Polyandry

In social anthropology and sociobiology, polyandry (Greek: poly many, andros man) means a female forming a stable sexual union with more than one male.

Causes

Some forms of polyandry appear to be associated with a) the perceived need to retain aristocratic titles or agricultural lands within kin groups, and/or b) with frequent male absence, for long periods, from the household. As to the former variety, consider that in Tibet where the practice is particularly popular among the wealthy Sakya priestly nobility as well as poor small farmers who could ill afford to divide their small holdings. As to the latter variety, as some males return to the household, others leave for a long time, so that there is (was) usually one husband present.

Related Topics:
Aristocrat - Agricultural - Land - Kin - Sakya - Farmer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~