#fraternal polyandry

[wtf-fun-factss]

In rural Tibet, they practice a rare marital arrangement called fraternal polyandry. The woman marries multiple husbands who are all brothers. The practice has been illegal since 1981 but the nature of farming and ownership of farm land necessitates the marital practice. – WTF Fun Facts

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyandry_in_Tibet

[asukaskerian]

Do you know of any other fics/books/ect. that use the fraternal polyamory idea?

I really like how you've executed it in Cherry Wine and want to read more of the same theme!

alas i do not!

i got the idea from something i learned in passing in high school or a bit older idk about the way some families in... tibet? do things. how it was explained to me was that in the harsh mountains where they live (small plots of land, have to leave for work for long periods of time) it's easier/safer for several brothers to basically trade time with their common wife and kinda see all the kids as theirs since either they're their sons or their niblings anyway. i'm over forty so high school was a LONG time ago and researchers might understand it better now and my impression of it is totally wrong, but it was just such a cool concept that it stayed in the back of my head to play with.

anyway here's the wiki page that talks about it irl. it's short though. i have NO IDEA if novels do it and even less if other fanfics do it, though i did give my enthusiastic go ahead to someone who wanted to play with the idea a little while ago, so who knows.

[busco-un-alma]

Polyandry: When Brothers share a Wife by M. C. Goldstein.

I’m writing this review for my anthropology class about an article of Fraternal Polyandry in Tibetans communities and I just wrote something that I just… should keep it in my review?

"I know there’s places where a man can have more than one wife, but a woman having various husbands is weird and a little appealing, to be honest."

Of course the reason I say this is because I was picturing myself marrying The Jonas Brothers, One Direction, Jack and Finn or making a husband buffet out of the Youtubers.

[somethingexcessivelyphallic]

All I leaned in school today: The Jonas brothers still have one fan.

Guy I sit next to: Wait I don't get it. What is fraternal polyandry?

Our prof: It's when one woman marries a set of brothers. Just picture any three brothers you know. Bam, you're married to them.

Girl in back of class: The Jonas brothers!

[hutressdivine-blog]

WHAT IS POLYGAMY?

Polygamy divides into polyandry, when a woman has many partners, which is extremely rare, and polygyny, when a male has more than one wife. The latter one is much more common, which serves as an example of the power imbalance between the genders. In most cases polygyny expresses women’s subordination.

Here in Canada polygamy is actually illegal and a five-year prison term is a significant deterrent.  As I read in a CBC article the main reason for that is that, “polygamy forces child brides into the arms of manipulative men”. Fundamentalist Mormons are notorious for marrying underage girls, with a history of suspected coercion of women into marriage. In communities where polygyny is accepted perception of female gender role is such that it gives a woman little of opportunity to be anything more than a homemaker; it’s heavily based on the biological abilities of producing an offspring and is often tied into a religious context. There is no evidence to support that male dominance occured in egalitarian societies. As agriculture developed men started controlling food production more by means of working in the field, while women got their position in homemaking. (Anthropology: What Does It Mean to Be Human? R. Lavenda, E. Schultz)

  POLYGYNY

Examples of polygyny in Asia, Middle East and Africa are present. The idea of polygyny is not a practical one for many reasons. As a father, a man who has multiple wives, won’t be able to give attention to each and every one of his children. Studies of polygyny in Africa demonstrate that children from monogamous families tend to do better than the ones from polygynous. This kind of arrangement is financially burdening because of the sheer amount of individuals that a man has to provide for, but also because a portion of family resources will go towards attracting a next wives. Last but not least, not only polygyny creates a power struggle between males. Younger males who haven’t earned as much money or status yet remain single, and because of that get involved in crime.

  POLYANDRY

Some say that polyandry doesn’t work simply because men are territorial, but this is just a culturally constructed idea of male gender qualities. More often than not women in polygyny are captive of the situation and have no other choice but to accept their position. The rival between wives in polygynous relationships is a clear proof that women are just as “territorial” as men (Anthropology: What Does It Mean to Be Human? R. Lavenda, E. Schultz).

A practice of polyandry is found only in small communities of Tibet and India. It exists because of the practical reasons. For example in isolated village in the Himalaya fraternal polyandry is a traditional way of the family. Because of the mountainside location farms here are very small, so dividing the land among the sons is impossible. Polyandry is also a form of birth control, polyandrous families usually have no more than six or seven children. Even though their society is patrilinear the wife’s word is dominant in the household. As modernizing changes in the lifestyle are taking place the necessity for a shared wife is disappearing.

  To satisfy your curiosity about polygamy watch the following videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4yjrDSvze0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmvPMB1sc1M

  A great example of polyandry and matriarchy is found in Mosu tribe in China. The following video demostrates that polyandry and matriarchy do not guarantee women more power

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoTrARDa8BU

Polygamy and B.C. Mormons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UixdcBdOjNM

[everythinganthropology-blog]

Fraternal Polyandry in India.