MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

MARRIAGE
- a recognized, legal or formal union, between two people as partners in a personal relationship

- marriage is viewed as a formation of alliances (Alliance theory). The marriage does not only
pertain to the couple but alongside with their own individual families as well. This can be observed in
our society here in the Philippines

-marriage is also perceived as a generalized exchange system of women between groups or small
scale societies. (e.g. Monarchies, upper-class families, etc.)

a.) Elementary system - define rules on who could marry. In some cases the preferred
mates are cross cousins

b.) Complex system - defines whom cannot marry but are not particular on whom can must
marry (e.g. a person can marry his/her third cousin but not the second)

Marriage Stages

A. Courtship

- a period during which a couple develop a romantic relationship, especially with a view of
marriage.

- sought by an individual to win the consent of another to a marriage

TRADITIONAL WAYS MODERN WAYS

1.) Ask permission to her parents. 1.) Through social medias

2.) Go to her house and do some chores. 2.) Their relationship will start by being text mates

4.) Serenading the girl 3.) Basing n the physical appearance in choosing a
girl.
5.) When going outside make sure you h
ave your chaperone with you. 4.) Not legalized or secret relationship

6.) Giving her cards or flowers a a gift. 5.) Buying too much gifts for her and the money ca
me from parents.

6.) Pre marital sex.

ENGAGEMENT

- a formal agreement to get married.

- the period of time during the time between the time of marriage proposal and the marriage.

Engagement in the Philippines

Pamamanhikan

- a ceremony in which the man an his family will formally ask for the girl's parents'
permission for them to wed.

- From the word panik (which means to ascend or to climb a house's flight of stairs)

Engagement in other cultures

Dowry

- Marriage is secured through the payment of bride wealth. ( transfer of land , jewelry ,
livestock etc.)

Omiai

- Practiced by the Japanese, this is a more elaborate type of arranged marriage in which
rigorous cross-examination of both the families of a groom and bride-to-be to ensure that both
their families are well suited for each other and also lessens future conflict

Beliefs/Superstitions on wedding in the Philippines

-The sponsors must check if the candles are lighted carefully

-Sponsors must securely fasten the veil on both bride and groom with safety pins

-The arhae or the coins that the priest blesses and which the bridegroom gives to the bride
must not fall from her hands

-The expense of the wedding depends on the financial resources of both the bride and
groom’s parents

-The bride is responsible for selecting the color motif.

 -Wedding sponsors are personally chosen by both the bride and the groom

-If the couple are both catholic, church weddings are preferred

FORMS OF MARRIAGE

Monogamy

- Form of marriage, where an individual male of female has a number of spouses but he
or she is married to them consecutively – one after the other.

Polygamy

- Form of marriage that refers to a plural union where an individual is married to several
individuals at the same time.

Polygny - a man married to mulitple wives

Polyagny - a woman married to multiple husbands

SELECTION OF PARTNERS

Endogamy

- dictates that one should marry within one;s clan or ethnic group

Exogamy

- one should marry from outside one’s clan or ethnic group

Sororate

- Refers to as sister-in-law marriage. A man remarries his deceased wife’s sister or if his
wife is proven to be infertile

Levirate

- The opposite of sororate marriage. In this kind marriage, the brother of the deceased
husband remarries his brother's widow

Ghost

- Similar to levirate marriage. The difference lies in the fact that children by the second
marriage are considered to be sired by the dead husband. The deceased husband’s brother
who is the second husband acts as a surrogate

Fictive

- Practiced by the Nuer tribe of Africa. It is a union between two women, an older and a
younger one
 Bride capture

- the practice in which a man abducts/captures the woman he chooses to marry

- Relatives of the groom also assists him in capturing the bride because the capture in
itself legally unites the couple

FAMILY
- Small institutions that unites individuals into cooperative groups to oversee the bearing and
raising the children.

- Basic unit of society

Structural Characteristics of the Filipino Family

Based on descent

a.) Patrillineal

- affiliates a person with a group of relatives through his or her father.

b.)Matrillineal

- affiliates a person with a group of relatives through his or her mother

c.)Bilateral

- affiliates a person with a group of relatives through both his parents

Based on Residence

a.) Patrilocal

- requires the newly wed to reside near the groom’s parents.

b.) Matrilocal

- near the bride’s parents.

c.) Bilocal

- provides the couple the choice to reside on either parents.)

d.) Neolocal

- permits the couple to reside independently of their parents.

e.) Avunculocal

- prescribes the newly wed couple to reside with or near the maternal uncle of the g
room.
 Based on Authority

a.) Patriarchal - male dominant, female subordinate.

b.) Matriarchal - female dominant, male subordinate.

c.) Matricentric - prolonged absence of the father gives the mother a dominant position
in the family, although the father may also share with the mother in decision making.

Family Structure

NUCLEAR FAMILY

– consists of two generations of family; parents and their own or adopted children residing
in the same household

EXTENDED FAMILY

– composed of two or more nuclear families

CONJUGAL FAMILY

– considers the spouses and offsprings as of prime importance and which has a fringe of
comparatively unimportant relatives

CONSAGUINEAL FAMILY

– considers the nucleus of blood relatives as more important than spouses

FAMILY FUNCTION
- The Family regulates sexual behavior and it is unit for reproduction, within the marriage
bond, sex expression is socially sanctioned.

- The family performs the function of biological maintenance.

- The family is the chief agency for socializing the child

- The family gives its member a status

 - The family is an important mechanism for social control

- The family performs economic functions.

Legal Separation

Divorce - or legal dissolution of a marriage, is the ending of a valid marriage between a man
and a woman, returning both parties to single status with the ability to remarry

Fault Divorce

- one spouse’s behavior leads to irreparable damage to the relationship

- before this is granted, one spouse must prove adequate grounds:

Adultery

- one or both spouses engages in extramarital relationships

Desertion

- one spouse abandons the other, physically and emotionally, for a lengthy
period of time

Physical/Emotional abuse

- one spouse subjects the other to violent attacks or psychological abuse

No-Fault Divorce

- both partners accept their share of blame and recognize the marriage simply is not
working

Annulment - a legal procedure which cancels the marriage between a man and a woman.
Annulling a marriage is as though it is completely erased - legally, it declares the marriage never
happened

- like fault divorce, one must have adequate grounds so that the annulment can be
passed. Some of the examples are:

Bigamy

- either party was already married to another person at the time of the marriage

Forced Consent

- one of the spouses was forced or threatened into marriage and only entered into it
under duress

Fraud

- one of the spouses agreed to the marriage based on the lies or misrepresentation
of the other
Marriage Prohibited by Law

- marriage between parties that based on their familial relationship is considered

incestuous

Mental Illness

- either spouse was mentally ill or emotionally disturbed at the time of the marriage

Mental Incapacity

- either spouse was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the of the marriage
and was unable to make informed consent

Inability to Consummate Marriage

- either spouse was physically incapable of having sexual relations or impotent

during the marriage

Underage Marriage

- either spouse was too young to enter into marriage without parental consent or
court approval