A feast and perhaps the giving of gifts, depending on the region of the exchange, follow the “asking” ceremony. During the feast, the respective parents set a time to solemnize the marriage, “usually during the summer season (garmiyan) because it allows more time for people to attend” (98). If the female’s father accepts by letter, then a formal ceremony is held at the female’s house, where the father of the groom asks the girl’s father if his daughter can marry. In this custom, it is the responsibility of the groom’s parents to make the initial move toward marriage: seeking eligible females and insuring their son is marketable. Once a female has been selected, the father of the male sends a letter to the perspective bride’s father, through a maulvi, a liaison between the families, asking the father if his daughter can marry his son. Marriage is a sunna, an obligation from the parent to the child that must be fulfilled because the female is viewed as a par gaheri, a person made for someone else’s house (53). The parent’s duties are not considered complete unless their daughter is happily married (Ahmad 53). In the Muslim faith, it is the responsibility of the parents to provide for the education and the marriage of their children. However, many children, age 15 and 16 are married within a cultural context, with these marriages being neither void or voidable under Hindu or Muslim religious law, as long as the marriage is not consummated until the legal age of 18 for females and 21 for males. The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929-1978 states that the legal age for marriage is 18 for females, and 21 for males,with most females being married by 24 and most males being married by their late twenties (McDonald). “Marriage is treated as an alliance between two families rather than a union between two individuals” (Prakasa 15). The specifics of arranged marriages vary, depending on if one is Hindu or Muslim. Eventually, the system spread to the lower caste where it was used for the same purpose (see Caste System in India). The practice of arranged marriages began as a way of uniting and maintaining upper caste families. Prakasa states that arranged marriages serve six functions in the Indian community: (1) helps maintain the social satisfaction system in the society (2) gives parents control, over family members (3) enhances the chances to preserve and continue the ancestral lineage (4) provides an opportunity to strengthen the kinship group (5) allows the consolidation and extension of family property (6) enables the elders to preserve the principle of endogamy (Prakasa 17) (see Gender and Nation). However, the general change of marriage habits mentioned above will most likely go on in the future.Arranged Marriages in India Arranged Marriage: Stories, 1996Īrranged marriages have been part of the Indian culture since the fourth century. Many consider the practice a central fabric of Indian society, reinforcing the social, economic, geographic, and the historic significance of India (Stein). As larger age cohorts are now entering marriage age, the number of marriages might increase again in the upcoming years. However, the effect on marriages was comparatively small. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on the divorce rate in China, which fell by more than one third between 20. At the same time, both the number of divorces as well as the number of remarriages also increased. While the share of people that do not get married is generally increasing, there is a strong shift towards later marriage, with the share of people aged 30 or above that get married increasing from 18.7 percent in 2005 to 47.6 percent in 2022. However, marriage habits have also changed significantly over the last two decades. The peak of the marriage rate in 2013 and the corresponding wave in the number of marriages is strongly related to a larger size of age cohorts between 20 and 35 during that time which is reflected in China’s age pyramid. The marriage rate increased from around six in 2002 to nearly ten in 2013 and declined again thereafter. In 2022, approximately 4.8 marriages per 1,000 inhabitants were registered in China.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |