Aboriginal Marriage

Both monogamy and polygyny are accepted forms of marriage in aboriginal societies. Polygyny, which is usually sorroral polygyny, is becoming less common, but is not rare (Withnell; Burbank). There is not a gender imbalance in the societies, so some men do not marry (Burbank). Men compete for wives who provide them a higher status because they bring wealth to the family with their labor, and the wives increase their husband's status by bearing more children for him (Burbank).

Most marriages are arranged. The future bride's mother and maternal uncle(s) decide who the husband will be when the future bride is an infant (Burbank). It is preferred for a marriage to take place between cross cousins, but when this is not possible a husband may be someone else in the family, though never a member of the immediate family or a parallel cousin, or a man from another tribe may be chosen so the marriage can strengthen an alliance (Burbank; Withnell). The endogamy is always reciprocated by the other phratry (The Nature of Kinship). As the future spouses grow older they will joke about sexual topics when they are around each other. Also, the future mother-in-law and son-in-law will have an avoidance relationship, where they will do as much as they can to keep from coming into contact with one another (Gall, Bevan).

The aborigines are a patrilineal society; however, they recognize cross cousins on each side of the family when looking for spouses (The Nature of Kinship). They are also patrilocal, when a man decides he is ready for his wife, he informs her father or uncle and they send her to live with him (Burbank; Withnell). The couple will live in a large area where many other members of the man's kin live, very spread out, but in a similar region (Burbank). There is no ceremony to mark the marriage, in the past there were ceremonies at the time the daughter was promised to her future husband, but these are no longer done (Withnell; Burbank). Leverate is practiced and if the husband dies, his brother will marry his wives (Withnell).

Social approval of the marriage is based completely on the bride's mother's opinion, and her father has almost no input in the decision of who his daughter will marry (Burbank). Once the woman is married, she cannot leave the marriage. Although divorce has been legal in Australia for many years, the aborigines do not practice it (Baldassar, Trigger). Women often do not feel love for their husband's and spousal abuse is very common, but the union of marriage is not broken (Withnell). In some groups of aborigines, men are not thought to have much to do with reproduction and women are believed to be impregnated by spirits, but the men were still needed as social fathers (Gall, Bevan). This belief is mostly debunked now, and the sexual component is important in marriages because children increase a man's status (Burbank). Women do a lot of work for their husband's and are expected to wait on him (Withnell). Labor in the marriage is divided so the women gather fruits, vegetables, and small animals, while the men hunt larger game (Gall, Bevan). The women also do many household chores, including sorting grass seed, which is a common task for aborigines (Withnell). The working together to get resources in these ways is how the economic union presents itself in aboriginal marriages. Marriages between two people of the same gender are not recognized by the Australian government and are not accepted by aborigines (Baldassar, Trigger).

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