Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0244/02444.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 29KB | 463 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02444}
$Pretitle{276}
$Title{Mongolia
Chapter 5B.   Relationships Between the Sexes}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Trevor N. Dupuy, Wendell Blanchard}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{family
marriage
children
parents
child
property
women
divorce
traditional
rights}
$Date{1973}
$Log{Faces of Mongolians*0244401.scf
}
Country:     Mongolia
Book:        Mongolia, A Country Study
Author:      Trevor N. Dupuy, Wendell Blanchard
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1973

Chapter 5B.   Relationships Between the Sexes

[See Faces of Mongolians: Courtesy Embassy of Mongolia, Washington DC.]

     The predominantly superior-subordinate quality of the seemingly
near-equal husband-wife relationship typified the relative status of men and
women in prerevolutionary Mongolia. Although the subsistence economy depended
heavily on responsible female labor, the society had a strongly male-oriented
tradition. Similarly, in every sphere-socioeconomic, ritual, and
political-some form of female participation was accepted, yet it was limited
and restricted, invariably being given a lesser status and involving fewer
rights and privileges.

     In quality, male-female relationships generally were expected to be
reserved. However, sexual activity for both sexes was relatively relaxed.
Sexual freedom was regarded as natural, if not always acceptable, for both
sexes, beginning at a very early age. No overt restrictions were practiced,
such customs as chaperonage and veiling being unknown. Boys and girls alike
learned about sex while watching the herds. Sex liaisons were relatively
common for both sexes, even after marriage. A tradition of wife-lending
existed in ancient times; more recently, though cases were known of friends
sharing their wives, this was generally somewhat disapproved. A certain amount
of extramarital sex, however, was recognized as arising from the right of
wives to offer hospitality to travelers and to have overnight visitors when
alone. Women could also visit other camps, and men were often away from home.
Liaisons if discovered might have explosive consequences, since one ground for
divorce was adultery by either spouse. As a rule, however, the husband was
expected not to be offended, especially if he found out about such a liaison
gradually, but instead simply to view it as a practical consequence of the
couple's frequent necessary separations. Extramarital sex, however, was
expected to occur outside the immediate family, since it was considered wrong
for brothers to have relations with each other's wives.

     Premarital or extramarital sex did not affect a woman's marriageability.
There was no overt symbolism of virginity in the wedding ceremony, although
bridal timidity and inexperience were expected. A single woman who had lived
with a man and even borne him children could marry later without social
difficulty, the children being an asset not only in themselves but as proof of
her fertility and freedom from disease. Only a married woman with children who
had an affair which resulted in her being divorced might be, by public
disapproval, seriously hampered in remarrying.

     Although extramarital sex was formally a religious offense, the monastics
largely ignored the family, teaching only that all lust entertained evil
consequences. Itinerant monks, who had not taken vows of celibacy, roamed the
country dispensing magic and love potions. In recognition of human nature's
frailty, blame was not particularly attached to general sexual activity. Nor
was extramarital sex a civil offense. Hence, right and wrong were determined
primarily by traditional public opinion, which generally decreed that
sexuality was normal in both men and women and that extramarital activity, if
kept private, mainly concerned only those involved.

Marriage and Divorce

     With the breakdown of the clan and tribal system the traditional role of
marriage was also fundamentally altered. Since the continuity of descent lines
was no longer able to assert its predominance over the society's socioeconomic
and political functioning, the permanence of the marriage bond also declined
in importance. By the early 20th century, even when arranged by families,
marriage increasingly represented a social contract between two individuals
rather than an alliance between two kin groups with a vital self-interest in
ensuring the union. At the same time, the individual retained strong ties with
his family of origin even after marriage, most property and other rights being
derived from patrilineal connections. Thus, although the stability of a
marriage had come to depend on the partners, few rights derived directly from
the conjugal bond itself. In this situation, although deep emotional bonds
often grew between a couple, it is not surprising that divorce was
comparatively frequent.

     Traditionally, marriage functioned as an economic alliance, since with
labor divided by sex, both men and women were necessary to manage the property
and maintain independent households.

     Marriage was governed by customary codes in prerevolutionary Mongolia,
religion by principle having almost nothing to do with the family and the
civil authorities having responsibility only in cases of last resort. For
example, they could appoint a relative to assist a woman deserted by her
husband and without support, or find a husband for a rich girl unable to
manage her property.

     The customary marriage age was no earlier than 15 or 16 for girls and 17
or 18 for boys. Weddings were traditionally arranged by the parents. In
choosing a spouse, the first consideration was insistence on marriage outside
the kin group. Other major factors were the individual's qualities, the degree
of friendship between the families, and, in the case of prosperous and
influential persons, the equivalence of wealth between the families.

     Preliminary wedding arrangements were made by go-betweens, who negotiated
the marriage terms. The amount of property exchanged was usually according to
the relative prosperity of the parties. If required, the bride price (mostly
animals) was delivered to the bride's family well before the wedding. The
marriage was never valid without this payment, and children born of such a
union belonged to the mother. In return, the girl's family provided her with a
dowry. Dowry payment, however, was delayed 3 years until the bride,
accompanied by her husband's family, returned to her father's camp where a
joint celebration was held and she received her dowry.

     After ceremonial preliminaries, the wedding ceremony and feast, at least
in the case of an autonomous temple territory, were arranged by the bride's
family with some contribution from the groom's family (see ch. 4, Social
Structure). The boy and his patrilineal kin brought to the girl's camp the new
tent, which by custom was provided for every new couple, and most of the
furnishings. After the couple performed ceremonial acts toward each other's
families and received gifts, they left the tent of the girl's father and
entered their own new tent. Here they sealed their union with a drinking
ceremony in which they shared cups of wine and milk while a speaker said a
special prayer. The wedding night and several days were spent at the girl's
camp, except in poorer families. These compressed all festivities into one day
and the couple returned with their tent to the boy's camp that same evening.

     This traditional marriage form remained general until the Autonomous
Period, when the heavy expenses of the traditional procedures, as well as
young people's growing discontent over parental control, resulted in a marked
increase in elopements. Parental opposition to such non-traditional ways,
however, continued. Only a recognized marriage between his parents entitled
the individual to full socioeconomic membership in a family.

     The marriage form in prerevolutionary Mongolia varied widely. Monogamy
was universally recognized, but in certain social areas, primarily th