Southern New Hampshire University
ATH 101: Introduction to Anthropology
Module 5-2 Discussion: Marriage Patterns
Prompt:
Think of the various types of marriage patterns that you have read about in this module. Do you
feel that marriage will always exist as an institution? Be sure to bring in different cultures and to
give specific examples in your answer.
Hello everyone,
As defined by Britannica (2023), marriage is "a legally and socially sanctioned union,
usually between a man and woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and
attitudes that prescribes the rights and duties of the partners and accords status to their offspring
(if any)" (para. 1). This refers to a traditional characterization of marriage. However, as most of
us know, there are other forms of marriage aside from a union between one man and one woman.
Be that as it may, I do believe that any form of marriage will always be a social institution,
regardless of if it is traditional or not.
In reference to TEDx Talks (2013), McKay discusses the flexibility and open-mindedness
of marriage practices she observed while in the village of Karami, a district in Nepal's
Northwestern corner. Here, there are women that marry polyandrously, meaning that they have
multiple husbands, and some men are polygynous, meaning they have multiple wives. While
monogamy is common, "more societies permit or encourage polygamy in one or two forms"
(TEDx Talks, 2013, 6:08).
Marriage is an institution that has prevailed in nearly all populations for a long period of
time. But why do people get married? "In most societies around the world, marriage is about
cultivating political and economic relations between families. Marriage also provides public
social recognition of the ties between couples and their families, and social legitimacy of the
children." (Welsch et al., 2019, p. H16-2) In contrast, marriage has begun to lose its allure, as we
see the ascending number of premarital cohabitations, one parent families, and children being
born out of marriage. In conclusion, to reiterate, yes, I believe that marriage will always exist as
an institution, it is just an outdated one.
References
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2023, January 25). marriage. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/marriage
TEDx Talks. (2013, November 4). Are five husbands better than one? Kimber McKay at
TEDxUMontana. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6bYCi-1wF4
Welsch, R. L., Vivanco, L. A., & Fuentes, A. (2019). Anthropology, 2nd Edition. Oxford
University Press. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/978019057381
