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According to the number of spouses, there are three major types of marriage viz.
Monogamy: Monogamy is a Greek derivative of “Monos” – ‘one or alone’ and “gamos” – marriage or union.Monogamy is a marriage between one male and one female that is it is a form of marriage in which one woman is married to one man at a time. It is the ideal form of marriage, universally approved and widely practiced in India. Among the Hindus, until the passing of the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, a Hindu man was permitted to marry more than one woman at a time. After Independence, the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 established monogamy for all Hindus and others who came to be governed by this Act. Monogamy is reported to be of two types:
- Strict Monogamy: In this type of marriage, a person is married only once in his or her life that is a person has only one spouse per lifetime. It means the divorcee or widow/widower don’t remarry.
- Serial Monogamy: In this type of marriage, a person may have several spouses over life time but only one at a given period of time. This is also called as ‘modified polygamy’.
There are also several specialised types of monogamous marriages that involve cousins viz.
- Cross Cousin Marriage: A cross cousin is a cousin from a parent's opposite-sexed sibling. So, a cross cousin is the child of the mother's brother (maternal uncle's child) or of the father's sister (paternal aunt's child). Cross cousin marriage rules per se are specified from a male perspective. Thus, cross-cousin marriage is the marriage of a man with his mother’s brother’s daughter or father’s sister’s daughter or a relative who is simultaneously his mother's brother's and father's sister's daughter. It is of following types:
- Matrilateral Cross Cousin Marriage: It occurs when a man marries his mother’s brother’s daughter. Continued over a number of generations, this eventually forms a circle where everyone is connected to each other. In Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, matrilateral cross-cousin marriage is especially favored.
- Patrilateral Cross Cousin Marriage: It occurs when a man marries his father’s sister’s daughter. Continued over a number of generations, this eventually forms a circle where everyone is connected to each other. Patrilateral cross-cousin marriage is observed among the Paraiyars and other castes/tribes of Tamil Nadu.
- Bilateral Cross Cousin Marriage: It occurs when a man marries a girl who is simultaneously his mother's brother's and father's sister's daughter. It also occurs when men marry each other’s sisters. The practice of marrying each other’s sisters is seen in Yanomamo of the Amazon and also in Australia.
- Parallel Cousin Marriage: A parallel cousin (or ortho-cousin) is a cousin from a parent's same sex sibling. So a parallel cousin is the child of the father's brother (paternal uncle's child) or the mother's sister(maternal aunt's child). Parallel cousin marriage is the marriage of a person with his father’s brother’s child or mother’s sister’s child. It is also further subdivided into:
- Matrilateral Parallel Cousin Marriage: It occurs when children of two sisters marry each other. It is prevalent among several communities of Madras, Tamil Nadu and Maharastra.
- Patrilateral Parallel Cousin Marriage: It occurs when children of two brothers marry each other. This type of marriage serves to preserve wealth within extended family or lineage. The disadvantage is that it limits any possible ties between two groups. It is prevalent in several communities of Madras and Tamil Nadu.
Reasons behind preference for cousin marriage: In certain communities or tribes of India,Cousin marriage is preferred over marriage with a stranger or outsider as:
- It affirms the tradition or cultural values of their community;
- It ensures the authenticity and compatibility of spouses for marital stability and durability;
- It ensures an intimate and conjugal relationship between the bride and her in-laws;
- It further strengthens the already existing family ties;
- It helps maintain the family structure;
- It preserves familial wealth, sometimes via advantages relating to dowry or bride price;
- It eases prenuptial negotiations;
- It enhances female autonomy.
Unique Features of Monogamy: There are several reasons which make monogamy, the ideal form of marriage. Those are:
- It ensures that everyone gets a higher chance of obtaining a partner.
- It provides a stable environment for children to grow in the form of consistent male and female parent role models.
- It provides certain regularity and a shared set of expectations for adult participation.
- In this system the husband and wife each regard the feelings, sentiments and the sexual benefits of the other, as exclusively belonging to him/her.
- It promotes physical health by reducing the chance of acquiring STDs.
- It contributes to the financial health of the family and thus, comparatively high standard of living due to the small family size.
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