Polyandry
In social anthropology and sociobiology, polyandry (Greek: poly many, andros man) means a female forming a stable sexual union with more than one male. Polyandry is the specific form of polygamy in which a woman is married to more than one husband simultaneously. On the other hand, polygyny is when a man has multiple wives, which is by far the more common form of polygamy.
Polyandry is extremely rare, being found in very few places on earth or historically. The form of polyandry in which two (or more) brothers marry the same woman is known as fraternal polyandry, and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered form.
Polyandry in nature
Behavioral ecology
In the field of behavioral ecology polyandry is a type of breeding adaptation in which one female mates with many males. It is the converse of polygyny in which one male mates with many females. This is a very common system found in many species some of which are lions, deer, primates and especially systems where there is an alpha male.
A common example of polyandry is found in the Field Cricket Gryllus bimaculatus of the invetebrate order Orthoptera (containing crickets, grasshoppers and groundhoppers). The unusual thing about polyandry is that mating is costly: in other words, why mate with more than one male when you could be better spending your time foraging? Females in this species will mate with any male close to them, including siblings. Possible explanations for polyandry evolving in this species include: it is easier to ensure reproductive success females may be encouraging sperm competition between males, females may be getting food rewards from the males for allowing copulation to occur, and, because males can't be sure if they are or aren't their offspring and won't risk destroying their own DNA, mating with multiple males increases the survival of the female's offspring.
Polyandry also occurs in some primates (eg, marmosets), other mammal groups (eg, the marsupial mouse species Antecchinus), some bird species (in around 1% of all bird species, eg, superb fairy wrens) and insects (such as honeybees).
Sociobiology
The term has been taken over into sociobiology, where it refers, analogously, to a mating system in which one female forms more or less permanent bonds to more than one male. It can take two different forms. In one, typified by the Northern Jacana and some other ground-living birds, the female takes on much the same role as the male in a polygynous species, holding a large territory within which several males build nests, laying eggs in all the nests, and playing little part in parental care. In the other form, typified by the Galápagos Hawk, a group of two or more males (which may or may not be related) and one female collectively care for a single nest. The latter situation more closely resembles typical human fraternal polyandry.
These two forms reflect different resource situations: polyandry with shared parental care is more likely in very difficult environments, where the efforts of more than two parents are needed to give a reasonable chance of rearing young successfully.
Honeybees are said to be polyandrous because a queen typically mates with multiple males, even though mating is the only interaction that they have (the males go off and die, and the queen goes off and makes lots of babies, using stored sperm for those eggs that she fertilizes). This is similar to the domestic housecat that mates with multiple males, and her eggs will be fertilized by multiple partners in any one litter but where the males usually have nothing to do with his mate afterwards or the care of the newborn.
Polyandry in primates
Polyandry in primates and other mammals is very rare and usually correlated with reduced or reverse sexual dimorphism. When males of a species are much larger than females, polygyny is usually practiced. As size difference decreases, or the females are larger than males, a species is more likely to practice monogamy or polyandry. The non-human great apes (gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees) are highly dimorphic and practice polygyny. Male and female gibbons (lesser apes) are similar in size and form monogamous pairs. Human males and females are less dimorphic in body size than other polygynous great apes, and are often monogamous.
Current research suggests that Polyandry is the dominant social structure in a subfamily of New World monkeys called Callitrichids, which include Tamarins, Marmosets, and other [[monkeys.
Some New World monkeys, such as the Callimicos, have been observed living in polyandrous groups. Although groups may contain more than one female, the dominant female suppresses ovulation in subordinates, causing her to be the only one capable of reproduction. A Callimico female regularly births more than one offspring, and her eggs are separately fertilized by more than one male. Paternal investment is high in Callimicos, and males often carry infants on their backs, even when they are not the father. It has been suggested that multiple male mates were related, and therefore cooperation in caring for each other's young is adaptive; however, researchers tagged and tracked Callimicos over time, and noticed that unrelated males migrated to new groups to cooperate with non relatives as well as with relatives to care for young. It has also been suggested that females select cooperative males, and that the multiple offspring of Callimicos require paternal care for survival.
Human occurrence
Polyandry is the least frequent system of marraige and/or stable mating relationships within human society. George P. Murdock’s World Ethnographic Sample, recorded only four societies where polyandry is practiced, in less than 1% of the world's total societies. When it is practiced between brothers, it is called fraternal polyandry. If not, it is non-fraternal polyandry.
Polyandry in Religion
Islam bans polyandry completely. A woman may not have more than one husband. However, polygyny is allowed for men so that they can marry up to four wives as long as they are able take care of them and love them equally.
Both Judaism and Christianity prohibit polyandry, yet it was practiced to a limited degree in early Mormonism. Plural marriage.
There is at least one reference to polyandry in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. Draupadi marries the five Pandava brothers. This ancient text remains largely neutral to concept of polyandry, accepting this as her way of life.
In the rare instances polyandry occurs, it seems to be more driven by local unique concerns than related to anything religious.
Polyandrous society
Among the Toda in Tibet, polyandry is fraternal and it seems there is no distinction in paternity with all children being treated the same. This is the society with the best documentation. They say this limits the number of children in a harsh area and helps avoid disputes of property inheritance. The Toda also practiced female infanticide which limited the number of available females.
It is extremely rate to see them replicate polyandrous relationships in the refuge camps in India where many live as they fled the Chinese take over of Tibet in 1950. In Tibet, which is the most well-documented cultural domain within which polyandry is practiced, the testimony of certain polyandrists themselves is that the marriage form is difficult to sustain. In Tibet polyandry has been outlawed, which means that it is difficult to measure the incidence of polyandry in what may have been the world's most "polyandrous" society.
Perhaps the next best documented society that had polyandry was the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. They euphemistically referred to the practice as 'eka-ge-kema' or 'eating in one house.' It is no longer legal, though it is possible that it may still be surviving in some remote areas. It did not occur in the Aryan tribes in the Vedic age, but only among the non-Aryan or Pandavas. They are related to tribes where the Toda are, and they are documented as having arrived from the north, so it is possible that the practice was brought from there. The earlies documentation is from a queen of the region in the 14th century where we find her calling herself the chief consort of the two brother kings named Perakumba.
Every aspect that is recorded is remarkably similar to the better known Tibetan form of polyandry.
Controversy
Polyandry is a very rare form of marriage. It is possible the norm of humanity is monogamy, as over time most the world has come to accept this as the best way to form relationships, rear children, and participate in society.
Among anthropologists, polyandry is a controversial subject. It is so rare, it is very hard to be studies and understood with any statistical reliability. In many parts of the world, most traditional societies have been drastically altered or destroyed, so the incidence of polyandry in the past may not be accurately known.
Pennsylvania anthropologist Stephen Beckerman points out that at least 20 tribal societies accept that a child could, and ideally should, have more than one father, referring to it as "partible paternity". Where this idea comes from, and if it refers to polyandry is possible, but very hard to verify and remains unknown.
The studies of Prince Peter of Greece (Polyandry and the kinship group. 1955) who studied information on the polyandry of the Kandyan Sinhalese, the Kerala Tiyyans and the Tibetans and concluded that there existed a greater unity and solidarity of sibling groups among those practicing fraternal polyandry. He also emphasised the economic function of polyandry which intensified this unity and solidarity.
In retrospect, it must be considered that these situations represent very unique situations, and these benefits are marginal at best. The potential harm seems much greater, as disputes over paternigy and social disorder are some of the strongest arguments mocern society has brought to bear on the arguement.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Peter, Prince of Greece, A Study of Polyandry, The Hague, Mouton, 1963 OCLC: 804468
www.understanding-islam.com
- Ember, Carol R., Melvin Ember. 2004. Eleventh edition "Cultural Anthropology" New Jersey: Pearson, Prentis Hall ISBN 0-13-111636-3
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