Arranging a Marriage in India

Article Essay Two

Arranging a Marriage in India

By

Brooke Morelock

ANT-101-Section # 500: Cultural Anthropology

Front Range Community College

October 30, 2012

In the United States marriage is a union between a man and a woman and it is a commitment between two consenting adults. In the United States the man and women choose who they will marry, not the parents of the consenting adults. On the other hand a marriage in India will be set up by the parents and the families of the individuals to be married. The two people that are to be married have little to no say in who they will marry. Americans spend part of their young adulthood dating and looking for a spouse, however Americans have a high divorce rate leaving children to be raised without both parents. In India, the pressure to find a spouse is not on the children, they are allowed a certain amount of time to pursue careers and enjoy their friends while their parents find their spouse for them.

In India the parents take into consideration a number of things while searching for their child’s spouse. They want to be sure that the family is capable for providing a big wedding for their daughter, and if they have a son that the families social status is taken into consideration. Social status is considered because if a woman of a higher class thinks she is too good for a family of a lower class it can cause problems. They also consider the skin color, because the darker the skin the less likely they are to be chosen as a spouse. It is also taken into consideration the amount of daughters the family may have, because if they have too many daughters they may not be able to afford a generous wedding. The woman is expected to move in with the husband’s family, and she will need to be able to cohabit with her new husband’s family or the marriage may fail.

A young India adult may have to wait years for their families to find a suitable match because; the families take enormous pride in arranging a perfect marriage. As the families are finding the bride/groom they take into consideration the consequences of how a failed marriage could spoil their reputation.

Americans spend a lot of time and money looking for “the one”, however many marriages in America end in divorce. In India the parents take time searching for the perfect mate and may be the reason why the marriages tend to last in their country. However, Americans value their freedom and choice’s to choose who and when they get married. While in America the marriage is about the two individuals that are