Defining Polygyny: Debates on Kinship and Marriage

3305 Words14 Pages
Defining Polygyny: Debates on Kinship and Marriage Abstract How does the practice of polygyny (a form of polygamy) question the idea of marriage and kinship in today’s highly monogamous world? Based on research of published literature and a comparison of polygyny in Utah and Indonesia, this paper concludes that polygamous marriages could possibly be the next frontier to a socially accepted form of marriage system in mainstream societies. Introduction Growing up in a monogamous society I assumed that there is only one way to have a family structure which is a heterosexual monogamous marriage as the core of kinship, leading to affinal and consanguineal kins. This is how most people I have known define marriage and kinship as well. Anthropological studies of kinship present alternative kinship structures thereby questioning mainstream notions of marriage and family. According to Spradley and McCurdy (2009), marriage can also be polygamous in societies “where is it preferred that only one woman should be married to one man at a time,” (174) In a polygamous marriage, “one person may be married to more than one person simultaneously” (174). Based on statistical research done, the online website on the Campaign Against Polygamy And Women Oppression International (CAPWOI) (2005), states that “an estimated over three billion people around the world today still believe in polygamy” and also “an estimated over 2 billion men and women are in polygamous relationships around the world today.” These numbers are high and cannot be ignored. The same website also noted that “polygamy is still a legal culture in over 150 countries in Africa, Middle East, and most countries in the third world.” These practices co-exist in these countries together with the mainstream monogamous families and the number of countries legalizing polygamy is increasing overtime. There are

More about Defining Polygyny: Debates on Kinship and Marriage

Open Document