scholarly journals Condemned and Condoned: Polygynous Marriage in Christian Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 751-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Agadjanian
Keyword(s):  
Polygynous Marriage

scholarly journals The puzzle of monogamous marriage

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1589) ◽  
pp. 657-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Henrich ◽  
Robert Boyd ◽  
Peter J. Richerson
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Child Neglect ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
Paternal Investment ◽  
Accidental Death ◽  
Economic Productivity ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Age Gap ◽  
Group Competition ◽  
Polygynous Marriage

The anthropological record indicates that approximately 85 per cent of human societies have permitted men to have more than one wife (polygynous marriage), and both empirical and evolutionary considerations suggest that large absolute differences in wealth should favour more polygynous marriages. Yet, monogamous marriage has spread across Europe, and more recently across the globe, even as absolute wealth differences have expanded. Here, we develop and explore the hypothesis that the norms and institutions that compose the modern package of monogamous marriage have been favoured by cultural evolution because of their group-beneficial effects—promoting success in inter-group competition. In suppressing intrasexual competition and reducing the size of the pool of unmarried men, normative monogamy reduces crime rates, including rape, murder, assault, robbery and fraud, as well as decreasing personal abuses. By assuaging the competition for younger brides, normative monogamy decreases (i) the spousal age gap, (ii) fertility, and (iii) gender inequality. By shifting male efforts from seeking wives to paternal investment, normative monogamy increases savings, child investment and economic productivity. By increasing the relatedness within households, normative monogamy reduces intra-household conflict, leading to lower rates of child neglect, abuse, accidental death and homicide. These predictions are tested using converging lines of evidence from across the human sciences.

scholarly journals Greater wealth inequality, less polygyny: rethinking the polygyny threshold model

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (144) ◽  
pp. 20180035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody T. Ross ◽  
Monique Borgerhoff Mulder ◽  
Seung-Yun Oh ◽  
Samuel Bowles ◽  
Bret Beheim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Choice Model ◽  
Threshold Model ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Mutual Mate Choice ◽  
Polygynous Marriage ◽  
Human Mating

Monogamy appears to have become the predominant human mating system with the emergence of highly unequal agricultural populations that replaced relatively egalitarian horticultural populations, challenging the conventional idea—based on the polygyny threshold model—that polygyny should be positively associated with wealth inequality. To address this polygyny paradox, we generalize the standard polygyny threshold model to a mutual mate choice model predicting the fraction of women married polygynously. We then demonstrate two conditions that are jointly sufficient to make monogamy the predominant marriage form, even in highly unequal societies. We assess if these conditions are satisfied using individual-level data from 29 human populations. Our analysis shows that with the shift to stratified agricultural economies: (i) the population frequency of relatively poor individuals increased, increasing wealth inequality, but decreasing the frequency of individuals with sufficient wealth to secure polygynous marriage, and (ii) diminishing marginal fitness returns to additional wives prevent extremely wealthy men from obtaining as many wives as their relative wealth would otherwise predict. These conditions jointly lead to a high population-level frequency of monogamy.

scholarly journals Polygyny without wealth: popularity in gift games predicts polygyny in BaYaka Pygmies

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 150054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil Chaudhary ◽  
Gul Deniz Salali ◽  
James Thompson ◽  
Mark Dyble ◽  
Abigail Page ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Wealth Accumulation ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Marriage Patterns ◽  
Phenotypic Quality ◽  
Wealth Inequalities ◽  
Polygynous Marriage

The occurrence of polygynous marriage in hunter–gatherer societies, which do not accumulate wealth, remains largely unexplored since resource availability is dependent on male hunting capacity and limited by the lack of storage. Hunter–gatherer societies offer the greatest insight in to human evolution since they represent the majority of our species' evolutionary history. In order to elucidate the evolution of hunter–gatherer polygyny, we study marriage patterns of BaYaka Pygmies. We investigate (i) rates of polygyny among BaYaka hunter–gatherers; (ii) whether polygyny confers a fitness benefit to BaYaka men; (iii) in the absence of wealth inequalities, what are the alternative explanations for polygyny among the BaYaka. To understand the latter, we explore differences in phenotypic quality (height and strength), and social capital (popularity in gift games). We find polygynous men have increased reproductive fitness; and that social capital and popularity but not phenotypic quality might have been important mechanisms by which some male hunter–gatherers sustained polygynous marriages before the onset of agriculture and wealth accumulation.

scholarly journals Sex-ratio biasing towards daughters among lower-ranking co-wives in Rwanda

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 765-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas V. Pollet ◽  
Tim W. Fawcett ◽  
Abraham P. Buunk ◽  
Daniel Nettle
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Married Women ◽  
Human Females ◽  
Poor Condition ◽  
Considerable Debate ◽  
Lower Ranking ◽  
Sex Ratio Adjustment ◽  
Polygynous Marriage

There is considerable debate as to whether human females bias the sex ratio of their offspring as a function of their own condition. We apply the Trivers–Willard prediction—that mothers in poor condition will overproduce daughters—to a novel measure of condition, namely wife rank within a polygynous marriage. Using a large-scale sample of over 95 000 Rwandan mothers, we show that lower-ranking polygynous wives do indeed have significantly more daughters than higher-ranking polygynous wives and monogamously married women. This effect remains when controlling for potential confounds such as maternal age. We discuss these results in reference to previous work on sex-ratio adjustment in humans.

scholarly journals KEBIJAKAN KRIMINAL TERHADAP TINDAK PIDANA POLIGAMI DIKAITKAN DENGAN SISTEM HUKUM PERKAWINAN INDONESIA

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ateng Sudibyo
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Government Regulation ◽  
Criminal Policy ◽  
Criminal Code ◽  
Criminal Offense ◽  
Criminal Sanctions ◽  
Polygamous Marriage ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Government ◽  
Polygynous Marriage

Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage basically adhere to the principle of monogamy. Although not essential to the principle of monogamy, there is still a polygamist who often take shortcuts to legalize polygynous marriage. Polygamous marriage act is a violation of Law No. 1 Year 1974 on Marriage, and Government Regulation No. 9 of 1975 on implementation of Law No. 1 Year 1974 on Marriage, although the threat of criminal sanction only published in the Government Regulation. Another case in the Criminal Code (KUHP), the sanction of polygamy as criminal action regulated in Article 279. Is the threat of criminal sanctions contained in the Criminal Code and Regulation No. 9 of 1975 in line with the values and ideals of community law in Indonesia? The purpose of this study is to determine the applicative policy for polygamy as criminal offense in marriages in Indonesia’s legal system and to formulate the concept of criminalisation policy for polygamous marriage act as criminal offense in the Indonesia’s legal system of marriage for the future. This is due to criminal sanctions in Article 279 of the Criminal Code and Law No. 1 of 1974 and Article 45 of Government Regulation Number 9 Year 1975, there is still a legal synchrony. The concept of future criminal polygamy criminal policies should apply the principle of ultimum remedium otherwise known as the “last drug”. Whatever the reason for the imposition of criminal punishment will still have a negative effect on the perpetrator and his family and will cause sociological and psychological implications if criminal sanctions are applied. In the legal state of Pancasila especially for the Muslims, the concept of marriage is a worship then it must be fostered, if there are deviations should not be destroyed by a criminal threat. Therefore, to overcome the criminal act of polygamy the need of a non penal criminal policy means, that is prevention without punishment.

scholarly journals Indigenous Polygyny in Dhofar. (Re-)Interpretations of Individual Options and Daring Delineations

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-35
Author(s):  
Annemarie Profanter ◽  
Stephanie Ryan Cate
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
First Century ◽  
Case Work ◽  
Polygynous Marriage ◽  
Digital Nature

Polygyny is widely practiced across Dhofar reflecting the resiliency of Islamic family law. However, as the country is accommodating transnational influences polygynous marital arrangements are undergoing changes. Drawing on qualitative data collected within a large-scale quantitative study comprising a sample of 1,192 respondents on polygyny in Dhofar 2004–2010, the entanglements between religious mores on and cultural practices of polygyny are discussed through individual case-work analysis. First, it is argued that polygynous marriage remains a pragmatic arrangement in the context of tribal relationships. Second, the tension in redefining gender roles is manifest primarily in this marital arrangement. Third, through cultural flow and technological, economic, and educational changes, re-interpretation of mating strategies are encompassing a slow shift from pragmatism to romanticism. The digital nature of communications and cultural identity acquisition in the twenty-first century continues to influence and guide the manifestations of change presented by the data that show the small but vital steps being made by men and women that are redefining and reinterpreting polygyny and society as a whole.

EFFECTS OF POLYGYNY AND CONSANGUINITY ON HIGH FERTILITY IN THE RURAL ARAB POPULATION IN SOUTH JORDAN

2003 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHUJI SUEYOSHI ◽  
RYUTARO OHTSUKA
Keyword(s):  
Marital Fertility ◽  
Fertility Rate ◽  
Natural Fertility ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Arab Population ◽  
Consanguineous Marriages ◽  
Interview Survey ◽  
Traditional Marriage ◽  
Polygynous Marriage ◽  
Marital Fertility Rate

Based on the authors’ interview survey for 608 randomly selected women of the rural Arab population in the South Ghor district of Jordan, this paper examined the effects of polygyny and consanguinity on high fertility, which was recognized as natural fertility. The prevalence of polygynous and consanguineous marriages was 28·0% and 58·1%, respectively, largely reflecting the population’s traditional marriage customs. The findings highlighted a significantly higher total marital fertility rate (TMFR) in the monogamous wives (10·5) than in the senior polygynous (8·1) and junior polygynous wives (8·6); the TMFR did not significantly differ among the wives of non-consanguineous, first-cousin and second-cousin marriages. The formation of polygynous marriage was decided by the husband, mostly as a result of his senior wife’s infecundity or sub-fecundity, and the age of the husband at marriage to his junior polygynous wife was high in many cases, leading to a decline in this wife’s fecundity.

Differentials of fertility between polygynous and monogamous marriages in rural Bangladesh

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kashem Shaikh ◽  
K. M. A. Aziz ◽  
A. I. Chowdhury
Keyword(s):  
Census Data ◽  
Diarrhoeal Disease ◽  
Socioeconomic Indicators ◽  
Rural Bangladesh ◽  
Age At Marriage ◽  
Disease Research ◽  
Registration Data ◽  
Fertility Differentials ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Polygynous Marriage

SummaryThis paper discusses polygynous marriages in rural Bangladesh, using marital status and birth registration data from the Demographic Surveillance System of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, for the period 1975–79. Of all the marriages recorded during this period about 5% were polygynous. To identify the women polygynously married, 1974 census data of the DSS area were used. The difference in age at marriage between the polygynous groom and his subsequent wife was 15 years on average. The socioeconomic indicators studied were education, occupation and area of dwelling space. In general, these indicators differentially influence polygynous marriage. The fertility differentials between women in monogamous marriages were significantly higher than between the women in polygynous unions.

scholarly journals No evidence that polygynous marriage is a harmful cultural practice in northern Tanzania

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (45) ◽  
pp. 13827-13832 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Lawson ◽  
Susan James ◽  
Esther Ngadaya ◽  
Bernard Ngowi ◽  
Sayoki G. M. Mfinanga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Policy ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Poor Child ◽  
Aggregated Data ◽  
Polygynous Marriage

Polygyny is cross-culturally common and a topic of considerable academic and policy interest, often deemed a harmful cultural practice serving the interests of men contrary to those of women and children. Supporting this view, large-scale studies of national African demographic surveys consistently demonstrate that poor child health outcomes are concentrated in polygynous households. Negative population-level associations between polygyny and well-being have also been reported, consistent with the hypothesis that modern transitions to socially imposed monogamy are driven by cultural group selection. We challenge the consensus view that polygyny is harmful, drawing on multilevel data from 56 ethnically diverse Tanzanian villages. We first demonstrate the vulnerability of aggregated data to confounding between ecological and individual determinants of health; while across villages polygyny is associated with poor child health and low food security, such relationships are absent or reversed within villages, particularly when children and fathers are coresident. We then provide data indicating that the costs of sharing a husband are offset by greater wealth (land and livestock) of polygynous households. These results are consistent with models of polygyny based on female choice. Finally, we show that village-level negative associations between polygyny prevalence, food security, and child health are fully accounted for by underlying differences in ecological vulnerability (rainfall) and socioeconomic marginalization (access to education). We highlight the need for improved, culturally sensitive measurement tools and appropriate scales of analysis in studies of polygyny and other purportedly harmful practices and discuss the relevance of our results to theoretical accounts of marriage and contemporary population policy.

Women’s strategies in polygynous marriage

Human Nature ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
Keyword(s):  
Polygynous Marriage
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