Mate Selection And Marriage In New Guinea

Mate selection and marriage encompass a lot of different traditions and characteristics around the world. This article goes into great detail about several ways marriage and mate selection is and was practiced. The three main choices examined are marriage by capture, marriage by arrangement, and free-choice selection. Through these marriage selections, it is shown how important marriage is to many cultures. Marriage by capture is rarely a choice for marriage in today’s time, but in patriarchal societies, women were seen as property. Men would capture women because of war or because they could not afford to buy her or obtain permission from her parents. In one culture in New Guinea, this practice is portrayed in a ceremonial fashion. The groom’s family pretends to kidnap the wife and a fake battle ensues leaving the bride to the groom for marriage (p. 1).

In different societies, many people choose to arrange their children’s marriage for many different reasons. Price, social status, and sororate or levirate arrangements are the most seen. In all of these three choices, parents either pay for the marriage of their child for financial reasons, ensure the social status of the family and heirs, or ensure that a marriage will continue after a death through carrying out the marriage with a brother of sister of the departed. Lastly, there is free choice mate selection. One would think this would be the most common, but in many cultures that allow free choice, there are still many restrictions. Some restrictions include only marrying in or out of one’s own group while in America it is normal to marry for