102,815
edits
Changes
From Nordan Symposia
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
#REDIRECT [[Paper 83 - The Marriage Institution]]
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]]
==Etymology==
The [[modern]] [[English]] word "marriage" derives from [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] mariage, which first appears in 1250–1300 C.E. This in turn is derived from Old French marier (to marry) and ultimately [[Latin]] marītāre (to marry) and marītus (of marriage).
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_century 13th Century]
<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Marriage''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Marriage '''''this link'''''].</center>
==Definitions==
[[Anthropologists]] have proposed several competing definitions of [[marriage]] so as to [[encompass]] the wide variety of marital [[practices]] observed across [[cultures]]. In his [[book]] ''The History of Human Marriage'' (1921), [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Westermarck Edvard Westermarck] defined marriage as "a more or less durable [[connection]] between [[male]] and [[female]] lasting beyond the mere act of propagation till after the [[birth]] of the [[offspring]]." In ''The Future of Marriage in Western Civilization'' (1936), he rejected his earlier definition, instead provisionally defining marriage as "a [[relation]] of one or more men to one or more women that is recognised by [[custom]] or [[law]]".
The anthropological handbook ''Notes and Queries'' (1951) defined marriage as "a [[union]] between a [[man]] and a [[woman]] such that [[children]] born to the woman are the recognized legitimate offspring of both [[partners]]."[9] In recognition of a [[practice]] by the Nuer of Sudan allowing women to act as a husband in certain circumstances, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Gough Kathleen Gough] suggested modifying this to "a woman and one or more other persons."
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Leach Edmund Leach] criticized Gough's definition for being too restrictive in terms of recognized legitimate [[offspring]] and suggested that marriage be viewed in terms of the different [[types]] of [[rights]] it serves to [[establish]]. Leach expanded the definition and proposed that "Marriage is a [[relationship]] established between a woman and one or more other [[persons]], which provides that a child born to the woman under circumstances not prohibited by the rules of the [[relationship]], is accorded full birth-[[status]] [[rights]] common to [[normal]] members of his [[society]] or social stratum" Leach argued that no one definition of marriage applied to all [[cultures]]. He offered a list of ten [[rights]] associated with marriage, including [[sexual]] [[monopoly]] and [[rights]] with [[respect]] to children, with specific rights differing across cultures.
Duran Bell also [[criticized]] the legitimacy-based definition on the basis that some [[societies]] do not require marriage for legitimacy, arguing that in [[societies]] where illegitimacy means only that the mother is unmarried and has no other legal implications, a legitimacy-based definition of marriage is circular. He proposed defining marriage in terms of [[sexual]] [[access]] [[rights]].
==Description==
'''Marriage''' is a [[social]] [[union]] or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an [[institution]] in which interpersonal [[relationships]], usually [[intimate]] and [[sexual]], are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the [[culture]] or subculture in which it is found. Such a [[union]], often formalized via a [[wedding]] [[ceremony]], may also be called ''matrimony''.
People marry for many reasons, including one or more of the following: [[legal]], [[social]], [[emotional]], [[economical]], [[spiritual]], and [[religious]]. These might include arranged marriages, [[family]] [[obligations]], the legal [[establishment]] of a nuclear [[family]] [[unit]], the legal [[protection]] of [[children]] and public declaration of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commitment commitment].
Marriage [[practices]] are very [[diverse]] across [[cultures]], yet almost every known [[society]] has had some form of marriage between a [[man]] and a [[woman]]. In some societies an [[individual]] is limited to being in one such couple at a time ([[monogamy]]), while other cultures allow a [[male]] to have more than one wife ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygyny polygyny]) or, less commonly, a [[female]] to have more than one husband ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyandry polyandry]). Some [[societies]] also allow marriage between two males or two females. Societies frequently have other restrictions on marriage based on the ages of the participants, pre-existing kinship, and membership in [[religious]] or other [[social]] [[groups]].
The [[act]] of [[marriage]] usually creates [[normative]] or legal [[obligations]] between the [[individuals]] involved. In some [[societies]] these obligations also extend to certain [[family]] members of the married [[persons]]. Almost all [[cultures]] that [[recognize]] marriage also recognize [[adultery]] as a violation of the terms of marriage, and forbid incestuous marriages. In cultures that allow the dissolution of a marriage this is known as [[divorce]].
Marriage is usually recognized by the [[state]], a religious [[authority]], or both. It is often viewed as a [[contract]]. Civil marriage is the legal [[concept]] of marriage as a [[governmental]] [[institution]] irrespective of religious affiliation, in [[accordance]] with marriage laws of the [[jurisdiction]]. If recognized by the [[state]], by the religion(s) to which the parties belong or by [[society]] in general, the act of marriage changes the [[personal]] and [[social]] [[status]] of the [[individuals]] who enter into it.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage]
==See also==
# [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_82 The Evolution of Marriage]
# [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_83 The Marriage Institution]
# [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_84 Marriage and Family Life]
[[Category: Anthropology]]
