It refers to marriage in which more than one husbands are engaged in marital ties with a single common wife.

Found mainly in societies with female infanticide, minimum role in subsistence & mainly involved in childbearing & socialisation
In Society with high bride price
Example – It is comparatively restricted in its distribution
- Found in Central & NE Himalayan religion or less whole in the Himalayan region of N-W to Eastern Himalaya
- Tribes – Tibetans, Khasa, Toda, Ladakhi bota & Nayar etc
Types
- Adelphic / Fraternal Polyandry
- Non-Fraternal or Non-Adelphic Polyandry
- Familial Polyandry

Adelphic or Faternal Polyandry

when serval brothers share same wife

Tibetan & Khasa of Jaunsar – Dehradoon – Due to economic reasons ; to avoid population pressure on & division of land as scarcity of land. Eldest bro marry & girl automatic wife of all
- In this fatherhood goes to eldest brother
Toda – due to religious regions belief of female infanticide prevalent → sacrificed to goddess → female imbalance
- Fatherhood voluntary ; performer of bow & arrow ceremony
Ladakhi Bota

Non-Fraternal or Non-Adelphic Polyandry

Here husband are not brothers of each other

E.g Nayar of Kerala – are matrilineal warrior tribe → ♂ on frontier → adult ♀ after formally tieiing knot with ritual husband can havae r/l with other males c/l visiting husband.
- Ritual husband enjoy status of father

A female married to father & some simultaneously.