define marriage and its different form
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Is this not a useless question
Answer:
Marriage:
In almost all societies, marriage is understood as a legally and socially recog¬nized sexual relationship, always between a man and woman (or more than one woman or one man) and usually with other restrictions of race, ethnicity, religion, caste, etc., implicitly specified. Depending on the society, marriage may require religious or civil sanction (or both), although some couples may be considered married simply by living together for a prescribed period.
Westermarck (1891) defines marriage ‘as a relation of one or more men to one or more women, which is recognized by custom or law, and involves rights and duties both in the case of the parties entering the union and in the case of children born of it’.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology (1994) defines it as, ‘Marriage is traditionally conceived to be legally recognized relationship, between an adult male and female, that carries certain rights and obligations.’ Giddens (1997) states, ‘Marriage can be defined as a socially recognized relationship and approved sexual union between an adult male and female, that carries certain rights and obligations.’
In the above definitions it is stipulated that marriage is a relationship between adult members but there are societies like India where child marriages are also allowed by the custom of the society, though it is banned by law. Not only this, even in so-called modern societies likes Britain where age at marriage is falling dramatically, adolescent marriages are on the rise.
Types of Marriage:
1. Monogamy, the union between two individuals, is the most common form of marriage. While monogamy traditionally referred to the union of one man and one woman, there are some countries that recognize same-sex unions. As of early 2015, The Netherlands, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Brazil, France, Uruguay, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, and Finland legally allow same-sex marriage. In other countries, the debate continues over whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage or guarantee rights to homosexuals. For instance, certain states in Mexico allow same-sex marriage, but not the entire nation. Serial monogamy, where an individual has multiple spouses over their lifetime, but only one at a time, is quite common in industrial societies.
2. Polygamy, the union between three or more individuals is the second most common form of marriage. Generally when polygamy is mentioned by the media, a marriage between a man and multiple women is being referenced; however, the term is being misused. Polygyny is the correct term for a marriage between a man and multiple women. Polyandry refers to a marriage between a woman and multiple men. Polyandry mostly occurs between a woman and brothers, a system referred to as fraternal polyandry. One reason that polyandry might be the preferred marriage pattern for a group is if there is a shortage of women or land is scarce. For instance, the Nyinba of Nepal practice fraternal polyandry because there is not enough land to divide between brothers and the high mortality rate of female child and infant mortality. Male children are preferred, therefore are better cared for then female offspring.
Polygyny is more common than polyandry. It is generally found in societies where rapid population growth is beneficial to the survival of the group, such as frontier and warrior societies, or where the ratio of women to men is high. Men with multiple wives and many children usually have higher status within the group because they have demonstrated that they can afford to support a large family. Men may also marry several women to help increase his wealth as he will then have more hands helping to bring in resources to the family. Many groups across the globe have or do practice polygyny, e.g., G/wi, Australian Aborigines, Turkana, Samburu, and the Tswana.
3. Group marriage is a rare form of marriage where several males are married simultaneously to several females. This form of marriage was once practiced by the Toda; however, it is no longer known in any extant society.
Explanation: