How gendered is the family?
The idea that a male child will provide for parents in their old age, while a
female child will leave upon marriage, leads families to invest more in
male children.
Although female babies generally have a higher chance of survival, the
rate of infant mortality for female children is still greater than that for
males in younger age groups in India.
Family and kinship are influenced by larger economic changes, but the
way these changes occur can vary greatly between different countries and
regions. Both change and continuity can exist together.
The Institution of Marriage
Historically, marriage has existed in a wide variety of forms across
different societies.
Marriage has been observed to perform differing functions in various
contexts.
The methods by which marriage partners are arranged exhibit a
remarkable variety of modes and customs.
Try yourself:
Which factor has contributed to the increase in joint families in post-
independent India?
A.Improved life expectancy
B.Decline in marriage rates
C.Economic insecurity post-unification
D.Withdrawal of welfare schemes
Forms of Marriage
Variety of Marriage Forms:
Marriage comes in different forms, depending on the number of partners
involved and the rules about who can marry whom. The two main forms
based on the number of partners are monogamy and polygamy.
1. Monogamy: This form of marriage limits individuals to one spouse at a
time. Here, a man can have only one wife, and a woman can have only
one husband.
2. Polygamy: In contrast, polygamy allows individuals to have multiple
partners at once and includes:
3.Polygyny: A system where one husband has several wives.
4.Polyandry: A system where one wife has multiple husbands. Despite the
allowance for polygamy, monogamy is more common in practice.
5. Serial Monogamy: This form permits individuals to remarry, usually after
a spouse dies or after a divorce, but they cannot have more than one
spouse at the same time. It is common for men to remarry after the death
of a wife.
Widow Remarriage: Historically, widow remarriage faced restrictions,
especially among upper-caste Hindus, and became a major issue during
the reform movements of the 19th century. In contemporary India, nearly
10 percent of all women and 55 per cent of women over fifty years old are
widows.
Polyandry and Economic Conditions: Polyandry can develop as a response
to difficult economic conditions where one man cannot support a wife and
children adequately. Extreme poverty can also pressure a group to limit its
population.
The Matter of Arranging Marriages:
Rules and Prescriptions
Mate selection varies across communities, with some allowing individuals
to freely choose their own partners, while others involve parents or
relatives in making such decisions.
Rules of Endogamy and Exogamy
Restrictions on who can marry can be either subtle or explicit, depending
on the society.
Endogamy requires individuals to marry within a culturally defined group,
such as a caste.
Exogamy mandates that individuals marry outside of their group.
Endogamy and exogamy are applied to kinship units like clan, caste, or
racial, ethnic, or religious groups.
In India, village exogamy is practised in some northern regions, where
daughters are married into families from distant villages.
Village exogamy facilitates the bride's adjustment into the new family and
minimises interference from her natal kin.
The geographical distance and patrilineal system in village exogamy
reduce the frequency of visits from married daughters to their parents.
The departure from the natal home is often depicted in folk songs,
reflecting the emotional pain of separation.
Family: A family is a group of people connected by kinship, where adult
members take care of children.
