ZeePedia

THE ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE:Economic Aspect of Marriage

<< KINSHIP AND DESCENT (continued):Tracing Descent, Primary Kinship Systems
ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued):Family Structures >>
img
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Lesson 16
THE ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE
Family and Marriage
The family is a social unit in which its members cooperate economically, manage reproduction and child
rearing, and most often live together. Families can be based on lineage and marital ties.
Marriage, the process by which families are formed, is a socially approved union between male and female
adults. Marriage is based on the assumption that it is a permanent contract. Yet there is a discrepancy
between real and expected behavior within marriages, given the high rates of divorce in many countries of
the modern world.
Functions of Families
Families reduce competition for spouses. They also regulate the division of labor on the basis of gender.
Families also meet the material, educational and emotional needs of children.
Marriage Restrictions
Cultures restrict the choice of marriage patterns by exogamy, which means marrying outside a given group.
Endogamy on the other hand implies marrying within a given group. Conservative Hindus are mostly
endogamous, as are Rwandans in Central African.
It is important to note that endogamous groupings can be based on lineage or even ethnic or economic
similarities.
Moreover, it is possible to simultaneously have an endogamous marriage (within an ethic group) that is also
exogamous (outside one's lineage).
Types of Marriage
Monogamy: a marriage arrangement that implies having one spouse at one time.
Polygamy: a marriage arrangement that implies a man marrying more than one woman at one time.
Polyandry: a marriage arrangement that implies a woman marrying more than one husband at one time.
Economic Aspect of Marriage
Marriages involve transfer of some type of economic consideration in exchange for rights of union, legal
rights over children and rights to each other's property.
There are many cultures in the world which consider marriage as more than a union of man and wife but
instead an alliance between two families.
Types of Marriage Transactions
Bride-wealth: transfer of wealth from a groom's family to that of the bride's (approximately 47%).
Bride service: labor in exchange for a wife, common in small scale societies, lacking material wealth
(approximately 17%).
Dowry: transfer of wealth from a bride's family to that of the groom's. This practice was popular in
medieval Europe and may still prevail in several parts of Northern India (approximately 3%).
38
img
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology ­ SOC401
VU
Woman Exchange: two men exchanging sister's as wives. This practice is limited to a small number of
societies (approximately 3%) in Africa and the Pacific region.
Reciprocal Exchange: a roughly equal exchange of gifts between bride and groom families. Found
amongst traditional Native Americans and islands in the Pacific region (approximately 6%).
(Note: These above statistics are not very recent and should not be taken literally but rather as an indication
of the popularity of the above types of transactions).
Useful Terms
Discrepancy: difference
Reciprocal: equal
Groom: husband
Reproduction: process of giving birth to children
Transaction: exchange
Suggested Readings
Students are advised to read the following chapters to develop a better understanding of the various
principals highlighted in this hand-out:
Chapter 9 in `Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective' by Ferrarro and/or Chapter 20 in `Anthropology' by
Ember and Pergrine
Internet Resources
In addition to reading from the textbook, please visit the following web-pages for this lecture, which
provide useful and interesting information:
Family
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family
39
Table of Contents:
  1. WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?:Cultural Anthropology, Internet Resources
  2. THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND THE APPLICATION OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
  3. MAJOR THEORIES IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Diffusionism
  4. GROWTH OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY (continued):Post Modernism
  5. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Comments on Fieldwork
  6. METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):Census Taking
  7. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
  8. ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY (continued):THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES
  9. FOCUSING ON LANGUAGE:Languages of the World, Structure of Language
  10. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE (continued):Levels of Complexity, Cultural Emphasis
  11. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURES:Optimal Foraging, Suggested Readings
  12. FOOD AND CULTURE (continued):Food Collectors, Food Production
  13. OBTAINING FOOD IN DIFFERENT CULTURE (continued):Pastoralism, Agriculture
  14. RELEVANCE OF KINSHIP AND DESCENT:Kinship Criteria, Rules of Descent
  15. KINSHIP AND DESCENT (continued):Tracing Descent, Primary Kinship Systems
  16. THE ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE:Economic Aspect of Marriage
  17. ROLE OF FAMILY AND MARRIAGE IN CULTURE (continued):Family Structures
  18. GENDER AND CULTURE:Gender Stratification, Suggested Readings
  19. GENDER ROLES IN CULTURE (continued):Women Employment, Feminization of Poverty
  20. STRATIFICATION AND CULTURE:Social Ranking, Dimensions of Inequality
  21. THEORIES OF STRATIFICATION (continued):The Functionalists, Conflict Theorists
  22. CULTURE AND CHANGE:Inventions, Diffusion, Donor, Conventional
  23. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Cultural Interrelations, Reaction to Change
  24. CULTURE AND CHANGE (continued):Planned Change, Globalization
  25. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION:Bands, Tribal Organizations, Chiefdoms
  26. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):State Systems, Nation-States
  27. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION (continued):Social Norms, Informal Mechanisms
  28. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE:Emotional Development, Psychological Universals
  29. PSYCHOLOGY AND CULTURE (continued):Origin of Customs, Personality Types
  30. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE:Ideology in Everyday Life, Hegemony
  31. IDEOLOGY AND CULTURE (Continued):Political ideologies, Economic Ideology
  32. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES:Variation in Associations, Age Sets
  33. ASSOCIATIONS, CULTURES AND SOCIETIES (continued):Formation of Associations
  34. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE:Similarity in Human Adaptations
  35. RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE (continued):Inter-group Relations
  36. CULTURE AND BELIEFS:Social Function of Religion, Politics and Beliefs
  37. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE:Changing Definitions of Local Knowledge
  38. LOCAL OR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE (continued):The Need for Caution
  39. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT:Influence of Development Notions
  40. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Contentions in Development
  41. ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Continued):Operational
  42. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART:Relevance of Art, Art and Politics
  43. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND ART (continued):Art as a Status Symbol
  44. ETHICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY:Ethical Condemnation, Orientalism
  45. RELEVANCE OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:Ensuring Cultural Survival