Page 87 - DSOC402_SOCIOLOGY_OF_KINSHIP_ENGLISH

Unit 12: Marriage: Concept, Forms and Significance

recommended categories, are known as Closed Marriage Arrangements. Whereas the societies Notes
in which such recommendations have no place are known as Open Marriage Arrangements. In
open or liberal marriage arrangement a group of people come who are not considered eligible
for marriage and who comes in a ring of neglect and unapproachable.
Besides the classification of marriage mentioned above, other types of marriages do also exist.
For example conjugational marriage can also be discussed “in which two persons marry on such
agreement that they can break the relation any time till no child is born only on mutual consent”.
The arrangement of sub-wife can also be discussed which is an arrangement of living together
of male and female without marriage as husband and wife.
Under arrangement of experimental marriage a male and female can be permitted a married life
on temporary basis so that they can understand whether they can live together or not.

Hindu and Muslim Marriage

In Hindus the marriage is a holy religious act. Marriage is essential for every Hindu because
without marriage any Hindu male cannot enter into a family life. Ancient religious scriptural
persons have defined the four stages of life and the family life (Grihasthashram) is the second
stage of life. The need for marriage is due to one-another also. For the emancipation from the
bondage of Birth, Death and Rebirth, a son is necessary. This mythology is based on the Hindu
beleifs of being immortalism of soul and rebirth.
Hindu scriptural has considered marriage as sacrament. In other words, this is that sacramental
act which is necessary for every Hindu. The rituals held under it are aimed to emancipate a man
from different boundaries, deficiencies and weaknesses upto a certain extent which is spread in
the blood-flesh-cartilage of the human body. Any person cannot escape from such deficiencies
and weaknesses. As possible as we have to make efforts to come out of such deficiencies and
weaknesses, we should do it. Sacraments and execution of such rituals fulfills such aims. The
Hindu legal expert Manu has represented the Aim of Sacrament in following words: Brahmyam
Kriyanate Tanuh. Which means that every person has to keep pure his body, brain and soul so
that affection and separation; luxury and renunciation; self-expression and self-sacrifice may
dissolve in the life of a man in a balanced proportion and make him able to emancipate from the
bondage of life and death. The marriage is a sacrament because newly wedded couple is advised
to experience the bond of marriage so that the bondage of body and sexual desire can be broken.
Thus there is no wonder that behind the Hindu-mythology of Marriage there is foundation of
a religious sanction. Under the marriage sacrament, there are executions of many rituals and
Yajna activities. “Kanyadaan” or the donation of daughter by his father to the groom, to flame
the fire of oblation in a form which makes the sacrament holy and also as a witness of god, hold-
ing the hand of bride by the bride-groom (Panigrahan) and taking seven round around the fire
of oblation by the groom and bride, the groom has to move ahead to the bride (Saptapadi) etc.
are the important rituals regarding marriage. After completing these rituals the groom takes
the bride with him. In Sanskrit the word “Vivah” (Marriage) means that to take and carry with.
It is necessary that marriage should be in own caste. But in practice it is done between the
sub-castes of a caste. In order to search bride or groom one has to go out of five generation of
his mother side i.e. out of Sapind and out of seven generations of father side i.e. except Gautra
and Pravar (same ancestors). In Hindu religious books, many types of marriages are discussed.
When any father donates his daughter to an educated person of good character such marriage in
known as Brahm Marriage. If the person is a priest to whom the daughter is donated then such
marriage is known as Daiv Marriage. When any probable son-in-law, before getting the bride
as a gift from his father-in-law, gifts a bull and a cow to his father-in-law, such a marriage is
called Arsha Marriage. But this type of marriage is different from the marriage from buying and
selling of bride which is called Asur Marriage. Asur Marriage is condemned for Brahmins and

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