Marriage: Types of Marriage

Types of Marriage:

Marriage is the coming together or union of a man and a woman as husband and wife.

This is the continuation of a previous article. Please read the part 1 of this article here.

Below are types of marriage alongside their explanations:

• Monogamy

The word 'mono' means one. In monogamy, a man marries only one wife. With regards to religion, christian marriages are monogamous in nature.

In monogamy, the man or woman is permitted to remarry when a partner dies.

• Polygamy

A marriage is considered to be polygamous when a person has more than one spouse. This implies that a man has more than one wife. Similarly, a woman has more than one husband in polygamy.

It is worthy of note to state that a man or a woman can be polygamous.

• When a man has more than one wife, it is referred to polygyny.
• When a woman has more than one husband, it’s termed polyandry.

Polygyny and polyandry are the two forms of polygamy. While polygyny is generally acceptable in various countries, polyandry, which is the practice of having more than one husband is typically frowned at.

King Solomon in the bible was polygamous with 700 wives (polygyny). Polygyny may also be seen in certain cultures.

You can read on harmful traditional practices in Nigeria here.

• Interfaith or Mixed Marriage

A marriage is regarded to be 'interfaith' or mixed when the man and the woman practice different religions. Also, when the man and woman are from different denominations in the same religion, such a marriage may also be considered as interfaith. Consider the instances below:

1. A christian man marrying a muslim woman is a mixed marriage
2. A catholic man marrying a pentecostal woman is also considered a mixed marriage eventhough they share the same faith in Jesus. Regardless the fact that both the husband and wife are christians, they are still considered as different dominations under the christian religion.

Please read on the sovereignty of God here.

• Intra-faith Marriage

The word 'intra' means 'within or inside or same group'.

An intra-faith marriage is a marriage between a man and a woman who shares the same faith. An instance is when a muslim man marries a muslim woman. Similarly, a catholic man marries a catholic woman in intra-faith marriage.

• Interracial or Inter-racial Marriage

This is the marriage between a man and a woman from different races. An example is seen when a Nigerian man marries a British woman. The children that results from an interracial marriage are referred to as half-caste.

Note: Interracial marriage is a type of exoga.

You can read on the Nigerian national symbols here.

• Companionate Marriage

This is a form of marriage in which the partners make a prior agreement not to have children.

A typical characteristic of companionate marriage is the fact that divorce can be reached by mutual consent. Whenever divorce occurs, neither partner will be responsible for any financial settlement after the divorce.

In 2019, The media had it that Mackenzie Bezos will become the richest woman in the world if she successfully gets a divorce from Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos; the latter who happens to be the world's richest man during that same year. Interestingly, a companionate marriage will prevent Jeff Bezos from paying huge sums of money to Mackenzie in the events of a divorce.

You can read on failed marriages and factors that leads to it here.

• Trial Marriage

A trial marriage is an arrangement made by couples to live together for a period of time in order to test their compatibility status. In simple terms, it can be said that both couples are married only for a stipulated period of time.

Importantly, if the couples in a trial marriage discovers that they aren't compatible with each other, they can easily go their separate ways without any form of court interference or payments.

• Left Handed Marriage

In a left handed marriage, one of the partners is from a royal, noble or rich family while the other is typically of a lower status (not necessarily from a poor background).

In a left handed marriage, it is noteworthy to state that the spouse of the lower rank has no right nor claims to any royal title, position or inheritance.

Left handed marriage occurred in empires during the 15th - 19th centuries in an attempt to forbid a son’s inheritance.

Please read on the various forms of government here.

Left handed marriage is also called a morganatic marriage.

• Convenience Marriage

As the name implies, a convenience marriage (or marriage of convenience) exists not for love. Rather, it is done for financial reasons or other mutually beneficial reasons best known to the parties involved.

Some people go into this marriage to gain an immigration status into a country, to become a citizen of another country, or to gain honours or popularity.

Please read on the rights and attributes of citizens and residents here.

• Common Law Marriage

A common law marriage is said to exist between couples who have lived together for a very long time with no prior form of marriage.

Interestingly, the fact that the couples have lived together for a very long time validates their status as 'married'. In fact, this is what a common law marriage entail, and it is recognized as a valid marriage in some countries and states.

In America, the state of Colorado recognizes this type of marriage as valid while California does not (as at 2019).

• Open Marriage

A couple is said to be in an open marriage when both partners agree to an external sexual relationship (extramarital affairs) with other people.

In an open marriage, both partners do not care about infidelity and adultery, both of which happens to be a major characteristics of this kind of marriage.

You can read on conflicts and its solutions here.

• Cousin Marriage

Cousins can be of varying degree. These are:

1. First Cousin: The child of your brother or sister (from the same parent) is your first cousin. This child could be a boy or a girl. Oftentimes, a first cousin is just referred to as 'cousin'.
2. Second Cousin: The child of your parent’s cousin is your second cousin.
3. Third Cousin: The child of your parent’s second cousin is your third cousin. The chances of knowing your third cousin is quite unrealistic.

In a cousin marriage, a person marries his or her cousin. This could be either the first, second or third cousin respectively.

This type of marriage is seen and encouraged in some Asian countries in order to to promote clan relationship.

The marriage to a second cousin is legalized in USA while that to a first cousin is only permitted in few American states (as at 2019).

Note: Cousin marriage is considered an abomination in christianity and some other religions.

Please read on the consequences of Adam and Eve's disobedience here.

• Forced Marriage

A forced marriage is a marriage that occurs without the free will of the man and (or) the woman. It is therefore considered as a form of violence, thus an abuse to human rights.

Please read more on fundamental human rights here.

Forced marriage may result from pressure, restrictive measures or even wealth. We have heard cases of people who are flown abroad only to be forced into marriage over there.

You can read on the disadvantages of money here.

A forced marriage is considered as offence against the constitutional law of a country. In this regard, appropriate measures should be put in place to prevent it.

Please read more on constitution here.

• Zombie Marriage

A zombie marriage is one in which both marriage partners are still living together but in its real sense, such marriage is considered to be dead or nonexistent.

Please read on gender equality here.

One of the partners in a zombie marriage feels an emptiness within himself or herself. However, he or she is unable to do anything about it at that point in time. In order words, the unhappy partner is compelled to remain in the terrible marriage due to some reasons best known to him or her.

Please read on reputation and how to build a good reputation here.