Marriage is among the most ancient, universal, and indispensable social institutions in the world and has existed since human civilization occurred. As a social institution, marriage has been designed to meet the biological and psychological needs of individuals, especially for companionship and sexual needs. For a long time, the marriage institution has primarily involved men and women; nowadays, there are same-sex marriages. As a stable institution, marriage binds the spouses and allows them to live together; marriage socially legitimizes sexual relations between the partners. While marriage is one social institution, it is classified into three categories: monogamy, polygamy, and endogamy.
Monogamy is a type of marriage involving one man and one woman. It is the most common type of marriage in modern times and is known as the most ideal and rational type of marriage in a civilized society. Monogamy is often unbreakable in nature and often continues until death; it is the most accepted marriage type socially and religiously. Monogamy marriage can either be serial or non-serial; in serial monogamy, there is often a possibility of remarriage after death or divorce, while there is no question of remarriage in non-serial marriage even after the death of a spouse. Monogamy is an ideal form of marriage due to its numerous advantages. Some benefits of monogamy are that it promotes better understanding and satisfaction for the spouses. It also provides a stable sex and family life for children. Due to these advantages, monogamy is considered the best form of marriage and is often practiced everywhere worldwide.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Polygamy is the other classification of marriage, in which there is a plurality of partners. In polygamy, the man or woman is often allowed to have more than one partner. Polygamy was a popular type of marriage in ancient times in places like Africa and India. It is very unpopular in modern times and is often considered as uncivilized. In polygamy, the multiple partners have their households, where the marrying spouse visits them. The major benefit of polygamy is increased companionship; human relationship thrives in groups, making polygamy ideal for companionship. Some disadvantages of polygamy are unhappiness, jealousy, and lack of intimacy. These disadvantages often arise from the sense of competition between the spouses (multiple) as they seek financial stability and attention, making polygamy an unideal form of marriage.
Endogamy, often referred to as a group marriage, is a form of marriage where a group of women is married by a group of men. In this type of marriage, every woman in the marriage is a wife to all the men in the marriage and vice versa. This is often referred to as sexual communism. It is a popular type of marriage in some regions of Africa, such as New Guinea; some endogamous groups include Jews and French Canadians. Endogamy is an unpopular form of marriage in the modern and civilized society. Although endogamy increases unity between the group members, it generates jealousy and hatred among groups. Endogamy is unpopular and an unideal form of marriage.
Conclusively, marriage as a social institution is classified into three: monogamy, polygamy, and endogamy. Monogamy is the most popular form of marriage and involves one man and one woman; it offers a stable family and relationship, making it the ideal form of marriage. Polygamy involves partner plurality, where one person has several spouses. The last classification of marriage is endogamy, in which a group of men marries a group of women. In endogamy, one woman is a wife to all men, while one man is a husband to all women. All these forms of marriage, regardless of their types and controversies, make marriage institution whole and diverse.
