Polyandry comprises a marriage bond from which the woman is united to more than one man. The concepts of marriage, family or kinship are essential to understand the structure of a society. Throughout the history of humanity these concepts have been accompanied by different forms of social organization and the evolution of the idea of the family nucleus is the key element to understand the different social models.
Different ways of understanding marriage
The most widespread family nucleus model is based on marriage. However, not all marriages have the same pattern. On the one hand, there is monogamous marriage, which consists of the union of a single man and a single woman. Conventional marriage has incorporated a series of variations in recent decades, such as common-law couples or homosexual marriages. On the other hand, in some societies polygamy has been practiced, which consists of a union between more than two spouses. In turn, the polygamous marriage can be divided into two: the polygamous marriage and the polyandric marriage.
The difference between polygamy and polyandry
In polygamic marriage, a man has a sentimental bond with several women. This modality has occurred in very traditional societies of shepherds or farmers, who need a large number of children to meet economic needs and also to compensate for the high rates of infant mortality.
Polyandric marriage is less common than polygamic and consists of a woman being married to several men. Although polyandry is not directly related to matriarchy, this type of matrimonial union produces a specific lineage, matrilineage (in a matrilineal society the offspring are organized through the mother, which means that individuals belong to a specific group based on of his ties with the women of that group).
The anthropological causes that explain polyandry
Social anthropology is the discipline that studies family relationships within a society. According to the studies carried out, there are several causes that explain the phenomenon of polyandry. First, this marital union usually occurs in remote places and in isolated societies.
The high number of men compared to women is one of the elements of polyandry. On the other hand, this disproportion between men and women is usually related to female infanticide at birth.
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