For centuries, the concept of marriage in European states has invariably been correlated with Christian traditions, implying a union between a man and a woman, sanctified by the church or registered by the state. However, not only Europe exists in the world, but marriage itself has been different at different times and in different parts of the world and continues to change. Let's see how exactly.
Only men and women
Already from the very concept of marriage, it becomes clear that it arose almost simultaneously with the state and official religions. And of course, until the recent super-liberal times, marriage has always had one of the main goals of having children and raising children together. So, it goes without saying that it can be concluded exclusively between a man and a woman. Or men and women, if we talk about polygyny (polygamy) or polyandry (polyandry). However, more on this later, but for now we note that marriage is not only a union that is concluded by mutual love and consent for the sake of procreation (in the end, a woman and a man can give birth and even raise a child together without getting married), but also a property union, since with the advent of private property, the concept of joint ownership, inheritance, etc. Anyone interested can read (or reread) the famous work of Friedrich Engels "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State." All this is clearly described there and has not lost its relevance to this day. All of the above also applies to polygamy and polyandry. The first, as you know, is widespread in Muslim states (marriage in Arabic - nikah). Nevertheless, there are few countries in human history where polygamy has not been practiced in one form or another. Why, at various times, polygamy was legalized almost everywhere. And among the Sumerians, and in Ancient China, Greece, India, Polynesia, among the North American Indians. Even in ancient Rome, where there was no official polygamy, but there was a so-called konkubinat - legal cohabitation of a man with one,two or more unmarried women (however, children born in a konkubinat were considered illegitimate). Polyandry, or polyandry, was much less common than polygamy, but to this day this type of marriage is practiced among the Tibetans of Nepal, China, North India, as well as in some other communities.
Finally, probably the oldest type of marriage is group marriage. According to scientists, it arose even before the state, at the time of tribal relations, when all men of the tribe lived with all women and vice versa. This type of marriage has survived perfectly to this day, although it is not officially recognized in any country in the world. In fact, this is an ordinary group cohabitation, somewhat reminiscent of a Roman konkubinat, since it is not directly prohibited by law.
Free, guest, temporary
The new, as you know, is the well-forgotten old. There is not the slightest doubt that almost all types of marriage, which will be discussed below, have already occurred more than once in history. Nevertheless, if society perceives a certain phenomenon as new, then why not?
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So, a free marriage, it's open. This is when the spouses agree that they remain free people and can have lovers (mistresses) on the side. Most often, such marriages are concluded for monetary and property or status reasons, and love, as they say, does not spend the night here. Although it can be different, including let's not discount the desire of some people to psychological and sensual experiments.
Guest marriage. Unlike a free one, cheating in such a marriage is in no way welcomed, as in a traditional one. However, the spouses do not live together permanently and do not conduct a joint household, but only come together for some predetermined time. After that, everyone again disperses on their own business. Mostly such a marriage is chosen by those spouses who have important work in different cities or even countries. But there are other reasons: accumulated fatigue from each other or just a desire to be alone more often, but at the same time to know that you are still married (married).
Temporary marriage. Quite an interesting kind of marriage, when people get married for a certain period. Let's say for 5 years. Or 3 years. Or any other. As soon as the agreed time has passed, the marriage is terminated. After that, the former spouses can either separate, or enter into another temporary marriage, or enter into a traditional union forever. A very convenient type of marriage for those who are not confident in themselves and in our rapidly changing world.
Virtual marriage
But this marriage is indeed new, since it is based on modern communication technologies, which simply did not exist a quarter of a century ago. As you may have guessed, virtual marriages are contracted over the Internet. For this, there are even special sites where you can get all the services required at the conclusion of a marriage, including a certificate. Of course, such a marriage is not recognized by any state in the world and not a single world religion, although it is widely spread in modern society. Especially among young people who spend a lot of time in virtuality and easily accept such relationships (there is information that more than 50 thousand such marriages have already been concluded in China, they are recorded in many and in other countries). Sure,virtual marriage is more like an imitation of a real marriage (including sexual relations, which some virtual spouses also enter into at a distance). But this is today. With this pace of development of virtual reality, it seems that the time when virtual marriages will be officially recognized is not far off.
Strange loners
“What does marriage have to do with it,” you ask, “if loners are loners, that they don’t get married and prefer to live alone?” And you will be wrong. Recently, the so-called objectphilia is gaining momentum in the West. This is when a person experiences love feelings and even sexual attraction not to a living being (there is nothing new here), but to … an object. And to such an extent that he marries him or marries him. There are countless examples. So, in January 2018, 45-year-old Irishwoman Amanda Teague officially married the ghost of a pirate, whose life ended in the 18th century after being struck by an executioner with an ax. The betrothal took place in neutral waters (the state of Northern Ireland and the Catholic Church refused to record this action) in the presence of a medium. By the way, Amanda recently complained that her husband was going to kill her, so, apparently,it goes to divorce. But a German citizen, 30-year-old Michelle Kobke, by her own admission, is madly in love with a Boeing-737 passenger plane and is going to marry him. She even bought a smaller copy of the "beloved" so that she would not suffer so much when the future "spouse" flies off on the next flight. It is interesting that not so long ago Michelle had normal relationships with men and nothing, as they say, boded. But after the fatal meeting at Berlin Tegel airport, her life changed irrevocably.that not so long ago Michelle had normal relations with men and nothing, as they say, did not portend. But after the fatal meeting at Berlin Tegel airport, her life changed irrevocably.that not so long ago Michelle had normal relations with men and nothing, as they say, did not portend. But after the fatal meeting at Berlin Tegel airport, her life changed irrevocably.
It is clear that objectophilia is a mental disorder that needs to be treated. But some people also consider love to be a mental disorder. If only because a person is usually not able to resist her. Well, where there is love, there is close to marriage. Anyone.
Akim Bukhtatov