What is polygyny and what forms of it are distinguished? Polygamy in the ancient world, modern realities. Is it possible for a man to marry several women in Russia?
Polygyny (polygamy) is a form of marriage that implies that one man lives with several women at the same time. As a relic of the ancient group union of a man and a woman, it has survived among some peoples of the world to the present day.
Polygamy in the ancient world
Polygyny is a form of marriage that has been known since primitive times. One of the varieties of the group union of a man and a woman, called polygamy (from the Greek - "multiple marriage"). When primitive people had not yet emerged from the animal state, they lived in caves or dugouts and, naturally, did not register their love relationships with the registry office.
You can hardly talk about love in those wild times. There was simply a need for reproduction, inherent in living things by nature. For example, a male of any monkey species mates with several females in a season. Primitive people did the same. Individuals of different sexes mated to continue as children. At its core, it was a consanguineous group marriage.
The polygamous relationship of the sexes could not be called established. The woman had many men (polyandry or polyandry), and the male sex did not touch "beauties" - he considered all of them his friends.
If we talk about polygamy and polygyny, then the latter must be understood as a kind of group cohabitation, when a man had many women in his “asset”. They all bore him children.
Initially, polyandry flourished in ancient society, when the female mother was the head of the clan. She could have several husbands, her authority was considered indisputable. As living conditions improved, men began to feel more confident and took over family functions. Polyandry was replaced by polygamy. Scientists have called this state of affairs the concept of "polygyny".
So polyandry and polygyny are two sides of cohabitation (polygamy) of primitive people. Why did this happen in ancient society? The answer lies in the conditions of life. The struggle for survival in harsh natural conditions, when a person was defenseless against the elements, all this caused a great mortality in adults and newborns.
In the difficult circumstances of life, so that the clan-tribe did not degenerate, it was necessary to have many wives and husbands. Disordered and incestuous sexual relations between relatives were considered quite natural. Only after millennia, with the improvement of tools and changes in everyday life, people realized the perniciousness of such intimacy.
And jokingly, and seriously! Polygyny in the modern sense is a real holiday for the male sex! Who doesn't want to have several beautiful women at hand to spend time with them pleasantly? Of course, in this case, you yourself need to be at the "level", which is far from being possible for everyone. Therefore, a monogamous, "poor" approach to marriage prevailed in society. One man is one and only woman.
