COMPREHENDING MARRIAGE- THE SOCIAL INSTITUTION
Aswani
Marriage is a socially sanctioned relationship between man and woman that ties each other into a permanent, official relationship of husband and wife. It is an important social institution that satisfies the physical, social, psychological, cultural, and economic needs of men and women. marriage has been interpreted and defined in varies ways, like; As per Gillin and Gillin opinion, “Marriage is a socially approved way of establishing a family of procreation.” Westermarck says that marriage is rooted in the family rather than the family in the marriage. According to Malinowski, ” marriage is a contract for the production and maintenance of children.” for Robert H Lowie,” Marriage is a relatively permanent bond between permissible mates.”
multiple components make marriage as important. it gave a feeling of oneness, brings happiness- improves health and financial satisfaction, helps in improving the life expectancy, it benefits the children by bettering their physical, emotional, and academic well-being, it improves sexual intimacy and provides emotional security.
Different types of marriage
Polygamy: It is a form of marriage in which one man married more than one woman at a given time. . It was a common practice in ancient civilizations. At present, it may be present in primitive tribes like Crow Indians, Baigas and Gonds of India.
Polyandry: It is the marriage of one woman with several men. It is practiced among the Marquesan Islanders of Polynesia, The Bahama of Africa and tribes of Samoa. In India among tribes of Tiyan, Toda, Kota, Khasa and Ladakhi Bota it is still prevalent.
Monogamy : It is a form of marriage in which one man marries one woman. It is the most common form of marriage found among societies around the world. Monogamy is universally practiced providing marital options and satisfaction to all the individuals.
It promotes love and affection between husband and wife.It contributes to family peace, solidarity, and happiness. Monogamous marriage is stable and long-lasting. It is free from conflicts that are commonly found in polyandrous and polygamous families. Monogamous marriage gives greater attention to the socialization of their children. Women are given a very low position in polygyny where their rights are never recognized. In monogamy, women enjoy better social status.
Group marriage: This is the marriage, of two or more women with two or more men. Here the husbands are common husbands and the wives are common wives. Children are regarded as the children of the entire group as a whole.
Indisputable freedom in marriage is a myth, no society gave this freedom to anyone. Endogamy and exogamy are the two major measures of this, by setting up certain rules and regulations. in which `endogamy’ means the life partners are to be selected within the group. It is marriage within the group and the group may be caste, class, tribe, race, village, religious group etc. different types of endogamy is there; caste endogamy, class endogamy, sub caste endogamy, race endogamy and tribal endogamy etc. whereas Exogamy is the rule of marriage in which an individual has to marry outside his own group. It restricts marrying within the group. The so-called blood relatives shall neither have marital associations nor sexual contacts among themselves.
The Indian land has been home to a vast multiplicity of marriages. in which Ancient forms of marriages are very significant and intriguing. there are eight types of marriages.
- Brahma – In this marriage, the father used to ask a man learned in the Vedas to marry his daughter.
- Daiva – In this marriage, the person who organizes a sacrifice marries his daughter to the priest who had come to officiate at the sacrifice
- Arsha – In this marriage, the father marries his daughter after receiving a cow and bull or a pair of it from the bridegroom
- Prajapatya – In this marriage, the father after honoring the bridegroom gives his daughter and addresses both of them with the words- “may both of you perform your religious duties together”
- Asura – In this marriage, the bridegroom voluntarily gives as much wealth as he can afford to the bride and her kinsmen
- Gandharva– In this marriage, there is the union of a girl and the boy through mutual consent.
- Rakshasa – In this marriage, the bride is forcibly taken from her home by the bridegroom after her kinsmen are thrashed and wounded.
- Paishacha– In this marriage, a man by stealth seduces a girl who is asleep, intoxicated, or disordered in intellect.
Conventional Personal law in India has given numerous impediments hooked to the marriage. but nowadays, the notion and dimension of marriage are unhurriedly modified. Live-in relationships, Adultery, and Same-sex relationships were deemed taboo a few decades ago, but through law and molding people’s views through broad perspective things are normalizing in today’s society.
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