Cultural Anthropology Exam 3 Flashcards
Marriage
Occurs in all societies, but how a society defines marriage (who can and cannot get married, for example) varies greatly.
Marriage is interconnected with the culturally defined idea of family, another universal
Anthropologists view marriage as a social contract/culturally defined bond. In many societies that bond is between not just the spouses but between their extended families and can be detailed as to responsibilities.
Marriage functions
Marriage in the eyes of that society officially creates new families or adds to existing families.
Marriage legitimizes births and determines paternity. In many societies, social and material inheritance is through the father’s line, and marriage officially identifies who the father of a child is, regardless of biological identity
Marriage ties together different social & kinship groups in a society with obligations. This helps keep non-stratified societies together, as people typically are obliged to marry outside of their family and kin group.
Bridewealth
An exchange of valuables given from a man’s family to the family of his new wife.
Bride Service
Labor obligations of the husband, who will work for the family of bride, perhaps for years.
An example is the Yanomamo. Men are obligated to work for their wife’s family in preparing gardens and in going on raids.
Dowry
Consist of goods provided by bride’s family for the husband’s family or for the new couple.
Leverite
A widow marries her dead husband’s ‘brother.’
The brother is not necessarily a biological brother, but perhaps a cousin that is classified as a brother by that society.
Sororate
A widower (male widow) marries his dead wife’s ‘sister. Again, the sister may not be a biological sibling.
What are the advantages of arranged marriages?
In many societies that have arranged marriages, if a spouse dies early in the marriage, the family then supplies a replacement so that the new family continues, and obligations do not need to be repaid.
Who are the Nuer, and how is it that women can marry other women and male ghosts in that society?
The Nuer are a society in South Sudan. This can be done through two concepts: Ghost Fathering and Ghost Marriages.
Ghost Fathering
Sometimes when a man dies early in the marriage, the widow remains married to his ghost, rather than a levirate substitute. In actuality, she has lovers, but the recognized father of her children is her late husband’s ghost. The children inherit through him.
Ghost Marriages
A related idea is Ghost Marriage. The bride’s arranged groom is already dead. An older man may seek to have grandchildren to inherit his cattle and may be forced to negotiate an arranged marriage with his dead son. The woman’s children are officially those of the ghost.
Families of Orientation
The families in which they were raised.
Families of Procreation
A new household for raising children.
Monogamy
Having only one wife at a time
Polygyny
Some men have more than one wife at the same time. The co-wives have children, and their husband officially is the father.
Endogamy
The custom of marrying only within the limits of a local community, clan, or tribe.
Exogamy
The custom of marrying outside a community, clan, or tribe.
Polyandry
In which a woman has more than one husband.
Sororal polygyny
The marriage of one man to several sisters.
Fraternal polyandry
Involves the marriage of a woman to a group of brothers.
What are the possible reasons why a society would prefer polygyny?
So that the man has enough sons to inherit his cattle, incase he or another son dies.
Who are the Nayar, and how do they construct marriage and family?
They are a society in India that a used to practice duolocal.
Nayar men tended to become soldiers in various Indian states. The society evolved to adapt to men being away for long periods. A Nayar girl would get married in a ritual marking her becoming an adult. She would not live with her husband. Instead, she would live with her sisters and take lovers.
Nuclear families
Monogamous pair of spouses with dependent, unmarried children.
This is most common in industrial and hunter-gatherer societies.
Small families are flexible (go to where resources are)
Family does not need or cannot support large number of workers
Nuclear families tend to be common in societies in which there is less gender inequality
Extended families
These are larger groups, perhaps representing multiple generations or polygamy.
These are more common in non-industrial food-producing societies
Large families are tied to land (herds, crop fields, etc.) and cannot be mobile
family often needs a large team of workers
Extended families tend to be common in societies in which there is more gender inequality
Possible reasons for incest taboo
An explanation for the taboo is that it is due to an instinctual, inborn aversion that would lower the adverse genetic effects of inbreeding such as a higher incidence of congenital birth defects
Know the major post-wedding residence patterns: neolocal, patrilocal, and matrilocal.
Neolocal: This refers to a new location. The married couple set up a household of their own, instead of moving in with other relatives.
Patrilocal: Refers to preferred residence with the husband’s family (patri- is a prefix that refers to a father).
Matrilocal: refers to preferred residence with the wives’ family (matri- being a prefix meaning mother).
