Polygamy
Polygamy is a type of marriage in which a person is allowed to be married to several individuals at the same time. It comes from the Greek πολύς (polís) and γάμος (gámos) "many marriages". It includes both polygyny and polyandry. Despite the fact that Western law only recognizes polygamy as a group of monogamous marriages that have a spouse in common, the existence of polygamous marriages is commonly accepted in other social sciences, especially those such as the anthropology of kinship. documented very extreme cases of polygamous practice. From the anthropological point of view, not all polygamous families incorporate polygamous marriages, so that, strictly speaking, the number of truly polygamous societies is quite small. Some examples of polygamous societies include Islamic nations, where the law establishes that polygamous marriage can only exist on condition of the acceptance of a man's co-wives.
It is not considered that there is polygamy, when in the relationship there is no established bond, but casual sexual relations, orgies, overnight stays, love affairs, prostitution, partner exchange, etc.
Types of polygamy
Polygyny and polyandry
Polygamy is the anthropological term, which can be either polygyny (one male with multiple females) or polyandry (one female with multiple males). Historically, both practices have been found, but polygyny appears to be much more prevalent than polyandry. Of the 1,170 human societies studied by George P. Murdock in his Ethnographic Atlas, polygyny appears in 850 of them, that is, in 72%. However, the terms polygyny and polyandry today seem insufficient to describe contemporary relationships where there are equal numbers of males and females.
The most famous example of polyandry occurs in the Hindu epic Maha Bhárata, where the five Pandava brothers marry a common wife, Draupadī. Today this is seen in tribes all over India, where it is sometimes customary for several brothers to have the same wife. In this context, the practice attempts to keep land ownership within the family. Tribes like the Hunza also present a similar polyandry.
Polyamory
The term polyamory means having more than one intimate, simultaneous, loving, sexual relationship, with the full knowledge and consent of all the people involved. While any polygamous relationship could be considered polyamorous, the reverse is not the case, as a polyamorous relationship could exist between only two people. In another sense, the term polygamy is used more often to codify forms of multiple relationships that have a religious or traditional basis and a pre-established normativity, while in polyamory, the relationship is defined by its members rather than by cultural or social norms..
Group marriage
Group marriage or marriage circle is a form of marriage or relationship in which several people form a family unit, and all members of the marriage share parental responsibility for any children that arise from the bond.
Polygamy and religion
Judaism
Although classical Jewish literature indicates that polygamy (of the polygyny type) is permitted, in Judaism this practice is rejected. The first was Ashkenazi Jewry, followed by Rabbenu Gerspaulomhom.
Christianity
The Greco-Roman society in which Christianity developed was — formally at least — monogamous, although the Old Testament clearly showed that some Biblical patriarchs were polygamous[citation needed]. Christian teaching establishes as a family model, the one composed according to the original order established in Genesis 2.24.
Catholicism
Currently, the Catholic Church condemns polygamy in its catechism, pointing out that it is contrary to conjugal love, which would be indivisible and exclusive.
Lutherans
During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther advised Philip of Hesse-Kassel, that although in his opinion the Bible did not oppose polygyny, he should try to keep his second marriage secret to avoid scandals. The radical Anabaptists of Münster practiced polygyny, but with minimal influence after the defeat of the Munster Rebellion in 1535. However, other Protestant leaders, including John Calvin, condemned polygamy. Thus, polygamy did not survive long in some currents of Protestantism.
Mormonism
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The history of polygamy among Mormons begins with Joseph Smith, who claimed to have been instructed by revelation on July 17, 1831 that specifically chosen Mormon men were to practice plural marriage. This was later published in the book Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Despite Smith's revelation, the 1835 edition of the 101st section of the aforementioned book, written after it was begun to practice the doctrine of plural marriage, publicly condemned polygamy. These writings were used by John Taylor in the 1850s to quell rumors of polygamy in Liverpool. Polygamy was outlawed in the state of Illinois during the Nauvoo era (1839–1844), after some of the most important Mormon leaders, including Smith, Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball took multiple wives. Mormon elders who had publicly declared that all men could practice plural marriage were severely disciplined. On June 7, 1844, the newspaper Nauvoo Expositor criticized Smith for his defense of polygamy. After the latter's death at the hands of a mob on June 27, 1844, most Mormons left Nauvoo following Brigham Young to Utah, where they continued to practice plural marriage.
In 1852, Brigham Young, second President of the Church, publicly acknowledged the practice of polygamy in a sermon that was followed by other homilies by Mormon leaders extolling the virtues of the practice. Controversy ensued when polygamy became a social cause, and writers began publishing condemning articles. One of the main points of the Republican ideology in 1865 was "to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism: polygamy and slavery". In 1862, the 37th Congress passed the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act, which made polygamy illegal. in all organized Territories incorporated by the United States. Mormons considered plural marriage protected by the Constitution, but the Supreme Court ruled that the legal principle prevailed that laws may interfere with religious practices, but not religious opinions and beliefs.
The gradual tightening of laws in the US induced some Mormons to emigrate to Canada and Mexico. In 1890, then-Church President Wilford Woodruff issued a statement (the "1890 Manifesto") announcing that the church had stopped practicing plural marriages. In 1904, hearings in the case of Senator Reed Smoot documented that Mormons continued to practice polygamy, prompting the Church to issue a second manifesto denying it again. By 1910, the Mormon Church excommunicated members who performed plural marriages. Even so, many previous polygamous marriages continued to cohabit until the death of the spouses.
The application of the 1890 manifesto caused several splinter groups to leave the Church to continue practicing polygamy. Today polygamy still persists in Utah and other neighboring states, as well as in splinter colonies. Polygamous churches of Mormon origin are often referred to as Mormon fundamentalists, even though they are no longer part of the Mormon Church. These fundamentalists often take an alleged 1886 revelation to John Taylor as the basis for continuing to practice plural marriage. The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper claimed in 2005 that there were at least 37,000 fundamentalists, and less than half they lived in polygamous households.
On December 13, 2013, US Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in Brown v. Buhman that the sections of Utah's anti-polygamy laws that prohibit multiple cohabitation were unconstitutional, but also allowed the ban on issuing licenses for polygamous marriages to be upheld. Outlawing multiple domestic partnerships has been the primary tool for prosecuting polygamy in Utah since the Edmunds Act of 1882 was passed, as Prosecutors do not have to prove that there was a wedding, only that the couple cohabited.
Islamic
Muslim polygamy (of the polygyny type), in practice and in law, differs substantially throughout the Islamic world. While in some Muslim countries polygyny is commonplace, in many others, it is often rare or non-existent. While Muslim polygyny can be found primarily in traditional Arab cultures, such as Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, it is extremely rare or even prohibited in secular Arab states such as Lebanon and Tunisia or in non-Arab Muslim countries such as Turkey and Malaysia..
In Muslim countries where polygyny occurs, there are certain fundamental principles common to most of them. According to the tradition of Islamic law, a man can take up to four wives, but each of them must have the property, goods and dowry from her. Wives usually have little contact with each other and lead separate lives in their own homes, sometimes in different cities, even though they share the same husband. Thus, Muslim polygyny is traditionally restricted to wealthy men, and in some countries it is illegal for a man to marry multiple wives if he is unable to provide them with proper care. In such Muslim countries where polygyny is common and legal, polygamous Muslims live, to a large extent, openly to the rest of their society.
Hinduism
In Hinduism, polygamy (of the polygyny type) has been practiced since ancient times. Hinduism does not prohibit polygyny but it does not encourage it either. Historically, in practice only kings were polygamous (i.e. Emperor Vijanagar, Krishnadevaraya). At present, polygamy is prohibited under the laws of India, especially under the provisions relating to Hindu marriage. Not so in Bhutan, where polygamy is permitted. However, Muslims in India are allowed to have multiple wives. As of October 2004, Muslims and Hindus are treated differently in law. There have been attempts to propose a uniform marital law that treats everyone equally, regardless of their religion.
Other traditions
Sub-Saharan Africa
Restricted to polygyny, it has typically been practiced by wealthy minorities and ruling classes. Traditionally the wives each own their home or room separated from it in the common compound of the family, in such a situation the first wife has pre-eminence in the house. Marriage with a second wife is customary in case of sterility of the first. Polygyny spread extraordinarily, as a strategy to ensure generational change, during the slave trade period (15th to 19th centuries) due to the slaveholders' preference for men and the high male mortality due to internal wars. Currently, the urbanization and Christianization of most of Africa south of the Sahara are cornering polygyny, which is frowned upon in Westernized social circles. Likewise, the use of contraceptives is subtracting arguments from the idea that polygyny is a way of granting recognition to children that they would have out of wedlock anyway.
Nahuas from Veracruz (Mexico)
The Nahuatl ethnic group that inhabits the Sierra Zongolica, in the state of Veracruz, customarily free or consensual union, and in some cases the marriage proceeds at some later time. Polygyny is common, where the parties live in the same residential space, and the children are educated as brothers.
North American Indians
Patricia Albers, director of the area of Native American Studies (at the University of Minneapolis) points out that polygyny was a widespread practice among Native American tribes. Group marriages existed among the Dakota (from Minnesota), the Ojibway (from northern Wisconsin), the Mesquakia (from Iowa), the Shoshone, the Paiute, the Utes, and the Navajo (from the highland west), and the Hochunk..
In the original North American ethnic groups, polygyny was not a sign of subordination, since women had an equal position with men (although polyandry was prohibited) and rather had a sense of solidarity. Women had equal responsibility, not only with their children but also with those of their sisters, for which reason the most common practice was sororal polygyny (where the sisters shared the same husband). It was also a common practice, when the wife died in a couple, for the sister to marry her husband to protect any children she had.
Central Asia
Before the penetration of Buddhism in the area, polygamy (of the polyandry type) was common in Tibet, the Hindu Kush and adjacent areas.[citation needed]
According to certain Chinese sources, the Xiongnu, ancestors of the Huns, also practiced polyandry. The Huns must have lost this practice early, perhaps beginning their westward migration in the 1st or 2nd century. It is likely that when they invaded Persia, polyandry was no longer common among them. The Huns who invaded Europe in the 4th century onwards practiced polygamy again, but this time of the polygyny type.
The case of Paraguay
The conquest of Paraguay was favored because the Spaniards who arrived in that area together with the conquistador Martínez de Irala, decided to accept the women that the natives gave them as a seal of alliance. This is how the city of Asunción was founded, where the conquerors kept their harems. In Paraguay, at the end of the bloody war that confronted this country with Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay between 1865 and 1870, there was a significant shortage of men of reproductive age (it is estimated that 90% of them died in the conflict). Therefore, the government, in order to favor the increase of the country's population, decided to adopt a policy known as free love. That is, polygyny was favored, based on the fact that, in some cases in rural areas, the proportion of the population of men in relation to women was approximately one in fifty; Had a condemnatory opinion been held regarding the polygamous phenomenon, this situation would probably never have been resolved. Naturally, these events led to a revaluation of the role of women in Paraguayan society. She became head of the household, in addition to her dedication to her children and her home. It is good to clarify that this almost matriarchal organization, with more or less nuances, continues to be maintained today in the society of that country.
Legality
Laws in most Western countries with Christian influences do not recognize polygamous marriage. However, very few of those countries have laws against polygamous lifestyles; they simply refuse to acknowledge it. However, in the United States and Canada, polygamy is allowed in some states. The South African Constitution admits choosing the polygamy regime at the time of marriage.
Bigamy
Bigamy is a legal term that refers to when a person enters into any number of "secondary" marriages in addition to one that is legally recognized and punishable by jail time. Many countries have specific statutes that prohibit bigamy, and consider any secondary marriage a crime.
Bigamy is fundamentally based on a second marriage, when the person is already married.
Multiple divorce and marriage for polygamy
A very small minority of polygamous families use a system of multiple divorces and one legal marriage. The husband marries the first wife, she takes her last name, divorces her and marries the second, she takes her last name. This is repeated until the husband has married and divorced all but perhaps the last wives. In this way, all wives feel justified in calling themselves ma'am (husband's last name), and even when they are legally divorced from their husband, they act as if they were married to him and expect the people around them to recognize them as such. In the case of polyandry, the woman is the one who gets divorced consecutively.
Since only one wife is married to the husband at a time, there is no legal breach, and thus, this polygamous family can cope with their relationship. A recent case in the state of Utah, where the husband tried to take advantage of it to defraud the pension system (even living with all his wives) has had repercussions in jurisprudence censuring this practice.
Biology
In biology, polygamy refers to animals that have sexual activities with more than one individual. It can be polygyny (one male and more than one female) or polyandry (one female and more than one male). There are examples of all of these types in a variety of animals from numerous taxa.
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