Polyandry - wikipedia Polyandry This article is about polyandrous marriage practices. For polyandrous animal mating, see polyandry in nature. Draupadi, a princess and queen in the Indian epic Mahābhārata, with her five husbands ( the Pandavas ). Part of a series on the Anthropology of kinship Basic concepts Affinity Consanguinity Marriage Incest taboo Endogamy Exogamy Moiety Monogamy Polygyny Polygamy Concubinage Polyandry Bride price Bride service Dowry Parallel / cross cousins Cousin marriage Levirate Sororate Ghost marriage Joking relationship Family Lineage Clan Cohabitation Fictive / Milk / Nurture kinship Descent Cognatic / Bilateral Matrilateral House society Avunculate Linealities Ambilineality Unilineality Matrilineality Patrilineality Household forms and residence Extended Matrifocal Matrilocal Nuclear Patrilocal Terminology Kinship terminology Classificatory terminologies By group Iroquois Crow Omaha Eskimo Hawaiian Sudanese Dravidian Case studies Australian Aboriginal Burmese Chinese Philippine Polyandry in Tibet / in India Feminist Chambri Mosuo Sexuality Coming of Age in Samoa Major theorists Diane Bell Tom Boellstorff Jack Goody Gilbert Herdt Don Kulick Roger Lancaster Louise Lamphere Eleanor Leacock Claude Lévi - Strauss Bronisław Malinowski Margaret Mead Henrietta Moore Lewis H. Morgan Stephen O. Murray Michelle Rosaldo David M. Schneider Marilyn Strathern Related articles Alliance theory Matrilineal / matrilocal societies Feminist anthropology Sex and Repression in Savage Society Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship Social anthropology Cultural anthropology Relationships ( Outline ) Types Genetic Kinship Family Sibling Cousin By marriage Husband Wife Open marriage Polyandry Polygamy Polygyny Mixed - orientation Partner Partners Significant other Boyfriend Girlfriend Cohabitation Same - sex Life partner Friendship ( romantic ) Sexual Casual Monogamy Non-monogamy Mutual monogamy Polyamory Polyfidelity Cicisbeo Concubinage Courtesan Mistress Activities Bonding Courtship Dating Engagement Mating Meet market Romance Singles event Wedding Endings Breakup Separation Annulment Divorce Widowhood Emotions and feelings Affinity Attachment Intimacy Jealousy Limerence Love Platonic unconditional Passion Sexuality Practices Bride price dower dowry service Hypergamy Infidelity Sexual activity Transgression Repression Abuse Child Dating Domestic Elderly Narcissistic parent Power and control Polyandry ( / ˈpɒliˌændri, ˌpɒliˈæn - / ; from Greek : πολυ - poly -, `` many '' and ἀνήρ anēr, `` man '' ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of `` husbands and wives '' participants of each gender, then it can be called polyamory, group or conjoint marriage. In its broadest use, polyandry refers to sexual relations with multiple males within or without marriage. Of the 1,231 societies listed in the 1980 Ethnographic Atlas, 186 were found to be monogamous ; 453 had occasional polygyny ; 588 had more frequent polygyny ; and 4 had polyandry. Polyandry is less rare than this figure suggests, as it considered only those examples found in the Himalayan mountains ( 28 societies ). More recent studies have found more than 50 other societies practicing polyandry. Fraternal polyandry is practiced among Tibetans in Nepal, parts of China and part of northern India, in which two or more brothers are married to the same wife, with the wife having equal `` sexual access '' to them. It is associated with partible paternity, the cultural belief that a child can have more than one father. Polyandry is believed to be more likely in societies with scarce environmental resources. It is believed to limit human population growth and enhance child survival. It is a rare form of marriage that exists not only among peasant families but also among the elite families. For example, polyandry in the Himalayan mountains is related to the scarcity of land. The marriage of all brothers in a family to the same wife allows family land to remain intact and undivided. If every brother married separately and had children, family land would be split into unsustainable small plots. In contrast, very poor persons not owning land were less likely to practice polyandry in Buddhist Ladakh and Zanskar. In Europe, the splitting up of land was prevented through the social practice of impartible inheritance. With most siblings disinherited, many of them became celibate monks and priests. Polyandrous mating systems are also a common phenomenon in the animal kingdom. Contents 1 Types 1.1 Polygynandry 1.2 Fraternal polyandry 1.3 Partible paternity 2 Culture 3 Known cases 3.1 Africa 3.2 Asia 3.3 Europe 3.4 North America 3.5 Oceania 3.6 South America 4 Religious attitudes 4.1 Hinduism 4.2 Judaism 4.3 Christianity 4.4 Latter - Day Saints 4.5 Islam 5 In biology 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links Types Polygynandry Main article : Polyandry in India In the Indian Himalayas, polyandry may be combined with polygyny to produce a system termed `` polygynandry ''. The system results in less land fragmentation, a diversification of domestic economic activities, and lower population growth. Fraternal polyandry Main article : Polyandry in Tibet Fraternal polyandry ( from the Latin frater -- brother ), also called adelphic polyandry, is a form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more men who are brothers. Fraternal polyandry was ( and sometimes still is ) found in certain areas of Tibet, Nepal, and Northern India, where polyandry was accepted as a social practice. The Toda people of southern India practice fraternal polyandry, but monogamy has become prevalent recently. In contemporary Hindu society, polyandrous marriages in agrarian societies in the Malwa region of Punjab seem to occur to avoid division of farming land. Fraternal polyandry achieves a similar goal to that of primogeniture in 19th - century England. Primogeniture dictated that the eldest son inherited the family estate, while younger sons had to leave home and seek their own employment. Primogeniture maintained family estates intact over generations by permitting only one heir per generation. Fraternal polyandry also accomplishes this, but does so by keeping all the brothers together with just one wife so that there is only one set of heirs per generation. This strategy appears less successful the larger the fraternal sibling group is. Some forms of polyandry appear to be associated with a perceived need to retain aristocratic titles or agricultural lands within kin groups, and / or because of the frequent absence, for long periods, of a man from the household. In Tibet the practice was particularly popular among the priestly Sakya class. The female equivalent of fraternal polyandry is sororate marriage. Partible paternity Anthropologist Stephen Beckerman points out that at least 20 tribal societies accept that a child could, and ideally should, have more than one father, referring to it as `` partible paternity ''. This often results in the shared nurture of a child by multiple fathers in a form of polyandric relation to the mother, although this is not always the case. One of the most well known examples is that of Trobriand `` virgin birth ''. The matrilineal Trobriand Islanders recognize the importance of sex in reproduction but do not believe the male makes a contribution to the constitution of the child, who therefore remains attached to their mother 's lineage alone. The mother 's non-resident husbands are not recognized as fathers, although the mother 's co-resident brothers are, since they are part of the mother 's lineage. Culture According to inscriptions describing the reforms of the Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash ( ca. 2300 BC ), the earlier custom of polyandry in his country was abolished, on pain of the woman taking multiple husbands being stoned upon which her crime is written. An extreme gender imbalance has been suggested as a justification for polyandry. For example, the selective abortion of female fetuses in India has led to a significant margin in sex ratio and, it has been suggested, results in related men `` sharing '' a wife. Known cases Polyandry in Tibet was a common practice and continues to a lesser extent today. A survey of 753 Tibetan families by Tibet University in 1988 found that 13 % practiced polyandry. Polyandry in India still exists among minorities, and also in Bhutan, and the northern parts of Nepal. Polyandry has been practised in several parts of India, such as Rajasthan, Ladakh and Zanskar, in the Jaunsar - Bawar region in Uttarakhand, among the Toda of South India. It also occurs or has occurred in Nigeria, the Nymba, and some pre-contact Polynesian societies, though probably only among higher caste women. It is also encountered in some regions of Yunnan and Sichuan regions of China, among the Mosuo people in China ( who also practice polygyny as well ), and in some sub-Saharan African such as the Maasai people in Kenya and northern Tanzania and American indigenous communities. The Guanches, the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands, practiced polyandry until their disappearance. The Zo'e tribe in the state of Pará on the Cuminapanema River, Brazil, also practice polyandry. Africa In the Lake Region of Central Africa, `` Polygyny... was uncommon. Polyandry, on the other hand, was quite common. '' `` The Maasai are polyandrous ''. Among the Irigwe of Northern Nigeria, women have traditionally acquired numerous spouses called `` co-husbands ''. Guanches from Gran Canaria practized polyandry before the Spanish conquest. According to European accounts, during a great famine in 14th or 15th century, girls were killed after coming to life in order to equilibrate demography. This resulted in a surplus of males and a shortage of females, which led to the adoption of polyandry, allowing a woman to marry a maximum of five men. In August 2013, two Kenyan men entered into an agreement to marry a woman with whom they had both been having an affair. Kenyan law does not explicitly forbid polyandry, although it is not common custom. Asia See also : Polyandry in India and Polyandry in Tibet In the reign of Urukagina of Lagash, `` Dyandry, the marriage of one woman to two men, is abolished. '' M. Notovitck mentioned polyandry in Ladakh or Little ' Tibet ' in his record of his journey to Tibet. ( `` The Unknown life of Jesus Christ '' by Virchand Gandhi ). Polyandry was widely ( and to some extent still is ) practised in Lahaul - Spiti situated in isolation in the high Himalayas in India. In Arabia ( southern ) `` All the kindred have their property in common... ; all have one wife '' whom they share. The Hoa - tun ( Hephthalites, White Huns ) `` living to the north of the Great Wall... practiced polyandry. '' Among the Hephthalites, `` the practice of several husbands to one wife, or polyandry, was always the rule, which is agreed on by all commentators. That this was plain was evidenced by the custom among the women of wearing a hat containing a number of horns, one for each of the subsequent husbands, all of whom were also brothers to the husband. Indeed, if a husband had no natural brothers, he would adopt another man to be his brother so that he would be allowed to marry. '' `` Polyandry is very widespread among the Sherpas. '' In Bhutan in 1914, polyandry was `` the prevailing domestic custom ''. Nowadays polyandry is rare, but still found for instance among the Brokpas of the Merak - Sakten region. In several villages in Nyarixung Township, Xigaze, Tibet, up to 90 % of families practiced polyandry in 2008. `` A 1981 survey... in Muli found 52 % of the marriages engaged in monogamy, 32 % practiced polyandry ( brothers sharing a wife ), and 16 % practiced polygyny ( sisters sharing a husband ). '' Among the Gilyaks of Sakhalein Island `` polyandry is also practiced. '' Fraternal polyandry is permitted in Sri Lanka under Kandyan Marriage law, often described using the euphemism eka - ge - kama ( literally `` eating in one house '' ). Associated Polyandry, or polyandry that begins as monogamy, with the second husband entering the relationship later, is also practiced and is sometimes initiated by the wife. Polyandry was common in Sri Lanka, until it was banned by the British in 1859. Europe Sepulcral inscription for Allia Potestas, Museo Epigrafico, Terme di Diocleziano, Rome Reporting on the mating patterns in ancient Greece, specifically Sparta, Plutarch writes : `` Thus if an older man with a young wife should take a liking to one of the well - bred young men and approve of him, he might well introduce him to her so as to fill her with noble sperm and then adopt the child as his own. Conversely a respectable man who admired someone else 's wife noted for her lovely children and her good sense, might gain the husband 's permission to sleep with her thereby planting in fruitful soil, so to speak, and producing fine children who would be linked to fine ancestors by blood and family. '' `` According to Julius Caesar, it was customary among the ancient Britons for brothers, and sometimes for fathers and sons, to have their wives in common. '' `` Polyandry prevailed among the Lacedaemonians according to Polybius. '' ( Polybius vii. 7.732, following Timæus ) `` The matrons of Rome flocked in great crowds to the Senate, begging with tears and entreaties that one woman should be married to two men. '' The gravestone of Allia Potestas, a woman from Perusia, describes how she lived peacefully with two lovers, one of whom immortalized her in this famous epigraphic eulogy, dating ( probably ) from the second century. North America Aleut people in the 19th century. Inuit Oceania Among the Kanak of New Caledonia, `` every woman is the property of several husbands. It is this collection of husbands, having one wife in common, that... live together in a hut, with their common wife. '' Marquesans had `` a society in which households were polyandrous ''. Friedrich Ratzel in The History of Mankind reported in 1896 that in the New Hebrides there was a kind of convention in cases of widowhood, that two widowers shall live with one widow. South america `` The Bororos... among them... there are also cases of polyandry. '' `` The Tupi - Kawahib also practice fraternal polyandry. '' ``... up to 70 percent of Amazonian cultures may have believed in the principle of multiple paternity '' Religious attitudes This section uncritically uses texts from within a religion or faith system without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them. Please help improve this article by adding references to reliable secondary sources, with multiple points of view. ( September 2015 ) Hinduism Draupadi with her five husbands - the Pandavas. The central figure is Yudhishthira ; the two to his left are Bhima and Arjuna. Nakula and Sahadeva, the twins, are to his right. Their wife, at far right, is Draupadi. Deogarh, Dasavatar temple. There is at least one reference to polyandry in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. Draupadi married the five Pandava brothers, as this is what she chose in a previous life. This ancient text remains largely neutral to the concept of polyandry, accepting this as her way of life. However, in the same epic, when questioned by Kunti to give an example of polyandry, Yudhishthira cites Gautam - clan Jatila ( married to seven Saptarishis ) and Hiranyaksha 's sister Pracheti ( married to ten brothers ), thereby implying a more open attitude toward polyandry in Vedic society. Judaism The Hebrew Bible contains no examples of women married to more than one man, but its description of adultery clearly implies that polyandry is unacceptable and the practice is unknown in Jewish tradition. In addition, the children from other than the first husband are considered illegitimate, unless he has already divorced her or died ( i.e., a mamzer ), being a product of an adulterous relationship. Christianity Most Christian denominations in the Western world strongly advocate monogamous marriage, and a passage from the Pauline epistles ( 1 Corinthians 7 ) can be interpreted as forbidding polyandry. Latter - day Saints Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and other early Latter - day Saints, practiced polygynous marriages. The practice was officially ended with the 1890 Manifesto. Polyandrous marriages did exist, albeit in significantly less numbers, in early LDS history. Islam Although Islamic marital law allows men to have up to four wives, polyandry is prohibited in Islam. Polyandrous marriages were practiced in pre-Islamic Arabian cultures, but were outlawed during the rise of Islam. Nikah Ijtimah was a pagan tradition of polyandry in older Arab regions which was condemned and abolished during the rise of Islam. In biology Main article : Polyandry in nature Polyandrous behavior is quite widespread in the animal kingdom. It is prominent in many species of insects and fish ( for example pipefish ; see Polyandry in fish ). It is also found in other animals such as birds ( for example dunnocks ), whales, and in some mammals such as the house mouse. Among the whales, polyandrous behavior has been noted among the bowhead, harbour porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ), and humpback whales. Among the relevant insect species are the honeybees, the red flour beetle, the species of spider Stegodyphus lineatus, the crickets Gryllus bimaculatus, and the fruit fly Drosophila pseudoobscura. Polyandry also occurs in some primates such as marmosets, and in the marsupial genus ' Antechinus. See also Legal status of polygamy Matrilineality Polyandry in India Polyandry in Tibet Sacred prostitution Sexual conflict Sexy son hypothesis Sperm competition Types of mating, marriage and lifestyle : Bigamy Cuckold Eusociality Group marriage Monogamy Non-monogamy Open marriage Polyamory Polygamy Polygynandry Polygyny References Jump up ^ McCullough, Derek ; Hall, David S. ( 27 February 2003 ). `` Polyamory - What it is and what it is n't ''. Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality. 6. Jump up ^ Zeitzen, Miriam Koktvedgaard ( 2008 ). Polygamy : a cross-cultural analysis. Berg. p. 3. ISBN 1 - 84520 - 220 - 1. Jump up ^ Ethnographic Atlas Codebook derived from George P. Murdock 's Ethnographic Atlas recording the marital composition of 1,231 societies from 1960 to 1980. ^ Jump up to : Starkweather, Katherine ; Hames, Raymond ( 2012 ). `` A Survey of Non-Classical Polyandry ''. 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( 1997 ). `` Why Polyandry Fails : Sources of Instability in Polyandrous marriages ''. Current Anthropology. 38 ( 3 ) : 376. doi : 10.1086 / 204624. Jump up ^ Banerjee, Partha S. ( 21 April 2002 ). `` Wild, Windy and Harsh, yet Stunningly Beautiful ''. The Sunday Tribune. Jump up ^ Levine, Nancy, The Dynamics of Polyandry : Kinship, domesticity and population on the Tibetan border, Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1988. Jump up ^ Sidner, Sara. `` Brothers Share Wife to Secure Family Land ''. CNN. Jump up ^ Draupadis bloom in rural Punjab Times of India, Jul 16, 2005. Jump up ^ Goldstein, Melvyn ( 1987 ). Natural History. Natural History Magazine. pp. 39 -- 48. Jump up ^ Levine, Nancy ; Silk, Joan B. ( 1997 ). `` Why Polyandry Fails : Sources of Instability in Polyandrous marriages ''. Current Anthropology. 38 ( 3 ) : 375 -- 98. doi : 10.1086 / 204624. 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Jump up ^ Starkweather, Katherine E. and Raymond Hames. `` A Survey of Non-Classical Polyandry. '' 12 June 2012. Retrieved 28 Dec 2013. Jump up ^ Dr. Jacobs : Untrodden Fields of Anthropology. New York : Falstaff Press, 1937. vol. 2, p. 219. Jump up ^ Roslyn Poignant : Oceanic Mythology. Paul Hamlyn, London, 1967, p. 69. Jump up ^ Ratzel, Friedrich. The History of Mankind. ( London : MacMillan, 1896 ). `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2012 - 07 - 27. Retrieved 2010 - 04 - 10. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Jump up ^ Races of Man : an Outline of Anthropology. London : Walter Scott Press, 1901. p. 566. Jump up ^ C. Lévi - Strauss ( translated by John Russell ) : Tristes Tropiques. New York : Criterion Books, 1961, p. 352. Jump up ^ `` Multiple fathers prevalent in Amazonian cultures, study finds ''. Sciencedaily.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018. Jump up ^ Altekar, Anant Sadashiv ( 1959 ). The position of women in Hindu civilization, from prehistoric times to the present day. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 112. ISBN 978 - 81 - 208 - 0324 - 4. Retrieved October 14, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Mahabharata, Book 1 : Adi Parva : Vaivahika Parva : Section CLXLVIII ''. Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018. Jump up ^ Coogan, Michael D., A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament : The Hebrew Bible in Its Context, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 264, ( 1 ) Jump up ^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W., The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1980, p. 262, ( 2 ) Jump up ^ Fuchs, Esther, Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative : Reading the Hebrew Bible as a Woman, Continuum International, 2000, p. 122, ( 3 ) Jump up ^ Satlow, Michael L., Jewish Marriage in Antiquity, Princeton University Press, 2001, p. 189, ( 4 ) Jump up ^ Witte, John & Ellison, Eliza ; Covenant Marriage In Comparative Perspective, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005, p. 56, ( 5 ) Jump up ^ Marriage, Sex And Family in Judaism, Rowman & Littlefield, 2005, p. 90, ( 6 ) Jump up ^ Murray, John ( 1991 ). Principles of Conduct : Aspects of Biblical Ethics. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 250 -- 256. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8028 - 1144 - 8. Retrieved October 14, 2010. Jump up ^ Richard S. Van Wagoner ( 1989 ). Mormon Polygamy : A History ( Second ed. ). Signature Books. pp. 41 -- 49, 242. ISBN 0941214796. Jump up ^ Richard S. Van Wagoner ( Fall 1985 ). `` Mormon Polyandry in Nauvoo '' ( PDF ). Dialogue : A Journal of Mormon Thought. ^ Jump up to : Rehman, J. ( 2007 ). `` The Sharia, Islamic Family Laws and International Human Rights Law : Examining the Theory and Practice of Polygamy and Talaq ''. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family. 21 ( 1 ) : 114. doi : 10.1093 / lawfam / ebl023. ISSN 1360 - 9939. Polyandry is not permitted, so that Muslim women can not have more than one husband at the same time Jump up ^ Wing, AK ( 2008 ). `` Twenty - First Century Loving : Nationality, Gender, and Religion in the Muslim World ''. Fordham Law Review. 76 ( 6 ) : 2900. Muslim women can only marry one man ; no polyandry is allowed. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Ahmed, Mufti M. Mukarram ( 2005 ). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. p. 383. ISBN 978 - 81 - 261 - 2339 - 1. Retrieved October 14, 2010. Jump up ^ A Year in the Life of the Bowhead Whale, Arctic Currents Jump up ^ Harbour Porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) wildwhales.org Jump up ^ Joseph Castro, Animal Sex : How Blue Whales Do It. July 24, 2013, Livescience.com Further reading Levine, Nancy, The Dynamics of Polyandry : Kinship, domesticity and population on the Tibetan border, Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1988. ISBN 0 - 226 - 47569 - 7, ISBN 978 - 0 - 226 - 47569 - 1 Peter, Prince of Greece, A Study of Polyandry, The Hague, Mouton, 1963. Beall, Cynthia M. ; Goldstein, Melvyn C. ( 1981 ). `` Tibetan Fraternal Polyandry : A Test of Sociobiological Theory ''. American Anthropologist. 83 ( 1 ) : 898 -- 901. doi : 10.1525 / aa. 1982.84. 4.02 a00170. Gielen, U.P. ( 1993 ). Gender Roles in traditional Tibetan cultures. In L.L. Adler ( Ed. ), International handbook on gender roles ( pp. 413 -- 437 ). Westport, CT : Greenwood Press. Goldstein, M.C. ( 1971 ). `` Stratification, Polyandry, and Family Structure in Central Tibet ''. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 27 ( 1 ) : 64 -- 74. JSTOR 3629185. Crook, J., & Crook, S. 1994. `` Explaining Tibetan polyandry : Socio - cultural, demographic, and biological perspectives ''. In J. Crook, & H. Osmaston ( Eds. ), Himayalan Buddhist Villages ( pp. 735 -- 786 ). Bristol, UK : University of Bristol. Goldstein, M.C. ( 1971 ). `` Stratification, Polyandry, and Family Structure in Central Tibet ''. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 27 ( 1 ) : 64 -- 74. JSTOR 3629185. Goldstein, M.C. ( 1976 ). `` Fraternal Polyandry and Fertility in a High Himalayan Valley in Northwest Nepal ''. Human Ecology. 4 ( 3 ) : 223 -- 233. doi : 10.1007 / bf01534287. JSTOR 4602366. Lodé, Thierry ( 2006 ) La Guerre des sexes chez les animaux. Paris : Eds O. Jacob. ISBN 2 - 7381 - 1901 - 8 Smith, Eric Alden ( 1998 ). `` Is Tibetan polyandry adaptive ? '' ( PDF ). Human Nature. 9 ( 3 ) : 225. doi : 10.1007 / s12110 - 998 - 1004 - 3. Trevithick, Alan ( 1997 ). `` On a Panhuman Preference for Monandry : Is Polyandry an Exception ? ''. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 28 ( 3 ) : 154 -- 81. External links Look up polyandry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. `` Polyandry ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. 22 ( 11th ed. ). 1911. Another example for polyandry in India Close plural relationships By type Bigamy Group marriage Open marriage Open relationship Polyamory Polyandry Polyfidelity Polygamy Polygynandry Polygyny Relationship anarchy History and Culture Nikah Ijtimah Polygamy in Christianity Polygamy in North America Polygyny in Islam LDS / FLDS Origin Current state List of practitioners Celestial marriage Sealing Spiritual wifery Placement marriage Lost boys Polygamy czar Terms Compersion New relationship energy Primary and secondary Terminology within polyamory Values within polyamory Types of marriages Age Adult Child Teen Arranged Flash Forced Abduction Raptio Heqin Miai Shotgun Tongyangxi Ceremonial Betrothal Handfasting Wedding Las Vegas Proxy Quaker Circumstantial Basis Death Posthumous Ghost ( Chinese ) Widow inheritance Ghost ( Sudanese ) Levirate Yibbum Widow conservation Financial Flash Hypergamy Naked Peer Tongyangxi Trial Of convenience Lavender Sham Green card Other Exchange Watta satta Heqin Love Sologamy Sororate De facto Common - law Nikah ' urfi Plaçage Group Dominatrix Beena Boston Female husband Walking Endogamy Consanguine Avunculate Cousin Middle Eastern Homogamy Royal intermarriage Exogamy Human -- animal Hypergamy Inter-caste International Interracial Interfaith Mixed - orientation Morgantic Legal scenarios Civil Concubinage Covenant Customary Nikah ' urfi Plaçage Fleet Monogamy Serial monogamy Remarriage Temporary Hollywood Nikah mut'ah Wedlease Voidable Putative Void Non-monogamous Group Line Open Plural Bigamy Polygamy Polyandry Polygyny Religious Christian Catholic Josephite Eastern Orthodox Mormon Clerical marriage Islamic Misyar Nikah mut'ah Nikah ' urfi Levirate Yibbum Natural Self - uniting Widow conservation Yogic Sexless Spiritual / Chaste Mariage blanc Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polyandry&oldid=852897987 '' Categories : Marriage Mating systems Polyandry Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2011 CS1 Chinese - language sources ( zh ) Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Articles containing Ancient Greek - language text Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2014 Articles lacking reliable references from September 2015 All articles lacking sources Articles needing more viewpoints from September 2015 Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Беларуская Bikol Central Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa Қазақша Latina Latviešu Lietuvių മലയാളം مصرى Nederlands 日本 語 Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Polski Português Русский Саха тыла Scots Slovenčina Српски / srpski Suomi தமிழ் Türkçe Українська اردو Zazaki 中文 39 more Edit links This page was last edited on 1 August 2018, at 03 : 03 ( UTC ). 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Question: the practice of one woman having several husbands is called
Answer: Polyandry