According to anthropologists, marriage is a way used to describe how different societies organize as well as understand the activity of procreation and its consequences. As a result, different societies have different preferences about marriage as well as family arrangements. Anthropology defines a prototypical marriage as one that highlights what is expected of such a social construct as well as the facets that form it. Across different cultures, marriages are symbolically represented through weddings that range from simple to elaborate ones. Concerning family arrangements, marriages are the ones that usually determine family arrangements, thus the influence of marriage preferences on family arrangements. This paper aims to describe hence, the variations of marriage preferences and family arrangements based on findings of anthropologists across different cultures.
As stated by anthropologists, marriage preferences vary from one culture to another, which may also be influenced by personal preference (Zeitzen 2008). Various cultures allow marriage between two people only, which is referred to as monogamy, thus a monogamous marriage. However, other cultures allow one man to marry more than one wife, thus polygamous marriages. Monogamous marriages result in families wherein the event of procreation; the same parents bear such children, thus a family arrangement that consists of father, mother and children.
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On the other hand, polygamous marriages result in family arrangements where children are not all born to two parents, but a situation in which all the children have one father but different mother. Hence, there is the instance of having stepmothers as well as stepsiblings (Zeitzen 2008). Due to the difference in religious practices as well as personal preferences, marriage as well as family arrangements varies from one community or society to another. However, there are also similarities such as the unification of resources and efforts between married couples and their families.
An example of a culture that practices polygamy as the preferred form of marriage is Mormonism. The Mormon religion allowed its members to practice polygyny, where the founder Joseph Smith made it known of his revelation form God that Mormon males could have multiple wives (Zeitzen 2008). After Smith’s death, the Mormons followed Brigham Young to Utah, where the practice of polygyny continued until polygamy was declared illegal in all U.S states. However, polygamy and polygyny is still preferred and practiced in Mormon areas of Utah and Missouri, which results in large family arrangements (Zeitzen 2008).
Another culture or religion that shows a preference for polygamous marriages is Islam, where Islamic laws allow a man to marry up to four wives depending on the man’s ability to care and provide for all his wives and children (Zeitzen 2008). However, if one of the wives in an Islamic polygamous marriage claims unequal treatment, the husband can be jailed or divorced if the wife in question asks for a divorce. Therefore, the family arrangement in Islamic polygamous marriages is that of fair and equal treatment of all wives at all times. Thus, some men may prefer to marry a single woman if they cannot afford to marry more wives.
Similarly, the Mende of Sierra Leone is described as a culture that shows a preference for polygamous, patrilocal as well as patrilineal marriages and family arrangements. As a result, multiple wives and multiple children characterize such marriages (Zeitzen 2008). In this culture, there is the ranking of wives concerning order or marriage to the husband, depending on the status of the family where the wives come from. The family arrangement was characterized by collective as well as individual efforts with the husband, which created room for feuds. However, the Mende’s are a perfect example of cultures where the people show a preference for polygamous marriages (Zeitzen 2008).
Another preference for polygamous marriages is seen among the Nayars, who comprise of a warrior group situated on the Malabar Coast of India. The family and marriage arrangement in this culture entailed one woman getting “married” to a man she did not know. As a result, the man would be charged a fee to marry the woman and would, in turn, be considered the official “father” of her children. However, as soon as she was an adolescent, she would be introduced to different husbands who would copulate with her. Also, the lessening of war made the Nayars move towards monogamy (Zeitzen 2008).
Monogamy is a form of marriage, where a man is allowed to marry one woman only, and it is mostly practiced among Christians (Zeitzen 2008). Serial monogamists, who engage in sexual relationships with a single partner until the end that relationship and enter into another sexual relationship with another single person, characterize modern day dating. There is also monogamy that involves same-sex marriage, which is common in the 21st century evident in the existence of LGBTQ communities. The United States allows for same-sex marriages in some states despite the prejudice and harassment of members of this community.
Same-sex marriages are characterized by family arrangements that entail the adoption of children to complete the families, while some, woman-to-woman marriages go for the option of artificial insemination to give birth to children. An excellent example of a culture where same-sex marriages are highly preferred and regarded is among the Nuer in Sudan. In this culture, a woman is allowed to marry a fellow woman, thus being deemed the “father” of her “wife’s” children (Haviland et al. 2013). The family arrangement in such marriages consists of a pater and a genitor. The pater is the woman who takes the role of a “husband” while the genitor is the friend of the couple that impregnates the pater’s wife as well as helping around with tasks that are considered the responsibility of a male figure. The pater pays the bride wealth for her wife, which can be collected back if the wife engages in sexual activity without the pater’s consent.
Other cultures portray preference for arranged marriages, which are characterized by distinct family arrangements. Arranged marriages are unions established by parents of the couple being married, often without the knowledge or consent of the couple (Haviland et al. 2013). Arranged marriages can be forced, modern with courtship, introduction only as well as traditional limited choice type. For instance, in India, arranged marriages are common with strict adherence to religious and caste regulations. Therefore, the family arrangements entail the eldest male member of both the groom and bride’s extended family, which is different from arranged marriages in western cultures where the father of the boy or girl would arrange the marriage and not the entire extended family or kin. According to Indian traditions, both the groom and bride must come from the same religion as well as the same caste (Haviland et al. 2013).
Depending on the form of marriage, family arrangements vary from one culture to another. Some cultures practice neolocal residence, where a married couple move from their parents’ houses and find their own homes, which is common among North Americans. Other cultures practice patrilocal residence where the family arrangement consists of a married couple living at the home of the husband’s father and his family, common among herding and farming communities.
In conclusion, due to the difference in practices as well as preferences, marriages are done differently from one society to another. This is also due to the difference in family arrangements, which also lead to marriages that have different family arrangements altogether. In accordance to anthropologists, many factors come into play with regards to marriages as well as family arrangements such as religion and traditions.
References
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Haviland, William A., et al. 2013. Cultural anthropology: the human challenge . Cengage
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Zeitzen, Miriam Koktvedgaard. 2008. Polygamy: A cross-cultural analysis . Berg.
