Fundamentals of Anthropology

Lecture # 11 (Part: A)
Marriage

BS.PSY.4th SEM.
Ambrin Kosar
Visiting Lecturer
Department of Applied Psychology
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 Learning Objectives
You will be able:
• To understand the meanings of marriage.
• To understand the types of marriage.
• To describe the concept of incest taboo.

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Questions to be Consider

What do you know about marriage and its types?

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 Definition of marriage?
The legally or formally recognized union of two people as
partners in a personal relationship (historically and in
some jurisdictions specifically a union between a man and
a woman).

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 What is Marriage?(Cont…)
• No definition of marriage broad enough to apply easily to all
societies and situations.
• Genitor: Biological father of a child.
• Pater: Socially recognized father of a child.

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 What is Marriage?(Cont…)
Marriage is a union between a man and woman such that
the children born to the woman are recognized as
legitimate offspring of both partners.

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 Marital Rights &
Same-Sex Marriage
• Establish legal father and legal mother.
• Give monopoly in sexuality of the other.
• Give rights to labor of the other.
• Give rights over the other’s property.
• Establish joint fund of property.
• Establish socially significant.

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 Marital Rights &
Same-Sex Marriage(Cont…)
• Relationship of affinity .
Edmund Leach argued that rights allocated by
marriage include.
 This does not mean same-sex marriages, like any other
cultural construction, are not capable of meeting these
needs, only that in U.S. laws prevent them from doing so.

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 Marital Rights &
Same-Sex Marriage(Cont…)

There are many examples in which same- sex marriages are

culturally sanctioned In U.S., since same-sex marriage is
illegal, same-sex couples denied many of these rights.

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 Stimulus-Value-Role Theory of
Mate Selection
Stimulus Value Role
Stage Stage Stage
2 people Compatibility is People then
attracted to tested in terms ‘act’ the
each of important things role of the
other in (religious beliefs, couple as
some political opinions, dictated by
superficial interests, the society and
way future, etc.) culture

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Types of Marriage

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 Monogamy
Monogamy refers to a marriage of one man with one
woman at a time. Monogamy is of two types such as,

Serial Monogamy
• The possibility of remarriage exists in case
of divorce or death.

Non-serial Monogamy
• Here a spouse has the same single spouse
throughout his life.

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 Polygamy
Polygamy is a type of marriage in which there is plurality of
partners. It allows a man to marry more than one woman or
a woman to marry more than one man at a time.
• Marriage of one man to two
Polygyny or more women at same
time.

• Marriage of one woman to

Polyandry two or more men at same
time.(Tibet, Nepal).

• A group of men marry a

Group- group of women at a time.
Marriage (New Guinea and Africa).
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 Exogamous Marriage
• Practice of seeking a spouse outside one’s own group.
• Forces people to create and maintain a wide social
network.
• This wider social network nurtures, helps, and protects
one’s group during times of needs.

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 Incest and Exogamy

• Incest: Sexual relations with a close relative.

• The incest taboo is a cultural universal what constitutes incest
varies widely from culture to culture.
• There is a taboo against incest in all cultures however, people
define their kin and therefore incest as well Example of Lahker
of South-East Asia.

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 Incest and Exogamy(Cont…)
• The incest taboo is often defined based on the distinction
between two kinds of first cousins.
• Parallel cousins: Children of two brothers or two
sister.
• Cross cousins: Children of a brother and a sister.

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 Incest and Exogamy(Cont…)
• Yanomami & South Indians Use Iroquois System Parallel
cousins referred to as brothers and sisters.
• Cross-cousins preferred marriage partners.
• The Lakher of Southeast Asia strictly patrilineal.

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 Explaining the Taboo

• Instinctive Horror Theory.

• Homo sapiens are genetically programmed to avoid incest.
• This theory has been refuted.
 Specific kin types included within the incest taboo have a
cultural rather than a biological basis

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 Explaining the Taboo(Cont…)

• Biological Degeneration Theory

• Incest taboo developed in response to abnormal offspring
born from incestuous unions.

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 Endogamous Marriage
• Endogamy can be seen as functioning to express and maintain
social difference, particularly in stratified societies.
• Endogamy and exogamy may operate in a single society, but
do not apply to same social unit.
• Homogamy.
• Caste.
• Royal Incest.(Manifest and Latent Functions)

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Endogamous Marriage (Cont…)
• Rules of marriage that keep group members within
their defined group.
• Rules of endogamy exist in most cultures Example of
caste (stratified groups in which membership is
ascribed at birth and is lifelong) in India.

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 Marriage as Group Alliance

• Bridewealth
• Gift before or after marriage from husband and his kin to
wife and her kin.
• Dowry
• Marital exchange in which wife’s group provides substantial
gifts to husband’s family.

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 Durable Alliances
• Levirate
Where a man marries the widow of his dead brother.
• Sororate
Where man marries the sister of his dead wife Marriage
as alliance between two groups Marriage contract
between groups is fulfilled and children taken care.

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 Divorce
• Marriages that are political alliances between groups harder
to break up than marriages that are more individual affairs.
• Payments of bridewealth also discourage divorce.
• Divorce is harder in patrilocal societies as the woman may
be less inclined to leave her children who, as members of
their father’s lineage, would need to stay with him.

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 Divorce(Cont…)
• More common in matrilineal societies as well as societies in
which postmarital residence is matrilocal.
• Very large percentage of gainfully employed women.
• Americans value independence.
• U.S. has one of world’s highest divorce rates.

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 Further Readings
• Kottak, Conrad Philip, (2002). The Exploration of Human
Diversity, McGraw Hill. (9th ed).

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 Questions and Answers

• In case of any query?

• You can contact me at: ambreen@uosahiwal.edu.pk

• Your Query will be answered within one working day.

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Thank You

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