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Levirate |
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levirate: see marriage marriage, socially sanctioned union that reproduces the family. In all societies the choice of partners is generally guided by rules of exogamy (the obligation to marry outside a group); some societies also have rules of endogamy (the obligation to marry within a
..... Click the link for more information. . Levirate a marriage custom by which a widow was obliged or had the right to marry the brother of her deceased husband. Levirate, a vestige of group marriage, was widespread among many peoples during the period in which the clan system prevailed. It survived for a long time among a number of peoples in the Caucasus and Middle Asia and among the Jews (during the disintegration of the clan system and the emergence of class societies). In class societies the continuation of levirate marriage was encouraged by the custom of bride-price, by which a woman for whom the bride-price had been paid was considered to be the property of the clan or family that had bought her. REFERENCESKosven, M. O. Ocherki istorii pervobytnoi kul’tury. Moscow, 1953. Pages 111–12.Shternberg, L. Ia. Sem’ia i rod u narodov severo-vostochnoi Azii. Leningrad, 1933. Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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