Aztecs, The Basseri And The Ju/Hoansi

Have you ever thought about the importance of anthropology in human history? Anthropology plays a significant role within every one of us. Anthropology is the “study of people in all places and times” (lecture). The following cultural sketches for example the Aztecs, the Basseri, and the Ju/’Hoansi have marriage customs that are different, but also have similar characteristics.

Marriage advantages differ from the Aztecs, the Basseri and the Ju/’Hoansi because sometimes women, men or families benefit from marriage. According to Kottak, from College of Southern Nevada Anthropology 16e, “Among the nobility, the primary aim of marriage was to strengthen or forge powerful political ties… [and] often maintained their relationships through such marriages

for hundreds of years” (572). With this alliance between regions or villages peace would be made and all of the individuals would benefit. Sometimes villages would not only benefit from peace, but also from food or materials that were not available within their boundaries. Furthermore, the Basseri has a more intimate alliance because household families benefit from one another. Basseri women are “very important economically [because]… women possess tremendous authority within the domestic sphere, [and] the household cannot survive without a woman’s labor” (593). In other words women are the firm and most important structure from a family because after marriage they are the ones that run their households. Moreover, the Ju/’Hoansi couple benefits from marriage because “alliances are forged by the couple’s own desire to be married to one another and are generally very stable” (651). Stability in marriage is great because couples are happy and they chose the person they love. All of these territories did benefit from marriage differently, but they also have similarities also regarding marriage.
Additionally, these three areas have arranged marriages for their youths. The Aztecs arranged marriages "When they decided a child was of marriageable age, parents prepared a feast of tamales and chocolate to which all the youth’s teachers were invited, and at which they ritually discharged the student from their care” (572). A reason why the Aztecs married their children was because they did not want their inheritance to banish. Moreover, the Basseri did the same thing, “Marriages are arranged by household heads, which are usually the fathers of the prospective bride and groom. In his absence, a brother or father’s brother will serve” (592). Family households had the last decision on whom their child was going to marry. On the other hand, the Ju/’Hoansi, arrange marriages from the moment the child is born and “Parents whose children are betrothed to each other in early childhood may exchange gifts for 10 years or more before it is time for the children to wed” (651). these areas had that similarity regarding arranged marriage since they probably wanted the best for their children. Even though they arranged marriage at different stages of the children’s life they all had the best intentions for the family or region.
In conclusion, each cultural factor shares characteristics of different points of view because cultures come from different origins. The entire world has culture and everybody should respect other cultures since we do not know if we might share a certain custom with that country.