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What do anthropologists think about marriage?

What do anthropologists think about marriage?

Two other important terms anthropologists define when it comes to defining marriage are bridewealth and bride service. The concept of bride wealth compensates the bride’s group for the loss of her companionship and labor. It also makes the children born to the woman full members of her husband’s descent group.

What are the three conditions in anthropology that define a marriage?

Marriage can be defined by three basic characteristics: sexual relations that are sanctioned by society, a division of labor in the household with shared economic resources, and the social legitimacy and legal rights of children from the union.

What are the reasons anthropologists give for the existence of various marriages and the evolution of arranged marriages?

Marriages are arranged by families for many reasons: because the families have something in common, for financial reasons, to match people with others from the “correct” social, economic or religious group, and for many other reasons.

What is a common purpose of marriage in human societies?

Although these laws and rituals are as varied and numerous as human social and cultural organizations, some universals do apply. The main legal function of marriage is to ensure the rights of the partners with respect to each other and to ensure the rights and define the relationships of children within a community.

What is marriage anthropology quizlet?

Functions of Marriage. Culturally sanctioned union between 2+ people that establishes certain rights and obligations between them, their children and in-laws. Frequently includes agreements regarding sex, labor, property, child rearing, exchange, status. Incest Taboo.

What is the marriage practice of exchange called?

exchange marriage, form of marriage involving an arranged and reciprocal exchange of spouses between two groups. When these processes are repeated by subsequent generations, the practice is known as cross-cousin marriage.

What are the basic forms of marriage?

The main forms of marriage are:

  • Monogamy: It is a form of marriage in which one man is married to one woman at a time. It allows one wife to have one husband till death and only divorce separates them apart.
  • Polygamy: Some cultures allow an individual to have more than one spouse at the same time.

What are types of marriage?

In general there are two types: civil marriage and religious marriage, and typically marriages employ a combination of both (religious marriages must often be licensed and recognized by the state, and conversely civil marriages, while not sanctioned under religious law, are nevertheless respected).

What is the main purpose of marriage?

Essentially all Protestant denominations hold marriage to be ordained by God for the union between a man and a woman. They see the primary purposes of this union as intimate companionship, rearing children and mutual support for both husband and wife to fulfill their life callings.

What are the functions of marriage anthropology?

Functions of Marriage

  • Marriage regulates sexual behavior.
  • Marriage fulfills the economic needs of marriage partners.
  • Marriage perpetuates kinship groups.
  • Marriage provides institution for the care and enculturation of children.

What is the economic consideration of marriage?

The economic transaction may include any of several forms: bride price, bride service, exchange of females, gift exchange, dowry, or indirect dowry. The distribution of those forms among societies that have economic marriage transactions is shown in Figure 19.1 .

Do you need to ask an anthropologist about marriage?

He should have asked an anthropologist. Although marriage’s form, duration and meaning vary from time to time and culture to culture, most Americans frown on anything other than familiar monogamy. Marriage: A Good Deal or an Ordeal?

What does marriage mean through an anthropological lens?

Marriage Through an Anthropological Lens. Marriage can be a legal contract, a religious covenant, and a social union. It can occur between a man and a woman, two men, two women, a man and multiple women ( polygyny ), and a woman and multiple men ( polyandry ). Polygamy is against the law in contemporary North America,…

How are bridewealth and bride service defined in anthropology?

Two other important terms anthropologists define when it comes to defining marriage are bridewealth and bride service. The concept of bride wealth compensates the bride’s group for the loss of her companionship and labor. It also makes the children born to the woman full members of her husband’s descent group.

Is there such a thing as a universal definition of marriage?

From these texts, it became evident that anthropologists struggle just as much as we did when it comes to determining a clear, universal definition for marriage. This is because a universal definition really doesn’t exist: marriage is complex and takes on many definitions and diverse practices around the world.