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MARRIAGE
Marriage is a phenomena found in all types of societies though the pattern of marriage differs
in different societies. The first section of the unit would introduce the students to the concept,
definition and meaning of marriage, the various types of marraiges that are prevalent in
different societies. Herein, we would be able to answer the question as to why marriage rules
though not similar among the different societies yet have almost the same functions. With the
changing times, marriage too has come under the hammer and the institution itself is going
through various changes. These would be discussed in the last section of this unit.

CONCEPTS, MEANING AND DEFINITIONS

Marriage by most anthropologists has been described as a universal phenomena yet the
debate continues as to how marriage came into existence. In the early year’s social thinkers
and anthropologists basically the followers of the theory of evolutionism were of the opinion
that human beings lived in a state of promiscuity where individual marriage did not exist. In
such a society all the men had access to all the women and the children thus, born were the
responisbility of the society at large. This slowly gave rise to group marriages to bring
regulation and general order in the society where either many men were married to several
women or sereval men were married to a single woman and vice- versa.
George Peter Murdock (1949) has defined marriage as a universal institution that involves
residential co-habitation, economic co-operation and the formation of the nuclear family.
While Westermarck had emphasised on marriage as a recognised union between a man and a
woman, that the spouse live together and that the couple have clearly recognised mutual
sexual rights. These definitions could not be considered as universal definition of marriage as
it failed to encompass types of marriages such as polygynous and polyandrous marriages.
Such definitions also did not take into account marriages where the spouses lived in separate
residences and societies where the responsibility of the child lies with the mother’s brother
rather than with the biological father. These are some of the aspects which we would take up
in later part of the unit.
Kathleen Gough (1959) in her study of the Nayars has defined marriage as a ‘relationship
established between a woman and one or more other persons, which provides that a child
born to the woman under circumstances not prohibited by the rules of the relationship, is
accorded full birth-status rights common to normal members of his society or social stratum’.
This definition of marriage by Gough took into consideration polyandry which was missing
in the earlier definitions. While, Edward Westermarck in a later edition of his book, The
History of Human Marraiges, fifth edition rewritten 1921 due to the criticisms levied
redefined marriage as a social institution which may be defined as a relation of one or more
men to one or more women that is recognised by custom or law, and involves certain rights
and duties both in the case of parties entering the union and in the case of the children born in
it. However, among the Azande of Sudan where marraiges based on homosexuality is a
prescribed norm it does not find a place in the above definitions of marriage.
William N. Stephens defined marriage as ‘a socially legitimate sexual union, begun with
public pronouncement undertaken with the idea of permanence, assumed with more or less
explicit marriage contract which spells out reciprocal economic obligations between spouses,
and their future children’. This definition also fails to take into considertaion the taboos that

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exist in various societies related to marriage. Thus, for the convinience of anthropological
discourse we would refer to the definition of marriage as in Notes and Queries (given below)
to understand the types of marriages acceptable and practiced in 80% of the societies across
the world. The other forms of marriages would be taken up as variations from the prescribed
norm as they are acceptable only in a few societies.
“Marriage is a union between a man and a woman such that the children born to the woman
are recognised as legitimate offspring of both partners”

Prescribed and Preferential Marriages

Societies have their own norms when it comes to marriage whom to marry and who is out of
bounds. In certain societies there are certain rules of suitability based on which a person has
to acquire a mate. While selecting one’s mate one has to follow certain rules and choose the
bride/groom within these norms. A man/woman might be prohibited from acquiring a mate
who does not fall under the suitable category as for example in the Hindu society a woman
belonging to a higher caste cannot marry a man belonging to a caste lower than her. Such,
rules when strictly followed even though when very few members of the suitable category are
available is termed as prescribed norms. The rules which are preferred but not strictly
followed are known as preferential norms. Cross cousin marriage in many societies is seen as
a preferential norm. Incest taboo is a universal norm for almost all societies, which pertains to
restrictions in marriage and sexual relations among certain categories of close relatives
generally related by blood like father and daughter, mother and son and sometimes also
parallel cousins. Though, incest taboo was not prevalent among the earlier Greek and the
Hawaiian royal families where it was a prescribed norm for marriage. In these ancient royal
families it was believed that royalty could only be passed down to the child of two royal
family members, usually a brother and sister. The Tallensi of Ghana also does not strongly
prescribe to the norm of incest taboo between brother and sister while a relationship between
a man and the wife of a lineage mate is an unpardonable sin (Mair, 1997).
The rules of either endogamy or exogamy are also prescribed norms in many societies to
which a man has to adhere while acquiring a mate. Endogamy refers to marriage within a
group, while exogamy means marriage outside the group. Endogamy encompasses marriage
within the believers of the same faith or religion, caste in Hindu society and within members
of the same tribe. In societies where endogamy is prevalent parallel cousin marriage is the
preferential norm. Among such societies marriage between first cousins is permitted, though
where the rule of lineage exogamy is practiced cousin belonging to different lineage is
preferred. For easy understanding; the children of siblings of opposite sex (brother- sister) -
are called cross-cousins; while the children of siblings of the same sex (brother-brother) are
called parallel cousins. In many of the Islamic societies a man marries his father’s brother’s
daughter known as parallel cousin marriage which is a very rare form of endogamy. The
Kurds of eastern and southeastern Turkey still continue with the practice of parallel cousin
marriage.
Cross-cousin marriages are the preferential norm in societies where the rule of exogamy is
adhered to. A man’s lineage is traced either through his mother’s or father’s side. If the
lineage is traced through the father than marriage with his aunt’s (father’s sisters) daughter is
the preferred norm and when lineage is traced through the mother than the preferred norm for
marriage is mother’s brother’s daughter. When a man marries a daughter of his mother’s

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brother it’s a matrilateral cross-cousin marriage while if he marries a daughter of his

father’s sister then it’s a patrilateral cross-cousin marriage.
Matrilateral cross cousin marriages are common in many of the matrilineal societies like the
Kachins and the Purum as described by Edmund Leach in his work ‘The Political System of
HighLand Burma: A Study of the Kachins Social Structure’ (1970), while Meyer Fortes had
described the Ashanti and Tallensi of Ghana. In such societies the rules of descent and
authority lies with the mother’s brother and as such marriage to his daughter puts an end to
all such questions of inheritance, authority and it is a way to avoid conflicts which we would
discuss more fully later. Besides the above mentioned prescribed and preferential marriages,
levirate and sororate at times form a prescribed norm for widows and widowers in a few
societies. Levirate is a marriage form, in which after the decease of an elder brother the
younger brother is obliged to marry the widow. The term levirate is derived from the Latin
word levir meaning husband’s brother. This is a type of marriage often seen in societies
where exogamy is not prevalent. Sororate on the other hand is a practice in which a widower
marries’s his dead wife’s sister.

Types of Marriages
Depending on the type of society, the marriage pattern and style also vary. Before going into
the depth of the topic let’s outline the types of marriages universally found which are (a)
Monogamy and (b) Polygamy. Monogamy is a form of marriage in which the practice is to
have only one spouse at one time. In the western world the divorce rate is increasingly higher
and serial monogamy is witnessed. Serial monogamy pertains to a state where a man has a
series of wives one after the other, but only one wife at any given point of time. Thus, in the
United States where divorce rate is high but only monogamy is legal, serial monogamy is
widely noticed. In societies like the Hindu society of India monogamy pertains to non-serial
monogamy where a man has a single wife throughout his life. In such societies the divorce
rate is rare and as such it is the preferred norm. Polygamy is a term derived from the Greek
word polys gamos meaning often married. It is a form of marriage in which an individual has
more than one spouse at any given time, or married to more than one individual. In polygamy
when a marriage involves one man with many women it is known as polygyny. The wives of
a man if sisters or related then such a marriage is known as sororal polygyny. In many of the
Islamic countries this practice is prevalent. In some Australian Aboriginal societies, the elder
brother often marries the two eldest sisters. While the younger sisters of the wives’ would
also marry their sisters’ husband’s younger brother or brothers. This is said to create a clear
advantage in power and selfsufficiency in these societies. The Swazi society of Africa
practice sororal polygyny. In societies practicising sororal polygyny it is believed that two
sisters have better chances of getting along with one another rather than two unrelated women
who have not grown up together. It is a resilient approach because sisters are assumed to have
less of a competitive approach towards their husband’s affection because as sisters they
would be more inclined towards maintaining harmony and live in mutual understanding.
The rules of residence in sororal polygyny differ from society to society. In some societies
the wives co-habits like among the Zulus of South Africa, while in the Swazi society each
wife sets up separate residence. Upon death of a husband, the marriage does not come to an
end. A blood relative of the husband assumes full responsibility of providing domestic,
economic, and material support for the women. If the wives of a man are not rleated such a

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marriage is known as nonsororal polygyny. In the Coromo islands non-sororal polygyny is

practiced (Madan & Majumdar, Mair et.al).
Polyandry derives its name from the Greek word poly ‘many’ and andros ‘man’. Thus, in
this type of marriage a woman is married to more than one man. Societies where polyandry
has been found are Tibet, Canadian Arctic, northern parts of Nepal, Nigeria, Bhutan, parts of
India and Sri Lanka. It is also encountered in some regions of Mongolia, among the Mosuo
people in China, and in some societies of Sub-Saharan African such as the Maasai people in
Kenya and northern Tanzania and American indigenous communities. Polyandry has been
practised in several cultures — in the Jaunsar-Bawar region in Uttarakhand, among the Nairs,
Theeyas and Todas of South India, and the Nishi of Arunachal Pradesh. Indian examples
would be detailed in Unit 5 Kinship, Marriage and Family in India, of the same block. The
Guanches, the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands, practiced polyandry until their
disappearance.
Fraternal polyandry refers to a marriage in which a woman is married to two or more
brothers also known as adelphic polyandry. The term fraternal has its origin in the Latin term
frater- ‘brother’. Account of Fraternal polyandry in Indian Hindu society is seen in the great
epic Mahabharata where the five Pandava brothers were married to princess Draupadi.
Polyandry is found in certain regions of Tibet and Nepal as a socially accepted practice.
The type of marriage where a woman is either married to a number of non-related men or
related kinsmen (clan brothers) such a marriage is known as non-fraternal polyandry. In the
recent past the Todas’ of southern India practiced both fraternal and non-fraternal polyandry
where the husbands were either brothers or related kinsmen but with the changing age
monogamy has made inroads into this society and is fast becoming a part. Though among the
Nayars of Malabar Coast of Southern India the husbands were not related they had to belong
to a social strata equivalent to that of the woman as prescribed by the society. In societies
where polyandry is practiced, when a woman becomes pregnant the paternity is not ascribed
to the biological father (genitor) but is accepted through a ceremony wherein any one of the
brothers as sociological father (pater) can assume social responsibility of the child by paying
the midwife, as in the case of the Nayars of Southern India. While in some cases the eldest
brother assumes the responsibility of the child in case of fraternal polyandry (Gough 1959,
Mair 1997).
When the husbands of a woman are father and son such a marriage is known as familial
polyandry. It is a very rare form of polyandry and has been found prevalent among the
Tibetians. There are many speculations for such a marriage and one of them relates to the
small population size of the tibetians and the high altitude in which they live. A wife if taken
from other communities who live in the low lands, it becomes difficult for her to adjust to the
harsh climatic conditions and as such sharing a wife by father and son is taken up as an
option.
Polygynandry another variety of polygamy pertians to a marriage where several men are
married to several women or a man has many wives and a woman has many husbands at any
given time. Such marriages were prevalent among the Marquesans of Polynesia and also
among the Todas of the Nilgiri hills and the Khasas of Jaunsar Bawar of India.

Ways of Acquiring a Mate

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Marriage as the term implies has a lot of connotation in different societies. It does not just
mean a man finding a girl to be his wife. Even when a man chooses a mate for himself he has
to ascribe to the norms of the society while claiming his bride. Herein, we would outline
some of the prescribed customs in societies through which a man can acquire a mate.
Marriage by negotiation is a very frequently practised way of acquiring a mate. It is found
in most of the simple societies like the Ituri of Congo region in Africa, Siwai of Soloman
Islands, the aboriginals of Australia, Andamanese of Andaman Islands and also in complex
societies like the Hindu society of India, China, Japan, Europe and America. In such a system
either the girl’s family or the boy’s family (as per the custom) puts forward a propsal for
marriage through a thrid party or mediator. This third party is generally someone known to
both the would be bride and groom’s family. In Indian context it is also known as arranged
marriage. In earlier times the bride and groom meet each other only during the wedding, but
this rigidity is being relaxed now a days. In such a system bride price, bride wealth, dowry
also has an important role to play and it is usually a long drawn process where consensus of
the bride and groom’s family is all done by the mediator.
Bridewealth is usually the compensation given upon marriage by the family of a groom to the
bride’s family. Varieties of currencies and goods are used for paying the bridewealth
depending upon the societies. Mostly the bridewealth is movable property given by the
groom’s family. For example reindeers are given as bridewealth by the reindeer-herding
Chukchee, sheep by the Navajo, cattles by the Nuers, Maasai and Samburu of Africa, spears
in Somalia etc. The amount of bridewealth to be paid is based on various factors of which
some are related to the status of the broom’s family and others on the bride and her social
acceptance as prescribed by the society. For example: if a woman has given birth to a
prenuptial child than her bridewealth is very low whereas among the Kipsigis of western
Kenya if the distance of the brides natal home is very far away from the marital home than
the bride wealth is very high as she is able to spend less time at her natal home and devote
more time to the domestic chores in the husbands home. In some cases if the groom’s family
is not able to pay the bridewealth than compensation is made in the means of bride service in
the form of labour wherein the groom goes to the brides house and helps in the hunting,
farming and other related activities. The time span of the bride service varies from society to
society and it might last from a few months to several years (Nanda et.al). Dowry on the other
had is the transfer of goods and money from the bride’s family to the groom’s family.
Previously a practiced norm in the Hindu society, the tradition of dowry was prohibited in
1961 under Indian civil law and subsequently by Sections 304B and 498a of the Indian Penal
Code. The move was made to protect the women from dowry related harassment and
domestic violence.
Marriage by exchange also forms a part of the marriage by negotiation system. Herein, such
a system the bride price or bride wealth, whichever is applicable to the society, is waived off
by marriage through exchange. This happens generally if there are daughters or sisters for
exchange for the grooms. This helps in not only forming an alliance but also strengthens the
bond between groups. Examples of such excahnge is seen is societies of Australia, Melanesia,
Tive of Nigeria and also in the some of the tribes in India- Muria Gonds, Baiga of Bustar and
the Koya and the Saora of Andhra Pradesh.
Marriage by service is found among some of the tribes in North East India. Among the
Naga’s of North East India the bride wealth forms a part of the marriage negotiation and if
the groom’s party is not able to pay the bride wealth then the compensation is through

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service. The boy works for the bride’s family and only when the brides family is satisfied that
the marriage is solemnised.
Marriage by probation invloves the consent of the brides parents alongwith the girls
consent wherein the groom stays at the brides place on trial basis. Herein, the groom is
allowed to stay with the girl so that they both get to know each others temperament and if the
girl likes the boy the marriage takes place, else the boy has to pay compensation in cash to
the girl’s family. Among the Kukis of Manipur of India such a marriage is a practised norm.
Marriage by capture is found in many societies. The capture can be a physical capture or a
ceremonial one. Among the tribes of Yahomamo of Venezuela, Northern Brazil and the
Nagas of Nagaland in India during raids the men from one village capture and take home
females of the other village and marry them as wives. Such a situation is ascribed as physical
capture. In ceremonial capture a boy desiring to marry a girl propositions her in a community
fair or festival and makes his intentions towards her known by either holding her hand or
marking her with vermillion as in the case of Kharia and the Birhor of Bihar (ibid).
Marriage by intrusion is a type of marriage wherein a girl forces her way into the boy’s
house and forces him to accept her as his spouse. Such marriages are seen in Birhor and Ho
of Bihar and also among the Kamars of Madhya Pradesh.
Marriage by trial is a process in which the groom has to prove his strength and valour while
claiming his bride. In the two great Indian epics Mahabharata and the Ramayana we have
examples of how Draupadi and Sita were claimed by Arjuna and Lord Rama after they
proved their skills in the swayamvar (a gathering wherethe eligible males are invited to prove
their strength to claim the bride). Such marriages by trail are still found in many societies in
India and some of the examples are the Bhils of Rajasthan and the Nagas of Nagaland.
Marriage by Elopement is a customary marriage in some societies whereas looked down in
others. In societies where a huge amount of wealth is required for the marriage rituals and
which is usually difficult for the families to bear in such societies marriage by elopment has
come up as a customary practice. Such marriage is quite in vogue among the Karbis of Karbi
Anglong district of Assam. In other cases marriage by elopment takes place when either of
the prospective groom or bride’s family does not approve of the wedding or when marriage is
fixed with a distasteful partner. In such a case, the would be bride elopes with the partner of
her choice. Such marriage by elopement is seen in almost all parts of the world.

Divorce
Divorce is the situation wherein the husband and wife separates and gives up the vows of
marriage. It can happen due to many reasons and the most common one is incompatibility of
the two partners. Divorce is a situation which can be unpleasant and painful for both the
parties as it leads not only to physical separation of two people, but all that has been build up
during the time together like family, children and material objects. Divorce is also a
universally accepted norm as marriage but still it is looked down in many societies more so in
the case of the wife in a patrilineal society.

FUNCTIONS OF MARRIAGE

Marriage is a sanction for two people to spend their lives together and it has many
implications and functions related to it. Some of the functions are mentioned herein.
Biological Function
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The most important function of a marriage is to beget children. The society gives recognition
to children born out of wedlock and the children thus born are ascribed status as per the
norms of the society. A society basically channelizes the sexual rights through the institution
of marriage and it helps in mating within the rules and regulations as ascribed by a society.
This helps in maintaining the norms of incest taboo also.
Economic Functions
In order to do away with the discrimination of labour by sex, marriage comes in as a
protective measure wherein the men share their produce with the wives. Marriage leads to an
economic co-operation between men and women ensuring the survival of every individual in
a society.
Social Function
Marriage is the way to forming a family. A marriage sanctions the status of both husband and
wife in a society and thus, they are also collectively accepted by society as husband and wife.
In many societies there are norms where only a married person can take part in the rituals.
For example in the Hindu society there is a ritual during wedding in which the bride is
blessed with oil. In this ceremony at least seven married women hold a ring with the tip of
their right hand forefinger on the brides head. Oil then is poured on this ring by the married
women. It is believed that the oil which pours down from the head to below takes away all
the evil and brings in good luck to the would be husband and wife. Normally, widows and
divorcees do not take part in such rituals. Marriage helps in forming new kinsmen and
widening his network.

Sample Questions
1) What is marriage?
2) What is prescribed and preferential marriage?
3) What is fraternal polyandry? Illustrate with the help of examples.
4) What is the difference between bride wealth, bride service and
dowry?
5) Examine the functions of marriage.

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FAMILY
When a child is born, he/ she is born into a family which is known as the smallest social unit.
Family is the social unit which endows the child with social norms, values, rules and
regulations through the process of enculturation. This unit would help the students
understand the social institution of family, how it emerged, its concepts, definitions and
functions as a social unit. The focus would also be on the changing dimensions that have
taken place in the family structure. A family is established through marriage which is known
as the nuclear family; the unit of one set of parents and children, is often embedded in larger
groupings like joint families, lineages, clans and domestic groups of various kinds. The
relatives connected through the father or the patriline are called as agnates and those
connected through the mother or matriline are called as uterine, a combination of these or all
relatives from side of both parents are called as cognates. The basic family also presupposes
a monogamous marriage while in actuality there can be a polygamous marriage by virtue of
which even the basic unit may be differently constituted. Since the incest taboo makes the
family discontinuous over generations, every adult belongs to two families, one in which
he/she is born and another that is established through marriage; these are known respectively
as the family of orientation and the family of procreation. Let us now consider each of these
aspects in details.

CONCEPTS, MEANINGS AND DEFINITIONS

How has the concept of family emerged? Was family always a part of society? These are
certain questions which would be taken up in this section alongwith the various definitions of
family postulated by anthropologists. The word family has its origin in the Latin word familia
derived from famulus meaning servant.
The family though considered universal in nature found in all types and levels of societies
and cultures, yet it is difficult to trace the origin. In the early years of the anthropological
history the origin of family, how it emerged in society was much discussed and debated.
Followers of the evolutionary theory were of the opinion that family as an institution has
evolved just like the society. Lewis Henry Morgan in his work Ancient Society (1877) stated
that in the early societies the concept of family was not prevalent. Such societies were
nomads and promiscus where free sex relations were prevalent thus, the role of the father was
not important and the mother-sib was the earliest form of grouping. He stated, ‘The principal
institutions of mankind originated in savagery, were developed in barbarism, and are
maturing in civilization. In like manner, the family has passed through successive forms, and
created great systems of consanguinity and affinity which have remained to the present time.
These systems, which record the relationships existing in the family of the period, when each
system respectively was formed, contain an instructive record of the experience of mankind
while the family was advancing from the consanguine, through intermediate forms, to the
monogamian’ (1877:18). Though today, Morgan’s evolutinary scheme is not followed, his
work is important as he gave the first classification of five forms of family based on five
different types of marriage.
1) The Consanguine family was founded upon the intermarriage of brothers and sisters in a
group. Evidence still remains in the oldest of existing systems of Consanguinity, the

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Malayan, tending to show that this, the first form of the family, was anciently as universal as
this system of consanguinity which it created.
2) The Punaluan family its name is derived from the Hawaiian relationship of Punalua. It
was founded upon the intermarriage of several brothers to each other’s wives in a group; and
of several sisters to each other’s husbands in a group. But the term brother, as here used,
included the first, second, third, and even more remote male cousins, all of whom were
considered brothers to each other, as we consider own brothers; and the term sister included
the first, second, third, and even more remote female cousins, all of whom were sisters to
each other, the same as own sisters. This form of the family supervened upon the
consanguine. It created the Turanian and Ganowanian systems of consanguinity. Both this
and the previous form belong to the period of savagery.
3) The Syndyasmian or pairing of family founded upon the marriage of single pairs, without
giving the right of exclusive cohabitation to any person over the other. The term
Syndyasmian is derived from syndyazo, meaning to pair. It was the germ of the Monogamian
Family. Divorce or separation was at the option of both husband and wife. This form of the
family failed to create a system of consanguinity.
4) The Patriarchal family comprising of marriage of one man to several wives, each wife
being secluded from every other. The term is here used in a restricted sense to define the
special family of the Hebrew pastoral tribes, the chiefs and principal men of which practised
polygamy. It exercised but little influence upon human affairs for want of universality.
5) The Monogamian family was founded upon marriage between single pairs, with the
married couple having exclusive cohabitation with one another the latter constituting the
essential of the institution. It is pre-eminently the family of civilized society, and was
therefore essentially modern. This form of the family also created an independent system of
consanguinity.
.
Westermarck (1853-1936) who had done a detailed study of the institution of marriage
concluded that the family emerged due to male possessiveness and jealousy. In his work The
History of Human Marriage (1922) he asserted that with the growing concept of property,
males started the insititution of family to protect and safeguard their property. This theory
was a direct criticism of Morgan’s theory wherein the origin of family was ascribed to the
bonding of mother- sib. Westermarck though an adherent follower of evolutionism went a bit
too far while postulating the origin of monogamy as he traced it to the mammals and the
birds.
During the early 19th century evolutionary anthropologists had described family as a group
based on marriage, common residence, emotional bonds and stipulation of doemstic services.
While in the early 20th century R.H. Lowie defined family as a group based on material
relations, rights and duties of parenthood, common habitation and reciprocal relations
between parents and children. Ralph Linton similarly defined family as a group that involves
marriage, rights and duties of parents and children. George Peter Murdock, (1949) examined
192 societies and formulated a definition of family as ‘the family is a social group
characterised by common residence, economic co-operation, and reproduction. It includes
both sexes, atleast two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or
more children, own or adopted’. The chart presented below shows the different types of
families as constructed by George Peter Murdock.

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Nuclear Family consists of a married couple (man and woman) with their children own or
adopted. In certain cases one or more additional persons may also reside with them. This type
of family is prevalent in alomost all societies. Compact in nature this type is very popular in
the present day world where there is a continuous struggle for economic subsistence.
Composite family is composed of two or more nuclear families which can be divided into
polygamous family and the extended family. The polygamous family includes three varients
based on marriage polyandry, polygyny and polyandrous (refer to Unit- 3 of the same block
for details). An extended family consists of two or more nuclear families affiliated through
extension of the parentchild relationship. Based on the post-marital residence, an extended
family can be of the following types.
Patrilocal family is composed of two or more nuclear families residing at the same house,
it is an extension of the father son relationship. Such a family comrpises of a man and his
wife and their sons and the sons’ wives and childrens.
A matrilocal family is founded with two or more nuclear families affiliated through an
extension of mother daughter relationship. It consists of a family comprising of a woman her
daughters and the daughters’ husbands and children.
The bilocal extended family is a combination of patrilocal extended family and matrilocal
extended family. The extended family consists of two or more lineally related kinfolk of the
same sex and their spouses and offspring occupying a single household and under the
authority of a household head.
The Avunculocal extended family consists of two or more nuclear families affiliated
through an extension of maternal-uncle and sisters son relationship. Such a family includes a
nuclear family formed by a man his wife and daughters and the nuclear family formed by his
sister’s son and wife and children.
The Faternal Joint Family is a family system, like a patrilineal extended family wherein the
family comrpises of a man and his wife and their sons and the sons’ wives and childrens. We
can say that in such a family three generations of kins live together. At times, such a family
can be traced upto ten or so generations living in the same residence and sharing common
hearth.
In the later half of the 20th century anthropologists tried to define family in terms of certain
criteria important from the society’s point of view. According to Edmund Leach a group to be
called a family should compromise either one or several of the following criteria: marriage,
legal paternity and maternity, monopoly of the couple over each other’s sexuality, rights of
the spouses to each others labour services, rights of both the spouses over property to
establish a joint fund of property for the benefit of the children, and a socially significant
relationship of affinity between each spouse and the relatives of the other. Evans-Pritchard
also gave a classification of types of family based on his study of The Nuers (1940) of Sudan.
His classification is more suited for the patrilineal society.
The simple legal family comrpising of a married couple and their children. This type of
family is commonly known as a natural family.
The complex legal family or the polygamous family where a number of separate families
are linked by their relationship to a common father.
The ghost family which consits of the ghost (pater), his wife, their children and the
kinsmen who became their genitor in virtue of his duty towards the ghost. The ghost family is
concieved when a young man dies who has not married yet. So a young man from the dead
man’s lineage marries a woman on behalf of the dead man and generates a family for the

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dead man. The children born out of such a marriage are known as the ghost’s children and
bear his name.

Is Marriage and Family Universal?

In the earlier block also we have discussed marriage in length and we have come to the
conclusion that marriage leads to a family. But there is an example from the Na society of
China wherein there is no word for the term ‘marriage’ in their language (Blumerfield 2004,
Geertz 2001, Harrell 2002). The institution in which the men and women are joined in sexual
and reproductive partnerships is called sese. In this system a man spends the night in a lover’s
house and goes away in the morning. The sese relationship does not hold any notion of
fidelity, permanence, paternal responsibility for children born or any form of economic
obligations. A child born is the responsibility of the mother and her sisters and brothers. A Na
household comprises of mother and her sons and daughters, sisters and their children and the
brothers.

Household and Family

Many a times there is confusion between the term family and household. So let’s first try to
understand the term household and what it comprises of. Household has been defined by
Haviland (2003) as the basic residential unit where economic production, consumption,
inheritance, child rearing and shelter are organised and implemented. The members of a
household at times share a common hearth. Let’s take the example of the Mundurucu of the
Amazon who organise themselves around a household. They have a unique system by which
all men and boys above 13 years of age live together whereas all the women and children
below 13 years of age live together (Haviland, 2003). Herein, we see that household is an
extention of family, a family can be a household but a household need not be a family. To
make this statement clear let’s take another example from the present day situation. We see a
lot of students moving out of their native place and settling in some other city or going
abroad for higher education. These students usually on a shoe string budget like to share
accommodation with fellow students. Thus, two to three students take up residence and start
sharing space and eating together. This makes them share a hearth but they are not
necessarily members of the same family but belong to different families.

FUNCTIONS OF A FAMILY

The family as a social group is universal in nature and its existence is seen at all levels of
cultures. Thus, the family having a status in society also has certain responsibilities and
functions. The basic functions of a family are outlined below:
Satisfaction of biological need
The family as an institution regularises the satisfatcion of biological needs. It serves for the
institutionalisation of mating a primodial need among all humans. Family helps in channeling
of sexual outlets by defining the norms with whom one can mate and who are out of bound in
the terms of incest taboo. Family thus helps in establishing a legal father for a woman’s
children and a legal mother for a man’s children.
Reproduction and Inbibing Social Values

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A child as we have learnt is born into a family. As soon as a child is born into a family he is
entitled to certain social position, system of beliefs, language, parents and kins as per the
family sytem that he is born into. This family nutures the child and imbibe in him the ways of
the society through the process of enculturation preparing him to accept statuses of
adulthood.
Economic
A family as a social group is responsible for satisfying the basic needs of its members like
food, clothes and shelter. In order to achieve this objective all the members of a family
cooperate and divide the work among themselves and make contribution towards the
upkeeping of the family. Emile Durkheim in his book Division of labour has brought forth
this fact and laid emphasis on economic satisfaction of the need of a family. It thus, serves as
the organisation of a complementary division of labour between spouses which at the same
time allocates to each member of the family certain rights in the labour of the other and in
such goods or property as they may acquire through their individual or joint efforts.
Educational
A family provides for the linkage of each spouse and the offspring within the wider network
of kinsmen. It establishes relationships of descent and affinity. Sociological fatherhood is
determined to place the responsibility for the child on a specific adult. There must be jural
fatherhood to regularise transference of statuses from one generation to the next. A
cooperative division of labour makes for greater efficiency and skill in the work that need to
be done. Each sex can perform many skills equally well, but each sex is likely to develop
those skills it ues more often. The basic functions of the family may be performed with
varying degrees of effectiveness from culture to culture. The way the details of the functions
are carried out can produce remarkably different individual personalities of children and
adult.

CHANGING DIMENSION OF FAMILY

Till now we have been focusing on the traditional norms and what comprises a family. We
have been concerned with the classical terminology in which a family has been described and
concieved but with the changing times the composition, meaning and definition of family
have also under gone changes. The high divorce rate and remarriage in the present era leads
to a tangled nuclear family leading to the creation of complex kinship relations also.
Presently the blended family is coming up which comprises of networks which include
previously divorced spouses and their new marriage partners and sometimes children from
the previous marriages, as well as multiple sets of grandparents and other similar relations
also. Then, again there is the surrogate motherhood which also leads to a different type of
family besides adoption. Divorces at times also lead to families with a single parent either the
children staying with mother or at times with father. In the present day scenario single
parenthood and a single parent household is fast overtaking the nuclear family due to the rise
in divorces. Society being dynamic, we see a lot of changes and such changes have occurred
in the family system and the conception of the family itself. As we have learnt in the last
section of the Unit 1 about lesbian and gay kinship, these new patterns have also arisen in the
family structure – lesbian and gay family. In a lesbian and gay family the partners usually
adopt kids of either sex. There has been a lot of debate in the recent past on whether or not a
same sex couple should be allowed to parent children, whether artificially implanted or
adopted. This debate has gone on for so long mainly because many religious groups believe

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that children can only be properly parented by a father and mother combination. As most of
the religions do not sanction the union of same sex couples and also believe that the child will
suffer if parented by the same sex (Nanda & Warms, 2011). While the upcoming feminist
movement and many welfare agencies have strongly vouched for the competency of two
people as adults regardless of gender to be allowed to adopt a child and care for the same.
This fact is based on the idea that heterosexual couples often have problems raising children,
too. Research has found no major differences in parenting or child development between
families headed by two mothers and other fatherless families. In 2008, Judge Cindy S.
Lederman overturned a Florida state law that prevented homosexual couples from adopting
children, stating no “moral or scientific reason for banning gays and lesbians from adopting”,
despite the state’s arguments otherwise (CNN US website accessed on 31st March, 2011).
While, on the other hand Arkansas has recently banned all unwed couples from adopting; a
law aimed specifically at homosexual couples. Lesbian and gay couples apart there has also
been a trend of two people sharing a live-in-relationship and begetting children without
confirming to the age old tradition of marriage. In case of live-in-relationship the partners
stay as a family on their personal consensus without undergoing the rituals of marriage which
pronounce a man and a woman as husband and wife. As in the case of family, cases of
domestic violence and rape have also come up in these live-in-relationships. Presently, in
India such cases of doemstic household violence and rape in a livein- relationship have been
sanctioned by law to be addressed by the family court.

Live-in-relationships has been legalised in many countries and thus, falls under the purview
of anthropological study of family. Students need to understand and evaluate the live-in-
relationship pattern, how the emotional bonding takes place between parents and children,
and the working of the kinship relations without a formal sanction (marriage).

Sample Questions
1) Define family.
2) Delineate the categorization of family as given by Morgan.
3) State in brief the different types of family as listed by Murdock.
4) Critically discuss the matrilineal and the patrilineal type of
families.
6) Discuss the changing dimensions in family in the contemporary
society.

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