Marriage and the Family Marwiage Perfect Wedding Chapter 9 Page 190 Marriage • Customs, rules, and obligations between cohabitating adults and their children and kin • Functionality: . Reduces sexual competition . Provides structure for nurturing offspring . Extends social structure Marriage Rules • Incest Taboo . Mother & Son . Father & Daughter . Sister & Brother • Exceptions . Egyptian Royalty, traditional Hawaiian culture, etc. • Why? Marriage Rules - Why the Taboo? • Avoiding Inbreeding . Biological disadvantages . But would early societies have known that?? • Common Stereotypes . You know you’re a redneck if… “You think there's nothin’ wrong with incest as long as you keep it in the family” Marriage Rules - Why the Taboo? • Family Disruption . Freud and Malinowski . I'm my own Grandpa Marriage Rules - Why the Taboo? • Expanding Alliances . High value of cooperation between nuclear families • Uncertainty of origin of taboo • Lasting Effects . Genetic variation . Protecting the Family . Community strengths Marriage Rules • Acceptable Partners • Exogamy . Marrying outside a particular group . Usually outside blood relatives . Formation of alliances . Example - Northern India • Endogamy . Marrying within a particular group . Secure privileges . Race/Religion Preferential Marriages • Determining who can and cannot marry, and who is the preferred partner . Cross Cousins . Parallel Cousins Preferential Marriages • Levirate - man marries the widow of his dead brother • Sororate - woman marries the widow of her dead sister • Marriage as an alliance between groups, rather than individuals Number of Spouses • Monogamy . Serial Monogamy • Polygamy - plural marriage . Polygyny - one man is married to more than one woman . Polyandry - one woman is married to more than one man Number of Spouses • World Survey . 554 Societies • Monogamy - 135 • Polygyny - 415 • Polyandry - 4 • 75% for plural marriage Exchange of Rights and Goods • Bride Service – man must work for for bride’s family before or after the marriage • Bridewealth – goods given to bride’s family by groom’s family • Dowry – goods given to groom’s family by bride’s family Rules of Residence • Nuclear Family • Composite Family • Extended Family • Domestic Group • Matrilocal Residence • Patrilocal Residence • Neolocal Residence • Avunculocal Residence .