There may exist traditional marriages around the world but, as with all traditions, tradition changes with the times largely due to external factors. Three examples of marriage customs will be summarized as well as their purposes, structure, ritual, standards benefits, and how they contrast towards to the typical western notion of marriage. I attempted to analyze three cultures that have different marriage customs—fictive, polyandrous, and same-sex—in order to maximize the diversity in contrast to the standard western notion of marriage, one woman and one man.
Firstly, we have the Nandi peoples of Kenya. Residing in what is now named Nandi county, the population of the Nandi peoples are about 753,000 as of 2009 [1]. Largely agricultural, the major crops are millet, corn, and yam; cattle is primarily used for food, bride-payments, rituals et cetera [2]. Polygyny seems to be common as 25% or so of the males have multiples wives [3]. Though, there exists woman-woman marriages despite the Kenyan government outlawing homosexual acts. Such marriages existed before colonization but, with the western influences, it would seem that woman-woman marriages are in decline despite the Kenyan court, more recently, allowing such traditional marriages to be legally recognized in or around 2011 [4].
Regarding the woman-woman marriages, when a woman has not borne any children, she takes the male role in the relationship/marriage. She—or, perhaps, he—provides the woman she marries a home and urges her to ,then, find a male—who is a member of spouse's clan—for a sexual relationship in order to bear a child; same-sex sexual acts, however, not reported to occur as such acts are illegal [5] [6]. Such order of things allows for the female husband to, essentially, become a male, especially in regards to the traditional division of labor between male and female—the female husband is able to attend/partake in male events. The female husband is able to pass on her property and the ilk to her male heir that is to be provided by the female wife [7]. The basis and importance of these same-sex marriages may largely be based on the importance of male inheritance and supporting a family lineage in a patrilineal culture or society. Contrasted to the West, the emphasis on heirs, gender, sex, and clan are almost nonexistent; sexual activity and love tend to be emphasized normally in a marriage and there can exist a lack of an objective within a marriage. The objective of marriage in a culture like the Nandi is to pass on whatever may be passed on to the son and to raise children to carry on the clan or family.
Secondly, there exists the Nyinba peoples of Tibet. These people are comprised of many tribes and villages within Tibet and are largely agricultural. Something that makes the Nyinba people special is that they are, according to Pasternak, one of four cultures that are known to be polyandrous and the only one known to practice fraternal polyandrous [8]. Fraternal polyandry is the practice of brothers marrying a wife—or wives [9]. Why fraternal polyandry? It is believed that a wife shared by fraternal brothers lowers the amount of jealousy produced in contrast to people who are not related and share a wife [10]. This practice of fraternal polyandry is to have occurred since time immemorial. In the present, about 70% of marriages are initially polyandrous but may become monogamous as brothers die out, brothers move away from the household, and so forth; depending on circumstance, brothers may marry, also, the sister(s) of the first wife [11]. In regards to who marries whom and when, it is usually the eldest brother, the most dominant of the siblings, that decides who the brothers will marry—the youngest or younger brothers do not usually participate in the marriage ceremony; marriages tend to occur in the middle teens [12]. The wife is to be shared equally between the brothers. To the Westerner, this may seem scandalous or odd but it is the norm in this culture and not thought of as unusual [13].
Furthermore, in regards to how fraternal polyandry works, if, say, one of the younger brothers is unhappy with the shared wife and, say, the eldest brother does not marry another wife, then the younger brother may divorce—if he is married to the shared wife—and or move from the shared household to marry. As for the children, they remain with the other brother(s) regardless if it known that the child(ren) belong to the departing brother [14]. The structure or hierarchy within the marriage reflects that of the culture, generally. That is, the older brother is the dominant one and tends to make the decisions. The reason and benefit for this practice of fraternal polyandry is said to mainly material. Dorje, one of three brothers married to one wife, for example, stated that this practice prevented a division within the family and promoted a higher standard of living [15]. So long as a divorce does not splinter the household, this would hold true most likely. With every new generation of progeny, the land held by the family is passed on as noted by Joe LeMonner. [16]
An economic rationale for fraternal polyandry is outlined in the diagram below, which emphasizes only the male offspring in each generation. If every wife is assumed to bear three sons, a family splitting up into monogamous households would rapidly multiply and fragment the family land. In this case, a rule of inheritance, such a primogeniture, could retain the family land intact, but only at the cost of creating many landless male offspring. In contrast, the family practicing fraternal polyandry maintains a steady ratio of persons to land.
In contrast the Western tradition of marriage, love may not be quite as emphasized with the Nyinba. Perhaps, the eldest brother may choose a wife that he fancies and or loves but the wife may be shared among the brother of which may or may not love her. The benefits of this fraternal polyandry may easily be contrasted to that of the Western notion of marriage. Here, with the fraternal polyandry, the standard of living is emphasized and a reason for such marriages as well as the ratio of persons to land—inheritance and upkeep with polyandry is easily done. Lineage is easy to continue as well. Is the initial wife infertile? Marry her sister or another wife. Is one of the brothers infertile? Most likely, one of the brothers is fertile. In addition, a family with many brothers and wives is able to care for a large amount of land, thus potentially improving the standard of living and or status.
Thirdly, and finally, we have the Nuer tribe of (South) Sudan. As of modern times, the Nuer tribe has faced many difficulties due to contact with foreigners like the Ottomans, English, and Ethiopians and a concrete population consensus is lacking. It is approximated that the Nuer are about 500,000 strong [17]. With cattle being highly revered and valuable among the tribe and by those the tribe trades with, they are known for their cattle herds and are a pastoral people [18] [19]. Similar to the Nandi peoples, the culture is patrilineal and the male children are grouped into age-sets. Polygyny is traditional and courting is often done with a blood sacrifice via cattle or the transfer of cattle between the spouses' families; whether or not the male and female elope is decided after courting and may result in bloody family feud if they do not elope [20].
In fact, a unique form a marriage practice is practiced by the Nuer people, fictive marriage—a really uncommon practice. In the case of the Nuer, the brother of the deceased groom takes the place of the groom. Any children are then subsequently considered to be of deceased groom's [21]. This could, potentially, allow for a wealthy woman to marry someone who is deceased in order to retain her wealth and that of the deceased. If a wealthy woman were to marry a live man, however, her wealth would then belong to that of the husband. Such form of marriage allows for a man's lineage to continue after death but may be perpetuated by women who benefit immediately.
ghost marriage helps to create familial bonds and brings cattle into the family of the bride, which can be invested into the bride-wealth of a male relative in order to increase the likelihood that he will be able to procure a wife . Second, he was told by his informants that ghost marriage is important in that it provides a means "to create a line of male heirs for a dead man" [22]
Though, as the Nuer are polygynous, a female who is married to a male may marry the deceased brother of her husband, the male; the children produced by the female will be the heir(s) of the deceased brother [23]. This unique marriage, in contrast to the Western marriages, emphasizes the inheritance or passing on of, essentially cattle—wealth—and the continuation of a male lineage. Love, in the fictive marriages, is seemingly nonexistent and, of course, sexual activity between the deceased is, well, not quite possible; the deceased does not quite exist in the present. This almost defies the Western definition or expectation of marriage. Love, absent, sexual activity, also absent, initial groom, dead.
In toto, three types of marriages practiced by different cultures that are distinct and separated by distance have been described and contrasted to the West. These traditional marriages, two of them being rare, add towards the uniqueness and adaptive ability of the cultures. These marriages clearly have an objective(s) different than that of the Western marriages of which, in the present, are not quite goal orientated. In the West, children are not always the goal of marriages and neither is the production of a heir. The standard of living, however, may be increased if both the spouses work; or, perhaps, one spouse works while the other attends to domestic duties. Whilst, in the cultures described, children tend to be the goal of marriages in order to inherit and care for land/property, bear a legacy, care for the parents, and so forth. The benefits appear to be numerous.
1: "Kenya Census 2009." Scribd. August 28, 2009. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.scribd.com/doc/36672705/Kenya-Census-2009.
2: Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Nandi", accessed December 12, 2015,http://www.britannica.com/topic/Nandi-people.
3: "Nandi and Other Kalenjin Peoples - Marriage and Family." Marriage and Family. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Nandi-and-Other-Kalenjin-Peoples-Marriage-and-Family.html.
4: C., Paul. "Traditional Same-Sex Marriage Approved by Kenyan Court." Traditional Same-sex Marriage Approved by Kenyan Court. October 28, 2011. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.care2.com/causes/traditional-same-sex-marriage-approved-by-kenyan-court.html.
5: Telewa, Muliro. "Kenya's Legal Same-sex Marriages - BBC News." BBC News. February 15, 2012. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-16871435.
6: Telewa, Muliro. "Kenya's Legal Same-sex Marriages - BBC News." BBC News. February 15, 2012. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-16871435.
7: Oboler, Regine Smith. 1980. “Is the Female Husband a Man? Woman/woman Marriage Among the Nandi of Kenya”. Ethnology 19 (1). University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education: 69–88. doi:10.2307/3773320.
8: Wynn, Jenna. "Fraternal Polyandry: Common Wives of the Nyinba." Expandyourbrain. September 18, 2012. Accessed December 13, 2015. https://expandyourbrain.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/fraternal-polyandry-common-wives-of-the-nyinba/.
9: Goldstein, Melvyn. "When Brothers Share a Wife." When Brothers Share a Wife. 1987. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/family.html.
10: Levine, Nancy. "Fathers and Sons: Kinship Value and Validation in Tibetan Polyandry." June 1, 1987. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/tibetanSociety/documents/0.pdf.
11: "Nyinba - Marriage and Family." Marriage and Family. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.everyculture.com/South-Asia/Nyinba-Marriage-and-Family.html.
12: Goldstein, Melvyn. "When Brothers Share a Wife." When Brothers Share a Wife. 1987. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/family.html.
13: Goldstein, Melvyn. "When Brothers Share a Wife." When Brothers Share a Wife. 1987. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/family.html.
14: Goldstein, Melvyn. "When Brothers Share a Wife." When Brothers Share a Wife. 1987. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/family.html.
15: Goldstein, Melvyn. "When Brothers Share a Wife." When Brothers Share a Wife. 1987. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/family.html.
16: Goldstein, Melvyn. "When Brothers Share a Wife." When Brothers Share a Wife. 1987. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/family.html.
17: Jok, Jok, John Burton, Robert Collins, "Nuer." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed.. 2015, and "Nuer." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. "Nuer." Encyclopedia.com. 2002. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Nuer.aspx.
18: Jok, Jok, John Burton, Robert Collins, "Nuer." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed.. 2015, and "Nuer." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. "Nuer." Encyclopedia.com. 2002. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Nuer.aspx.
19: "Nuer." New World Encyclopedia. January 27, 2015. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Nuer.
20: Jok, Jok, John Burton, Robert Collins, "Nuer." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed.. 2015, and "Nuer." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. "Nuer." Encyclopedia.com. 2002. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Nuer.aspx.
21: Schwartze, Lucas. "Grave Vows: A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Varying Forms of Ghost Marriage among Five Societies." 2010. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=nebanthro.
22: Schwartze, Lucas. "Grave Vows: A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Varying Forms of Ghost Marriage among Five Societies." 2010. Accessed December 13, 2015. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=nebanthro.
Art: Thomas Blackshear
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