Polygamy is both an ancient and modern form of marriage where a man or woman has multiple spouses. The technical definition leads to either polygyny, where a man is married to multiple wives, or polyandry, that is, a woman married to multiple husbands. We find the term polygamy being used in many cases to point to the former, as it is more well known than the others.
There are some important concepts to remember regarding this subject which has received much attention in the United States due to shows such as Sister Wives and Big Love, but is practiced openly by over 70% of the world's cultures.
In order to clear the fog about this issue we must delineate the reasons for polygyny's existence in times past and the present. Overall, polygyny is an economic issue that is in place in more traditional environments that focus on the survival of families, specifically women and children. Breaking this economy down further, we find polygyny exists for the following reasons:
(1) Build and maintain wealth in a family or community. It is much easier to amass currency and/or develop ideas and commerce with more hands on deck. Most polygynous families around the world are laborers on their own or the community's land, while other families have various domestic and marketplace duties working for the family business, a corporation, or other people in the area.
(2) Prevention of single motherhood. In some places the population of single mothers may increase due to divorce, warfare, or natural disasters. In traditional cultures outside the United States, which only has four percent of the world's population within its borders, remaining unmarried for lengthy periods of time brings dishonor to the woman. It is the same for men in places such as West Africa, where married men are honored and revered because they have proven themselves to have a stable home life.
(3) Larger numbers of available women of marrying age than men. Women are the dominant gender in most local regions worldwide, and this is more clearly seen once one travels to urban areas. When matched up in a 1:1 ratio more women of marrying age are still left in the open. In the United States this is seen as a normal state of being more so than in other parts of the globe where a higher marriage/low divorce rate exists.
(4) The desire of the wife, wives, or potential wives to engage in polygyny with a man of high caliber. Men who attract multiple women and have stable, joyful marriages are known for their integrity and ability to deal with women in a loving, non-abusive manner. This is the ideal, of course, and experienced polygynists have always stressed this point that the women must be treated fairly and with respect to avoid abuse and to maintain a shining reputation.
(5) The desire of a woman or group of women to have camaraderie with their co-wives. Western men and women believe such camaraderie can be found by hanging out with friends and blood relatives. However, Eastern cultures which spring from the most ancient people groups, tribes, and clans, married men and women are highly honored because family is believed to be the center of life and practice. These groups have a corresponding high marriage/low divorce rate and view an adult remaining unmarried for long periods of time as not having a solid root within the community. It is seen as a sign of immaturity and lack of responsibility, not one of freedom and independence as it is in the United States, Canada, and the UK.
By joining unto a family a woman has friends and companions within her own household, is able to educate and otherwise assist the children, instilling corporate family values instead of relying on public education, and has an emotional and physical support system in place. This is highly regarded among the 70% of the world's people who engage in polygyny.
These are just the main points addressed in every polygyny discussion I've had with various people across North America; it is seen as part of the culture at large in places such as India, China, and Tibet. With globalization, industrialization, and further colonial efforts by western social structures this is changing. However, it remains embedded in the psyche of millions of people worldwide.
Sources:
- Philip L. Kilbride. Plural Marriage for Our Times: A Revinvented Option? Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1994.
- Patricia Dixon-Spear. We Want for Our Sisters What We Want for Ourselves: African American Women Who Practice Polygyny by Consent. Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 2009.
- Miriam Koktvedgaard Zeitzen. Polygamy: A Cross-Cultural Analysis. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2008.
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