisogamy: It is an asymmetric marriage alliance between two individuals belonging to different social statuses. It is of two forms - Hypergamy and Hypogamy.
1. Hypergamy: It is the marriage of a woman with a man of higher Varna or superior caste or family.
2. Hypogamy: It is the marriage of high caste man with a low caste woman.
Orthogamy: It is the marriage between selected groups.
Cerogamy: It is two or more men get married to two or more women.
Anuloma marriage: It is a marriage under which a man can marry from his own caste or from those below, but a woman can marry only in her caste or above.
Pratiloma marriage: It is a marriage of a woman to a man from a lower caste which is not permitted.
Note: Try to know the difference in pattern of marriage in Hindu tradition and Muslim Tradition. Recent Trends To what extent are the rules of endogamy, hypergamy, exogamy and arranged marriages operative today?
Intercaste marriages are now recognised by law and take place on a larger scale than before. These intercaste marriages constitute only a very small proportion of the total number of marriages taking place. They are increasing at a slow rate. Caste endogamy is still highly
Page 34
relevant in the context of the patterns of selection of spouse. Many caste organisations devise all kinds of strategies to confine marriages within their castes and subcastes. There are even marriage “melas” (fairs) to ensure that the choice of the spouse is made within the particular subcaste. Though majority of marriages continue to be arranged by parents/elders/wali, the pattern of choosing one’s spouse has undergone some modifications today. We find the following patterns i) marriage by parents’/elders’ choice without consulting either the boy or girl, ii) marriage by self-choice, iii) marriage by self-choice but with parents’ consent, iv) marriage by parents’ choice but with the consent of both the boy and the girl involved in the marriage, v) marriage by parents’ choice but with the consent of only one of the two partners involved. Very often, the boy is consulted and his consent is taken. Parents/elders do not think it is important to ask the girl whether she approves the match. Among urban educated classes arranged marriage with the consent of the boy and the girl is often the most preferred pattern. Marriages are even arranged through newspaper advertisement for both the boy and the girl. Changes in Marriage
? Changes in the Forms of Marriage
? Changes in the Mate selection
? Changes in Age of Marriage
? Changes in Marriage Rituals and Customs
? Changes in Marriage: Goals and Stability
Note: For the above topics, refer IGNOU ESO11 (6th Chapter) Marriage
Page 35
KINSHIP Kinship ties are connections between individuals, established either through marriage or through the lines of descent that connect blood relatives (mothers, fathers, siblings, offspring, etc.). Types of Kinship: Descent A descent group is any social group in which membership depends on common descent from a real or mythical ancestor. Thus a lineage is a unilineal descent group in which membership may rest either on matrilineal descent (patrilineage) or on matrilineal descent (matrilineage). In a cognatic descent, all descendants of an ancestor\ancestress enjoy membership of a common descent group by virtue of any combination of male or female linkages. However, cognatic descent is sometimes used synonymously with either 'bilateral' or 'consanguine descent. A clan is a unilineal descent groups if the members of which may claim either partilineal (Patriclan) or matrilineal descent (Matriclan) from a founder, but do not know the genealogical ties with the ancestor\ancestress.
A phratry is a grouping of clans which are related by traditions of common descent. Mythical ancestors are thus common in clans and phratries.
Totemic clans, in which membership is periodically reinforced by common rituals such as sacred meals, have been of special interest to social anthropologists and sociologists of religion.
Where the descent groups of a society are organized into two main divisions, these are known as moieties (halves).
The analysis of descent groups is crucial for any anthropological study of pre-industrial society, but in most Western industrial societies the principle of descent is not prominent and descent groups are uncommon. Primary kins: Every individual who belong to a nuclear family finds his primary kins within the family. There are 8 primary kins- husband-wife, father-son, mother-son, father-daughter, mother-daughter, younger brother-elder brother, younger sister-elder sister and brother-sister.
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Secondary kins: Outside the nuclear family the individual can have 33 types of secondary relatives. For example mother's brother, brother's wife, sister's husband, father's brother. Tertiary kins: Tertiary kins refer to the secondary kins of our primary kins.For example wife's brother's son, sister's husband's brother and so on. There are 151 types of tertiary kins.
MARRIAGE Marriage is one of the universal social institutions established to control and regulate the life of mankind. It is closely associated with the institution of family.Infact both the institutions are complementary to each other. It is an institution with different implications in different cultures. Its purposes, functions and forms may differ from society to society but it is present everywhere as an institution. Patterns of Marriage Cultural norms, and often laws, identify people as suitable or unsuitable marriage partners. Endogamy and Exogamy
Some marital norms promote endogamy, marriage between people of the same social category. Endogamy limits marriage prospects to others of the same age, race, religion, or social class.
By contrast, exogamy mandates marriage between people of different social categories.
In rural areas of India, for example, people are expected to marry someone of the same caste (endogamy) but from a different village (exogamy). On the one hand, the logic of endogamy is that people of similar position pass along their standing to their offspring, thereby maintaining the traditional social hierarchy. Exogamy, on the other, builds alliances and encourages cultural diffusion. Monogamy and Polygamy
In high-income nations, laws prescribe monogamy (from the Greek, meaning “one union”), marriage that unites two partners.
Whereas monogamy is the rule in high-income countries, many lower-income countries – especially in Africa and southern Asia – permit polygamy (from the Greek, meaning “many unions”), marriage that unites three or more people.
Polygyny and Polyandry Polygamy takes two forms: (a) polygyny and (b) polyandry.
By far the more common form is polygyny (from the Greek, meaning “many women”), marriage that unites one man and two or more women. For example, Islamic nations in the Middle East and Africa permit men to four wives. Even so, most Islamic families are monogamous because a very few men can afford to support several wives and even more children.
Page 32
Polyandry (from the Greek, meaning “many men” or “many husbands”) is marriage that unites one woman and two or more men. One case of this rare pattern is seen is Tibet, a mountainous land where agriculture is difficult. There, polyandry discourages the division of land into parcels too small to support a family and divides the work of farming among many men.
Residential Patterns Just as societies regulate mate selection, so they designate where a couple resides.
In preindustrial societies, most newlyweds live with one set of parents who offer them protection, support and assistance. Most common is the form of patrilocality (from the Greek, meaning “place of the father”), a residential pattern in which a married couple lives with or near the husband’s family.
However, some societies favour matrilocality (from the Greek, meaning “place of the mother”), a residential pattern in which a married couple lives with or near the wife’s family.
Industrial societies show yet another pattern. Finances permitting, they favour neolocality (from the Greek, meaning “new place”), a residential pattern in which a married couple lives apart from both sets of parents.
Rules of Marriage: No society gives absolute freedom to its members to select their partners. Endogamy and exogamy are the two main rules that condition marital choice. Endogamy: It is a rule of marriage in which the life-partners are to be selected within the group. It is marriage within the group and the group may be caste, class, tribe, race, village, religious group etc.We have caste endogamy, class endogamy, sub caste endogamy, race endogamy and tribal endogamy etc.In caste endogamy marriage has to take place within the caste. Brahmin has to marry a Brahmin. In sub caste endogamy it is limited to the sub caste groups. Exogamy: It is a rule of marriage in which an individual has to marry outside his own group. It prohibits marrying within the group. The so-called blood relatives shall neither have marital connections nor sexual contacts among themselves.
Forms of exogamy:
Page 33
Gotra Exogamy: The Hindu practice of one marrying outside one's own gotra.
Pravara Exogamy: Those who belong to the same pravara cannot marry among themselves.
Village Exogamy: Many Indian tribes like Naga, Garo, Munda etc have the practice of marrying outside their village.
Pinda Exogamy: Those who belong to the same panda or sapinda( common parentage) cannot marry within themselves.
Isogamy: It is the marriage between two equals (status)
Anisogamy: It is an asymmetric marriage alliance between two individuals belonging to different social statuses. It is of two forms - Hypergamy and Hypogamy.
1. Hypergamy: It is the marriage of a woman with a man of higher Varna or superior caste or family.
2. Hypogamy: It is the marriage of high caste man with a low caste woman.
Orthogamy: It is the marriage between selected groups.
Cerogamy: It is two or more men get married to two or more women.
Anuloma marriage: It is a marriage under which a man can marry from his own caste or from those below, but a woman can marry only in her caste or above.
Pratiloma marriage: It is a marriage of a woman to a man from a lower caste which is not permitted.
Note: Try to know the difference in pattern of marriage in Hindu tradition and Muslim Tradition. Recent Trends To what extent are the rules of endogamy, hypergamy, exogamy and arranged marriages operative today?
Intercaste marriages are now recognised by law and take place on a larger scale than before. These intercaste marriages constitute only a very small proportion of the total number of marriages taking place. They are increasing at a slow rate. Caste endogamy is still highly
Page 34
relevant in the context of the patterns of selection of spouse. Many caste organisations devise all kinds of strategies to confine marriages within their castes and subcastes. There are even marriage “melas” (fairs) to ensure that the choice of the spouse is made within the particular subcaste. Though majority of marriages continue to be arranged by parents/elders/wali, the pattern of choosing one’s spouse has undergone some modifications today. We find the following patterns i) marriage by parents’/elders’ choice without consulting either the boy or girl, ii) marriage by self-choice, iii) marriage by self-choice but with parents’ consent, iv) marriage by parents’ choice but with the consent of both the boy and the girl involved in the marriage, v) marriage by parents’ choice but with the consent of only one of the two partners involved. Very often, the boy is consulted and his consent is taken. Parents/elders do not think it is important to ask the girl whether she approves the match. Among urban educated classes arranged marriage with the consent of the boy and the girl is often the most preferred pattern. Marriages are even arranged through newspaper advertisement for both the boy and the girl. Changes in Marriage
? Changes in the Forms of Marriage
? Changes in the Mate selection
? Changes in Age of Marriage
? Changes in Marriage Rituals and Customs
? Changes in Marriage: Goals and Stability
Note: For the above topics, refer IGNOU ESO11 (6th Chapter) Marriage
Page 35
KINSHIP Kinship ties are connections between individuals, established either through marriage or through the lines of descent that connect blood relatives (mothers, fathers, siblings, offspring, etc.). Types of Kinship: Descent A descent group is any social group in which membership depends on common descent from a real or mythical ancestor. Thus a lineage is a unilineal descent group in which membership may rest either on matrilineal descent (patrilineage) or on matrilineal descent (matrilineage). In a cognatic descent, all descendants of an ancestor\ancestress enjoy membership of a common descent group by virtue of any combination of male or female linkages. However, cognatic descent is sometimes used synonymously with either 'bilateral' or 'consanguine descent. A clan is a unilineal descent groups if the members of which may claim either partilineal (Patriclan) or matrilineal descent (Matriclan) from a founder, but do not know the genealogical ties with the ancestor\ancestress.
A phratry is a grouping of clans which are related by traditions of common descent. Mythical ancestors are thus common in clans and phratries.
Totemic clans, in which membership is periodically reinforced by common rituals such as sacred meals, have been of special interest to social anthropologists and sociologists of religion.
Where the descent groups of a society are organized into two main divisions, these are known as moieties (halves).
The analysis of descent groups is crucial for any anthropological study of pre-industrial society, but in most Western industrial societies the principle of descent is not prominent and descent groups are uncommon. Primary kins: Every individual who belong to a nuclear family finds his primary kins within the family. There are 8 primary kins- husband-wife, father-son, mother-son, father-daughter, mother-daughter, younger brother-elder brother, younger sister-elder sister and brother-sister.
Page 36
Secondary kins: Outside the nuclear family the individual can have 33 types of secondary relatives. For example mother's brother, brother's wife, sister's husband, father's brother. Tertiary kins: Tertiary kins refer to the secondary kins of our primary kins.For example wife's brother's son, sister's husband's brother and so on. There are 151 types of tertiary kins.
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