Marriage; Throughout Generations and Geography
The history of the institution of marriage across cultures.
Marriage! We’ve all wondered where it came from! I got married the other day and started to wonder a bit more about where and how marriages came to be. Being the history geek that I am, I started to research.
The institution of marriage did not fall out of the sky just yesterday. Wedding ceremonies and pair bonds existed since pre-historic times. As human civilizations evolved, so did the rituals, customs, and laws around matrimony. Marriage has been around for over 5000 years as the basic building block of society.
History is often deeper than an ocean, this is a concise presentation of my research on the institution of marriage. Let us dive right in!
The Earliest Forms of Marriage
Suddenly my love for archeology kicked in. There is a ton of evidence regarding the existence of weddings and pair bonds from thousands of years ago.
Statues depicting rituals between partners were found in archaeological sites from ancient Mesopotamia and Neolithic Eurasian settlements. 30,000-year-old cave paintings in Spain portray couples participating in proto-wedding ceremonies. Some evidence of likely marriage was found in burial artifacts studying skeletons and possessions.
India, Mesopotamia, and Early Formal Codes on Marriage
The first ever written laws and norms about marriage were discovered in Mesopotamia’s Cuneiform tablets from around 2350 BC. There are Vedic scriptures from India spanning 1500 BC — 500 BC mention ceremonies uniting man and woman.
Both societies are believed to have had strong economic aspects to formalise unions between families in the form of marriages.
Native Americans, Han Dynasty China, Ancient Rome, and different cultural traditions
The Native Americans practiced customs of betrothal customs similar to medivial Europe before 1500 AD. Some written records of the Han Dynasty China(200 BC) mention marital rituals. Roman civil laws (450 BC) laid down rules for the ideal marriage age and rights over spouse and offspring.
Religious Influences on Marriage Traditions
Every institution that has been practiced for a long time comes down to one source; Religion. Marriage is a default practice in this society, and before the bureaucracy took over the procedure, religion was the ruling factor.
In many parts of the world, even today, the religious ceremonies of marriage are more valid than the legal procedures. I had an interfaith marriage, and even in the 21st century, people put religion over law and are ready to commit injustice in the name of it. My personal problems apart, let’s dive right into different religious influences on the institution of marriage.
Judaism, Christianity, and the legacy of Biblical norms
Since 1200 BC, the Jewish customs have heavily impacted Christian/Islamic attitudes. Among them, synagogue ceremonies, betrothal, and marriage contract terms are followed even today. Biblical canon laws prohibited polygamy and divorce and heavily restricted choices in general.
Hinduism and the arranged marriage system
Rig Veda and ancient Indian scriptures from around 1200 BC to 500 BC saya about the marital duties of husband and wife. In around 500 BC, Manusmriti’s text laid the foundation for arranged marriage traditions. Concepts of matchmaking, dowries, young bride age, and astrology clocks stem from Brahmanical texts.
Islam and the Nikah practices
7th century Quranic injunctions outline regulations on mahr, divorce, consent, and duties. There are a ton of Mosque ceremonies that involve Wali supervision, public witnessing, and sermons on marital roles. Throughout time, Islamic norms gradually reformed in the case of polygamy and gender restrictions.
Role of priests in Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian customs
Many hieroglyphs and records depict priests mediating prenuptial agreements. Mayan and Aztec communities had village elders oversee marital customs and settlements. Economic negotiation, betrothal gifts, and partnerships associated with marriage came up as religious affairs.
Love, love, love!!! Love Marriages Showed up in the Medieval Period.
Today, we primarily marry for love. Everything else is secondary. But this was not always the case. Marriages have evolved over time, as you’ve read above. Societies often choose for the people who marry. But when did it evolve, and how did love marriages come to be?
Troubadours and romantic courtships in noble classes
The wandering poets in France and Italy were big on celebrating romantic love in the 1200s AD without any clerical oversight. The idea of marrying for emotional connection spreads through feudal nobility. Church was often against the non-arranged unions, leading to tensions with secular leaders. Much like many parts of the world today, huh?
The influence of artistic ideals and proto-feminism
Many of the 14th-century paintings and literature explore companionship and the free will angle of matrimony. Around this time, early feminist arguments for consent over obedience to father and husband emerged. However, after all that, the prime motivation for marriage remains to be economic and lineage reasons.
Challenges from the catholic church and resistance
Around the 16th century, the protestant reformation rejected catholic control over valid matrimony. Secret marriages without priests and parental consent challenged authority. There was a kind of competition over marriage as a right or religious sacrament between the church and the law.
The Legal Definition of Marriage was Formed
Later on, slowly, regulation by nation-states and written laws came to be. From the 16th century onwards, monarchies across Europe claimed control over weddings. Marriage acts were introduced, and they codified minimum age limits, prohibitions, surveillance, and penalties.
Property rights, legitimacy, custody, and jurisprudence
Legislature and judiciary expand their roles in settling disputed contracts, including domestic cases. After long campaigns, married women got limited property rights by the late 1800s. Fast forward to the 20th century, sees privacy, access to divorce and reforms in domestic violence.
Polygamy restrictions and early civil rights reforms
In 1955, the concept and practice polygamy was outlawed for Hindus by India and in 1926 for Muslims by Turkey. For over 200+ years, USA had Anti miscegenation laws that actually prohibited interracial marriage which was overtuned by 1967.
20th century role of civil courts, legislatures on divorce, property
Around the 20th century, matrimonial jurisdiction began to include covering alimony, division of assets and child support. The second major wave of feminism hits later and it pushed further for equality and autonomy for women.
Contemporary Evolution of Marriage Practices
The era of GLBTQ rights and same sex marriage victories have come around. Many countries legalised same sex union including Netherlands in 2001, Cnada in 2005 and America in 2015. Today, around 35 countries globally perform or register same sex marriages.
While having to jump through societal hoops even today, younger generations now choose partners organically before commitment taking the fate of their lives in their hands. While not easy, patriarchal norms around obedience, household authority etc face open dissent.
The challenges does not end. A lot of disparity still persists over domestic responsibilities and unpaid care work. Surveys show a huge amount of discontent over intimacy, communication and trust. The most severe pressures are faced by lower income and ethnic minority families.
Is The Institution Of Marriage Here To Stay?
Many scholars and social scientists speculate that if technology, urbanization and mobility will make marriage obsolete one day. But neither history nor the present trends indicate anything like that. The meaning and form of marriages transform across geographies and generations. But at its core, it continues to fulfill the primal human need for belonging, partnership and reproduction.
Final Thoughts
Marriage is a concept that showed incredible resilience for all of the 5000+ years that it existed. From being just a tool for economic and political alliances, this institution of marriage has evolved as humans did and today prioritizes emotional fulfillment and personal happiness. It went from being a transaction to individual dignity.
While many aspects of marriage evolved through out centuries, the core of it has universal appeal, as in it is a symbol of commitment and belonging. For everything that it has survived and transformed, i think it seems like marriage will remain integral to civilization. Like a building block for order and peace.
