Marriage is a phenomena found in all types of societies though the pattern of marriage differs in different

societies. The first section of the unit would introduce the students to the concept, definition and meaning of
marriage, the various types of marraiges that are prevalent in different societies Marriage by most
anthropologists has been described as a universal phenomena yet the debate continues as to how marriage came
into existence.

George Peter Murdock (1949) has defined marriage as a universal institution that involves residential co-
habitation, economic co-operation and the formation of the nuclear family. While Westermarck had emphasised
on marriage as a recognised union between a man and a woman, that the spouse live together and that the
couple have clearly recognised mutual sexual rights

William N. Stephens defined marriage as ‘a socially legitimate sexual union, begun with public pronouncement
undertaken with the idea of permanence, assumed with more or less explicit marriage contract which spells out
reciprocal economic obligations between spouses, and their future children’

Marriage is considered by sociologists to be a cultural universal; that is, it exists in some form in all societies.
Marriage serves important social functions, and social norms often determine the role each spouse takes in a
marriage.Because marriage is a social construct, cultural norms and expectations determine what a marriage is
and who can marry.

Depending on the society, marriage may require religious and/or civil sanction, although some couples may come
to be considered married simply by living together for a period of time (common law marriage). Though marriage
ceremonies, rules, and roles may differ from one society to another, marriage is considered a cultural universal,
which means that it is present as a social institution in all cultures.

Marriage serves several functions. In most societies, it serves to socially identify children by defining kinship ties
to a mother, father, and extended relatives. It also serves to regulate sexual behavior, to transfer, preserve, or
consolidate property, prestige, and power, and most importantly, it is the basis for the institution of the family.

Marriage is a union between a man and a woman such that the children born to the woman are recognised as
legitimate offspring of both partners

Endogamy refers to marriage within a group, while exogamy means marriage outside the group. Endogamy
encompasses marriage within the believers of the same faith or religion, caste in Hindu
society and within members of the same tribe

Monogamy is a form of marriage in which the practice is to have only one spouse at one time. In the western
world the divorce rate is increasingly higher and serial monogamy is witnessed.

Polygamy is a term derived from the Greek word polys gamos meaning often married. It is a form of marriage
in which an individual has more than one spouse at any given time, or married to more than one individual. In
polygamy when a marriage involves one man with many women it is known as polygyny

Polyandry derives its name from the Greek word poly ‘many’ and andros ‘man’. Thus, in this type of marriage
a woman is married to more than one man. Societies where polyandry has been found are Tibet, Canadian Arctic

Fraternal polyandry- refers to a marriage in which a woman is married to two or more brothers also
known as adelphic polyandry, When the husbands of a woman are father and son such a marriage is known as
familial polyandry
Kinship refers to human relationships by blood or consanguinity affinity with relations brought by
marriage. Kinship relations are actually or fictiously traced through parentchild or sibling relations,
and recognised for social purposes To be human is to reproduce socially and not simply biologically.
Every human is embedded in a network of relationships that can be called kinship relationships that
are either based on the notions of putative blood connections or  Kinship, Marriage and Family 6
of marriage as a socially recognised bond; what in anthropological terminology are known as
consanguineal and affinal relationships

Meaning of kinship:
Man does not live alone in society. From birth till death he is surrounded by a number of people. Some of
these people are his relatives, some are friends some are neighbours while all others are strangers and
unknown to him. He is bound to all those people who are related to him either on the basis of blood or
marriage The relations based on blood or marriage may be close or distant. The bond of blood or marriage
which binds people together in group is called kinship.

Types of Kinship:
Kinship is of two types: (i) Affinal Kinship - The bond of marriage is called affinal kinship. When a
person marries, he establishes relationship not only with the girl whom he marries but also with a number
of other people in the girl’s family. Moreover, it is not only the person marrying who gets bound to the
family members of the girl but his family members also get bound to the family members of the girl.
Likewise a girl on marriage becomes not only a wife but also becomes daughter-in-law, she also becomes
chachi, bhabhi, devrani, jethani, mami etc. Thus, marriage creates a host of relationships which are called
affinal kin

(ii) Consanguineous Kinship:

The bond of blood is called consanguineous kinship. The consanguineous kin are related
through blood whereas the affinal kin are related through marriage. The bond between parents
and their children and that between siblings is consanguineous kinship. Siblings are the
children of the same parents. Thus, son, brother, sister, uncle (chacha), elder uncle (taoo),
nephew and cousin are consanguineous kin

A family is established through marriage which is known as the nuclear family The family as a social
group is universal in nature and its existence is seen at all levels of cultures .famil a group of persons
united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting
with each other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and
siblings. The family group should be distinguished from a household, which may include boarders
and roomers sharing a common residence. It should also be differentiated from a kindred (which
also concerns blood lines), because a kindred may be divided into several households. Frequently
the family is not differentiated from the marriage pair, but the essence of the family group is the
parent-child relationship, which may be absent from many marriage pairs.

At its most basic, then, a family consists of an adult and his or her offspring. Most commonly, it
consists of two married adults, usually a man and a woman (almost always from different lineages
and not related by blood) along with their offspring, usually living in a private and separate
dwelling. This type of unit, more specifically known as a nuclear family, is believed to be the oldest
of the various types of families in existence. Sometimes the family includes not only the parents and
their unmarried children living at home but also children that have married, their spouses, and
their offspring, and possibly elderly dependents as well; such an arrangement is called an extended
family.