Describe the of marriages amongst somr of the communities in India?(500words)
Answers
Marriage customs vary a great deal from region to region, caste to caste, and even village to village. Essentially, India is divided into two large regions with regard to Hindu kinship and marriage practices, the north and the south. Additionally, various ethnic and tribal groups of the central, mountainous north, and eastern regions follow a variety of other practices. These variations have been extensively described and analyzed by anthropologists, especially Irawati Karve, David G. Mandelbaum, and Clarence Maloney.
Cross cousin marriage are common, particularly in southern India. This means marriage to the mother’s brother’s daughter or the father’s sister’s son. One survey by Life magazine found that 20 percent of all marriages are unions between uncles and nieces. It is not uncommon in southern India for a young man to marry his sister’s daughter. These kinds of marriages have traditionally served as a means for families to keep money withing the family.
Hinduism has traditionally permitted polygamy although it is now outlawed by Indian law. In the old days, a Hindu man could take a second wife if the first wife agreed. It was generally frowned upon for a man to take a second wife for no good reason. But if, for example, the first wife was not able to produce any children then it was deemed acceptable. Men in wealthy ruling families used to have harems.
Levirate marriages in which a widow married her husband's brother is an old tradition among Hindus. It was developed to make sure the widow was looked after. Marriage by capture used to be practiced by the Hindu Aryans.
Rules for the remarriage of widows differ from one group to another. Generally, lower-ranking groups allow widow remarriage, particularly if the woman is relatively young, but the highest-ranking castes discourage or forbid such remarriage. The most strict adherents to the nonremarriage of widows are Brahmans. Almost all groups allow widowers to remarry. Many groups encourage a widower to marry his deceased wife's younger sister (but never her older sister).