Marriage and residence across cultures
Marriage creates alliances between families, and rules about who marries whom and where couples live vary widely.
Forms of marriage
Monogamy is marriage between two people. Polygamy is having more than one spouse at once: polygyny is one husband with several wives, and polyandry, much rarer, is one wife with several husbands. Rules of exogamy require marrying outside a group, while endogamy requires marrying within it, such as within a religion or caste.
Marriage exchanges
Many marriages involve transfers of wealth. Bridewealth is goods given by the groom's family to the bride's family, recognising the value of the bride and her future children. Dowry is wealth that travels with the bride to her new household. Bride service is labour a groom performs for his bride's family.
Where couples live
Patrilocal residence means the couple lives with or near the husband's family; matrilocal, with the wife's family; neolocal, in a new home of their own, common in industrial societies. Avunculocal residence, with the husband's mother's brother, appears in some matrilineal societies. Residence rules shape who raises children and who supports whom.
Flashcard
One husband with more than one wife
Check your understanding
A newly married couple moves into an apartment of their own, away from both sets of parents. This is: