Incest Taboo

Incest : Acc to Seligman (1950) Incest is sexual intercourse between individuals related in certain prohibited degrees of kinship” (Notes and Queries. 1951:113). Or sexually activity between consanguineously related individuals. 

• Though some exceptions, but it is largely taboo in all societies 

Incest Taboo :Meaning & Explanation

• it is the rule of prohibition of sexual relationship among certain primary kins. 
• As it is rule of regulating sexual relationship/ prohibition, it is different from Exogamy, which is rule of m’age 

Incest As Rule

• In Primitive Society – associated with fear of supernatural 
• Modern Society – taboo is justified on the ground of morality & not on basis of superstition. 

Exception

• Brother sister m’age among Traditional Hawaiian Society – Incuan & Egyptian Royal Family e.g Cleopatra of Egypt was product of incest as it was common in Ptolemaic dynasty due to economic & religious reasons (Pharaoh member – status as god) 
• Peru
• Kachin Tribeman – mating with sister or daughter in incestuous but with mother is adulterous 
• Lakher of Myanmar – Half sibling with same mother can have sexual relation 

Scholars View

• Levi Strauss (1969) : Taboo ⇔ code → extension of kinship terminology which governs & directs movement of woman b/w m’age alliance network 
• Needham – there is no thing as IT (statement) –
  • He gave above quoted examples to support his statement – which all are exceptions not rule. Rule is incest taboo 
  • Write about theories 
  • Conclusion – what he experienced is exception & incest taboo is feature of most of the societies of world. 

Theories Explaining Existence of Incest Taboo

• Childhood Association Thoery : Edward Westermarck (1891)
  • Argued that : Overfamiliarity leads to sexual disinterest 
  • Associated from childhood → Not sexually attracted → avoid sexual relation (c/a Wastermarck Effect) 
  • Evidence supporting –
    • Kibbutz studied by Yaninga salmon in book (Family & community in the Kibbutz)
      • investigated m’age pattern of 2nd gen of 3 well estd. kibbutz in israel.
      • Children reared in commune not only avoided m’age, but also sexual r/l 
    • Tang Yang Hsi By Aurther wolf
      • Study on chinese in N. Taiwan.
      • custom c/l ‘Tang Yang Hsi‘ would be daughter-in-law raised from childhood result →  unsuccessful m’age most of time due to childhood familiarity 
  • Criticism of theory –
    • Doesn’t explain why societies have to prohibit m’age that can be avoided by disinterest.
    • why not applied on first cousin m’age. 
    • Even m’age invariably result in absolute intimacy & familiarity 
• Psychodynamic Theory :  Sigmund Freud.
  • strong erotic impulses experienced within family (primarily by boy for his mother) → hostility to wards father. → Oedipus Complex. 
  • I.T-→ reaction to unconscious impulses 
  • criticism –
    • Parker (1976): among non human primate over long period → No mother son r/l 
    • Nor does it a/c for why parents shouldn’t be interested in committing incest with their children 
• Family disruption theory : Malinowski
  • sexual competion among family →  rivalry & tension → family can’t funn as effective unit.
  • To curtail this competition → I.T
  • criticism–
    • Why society would have set another rules  
    • why would brother sister incest be so dispuptive, as it existed in ancient Egypt  
• Family Cooperation Theory  – Taylor
  • proposed by taylor, elaborated by Levi Strauss (alliance theory)  & Leslie white. 
  • Taylor :  IT →  answer to choice b/w marrying out or being killed out due to suspicion & hostility towards others groups
    • “Breed out or Perish” → Band Exogamy
  • theory emphasis on use of I.T. as to promote co-op among family group
• Inbreeding Theory  – Morgan.
  • Focus on potentially damaging consequences of Inbreeding.
  • Morgan : early homo noticed abnormal offspring from Incestous unions.
  • Biological weakness of close kin m’age was reason for I.T. 
  • Evidence supporting – Raymond firth: study on Toikopia Living in south pacific.
    • idea of Marai → barreness, illness & ultimately death.
    • suggest: Though primitives donot tot have knowledge of inbreeding, they had idea 
  • Criticism
    • Why some societies prefer endogamy even parallel cousin marriage ? 
    • only harmful when harmfull recessive genotypes.
  • Point supporting Inbreeding Thoery
    • Proportion of negative recessive traits to adaptive recessive traits is very high 
    • In pre-sceintific people there were two groups ; one with incest taboo had reproductive advantage so other died out. 

Conclusion – Animals species prevent incest by throwing out young once they reach maturity. But human take long time for maturity. Thus instent taboo (IT) is only efficient cultural solution which maintain genetic variability, Family harmony & Community Co-operation, so combination of socio-functional & inbreeding theory highlights its relevance. Its advantage can explain the spread & persistence, it not theories of origin.  

Endogamy

McLemban (1970)  in “primitive m’age” introduced term endogamy & exogamy. In it he also opposed L.H Morgan’s scheme of linking type of m’age to evolutionary stages. 

Meaning  – Practice of m’age within one’s own social group. I.e it refers to the expectation that a marriage partner will be chosen from within the social group of which one is member. 

Example – tribal Endogamy, Caste endogamy, 

• Toda – Moiety Endogamy – i.e Toda in India are divided into two endogamous moiety  (each of Moiety has no. Of clan which practice exogamy. 

Types : It varies from society to society.  Any accepted social grouping → boundary of endogamy. 

• Kindred endogamy – within Kindred, but beyond incest boundary.
• Religious endogamy– universally enforced. eg- castes  in India.
• Local & Ethnic endogamy → Preservation of cohesion in Community

Features

• Thr endogamy  → social group – aims to preserve constitutive elements (power, wealth, Religion , language) & pass to generations → perpetuate existence
• Encourages group affiliation & bonding  greater control over group resources.
• Common practice among displanted culture attempting to make roots in new countries. eg- Yazidi (N. Iraq), Parsi (India)
• Ironically, endogamy → can lead to group extinction rather than Survival. →  Same gene pool → disease. eg.- samaritan’s (palestine & Israel) 

Reasons. 

• Retention of cuttural identity. (Girl from outside →  hybridisation →  harm toc)
• Concern of Magic : fear psychosis consider outside girls as notorious of magic (black magic) eg-Thary (Tarai), Korwa (Mirajpur) 
• Maintaining close hierarchical social structure.
• To maintain purity of group 
• To prevent intermixing of biological traits which are unknown. 

Exogamy

McLemban (1970) introduced in “primitive m’age” introduced term endogamy & exogamy. In it he also opposed L.H Morgan’s scheme of linking type of m’age to evolutionary stages. 

Meaning – prohibition of m’age union within Specific group i.e refers to the expectation that a marriage partner will be chosen from the social group of which one is not a member. 

Examples

• eg- Todas → clan exogamy. Oraons (chotanagpur) → village exogamy.

Origin of exogamy or Advantage

• often theorised developed as extension of incest taboo, covering various relatives 
• McLennan (1970)– scarcity of women -obliged man to seek woman outside their clans 
• Taylor (1889) → Political alliance for maintaining peace with other bands. (Cooperation theory) 
• Frazer “Totemism & Exogamy” (1910)
  • Assam & Africa → chief of exogamous tribes →  marries within tribe but if pretty women → then outside
• Audrey Richards : hunter & gatherers → constant food scarsity →  female infenticide lack → bring outside woman 
• May be intended to prevent the harmful health effects of inbreeding. 
• Herbert Risley – the desire to have a variety in life has influenced people to seek ties with strangers & this had led to exogamy. 

Types – Vary from society to society.

• Biological exogamy –
  • Relatively less genetically related partners. ie. Outbreeding  
  • Benefits – avoid defective genes  & genetic diversty
• Socio cultural exogamy –
  • specific clan, totem, class etc. 
  • Levi Strauss → Alliance theory → build alliance
    • restricted exchange
  • Malinowski → Role theory →  To avoid confusion & Conflict over role & prevent social order.

Hypergamy (Anuloma)

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. 

Hypogamy (Pratiloma)

It a form of marriage norm or practice or marring a spouse of lower caste (or social status) than oneself. 

• not permitted due to social consequence of such m’age (esp for woman to Mary low caste man 

Explanation – Explained by Edmond Leachfor Kachin of Burma & some part of India. 

• M’age payment from wife receive to wife giver but  but wife receiver will not elevate his status or prestige 
• Creates permanent status differences b/w wife giver & receiver. 
• Leach links this form of anisogamy to his Theory of Harmonic & Disharmonic Regimes claiming that hypo-gamy creates instability in patrilineal system. He represent hypo-gamy as structural phenomenon which represents tension b/w maternal & paternal ties. 

Consequences of Such System

• Brahmin Girls – either give huge dowries or choose b/w polygyny or spinsterhood / bachelorhood
  • E.g Kulin Brahmin (WB)
    • Young men took several wives & vista them in their houses 
    • If problem of financial insolvency then spinsterhood only option for girls. 
• Lower Caste Men (Sudra) – High bride price
  • Males → either pay huge bride price or choices 
• Evolution of m’age by capture 

Hypogamy Taboo – Not permitted due to social consequences of such m’age 

Result of Hypogamy Taboo

• Huge dowries for marrying out a daughter in higher caste family 
• Polygamy & forced spinsterhood in Brahmins Families 
• Dislike for female child in higher castes & consequent female infanticide

Though prohibited in ancient times, but some evidences are there. Eg Mention in Vedas about m’age of daughter of Shukracharya, Devyani was allowed with Kshtriya King Yayati (lower caste Man)