FORMS OF MARRIAGE

1. MONOGAMY
2. POLYGAMY
(a)POLYGYNY
(b)POLYANDRY

3. GROUP MARRIAGE
 1.MONOGAMY:
 Monogamy is that form of marriage in which one man marries one woman at a time.
 It is the most ideal form of marriage.
 It is the most common form of marriage.
 It is universally practised.
 It was found right from the primitive society to the modern society.
 It is said to be as old as humanity.
 It is the most superior compared to other forms of marriage.
 It contributes to the stable family and sex life of the husband and wife.
 It is economically best suited.
 It promotes better understanding between husband and wife.
 It provides better status for woman.
 It looks after the old and the young members in the family.
 2.POLYGAMY :

 Polygamy is derived from the Greek word ‘polygamia’ which means “ state of marriage to many
spouses”.
 Polygamy is that form of marriage where a person marries more than one spouse at a time.
 Polygamy is the practice of marrying multiple spouses, that means having more than one husband or
wife at the same time.
 Polygamy is the opposite of Monogamy .
 Polygamy is now illegal or at the very least not officially recognised in most countries.
 Polygamy is of two types:
 a)Polygyny
 b)Polyandry
2(a) POLYGYNY :
 Polygyny is a form of marriage in which one man marries more than one
woman at a time.
 It was found practised in ancient societies among the ancient Hebrews,
Assyrians, Babylonians, Indians and others.
 Today it is found practised among the Muslim communities, Eskimo
tribes, Crow Indians, African Negroes, the Gonds and the Baigas of India.
 Polygyny is of two types:
(i)SORORAL POLYGYNY and
(ii)NON SORORAL POLYGYNY
(i)SORORAL POLYGYNY: is that type of marriage in which a man marries
many wives who are sisters or related to one another by blood.
• The word ‘sororate’ is derived from the Latin word ‘soror’, which means sister,
so Sororal polygyny means that the wives are sisters or related to one another by
blood.
• This type of polygyny is practised in societies where the wife is childless or
unable to deliver a male child.
• It is also found commonly among the tribes who pay a high brideprice.

(ii)NON-SORORAL POLYGYNY: is that type of marriage in which a man

marries many wives who are not blood related or sisters.
CAUSES OF POLYGYNY :
1.SHORTAGE OF MEN: Polygyny may take place due to excess of females over males. For eg;
Eskimos practise polygyny to bring a balance in the sex ratio.
2.CHILDLESSNESS OF THE FIRST WIFE: When the first wife is barren or unable to conceive
due to her infertility ,it may lead to polygyny.
3.DESIRE FOR A MALE CHILD: In some societies, if the first wife is unable to give birth to a
male child (son) then the man is permitted to marry a second wife or a third wife and so on.
4.EARLIER AGEING OF THE FEMALE: When the wife looks older than the husband either
due to her inability to take care of her health or figure or due to her busy household chores and
she looks older than him ,the man prefers to bring another wife who is younger than her .
5.DESIRE FOR MORE CHILDREN : The more the number of children a man has, the higher he
enjoys prestige and status in the society. For eg the rich and wealthy classes of the Muslim
community prefer to have as many children as possible in order to show their pride and wealth.
CONTD :
6.ENFORCED CELIBACY: In some societies, when a woman is passing through her
menstruation period or during her pregnancy or lactating period, the husband is not allowed to
have sexual relationship with her and so during this period the man may want to bring another
wife to satisfy his sexual urge, thus leading to polygyny.
7.DESIRE FOR VARIETY: When a man desires for more variety of women and he is not
satisfied with one woman or two or more then polygyny takes place in the society.
8.SEX URGE IN MAN: When a man is sexually active and shows his masculinity then the sex
urge in him also leads to polygyny.
However, some of these causes of polygyny are no longer relevant and may not be practised any
longer in the society due to so many changes taking place in the modern society today. Except
in some cases we may find some people practicing this type of polygyny.
2(b) POLYANDRY:
• Polyandry is that form of marriage in which a woman marries more than one
man at a time.
• Polyandry is the opposite of Polygyny.
• Polyandry is the form of Polygamy where a woman marries many husbands
• It is not so much accepted in the society today and it is less prevalent than
polygyny.
• However it is still found practised in some societies such as the Tibetans,
Marquesan Islanders of Polynesia, the Bahamas of Africa etc.
• In India, it is practised among the Todas of Nilgiris, the Kotas of South
India,the Khasas of Dehradun district, the Gallongs of Arunachal Pradesh,the
Nayars of Kerala and the Coorgs of Mysore. However, even among some of
these tribes polyandry is said to have died out.
TYPES OF POLYANDRY :
Polyandry is sub divided into two types:
(i)FRATERNAL POLYANDRY
(ii)NON FRATERNAL POLYANDRY
(i)FRATERNAL POLYANDRY : is that type of polyandry in which a woman marries many husbands
who are related to one another by blood or are brothers at the same time.
• The word ‘fraternal’ means brother ,so fraternal polyandry means that a woman marries all the
brothers as her husbands.
• It is also known as ‘adelphic polyandry’ in which the brothers share the same common wife.
• It is also known as ‘patriarchal polyandry’ in which the eldest brother has the authority to go and
marry the woman and bring her to his home and share his wife with his brothers.
• Polyandry is practised mainly because of high brideprice in which the man has to pay huge sum of
money either in cash or in kind to the parents of the bride.
• For example :the Todas of Nilgiris, the Gallongs of Arunachal Pradesh and the Khasas of Dehradun
district practise fraternal polyandry due to high bride price.
(ii)NON FRATERNAL POLYANDRY : is another type of polyandry in which a woman marries many
men or husbands who are not related by blood or who are not brothers.
• The word ‘non fraternal’ means not brothers or not blood related.
• This type of polyandry is also known as ‘Matriarchal Polyandry’ in which a woman marries many
husbands who are not brothers and they will come and live in her house known as ‘matrilocal family’
and the woman is the head of the family.
• The best example are the Nayars of Kerala who are matrilineal people and the woman marries many
husbands who are not related by blood .
• Non fraternal polyandry was practised in order to help the woman in agricultural cultivation where she
required more male members to assist her in the cultivation of crops.
CAUSES OF POLYANDRY:
1.Female infanticide: killing of baby girl infants at the time of their birth.For eg;the Todas of Nilgiris before
the advent of the British rule and the Marquesan Islanders. This led to surplus of males and outnumbering of
women. So there was more male population than female population hence there was shortage of women
leading to Polyandry.
2.Extreme poverty: Inability to pay high bride price or inability to support the family.
3.High brideprice: When the amount of brideprice(to be paid by the man to the parents of the woman or
bride)is too high it becomes impossible for the man to marry all his sons with each individual wife so he
would prefer to pay brideprice only for his eldest son and later the eldest brother after reaching home with his
wife share his wife with all his younger brothers. For eg;the Khasas of Dehradun.
4.Security of the woman: For the safety of the women and children at home there was a need for more male
members to protect themselves from the enemies who would attack during the absence of other members
when they are out of their houses.
5.High prestige of the child: The more the number of husbands a woman has, the higher the prestige of the
child or children. The fathers of the child look after the child as ‘social’ fathers but only one of them is a
‘biological’father from whom the child is born.
Contd :
6.Desire to keep the property intact: In order to keep the property safe within the family and not
to allow it to become divided or separated among the brothers,for eg; the Tibetans practise
fraternal polyandry to keep the property intact among all the brothers.
7.Sterility of man: In case when the husband is sterile and the woman is unable to conceive or
become pregnant then she would wish to have a child or children,so she would marry another
man till she is able to conceive and deliver her own children.
8.Agricultural cultivation: When agriculture is practised as the main occupation, more male
members are necessary for the cultivation of crops and in a family where men are less in number
there we find that polyandry is practised in order to assist the woman in the cultivation process.
However, to conclude it may be said that these causes of polyandry are not anymore relevant
today as polyandry is dying out and it is no longer regarded as an accepted form of marriage in
most of the modern societies.

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THANKYOU GIRLS !!!