Compare and contrast the nature of divorce in agricultural states, chiefdoms, tribes, and forager societies.
Some people may think that divorce is a product of globalization, which is not the case. Although divorces cases are nowadays more rampant than it was, it is false to claim that divorce a product of the digital world. According to anthropological studies, divorce has been in existence as far back as the foraging times. During the agricultural states, divorce was very rare and in some instances or in some groups it was forbidden. The State believed in togetherness and unity especially because of the agricultural activities that needed more labor. Activities such as Agriculture, industrial and pastoral needed the participation of every member of the family particularly the women (Harris, 1996 p60) . This act of responsibility and the need to work together did not allow any space for divorce among them. Furthermore, marriage was the biggest mode of transferring property among the families and strengthened the bond between families and kin groups. Divorce was also considered shameful and a woman whose marriage was terminated was humiliated and even isolated.
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On the other hand, marriages in chiefdom societies were planned and arranged. They were seen as a way of connecting two different stinkards. Marriage was also meant to maintain and strengthen the new relationship built among the two families. When it came to divorce, just like the agricultural states, they were also very rare and sometimes not allowed since they would destroy the relationship build among the two stinkards (Harris, 1996 p63) . Marriage was also used as a way of exchanging goods among the families as the bridewealth and thus divorce was not allowed since it will break that channel.
Moreover, the divorce cases were frequent when it came to the tribes. Here, the bride-wealth was undervalued in some cases, making marriage ties more unstable and increasing the likelihood of divorce occurring. However, if the bride wealth was of high value, then the man is given the full rights to the woman. In this case, if a divorce was took place, then the bridewealth was to be returned. This is also similar to the other societies since it was also considered to be a way of exchanging goods from one family to the other. Finally, the foragers accepted divorce as a way of life and it was very common among the families (Harris, 1996 p65) . Divorce was easily accomplished among society since there were no rules forbidding the act. To some instances, the divorced wife was even allowed to live next to the divorced husband with their new partner since it was not a sin. Since divorce was acceptable, it did not in some cases break the ties among the families. They would still be connected to one another. Just like the tribes, divorce was easily achieved in the foragers. Similarly, the marriage was used as a way of connecting between two families or kinship. Divorce was also considered to break the ties among the families as well.
Do you see any parallels, or is divorce simply a cultural facet that does not relate to the rest of society?
Anthropologically, marriage is a term used to describe how various cultures organized and understand mating as well as its values. Marriage changes the duties of two persons with the society. Just like marriage, divorce was considered to be a societal problem because it involved families among the society. If divorce occurred, then the relationship was left in ruins and the families broken apart. The decisions related to divorce cases was made by the rest of the society since some of the societies like the agricultural society did not accept the act because it was seen as a shameful act. Divorced women were even rejected by society. Divorce was also related to the society in that it was one of the most potent means of exchanging goods and properties among families and hence strengthening their bond (Harris, 1996 p70) . The bridewealth was also a determinant of the ownership of the woman and full rights to the woman and if a divorce was to occur the bridewealth was to be returned. Thus, creating bad relations between the families which ended up affecting the entire society as well. For instance, in the agricultural societies divorce was seen as a way of destroying the agricultural practices since they needed one another to accomplish their agricultural practices and feed the society at large.
Reference
Harris, M. (1996). The evolution of human gender hierarchies: A trial formulation. In B. D. Miller (ed). Sex and gender hierarchies (pp. 57-79) . Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
