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Marriage in different cultures didn’t have the same purpose and also didn’t mean the same thing. 100 years ago, marriage was not only about finding the perfect match. Sometimes, it was a contract to save one community or family clan by producing a child. There were different types of marriages in history but today monogamy is the most dominating one where partners are loyal to each other. 

Over time the purpose of marriage has changed, which also changed the type of marriage. Here we have discovered the different types of marriages based on the number of mates, type of mate selection etc. 

Types of Marriages 

Check out the division of marriages based on a number of different factors. 

Based on the Number of Mates 

As we have mentioned there are different types of marriages in Indian Wedding Traditions, the marriage is divided into three parts based on the number of mates. Here are the different types based on the number of mates. 

1.  Monogamy

The word comes from the Greek words “mono is one” and “gamy is marriage”. Under such marriage, two people are married to each other only. As per Indian wedding traditions, it is a type of traditional or heterosexual marriage. 

Monogamy is the best type of marriage and lasts forever. Monogamy is further divided into Serial Monogamy and Non-Serial Monogamy. At present monogamous marriages are followed by all castes and religions. Find your monogamous partner on India’s first-ever matchmaking show. 

2. Polygamy

Polygamy was quite common during the kings and rulers when one person can have more than one spouse. And is still common in Islam where a man can have more than two wives. 

It was practised by all cultures in history when a king used to have more than 3-4 wives. 

3. Polyandry

Under Polyandry, one woman married more than one man and also called group marriage. For example, in Tibet, a woman can marry as many men as she wants but all the men must be brothers. As the kids get the name of the mother’s family and their fathers last use the last names of their respective mothers. 

In some cultures, polyandry happens when a woman marries one brother and the rest of the young brothers are available for child-rearing. In history, Polyandry was a source to produce a child of the family if the man was not fertile. 

Based on the Rules Of Mate Selection

The concept of different types of marriages has been pretty common in India for a long time. As marriage is an important institution sometimes it was done to save one community and sometimes for love. Here is the division of marriage based on mate selection inside or outside the kin. 

1. Endogamous Marriage

Endogamous Marriage is the most dominating type of marriage in Indian society. Under such type of marriage, a person marries within one’s group like the same community, caste, sub-caste or tribe. In earlier times, marrying based on caste or jatis was quite common in Indian society. Still, Indians prefer to marry from the same caste and religion to avoid any sort of conflict due to their different beliefs and cultural values. 

Also, marrying different tribes or clans due to economic reasons was pretty common during the kings. To save their clans from financial crisis people used to marry outside their kin. However, today marriage in Indian wedding traditions is all about spending your life with the person you love and is a perfect match. 

2. Exogamy

You can call exogamy an inter-faith marriage where one person moves outside their community and chooses a partner from a different group. Exogamy has been part of many cultures like – Jewish, African and Native American cultures. 

Such marriages brings variations in heredity, and bloodline which can boost the lifespan of a particular clan by reducing the chances of any hereditary disease. Exogamy is like a breath of fresh air for families. It also brings different cultures, beliefs and values together and makes people more accepting of each other’s practices. Indians are more accepting towards inter-faith marriages nowadays. 

However, outside India, Exogamy is a pretty common practice. 

Indeed, exogamy has a disadvantage, that it separates families and friends who have grown up together due to marrying in different clans. 

Based on Psychology 

Psychology-based marriage relies on the perspective and intention of a person to marry someone. 

1. Companionship marriage 

It depends on the person’s need for companionship. People in such marriages choose to marry someone rather than stay single. All they need is the companionship of someone. Such people often have low self-esteem and confidence. 

2. Parenting Marriage 

Parenting marriage is a relationship building between two people whose primary desire is to have children. But there might not be any affection or companionship among partners. They are being married for the sake of having children. 

3. Safety marriages

Safety marriages are a sort of contract between two people where some tangible or mostly materialistic things are decided to be given. The terms and conditions are pre-decided before the marriage to avoid conflict later. 

This type of marriage might end when the expectations are not fulfilled. For example – if someone doesn’t want children but after marriage one partner forced the other one to have children, under such conditions the marriage might not survive. 

4. Court Marriage 

When the couple doesn’t follow all the traditions and rituals and ends up marrying in court. They choose to skip traditions and take direct marriage certificates from the court.

Conclusion

Hence, over time as the method of finding a partner has changed, the intent of settling with a person has also evolved. Today, the whole match-finding process is shifting from Traditional Matchmaking by a Panditji to online match-finding on India’s first-ever matchmaking show using AI.

Today don’t marry for the sake of companionship or some materialistic things, it is more out of love and willingness to share your life with a person who truly understands you. 

To find your perfect match, register with us and let us be your professional match finder.

Read More: The Matchmaking Show