In this assignment, I have chosen to study polygamy in the Hawaiians culture located in the Oceania region. As the eHRAF states, In the Hawaiians culture they practice both polyandry and polygyny. In the practice of polygyny, the women are typically married only to the chiefs. This type of marriage, as the eHRAF states, is not affected by the union of two family members. Although not necessarily encouraged, it is not uncommon to marry a cousin or sister. Thus, they argue, connects the family. Polyandry is hypothesized to have originated from the number of males on the islands, being relatively high in comparison to the females. Female babies were killed at birth, known as infanticide, due to the limited role they could place in "male" responsibilities.
Thus, resulted in a change in population size from being a higher female population to an more increasingly even number. As mentioned above, polygyny can be perceived as a good alternative option to a decreasing population. More specifically, in the Statistic Canada 2017 population by sex and age study, found that population of males compared to females is lower. The population, in relation to men, have tremendously decreased, resulting in the birth rate across Canada to follow suit. Allowing for multiple marriages, such as polygyny, can allow for women to reproduce without the statistical burden of the population in men to hinder their personal decision. Polyandry in Canada specifically, can be a good option because similarly as addressed above, the 2011 Statistic Canada national household survey reveals that between the ages 25-44 years men are paid higher in every income group. This can ultimately relieve the financial burden of Canadians, especially those below the poverty line. A united family of many male workers in Canada, can then reduce the amount of tax money used in many financial aspects and spread into other social services like roads, schools, and other redistributions of money.
The film Onka's Big Moka provided some insight into a few topics we have discussed during the course like Horticulture and Polygyny. The Kawelka are horticulturalists as they raise pigs, grow a variety of food including yams. Rather than foraging their crops allow them for permanent settlements. It is mentioned that Ongka has 4 wives. A man married to 2+ women at the same time are considered to be polygyny. The film mentions Onka got an extra wife for the capacity of work. Having more than one wife allows increase access to resources and work, which one of his wives, Rumbeka, had complained
Hawaiians should have rights to their own land and not let foreigners disrupt their daily habits and life. If a foreigner takes allegiance to Hawai’i they not only have the accessibility of a citizen but also the perks that go with citizenship. Foreigners would be able to marry the women of Hawai’i while they have wives back home in their previous motherland. Foreigners that are aiding to Hawai’i can stay as aliens and be just as effective. There is no need for them to gain citizenship and take an oath of allegiance for their help. If a foreigner wants a piece a land all he needs to do is take an oath of allegiance and he is able to have a piece of land. If too many foreigners enter Hawai’i, their culture will take over. The majority will consist of the foreigners and their government will take over. Too many foreigners will cause much more damage to the native Hawaiian population. The number of full Hawaiians will decrease if foreigners continue to enter the island of Hawai’i.
[BROAD INTRODUCTION] My father had two wives, although the marriages did not overlap one another. With his first wife, he had three children – two daughters and a son. With his second wife, my mother, he had two children – a son and myself. Once my father married my mother and started a family, he spent much of his time with us – only occasionally seeing his three children from his previous marriage, and rarely ever seeing his first wife. My brother and I have never seen my father’s children from his first wife, we have never spoken, we have never even met. That is my family. [NARROW INTRODUCTION] (Maghan Fatta Kon). Had this been another family, say one in Mali, the situation would be entirely different. [Bit about family dynamics.] [THESIS] Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, written by D. T. Niane, grants readers insight into just how the practice of polygamy structures family dynamics.
Then the article connects to how fraternal polyandry is similar to nineteenth century marriage in England. Even though they are similar, Tibetan “believe that in this way fraternal polyandry reduces risk of fission, monogamous marriage among brother need to necessarily precipitate the division of family estate” (“When Brothers Share a Wife”). Then the article goes into how the author of this article, Melvyn C. Goldstein, asked the Tibetan people on why they marry this way. Some said it makes the family more stable and other said that is keeps conflict from affecting
The Hawaiian Monarchy was overthrown by the Committee of Safety, a group of American businessmen, in the year 1893 (The Overthrow of the Monarchy - Spirit of Aloha). The decline of the Hawaiian government had been going on for years before, starting in the late 1800s when the Americans took control of the sugar industry. Hawaiians began to rely on the U.S., mostly for profit, as sugar was Hawaii’s main export. The monarchy officially ended when Liliuokalani abdicated the throne on January 24, 1895. The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was unjust because it cemented the loss of Hawaiian independence and because the Queen was unwilling to sacrifice Hawaiian people, nothing could be done to stop it.
Mention the concept of polygamy in any “civilized” gathering, and you just may be able to see the shiver of repulsion that ripples through the crowd. By substituting the word “polyamory” in, you will be able to circumvent this reaction – but only because everyone is staring at you in baffled silence instead. So we begin, as always, with definitions.
Many people would happily accept an opportunity to have their daily stress reduced by employing help with not only their children but also with daily household responsibilities of cooking and cleaning. Especially in this fragile economic state the average family living in America cannot afford the luxury of hiring a house cleaner, cook or nanny. However, there are polygamists families in America have the abilities of multiple adults contributing to the same household because of the lifestyle choice of having multiple spouses. The extra help comes at a price for woman, by having to share her husband with other woman and raising her children in the difficult and uncommon lifestyle. Polygamy takes a total acceptance and understanding of it by the mothers, in order for polygamy not to have a negative psychological impact on her children. Children are the innocent victims of polygamy; consequently, they grow up witnessing a tense environment filled with their mother’s insecurities and rivalries with the other wives, which sequentially end up harming the child in the end. Furthermore, polygamy can be psychologically damaging to children because of the increased rates of not only welfare fraud, domestic violence, and underage marriages but also child abuse and neglect.
Besides that, Ramatoulaye was really strong whenever the people around her looked at her strangely. She mentioned that “I survived. I overcame my shyness at going alone to cinemas; I would take a seat with less and less embarrassment as the months went by. People stared at the middle aged lady without a partner” (p. 51). She was not carried away by what others assumed on her but she stayed strong and managed to survive. While she was alone in the cinema, her co-wife, Binetou was happily accompanied by Modou to the night club with a costly garment (Mariama, 1981). Although Modou chose to be with his second wife, Ramatoulaye did not burst into anger or fight with Binetou but she illustrated a good moral behavior by being patient and strong.
Although the various phenomena that involve multiple males involved with one female, have always been fascinating to anthropologists, there does not seem to be one common explanation for polyandry. This failure has raised questions about the similarities between the different societies in which this type of behavior is observed in. From the point of view of Berrman (1975), polyandry does not have a same manner in all societies and the basis, function, costs and consequences of polyandry must be studied individually in each society (Goldstein, 1981).
Polyandry and polygyny are the two types of polygamy. In polyandry, one woman has multiple husbands. This practice is rare and is a cultural solution used for specific problems. It is known to be practiced in the Himalayas, where men as brothers share a wife. The practice can occasionally be found in tribes of Africa, such as the Balele of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One advantage to polyandry for a tribe with limited access to land, for example, is the family land and livestock does not have to be divided as bride wealth. Bride wealth is a tradition where the husband's tribe or family would pay or compensate t...
1. It is important to note, however, that heteronormativity is relative to the time period and culture which is under analysis, as some cultures have different renditions of gender and gender appropriations; for example the Polynesians and the concept ...
Polygamy. The. n.d., Web. & XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 5 May 2014. http://www.polygamy.com/>. The "Polygamy" - "The 'Polygamy'" US MARRIAGE LAWS. n.d. - a.k.a.
Anthropologists study kinship because it is arguably one of the most basic components of culture. In all societies, kinship is pervasive and given sufficient population levels it is also complex. The study of kinship allows for anthropologists to understand an individual’s identity and actions. Consanguineal kinship is based on relatives who are related through blood. For example, an individual’s brother or child is their consanguineal kin. In “Polyandry: When Brothers Take a Wife,” by Melvyn C. Goldstein and in “Complexities: Beyond Nature & Nurture,” by Susan McKinnon consanguineal kinship is reviewed and analyzed in different cultures.
African is so broad that it cannot be adequately in any books. As we know Africa have beautiful traditional dance, music, art, religion they also have extremely broad traditional families, which has challenging variations across Africa. African’s have their own ways to regulate their families and their society. For example Arrange marriage, patrilineality/matrilineality and practices of polygyny are the three majors distinctive variations of African traditional family. Arrange marriage is when the bride and the groom don’t know each other and their family member arrange their marriage base on their family background. Patrilineality/matrilineality mostly practices everywhere, patrilineality/matrilineality is when the family inheriting or determining descent through the male or women line. Polygyny is a distinctive feature in African traditional families, especially in the patriarchal societies; polygyny is when the husband has plural wives. As Africa was colonialism and pressures of contemporary life, their traditional family started to fall in parts.
In today’s society the assumption asserts that there must be only two adults integrated in a relationship, however in polygamous environments, having more than one spouse is traditional. Some may argue that Polygamy is simply just an alternate lifestyle. This, however, ceases to be true. Young girls are being forced to marry older men and sometimes relatives. Little boys are often abandoned because it appears to be competition for older men. Children are victims of sexual and physical abuse. Whereas, for women, they generally become stripped of their money and experience competition against the multiple wives a husband. Although Polygamy is viewed as immoral by society, the main focus point should be saving young children and women because