Love & Marriage: Tiwi Polygyny

Figure 1: The Tiwi

Today’s blog post is about the Tiwi, an indigenous group that resides on the Tiwi Islands along the coast of Australia (Figures 1 & 2).  The Tiwi culture has changed quite a bit due to the presence and influence of Western people and cultures, so this blog post will largely focus on traditional versus modern Tiwi life, specifically their distinctive marriage practices.

The Tiwi live on two small islands off the north coast of Australia, the Melville and Croker Islands.  These are lush tropical eucalypt and rainforests, which contrast the barren desert environment of most of Australia.  The Tiwi lived on these islands for centuries prior to contact with European groups, starting with Dutch traders in the 17^th century.  They later came in contact with British, Japanese, and Portuguese traders throughout the next several centuries, all of whom had some (small to large) effect on the Tiwi and their culture.

Traditional Tiwi culture consists of small patrilineally based bands that lived in small pockets of land that were owned and managed by the band’s patriarch.  Women in Tiwi culture did hold equal status within the group.  Men may have owned the land, but women controlled wealth through the collection of food and resources for the family.  This created a balance in power between the sexes and equality within the household.  This equality was further reinforced by individuals recognizing clan memberships to both their mother’s and father’s clan.

Figure 2: Tiwi Islands

 

The Tiwi practiced polygyny, meaning the marriage of a man to more than one woman.  Polygyny is common practice among several different cultures globally, but the polygyny practiced by the Tiwi is rather unique.  Upon the birth of a daughter the parents set out to find her a spouse that she would marry upon reaching an appropriate age (typically during puberty).  This practice involved older men marrying younger women, and the young brides would be educated in the practices of collecting food and resources to sustain the family.  This allowed the men to accumulate wealth.  If a husband passed away prior to the daughter becoming of age and marrying him another suitor was quickly found a marriage contract discovered.  Upon a husband’s death the widowed wives would marry a much younger man. 

This practice was looked down upon by Western missionaries (and may seem strange to you, the reader), and it was quickly abolished by the Westerners as a result.  Despite the strangeness of the practice the marriage practices among men and women (of all ages) served specific purposes in the Tiwi culture, which was primarily based in the Tiwi belief about pregnancy and how it happened.  The Tiwi believed that women could become pregnant at any time, but in order for the pregnancy to be successful the woman had to be married.  The woman’s husband would go on a spirit quest while he slept and seek out the spirit of the unborn child that he would send to his wife, thereby successfully impregnating her.  Since the Tiwi believed that girls and women could become pregnant at any time but the pregnancy could not be successful without a marriage newborns were contracted for marriage as soon as possible.  This is just part of the reason for this marriage practice, though.  Another more practical reason lay in the relationships to land and wealth.  Because men owned land and women collected and controlled wealth marriages were encouraged to allow the Tiwi economic and social systems to continue.  Men who owned land but did not have wealth were undesirable, so young men would marry older widows who would assist them in acquiring wealth to allow them to take on younger brides.  Older men married younger women to protect them from miscarriages and to provide them access to learning how to properly collect resources for themselves and the family. 

It is important to note that it is believed that Tiwi women often did have extramarital affairs with young men that they favored (and the same for older Tiwi men with women they favored), but extramarital affairs were not encouraged or accepted within the culture.  If a married Tiwi woman married it was assumed that her husband was the father as he was the only one who could successfully provide access to a spirit baby and a successful pregnancy.

So while this practice may seem very bizarre remember the primary principle of anthropology: cultural relativism.  What may seem strange to you and your culture makes perfect sense to the Tiwi based on their own cultural beliefs.  The Tiwi no longer engage in this marriage practice, but that is because of changing cultural values due in part to repressive practices and adoption of new cultural traditions.  So even if you cannot find yourself reaching a completely culturally relativistic stance on this matter remember that it is a thing of the past.  This should not diminish the importance of their traditional cultural practices or values; it’s just something to keep in mind if you ever meet a Tiwi.

References

Peters-Golden, H.  (2011).  Culture Sketches: Case Studies in Anthropology. 6th Edition.  Mc-Graw Hill Education.