While the practice of polyandry, a woman marrying more than one husband, is already disappearing in most parts of the world, people in Bhutan are instead choosing to keep this custom alive.
This rare and unique form of marriage custom existed in some communities for centuries but has mostly faded in the past few decades.
However, polyandry is still practised in
Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and pockets of India, particularly amongst the minority tribes living in the Himalaya region.
A system of union which most likely arose in populations where resources such as land and food were scarce, it could also possibly have been adopted as a way to address the issue of gender imbalance, that is, when there were more males than females.
These marriages are typically arranged, with a family picking a wife for their oldest son and giving the younger brothers the chance to wed her later.
In some cases the wives will even help raise their future husbands, entering into sexual relationships with them when they are considered mature enough.
Husbands in polyandrous marriages handle domestic duties, helping with cooking and childcare, while women are in charge of the money.
Borne out of necessity due to specific geographical challenges such as a place’s remoteness or lack of tillable land, the practice of polyandry allows family wealth and land to remain intact and undivided.
Having one woman married to a few brothers is a way to guarantee that their children would all inherit the pasture land and flocks together.
Typically, the eldest brother usually dominates the household, and all the brothers are regarded as equal sexual partners of the shared wife.
In Bhutan, polyandry is still practised in the remote highlands of Laya as well as the Brokpa tribe living in Merak and Sakteng, district of Trashigang.
Many also see it as a kind of life assurance, highlighting the
added security for women of an arrangement which means they will not be left alone if one husband dies.
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