It is norm or practice of person marrying a spouse of higher caste or social status than themselves. Thus it is a type of preferential marriage.
- i.e Wife Receiver is superior than wife giver.
Reason – found in society where notion of hierarchy prevails. E.g caste system in India make society stratified → limits on choice of spouse.
- If women → high caste → marries low caste man loses caste status → beoz e degree of ritual purity
- But man → does not looses by marying low caste woman → though his children would suffer partial lowering from father’s caste status
- extravagent dowry accompany the bride ; to superior
- Thus, to prevent woman losing a caste & become impure
- Many & other ancient law givers Prescribed Anuloma
- mechanism as to prevent hindu ideological equivalent gene pool from
- In return, wife giver, does not expect wive themselves but they, improve for their rank & prestige, found in society where reflected the commensalism
- Thus also strategy by subcastes to improve rank.
Example – practised in history in India, imperial china, ancient greece, ottomon empire, federal europe.
Consequences
- consolidate affinal relationship &
- create system of assymetrica m’age alliance.
- Woman accumulated at top of hierarchy.
- Where infanticide, polygyny, enforced Spinsterhood & m’age at far away would ensure a demand of woman from below
- Thus it reflects socio-economic condition in general & poor condition of women in population.
