ANTH 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Dowry, Patrilineality, Exogamy
Document Summary
Marriage is a complex social institution that defines sexual partners, perpetuates social patterns through the birth of offspring, creates relationships between the kin of partners, and is symbolically marked. Marriage generally follows specific rules that govern who can marry whom based mostly on descent. This is partially, but not entirely, biological marks genetic relationships. Generally, one can marry affines, but cannot marry consanguines. In african groups, cross-cousin marriage maintains alliances and balances reciprocity between lineages. Marriage distinguishes between marrying within or outside a specific social group: endogamy marriage within a defined social group, exogamy marriage outside a defined social group. Males are marrying women outside their patrilineage exogamy. But, males are marrying women within their matrilineage endogamy. In general, exogamy promotes gene flow between groups. In most societies, there are general patterns of residence after a couple are married. Patrilocal post-marital residence pattern in which a couple lives with the husband"s father.
