My thoughts on polygamy(polygyny and polyandry)
Polygamy is a term that describes a marriage of more than one spouse. Most people and cultures use the term polygamy when they mean polygyny. Polygyny is the term for having more than one wife. Today we have Muslims who are allowed up to four wives. The practice of Islam is a topic for another blog yet to be written so I will not opine about that cult here and now. :-)
Most cultures are traditionally patriarchal, which of course means that males are more dominant and determine the laws/rules. In the TaNaKh(Torah, Neviim and Kethuvim-the Law, Prophets and Writing, which is termed the 'Old' Testament or Covenant by the Christian faith) we do see instances of polygyny which seemed to be the exception rather than the norm and seemed to be practiced more for political alliances by royalty more than anything else. There are also rules spelled out if a man is to take more than one wife~for example, he cannot marry the sister of the first wife while the first wife is living. Everyone knows the Rachel and Leah story along with their concubines.(This was before the giving of TORAH and Mt Sinai.) In addition the husband must provide clothing and marital rights to each wife. Most of the Scripture paints a negative picture of polygyny~again Rachel and Leah, Hannah and Penninah and the many wives of David and Solomon. I believe polygyny was a concession and never the ideal for a marriage. Probably the one redeeming factor in polygyny is that a woman would be protected in a society where there were lesser number of males available for matrimonial purposes which was an issue in a culture where the woman depended on either her husband or father for financial support and physical protection. Most civilized cultures today have outlawed the practice and except for Muslims, most do not practice it in our culture.
In a rare cultural twist, there are the practitioners of polyandry. Polyandry is the lesser known polygamous practice of a woman having more than one husband. This I believe in definitely not condoned in Scripture and in fact I believe this practice is prohibited(I cannot remember a reference off the top of my head and since this is not a paper to be graded, or a mere foray into history, I will not search for one. If I have time I will amend this blog at a later date with the exact reference.)
Now for my PERSONAL opinion on the matter. From my standpoint, I would have to say that polyandry makes more sense, ie is a more logical choice between the two practices. Why? Three reasons that are pretty straightforward(at least in my mind!)
Firstly, we have the financial factor. More husbands would allow a greater income resource and if the wife works more opportunities for childcare.
Secondly, the maintenance of living quarters factor. Everyone knows that more than one man could accomplish any kind of useful chore such as building or fixing a house or car much more quickly than one alone.
Thirdly, and probably the one that would most likely be at the forefront of many women's minds is sexually. I, for one have thought that polygyny is a very cruel practice sexually for women. Women are physically able to have more than one climax at a time and do not need a waiting period in between sexual activity. A man does, so practically and realistically speaking he could not properly satisfy more than one woman. Keeping a woman locked in a harem with a eunuch is not only cruel sexually speaking, but emotionally speaking as well. Most women need both an emotional and physical connection with a mate.
A side argument may state, well Torah decrees that a wife and husband be non intimate during the niddah(ritually unclean due to menstrual or childbirth periods) so if a man has more than one wife he could rotate the sexual arrangements as it were. That logic is flawed due to the fact that women who are in close proximity to one another actually menstruate at the same time(this has been proven scientifically speaking.)
To me, the only reason polyandry wouldn't be feasible is that men are competitive by nature with other men for the same woman.
Anyway, that's my opinionated view of the topic. You are welcome to leave any comments(subject to my moderation of course, LOL)
Most cultures are traditionally patriarchal, which of course means that males are more dominant and determine the laws/rules. In the TaNaKh(Torah, Neviim and Kethuvim-the Law, Prophets and Writing, which is termed the 'Old' Testament or Covenant by the Christian faith) we do see instances of polygyny which seemed to be the exception rather than the norm and seemed to be practiced more for political alliances by royalty more than anything else. There are also rules spelled out if a man is to take more than one wife~for example, he cannot marry the sister of the first wife while the first wife is living. Everyone knows the Rachel and Leah story along with their concubines.(This was before the giving of TORAH and Mt Sinai.) In addition the husband must provide clothing and marital rights to each wife. Most of the Scripture paints a negative picture of polygyny~again Rachel and Leah, Hannah and Penninah and the many wives of David and Solomon. I believe polygyny was a concession and never the ideal for a marriage. Probably the one redeeming factor in polygyny is that a woman would be protected in a society where there were lesser number of males available for matrimonial purposes which was an issue in a culture where the woman depended on either her husband or father for financial support and physical protection. Most civilized cultures today have outlawed the practice and except for Muslims, most do not practice it in our culture.
In a rare cultural twist, there are the practitioners of polyandry. Polyandry is the lesser known polygamous practice of a woman having more than one husband. This I believe in definitely not condoned in Scripture and in fact I believe this practice is prohibited(I cannot remember a reference off the top of my head and since this is not a paper to be graded, or a mere foray into history, I will not search for one. If I have time I will amend this blog at a later date with the exact reference.)
Now for my PERSONAL opinion on the matter. From my standpoint, I would have to say that polyandry makes more sense, ie is a more logical choice between the two practices. Why? Three reasons that are pretty straightforward(at least in my mind!)
Firstly, we have the financial factor. More husbands would allow a greater income resource and if the wife works more opportunities for childcare.
Secondly, the maintenance of living quarters factor. Everyone knows that more than one man could accomplish any kind of useful chore such as building or fixing a house or car much more quickly than one alone.
Thirdly, and probably the one that would most likely be at the forefront of many women's minds is sexually. I, for one have thought that polygyny is a very cruel practice sexually for women. Women are physically able to have more than one climax at a time and do not need a waiting period in between sexual activity. A man does, so practically and realistically speaking he could not properly satisfy more than one woman. Keeping a woman locked in a harem with a eunuch is not only cruel sexually speaking, but emotionally speaking as well. Most women need both an emotional and physical connection with a mate.
A side argument may state, well Torah decrees that a wife and husband be non intimate during the niddah(ritually unclean due to menstrual or childbirth periods) so if a man has more than one wife he could rotate the sexual arrangements as it were. That logic is flawed due to the fact that women who are in close proximity to one another actually menstruate at the same time(this has been proven scientifically speaking.)
To me, the only reason polyandry wouldn't be feasible is that men are competitive by nature with other men for the same woman.
Anyway, that's my opinionated view of the topic. You are welcome to leave any comments(subject to my moderation of course, LOL)
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