The idea of marriage is an old one and almost everyone has in idea of what it is to him or her. Nevertheless, if you ask different people around the world what marriage means to them, they will almost defiantly tell you a slightly different definition then your own. The concept of the marriage is different between one culture to another. In one person's mind, a marriage could be a symbol of endless love brought together by a ceremony. However, to another person the marriage concept is a business exchange so one can more wealth. Chapters "When Brother Share a Wife", "African Polygyny", "Law, Custom, and Crimes Against Women" in the book Applying Cultural Anthropology discussion this issue of marriage. They also talk about a few kinds of marriages and put them into different categories. Finds how different nations rely on these marriages to stay economyly stable. And to find out why these marriages are still here today.
In the chapter "When Brothers Share a Wife" they discussion the concept of marriage that is common in Tibetan called Fraternal polyandry. Unlike monogamy where one man marries one woman, fraternal polyandry is a type of marriage that has two or more men jointly take a wife. Generally, this marriage is arranged by the parents with the rest of the family members having little say in it. One reason why the Tibetans still use fraternal polyandry is materialistic one. For example if one does not, want the family farm to be divided up he might marry his brother wife to keep it in the family. Also, the wife would be happy for the fact that she has more then one husband plus any children that she might have to work for her. However, there might be advantages to fraternal polyandry there are disadvantages. Like the fact of sharing one wife and many times the wife chooses favorites like in sex. The wife tends to favor the oldest brother and treat the youngest brother as if he is immature.
