Full transcript
0:01[Music]
0:02love makes the world go round writes the
0:05poet and certainly romantic love drives
0:07many aspects of culture around the world
0:10marriage is another
0:28matter
0:52[Music]
0:54[Applause]
0:58for
1:15in the United States romantic love is
1:17considered to be Central to marriage but
1:20in anthropological terms Love Is A
1:23Private Matter whereas marriage is
1:25intricately bound up in other social
1:28institutions
1:29[Music]
1:32marriage assigns sexual rights but these
1:34are defined in the context of many
1:36important social
1:38relationships in the name of the father
1:40and the son and of the Holy
1:43Spirit marriage is a social contract and
1:46its Customs reflect the economic needs
1:49of the group among the mouti pygmies of
1:52the aturi forest in Z Africa marriage
1:55and family Customs help to preserve the
1:57foraging way of life they have followed
1:59for thousand thousands of
2:00years marriage sets up economic
2:03obligations that extend far beyond the
2:05individuals being married that's why in
2:09many societies marriages are
2:11arranged among the mouti marriages are
2:14arranged while the bride and groom are
2:16still young the parents of a 10-year-old
2:18boy and an 8 and 1/2-year-old girl have
2:20decided the two will marry the maoui
2:23follow rules of exogamy which means they
2:26must marry outside the group or
2:28community exogamy establishes alliances
2:31between groups that provide Mutual
2:33access to foraging
2:36territories the bride will live with her
2:38husband's family in his
2:47village Orthodox Jews like most groups
2:50are exogamous in the sense that people
2:52must marry outside their own family
2:55however they follow the rules of
2:56endogamy in marriage for the group as a
2:59whole
3:00exogamy creates alliances endogamy
3:03underscores the unity of the group and
3:05helps conserve its traditions and wealth
3:08this young man and woman of Brooklyn New
3:10York were encouraged to choose a spouse
3:12from among their fellow Orthodox Jews
3:15the practice of endogamy helps them
3:16ensure the continuity of family and
3:18group
3:20Customs marriage also establishes
3:23economic contracts that support
3:25traditional ways of life the chukana of
3:28Northern Kenya are pastoralist
3:30and prosperity in their economy depends
3:32upon having many
3:35[Music]
3:41animals keeping cattle goats and camels
3:44requires a great deal of work migrating
3:46from place to place building temporary
3:48homes finding water holes and feeding
3:50grounds caring for the animals women do
3:54much of the work so if a man is to
3:56become wealthy and keep large numbers of
3:58animals he must must have more than one
4:03[Applause]
4:11wife among the turana polygamy allows a
4:14man to enhance his social status by
4:17controlling the labor and fertility of
4:19more than one
4:21[Music]
4:28wife
4:39foree
4:54[Applause]
4:58speee because a wife is an important
5:01part of the economy the turana like many
5:04other societies require bride price
5:07paying bride price is a custom in which
5:09the groom gives valuable animals or
5:11other Goods to the bride's family to
5:13compensate them for the loss of her
5:15labor and to prove that he is a man of
5:17social
5:18standing the bride price also
5:20compensates her family for loss of her
5:22fertility since her children will be
5:24members of her husband's family not her
5:27own in addition the ride price helps to
5:30emphasize and reinforce the alliance
5:32between King
5:36groups kongu has decided to marry his
5:38friend Lauren's daughter however his
5:41other wives had to agree to the marriage
5:44since it affects their wealth and
5:45Welfare also and because they will have
5:48to contribute animals to the bride
5:50[Applause]
5:58price
6:23[Music]
6:28for
6:34negotiating the bride price is both an
6:36opportunity to demonstrate one's
6:38oratorical skills and to shape future
6:40relations between the two families
6:43members of both families want to make
6:44sure their rights are
6:58recognized
7:12fore
7:22[Applause]
7:28for
7:58eventually the negotiation are settled
8:00and the marriage ceremony begins with
8:02the killing of the wedding ox and the
8:03blessing of the
8:05Bride she's expected to show sadness
8:08because she is leaving her family and
8:09the Carefree days of girlhood to take on
8:12the duties of a wife one of her
8:14responsibilities is to Bear children for
8:16her husband's King
8:28group marriage establishes the social
8:31identity of the children the turana are
8:33patrilineal a system of kinship in which
8:36descent is traced through the M line the
8:39wife's family will have no claim to her
8:41children and her children will be
8:42members of her husband's King group as
8:45the bride sets off with her new husband
8:47and his four other wives her relatives
8:50advise her not to look back longingly on
8:52the family she has left
8:58behind
9:14[Applause]
9:25[Applause]
9:27the Assante are natural
9:29which means children belong to their
9:31mother's King group The Sante women live
9:34in their husband's Village they also
9:36work hard in the marketplace selling
9:38fruits and vegetables to support their
9:41children because co-wives may be
9:43competitors Assante women often resist
9:46their husband's desire to take a new
9:58wife
10:17[Music]
10:28now
10:33Uber the plantain Queen Mother explains
10:36that a woman's attitude toward her
10:37co-wives depends on her feelings toward
10:39her
10:58husband
11:28whole
11:57for
11:59[Music]
12:27sir
12:42[Applause]
12:57feel
13:21all over the world marriage Customs are
13:23changing the me are horticulturalists
13:26who once lived in the highlands of Laos
13:29during the Vietnam war they were hired
13:31by the US military to help fight a
13:34Guerilla war after the war these men and
13:37many other people of Laos were forced to
13:40flee their homes to avoid retaliation by
13:42the new communist government they lived
13:45in refugee camps in Thailand and
13:47eventually many came to North America
13:49faay Finn is the first me bride in the
13:52United States to be married in a big
13:53traditional wedding the ceremony lasts 3
13:57days and nights we have
14:00I didn't know they would really have the
14:02big wedding I thought they were kidding
14:04my cousin told me they have the big
14:06wedding for you but I thought this
14:09country is really different from my
14:11country it does not have the banana tree
14:13or the big house for the big stove I
14:16didn't think they could do it I think
14:18they are kidding Faith in's wedding
14:21requires a large Financial investment by
14:23both families the elaborate headdress
14:26worn by the bride reflects both the
14:28social position of the families and the
14:30importance of the
14:35Bride a woman would be very proud to
14:38wear the
14:39headdress she knows this will only
14:42happen once in her life and it will make
14:45her
14:46famous people will say she is so good
14:49that they had the big ceremony for
14:52her now young women are getting lazy and
14:56they have lost their endurance for
14:57putting up with the ha
14:59tur that's why faith in is feeling
15:01unhappy at the moment in my day I didn't
15:05suffer at all I was used to
15:13it after they put the headdress on my
15:16head I couldn't sleep I just tried to
15:18get comfortable in the chair but I
15:21couldn't lie down in three days I slept
15:23maybe 1 hour but fa Finn has other
15:26reasons to feel sad about her marriage
15:29she dreads leaving her family my mom is
15:32very old and someday she will die if my
15:35mother dies nobody will take care of me
15:38I want to stay with my family but I
15:40don't think that they can take care of
15:41me for my whole
15:44life it is really sad for the man
15:48woman whenever the boy's parents engage
15:51you there's when you start worrying that
15:54soon you will have to belong to this
15:56other
15:57family
16:01she cannot tell whether the boy is going
16:02to be kind or mean she doesn't
16:07know that was probably what fa Finn was
16:10facing that
16:16morning traditionally me marriages are
16:19arranged by the
16:21parents she cannot change her mind later
16:24there's no divorce for man wom so it's
16:27sort of sad
16:29and she cries a lot thinking she's going
16:31to miss her family and she has to say
16:33goodbye to them marriage is important
16:36not only for the bride and groom but for
16:38their families as well marriage is an
16:40economic contract and it produces
16:42children that add to the strength of the
16:44king
16:57group
16:59me men are equally Bound by the
17:02decisions of their parents a tradition
17:04that can be frustrating to Young
17:06immigrants I Choy consoled himself for
17:09the grief of leaving his homeland by
17:11thoughts of the New Freedom he would
17:12have in the United States on his arrival
17:15he was shocked to discover he was
17:17engaged to marry F Yun a bride chosen
17:20for him by his parents when I got to the
17:23airport a friend of mine told me that my
17:25parent had engaged a girl for me I did
17:28not believe and I was not very happy you
17:31know I will come to people say
17:34everybody's shot right it's not that
17:36tall when I see him he's really tall I
17:41feel really strange I said I don't want
17:44to M him you know I just kind of get so
17:47mad I said oh you just want to sell me
17:50and try to make some money didn't you
17:52father my father said no I want you to
17:55get a good husband that guy is really
17:57smart you know you know he had a good
18:00education you should marry him I was
18:02expecting somebody more mature you know
18:05but when I first met her and she was you
18:08know just like a kid to me for me I
18:11would like somebody's more well educate
18:13people who can go to parties and you
18:16know go meet the friends so I don't have
18:18to be shamed he finally let them engage
18:21me and I was really sad you know I I I
18:26tell everybody I don't want to get I
18:28wish some place I can run away I don't
18:31want to disappoint my parents for my
18:34parents happiness I uh went ahead and
18:37get
18:39married because of the economic
18:41importance of marriage and the necessity
18:43of producing children to continue a king
18:45group young people in many societies
18:48have little say about whom they will
18:50marry in other cultures marriage Customs
18:53acknowledge the social obligations the
18:55union implies while allowing the
18:57marriage partner some freedom in
18:58choosing his
19:06[Music]
19:15[Music]
19:27spouse
19:29[Music]
19:39the Berber of Morocco are traditionally
19:42pastoralists at imach women find a
19:45husband by displaying themselves at a
19:47bride
19:53[Music]
19:57Market
20:01[Music]
20:07when a man and woman's eyes meet if she
20:09is interested she drops her
20:12veil a man signals his interest by
20:14taking a woman's hand if she is not
20:17interested she pulls her hand
20:19away the marriage may take place on the
20:21same
20:23day although physical attraction is the
20:25first indication of Interest particip in
20:28the bride Market are well aware that
20:30marriage involves more than
20:46[Music]
20:57sexuality
21:05for
21:07foreign speech foreign
21:12speech
21:24[Music]
21:27foreign
21:34[Music]
21:53[Music]
21:57spe
21:58[Music]
22:19the reluctance of women to assume the
22:21responsibilities of married life is
22:23reflected in the practice of bride
22:25capture still enacted in ritual in many
22:28parts of the world here a young woman in
22:31a village of Nepal expresses ambivalence
22:34toward her groom even though she has
22:36chosen him herself she alternately
22:39fights and allows herself to be led to
22:41his father's
22:53house the marriage is formalized by
22:55knocking the heads of bride and groom
22:57together
22:58[Music]
23:26fore
23:36[Music]
23:39the importance of the new alliance for
23:41Village Life is symbolized in the gifts
23:43presented to the newly married couple
23:46family members and others present
23:48scarves to honor and bless the
23:50union people give in order and amounts
23:53that reflect their kinship relation to
23:55the bride and groom as well as the giver
23:57sta status within the
24:07[Music]
24:15[Music]
24:26village
24:33in all parts of the world including
24:35North America family members are
24:37intensely interested in whom their
24:39children will marry and although North
24:41Americans emphasize romance and avoid
24:44talking about the economics of marriage
24:46traditional wedding Customs reflect the
24:48same issues expressed more directly in
24:50some other
24:52cultures the bride walks down the aisle
24:55on her father's arm he removes mes her
24:58hand from his arm and places it on the
25:00arm of the groom this reflects the
25:03patrilineal bias of the North American
25:05kinship and symbolizes transferring the
25:08bride's labor and fertility from her
25:10father's King group to that of the
25:12husband the bride wears white in this
25:15culture a symbol of virginity virginity
25:18is important in a patrilineal system
25:20because it helps to ensure that a
25:21woman's children will be her husband's
25:23biological children as well the brides
25:27family pays for the wedding a form of
25:29dowy in a dowery system the bride
25:32receives her share of her family's
25:33wealth at the time of her
25:38wedding weddings may look very different
25:41in various parts of the world but
25:43marriage everywhere has the same basic
25:46characteristics it establishes a social
25:48and economic contract it assigns sexual
25:51rights it defines the social identity of
25:54children and it sets up an alliance
25:56between kin groups
25:58[Music]
26:01Make the World Go Round a marriage that
26:04makes the social
26:10[Music]
26:17[Music]
26:21[Applause]
26:21[Music]
26:24world