Kayapo People Research Paper

Marriage is a fundamental practice that influences village dynamics and political processes in many societies in past and present human cultures. Not only is marriage a process that supports human kinship systems, it allows for alliances and reciprocity systems between groups that create variation in human social organization (Walker et al. 2011). This paper explores the sources of variation in marriage and mating systems in two very different societies, the !Kung San and the Yanomamo, in terms of the vastly different environments each of them inhabit. The !Kung San, a traditional nomadic hunter-gatherer society, reside in the Dobe area on the edge of the Kalahari desert of Botswana (Shostak 1981, p.7). Due to the demanding environment of

Marriage practices vary across cultures. Every culture has its own way of conducting marriage according to their traditions and customs. Most cultures share common customs and practices, while some cultures have unique practices. Marriage refers to a social union agreed upon by the couples to unit as spouses. The union of couples implies sexual relations, permanence in union, and procreation. This research paper focuses on comparing marriage practices in American and Indian culture. There is significant difference between the two cultures in marriage practices.

Aborigines have a complex system in relation to their social and marriage laws, based on the grouping of people within their society. To understand the complexities of their social organization, consider it this way: divide it first into three main parts. The first part is the physical structuring of society in terms of numbers – family, horde and tribe. Second, the religious structuring based on beliefs and customs, totems and marriage laws. (Kinship, 2005) These beliefs divide people into sections and subsections, totemic groups

Kinship becomes important to the Mbuti when selecting a spouse. Kinship recognition is only important when choosing a wife or husband. No person is allowed to marry kin on their mother's or father's side of the family. Unlike, western societies, there are no formal ritual for marriage or divorce. People are considered married once the couple moves in together. They believe marrying outside their age

Men and women have different views on kinship. Tiv men think that blood is thicker than water. “Here people looked for little in marriage. A man would turn to his sixteenth cousin twice removed before he turned to his wife. Here the important ties were between blood relatives” (122). However, women viewed kinship to be through relationships. In her time with the Tivs, Bowmen was given the kinship title of mother. “You feed Ihugh, therefore you are his mother.” Udama corrected me firmly but quite patiently now that she saw I meant no insult. “Listen, Redwoman, if a woman dies, do her children become motherless? Is not the woman who feeds them and cares for them their mother? Therefore these are not merely matters of birth. They are matters of deed as well.” . . . I wrestled with the implications of this dual aspect of kinship, by birth and by deed (118).

there is a great amount of variability in kinship rules and patterns around the world (O 'neil,2015).

Moso society, better known as Na, is a small ethnic group living in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China. For decades, they have implemented a matrilineal system in their culture. Matrilineal system is defined as a system in which their descendants are traced using their mothers’ lineage. Since Moso society applied the matrilineal system in their culture, there are several implications and characteristics that can be analyzed from that point. One important feature of matrilineal is called “walking marriage”. There is no traditional marriage in Moso culture, so in a family there are neither husbands nor wives. In walking marriage the partners do not live in the same households, as during midnights the man who has received permission to visit the woman comes to spend the whole night with her and return to his home early in the morning. From certain aspects, walking marriage has positive effects towards Moso’s family structure, child gender preference and gender equality. This essay analyzes about how those aspects are benefited by the walking marriage.

After reaching womanhood, Yanomami women are accustomed to marrying men in their twenties, despite the difference in age. Like many patriarchal forms of marriage, it is tradition for the female to reside within the village of her husband; however, in Yanomami culture, the male must first earn his wife through labor for her family—this is known as bride service. While completing bride service, the male must remain a part of his in-law’s family for many years before returning back to his own village to create a life for a family of his own (Hames 128). This service work does not simply provide benefit to the bride’s family, but also to the young man completing the work as well as it brings confidence in the fact that he possesses the support of the family in conflict as in addition to a stock of both food and tobacco (Herzog-Schroder 6). Polygyny is permitted in Yanomami culture and is practiced by roughly ten to twenty percent of all native males. Sororal polygyny, the marriage of multiple sisters, is the ideal form of this union as it brings a sense of peace and acceptance into the family as sisters are perceived as getting along better than women of different backgrounds. In levirate marriage, when one’s husband dies marriage to his brother might be required. On the other hand, when sororate marriage is practiced the same concept applies if the death of the woman comes before that of the man—a man may lay claim to his previous wife’s sister (Hames

In traditional Aboriginal society inter-personal relationships are governed by a Complex system of rules, known as the classificatory system of kinship. The kinship system

Aborigines have different marriage laws based on grouping people within their society. Their kinship system means everyone within their kinship are related to everyone eles.

In Millennium: Strange Relations, presented by David Maybury Lewis examines the concept of marriage by focusing on three different groups the Nyimba of Nepal, Wodaabe of Niger, finally a Canada (Western European viewpoint). Lewis also examines the concepts of monogamy, fraternal polyandry, and polygyny with the respective case studies.

The term has also been used in its anthropological sense to encompass the familial and friendship networks of women, their affective ties, their rituals. It is

A love match with a suitor outside of the family is possible, but the family must visit, negotiate and approve the suitor. Traditional marriages involve a formal contract drawn up by a priest. In the contract a series of payments are specified. (Haeri, 1989) The bride is traditionally responsible for bringing a dowry to the wedding. This will include her clothing, and household items for her new home. A specified amount is written into the contract as payment for the woman in the event of divorce. (Haeri, 1989) The wife after marriage belongs to her husband's household. If her husband does not approve, she may not visit any of her relatives.

Herd size (cattle) is an important factor here, as it indicates economic status and social prestige and cattle are used as a payment for brides. Marriages are arranged and wives must move to the male’s village and become completely dependent on him, her new husband. Divorce is rare but men are allowed to marry polygynously. Only a few men however, were able to attain more than one wife because bride wealth was costly. In order for men to marry again, he would devote many years to saving bride wealth payment. Resources are shared equally among wives, with each wife having her own separate hut. As with most societies, the birth of a male is preferred and is associated with great respect; the wife that bears the first male will receive favourable treatment over the co-wives. It is important to note that first wives are acquired at an earlier age (high brideprice) and spend most of her reproductive years in a monogamous union. This is important because she will receive greater amount of offsprings and greater care. The article explains the most asked question of “why marry a married man”? The population of this region is unfortunately female biased, which contributes to the lack of options that a female has for marriage. The parents of these female prefer to marry their daughters to an already married man who has some status given that

The community dimension of marriage is another main feature of African society. In Africa a marriage is never just an affair between two individuals. It is also an alliance between two families and in a certain sense whole villages or clans are involved.1 A successful marriage always has a social aspect. It always calls for an opening out to others (to one's spouse and one's children at the very minimum) and this is possible only in the degree in which individualistic self-love is overcome.