The Progression Of Marriage Within South Asia

Marriage is described as two people as partners in a personal relationship. There are two typical ideas of marriage that we know today. The first one that comes to mind is the one we all know, based on love, but there is another one that some may not even know of and its arranged marriages. Arranged marriage is not typically in our culture we know but in different cultures arranged marriages are their normal marriage. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the importance of realizing cultural diversity and how we apply the perspectives we gain from cross-cultural comparison to our own experience using central concepts about marriage to compare and contrast marriage in several cultures.

Marriage practices vary across cultures. Every culture has its own way of conducting marriage according to their traditions and customs. Most cultures share common customs and practices, while some cultures have unique practices. Marriage refers to a social union agreed upon by the couples to unit as spouses. The union of couples implies sexual relations, permanence in union, and procreation. This research paper focuses on comparing marriage practices in American and Indian culture. There is significant difference between the two cultures in marriage practices.

Yet in America, it is quite different. As stated by Paul Hockings, the Indian culture believes that a woman must obey the men in their lives in a certain order. For instance, a woman should obey her father first, next her husband, and finally her son. The head male of the family, whether it is the father, husband, or son is in charge of the entire family. The head male is also important in arranging marriages. The head male of the family, has to compensate or receive compensation at the time of a child’s marriage. In the Indian culture, the primary purpose of a marriage is to bring families together. It is usually not done out of love or romance. If a marriage is not approved or arranged by the parents involved, then the act is frowned upon. In America, marriages are not typically arranged and people do not receive compensation during a

Established with Adam and Eve, still surviving, marriage is the oldest institution known. Often the climax of most romantic movies and stories, whether it may be ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or ‘Dil Wale Dulhaniya Ley Jaein Gey’, marriage has a universal appeal. It continues to be the most intimate social network, providing the strongest and most frequent opportunity for social and emotional support. Though, over the years, marriage appears to be tarnished with high divorce rates, discontentment and infidelity, it is still a principal source of happiness in the lives of respective partners. Although marriage is perceived as a deeply flawed institution serving more the needs of the society than those of the individuals, nevertheless, marriage is

Marriage is an essential contract between a husband and a wife. In the past, marriages were arranged between relatives and the parents of the couple were the main leads in discussing the ceremony.

What is the definition of marriage? Over the years, the word marriage has been challenged from its current definition as listed in Merriam-Webster 's Dictionary as an act of marrying or being married between a man and a woman. Marriage can also be defined in the Oxford Dictionary as the formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife. The word marriage becomes a special type of bond between two people that share the same desire to become the other person’s life partner. Marriage can be challenging between two people based on their current government state laws, in their religious and cultural beliefs as well as challenging to the word to be defined

Soon after a girl hits puberty, she is considered ready for marriage. Marriages were almost always arranged by the families of the bride and

Girls all over the world are forced into marriages due to financial necessity, tradition and to ensure their future. Most of these girls married are at a young age: “One third of the world’s girls are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15”( “Child Marriage Facts and Figures”). The young ages of those being married reveal how crucial it is to resolve this problem. When child marriage occurs the parents of the bride usually chose the groom for their daughters; and these grooms can be three times older than the young brides. Some children are brought into the world of marriage at the of 8 or sometimes less depending on their cultural views. The following can be used to help reduce the impact of early

Marriage is a ritual that marks a change in status for a man and a woman and the acceptance by society of the new family that is formed (Rosman & Rubel, 1981). Marriage, like other customs, is governed by rules (Rosman & Rubel, 1981). Anthropology has represented marriage as the definitive ritual and universally translatable regulative ideal of human societies (BORNEMAN, 1996). Marriage also the act of joining two persons of opposite sex together to become as husband and wife. Many people in the society have different opinions or outright misconception of the meaning of marriage. While some people see it as a union between a man and woman, others take it to mean an agreement made between a man

Couples who dare cross the social conventions have to cope with a lot of social pressure within their families and outside. These problems are more acute in the rural areas compared to the urban areas and metropolitan cities. Much depends upon the family background. If parents are educated and enlightened on both sides, things would be easier for the children, who get involved in unconventional relationships. One of the evils of Hindu marriages is the ubiquitous dowry system.

If they were to meet each other without the parent’s permission, it is considered as bad manner and bad upbringing. In India, the average age to marry is 24 years old for the males and 22 to 23 years old for the females. Indian weddings are usually the longest wedding, which are held in the night time in a huge wedding hall, that includes many different rituals which are performed in front of the God and the couple promise’s each other that they will be together in a sad or a happy moment, no matter what will be the results. Even though wedding has the same meaning in every culture, the way of celebration and ceremony is different. According to iloveindia.com, the ceremony in India is about the priest, groom, bride, and bride’s parents sit beneath a mandap, and a canopy. The wedding ceremony starts off with the Kanya Daan, in which the bride’s parents give away the bride’s hand to the groom with all her responsibility. Then the couple holds hands together and start circling around a small, enclosed fire in a ritual called the mangal phera for seven times by taking a seven oaths together to spend a rest of the life to live as a one soul. The seven steps around the enclosed fire, is the vow to support each other and live happily together. Finally, the groom will apply a red powder to the center of the bride’s forehead and tie a black beaded necklace around her neck, symbolizing

In American culture the view on arranged marriages are not looked at very favorably. This is because we have grown up with the knowledge that when it comes time to marry we will have chosen our spouse of our own free will. The match will be a love match and one that is chosen through our own needs. Young men and women in India grow up with an opposite view on marriage. They know that when it comes time to marry their parents will find them a suitable mate and it will be considered scared and a lifelong commitment (Agence France-Presse.) A total of 74 percent of respondents from across India voted in favour of traditional "arranged" marriages, according to the poll by private television channel NDTV. In the Hindu faith, marriage is

Depending on the parents, qualifications can consist of areas such as age, physical features, beliefs, occupation and much more. For example, in one situation, a sister and brother-in-law invited correspondences from North Indian professionals only and preferred that the man be an immigrant doctor who was between 26-29 years, for their relative. (Nanda 623). Sometimes the bride and groom will meet one time for a brief conversation, but in most cases the bride and groom’s first appearance of each other is at their wedding (Nanda 624). However, some parents are becoming more lenient in this area and allowing their son or daughter to meet at least one time before making any final marital arrangements to see if the two individuals are in agreement to get married to one another. This is not like a date in the United States where a couple goes out to dinner and to a movie and hangs out. This is more like a formal meeting, chaperoned by a guardian. It is sometimes classified as “having tea” together. As Americans, we probably think this is an absurd way of getting married but those in India find arranged marriages by their parents very satisfying and a better way to choose a spouse.

Arranged marriages are set up by friends and family, and sometimes by a matchmaker that sets up the marriage. But the bride’s father has the most responsibility in arranging marriage for his daughter, and is the one who approaches the father of a potential bridegroom. Important aspects when considering a possible match are financial status, caste, and the bride and bridegrooms horoscopes matching. The role of astrology is important, and if a Hindu priest finds that the horoscopes of the potential spouses do not match, they will not marry, and must begin the search all over again (Livermore, 2009). India’s view of marriage first and then love is very different from the Western view where love comes before marriage, seems to be successful. The

Cultural and socioeconomic factors that reinforce child marriage differ from region to region. Where one lives within a country may strongly influence whether or not she will marry early. In India the highest rates of child marriage is concentrated in five states: Madhya Pradesh at 73%, Andhra Pradesh at 71%, Rajasthan at 68%, Bihar at 67 % and Uttar Pradesh at 64%. The median age of marriage in India is 16.4 years according to the National Family Health Survey. [8]It also found that 65% of girls are married by the time they are 18. There are many reasons why child marriage occurs but they can be put into two general categories. The first one is based on social norms, customs and religion. Virginity in India is very important. If one is raped, it is hard for her to be married. “As Vatsayyana said a couple millennia ago that a virgin bride is important, even if people don’t talk about it openly”.[1] Therefore, the younger the bride the more likely it is that she’ll be a virgin and so marrying off the daughter as young as possible, the faster the end of the parent’s responsibility to keep her a virgin.