In his book Structural Anthropology, Levi-Strauss proposed the concept of the Asymmetric and Symmetric Alliance and applied it to the way marriage is organised in a society. He argued that human societies are based on two fundamental principles: the principle of alliance and the principle of reciprocity.
The principle of alliance is the idea that humans are social animals who form alliances with each other in order to survive. In this context, the idea of a “marriage alliance” evolved, highlighting the essential connection of many families and lineages.
As a result, anthropologists like Lévi-Strauss, Louis Dumont, and Rodney Needham came to view marriages as a type of communication. In this context, the idea of a “marriage alliance” evolved as a way to form political alliances and strengthen connections between families and lineages.
Motivations for Marriage Alliances
There are many desired outcomes from a marriage alliance, depending on the specific goals of the families involved. Whether it’s strengthening social ties, building economic partnerships, promoting peace and stability, or consolidating power – marriage alliances have played an important role in human societies throughout history.
Strengthening Social and Political Ties: Marriage alliances can be used to strengthen social and political ties between families or groups. This is often done by arranging marriages between members of different communities, tribes or clans.
Building Alliances for Economic Gain: Marriage alliances can also be used to build alliances for economic gain. For example, wealthy families may arrange a marriage in order to secure access to resources or establish new trading relationships.
Establishing Peace and Stability: In some cases, marriage alliances are arranged as a way to establish peace and stability between rival groups or factions. By forming familial ties through marriage, these groups can reduce the likelihood of conflict and promote cooperation.
Consolidating Power: Marriage alliances can be used to consolidate power within a family or group by marrying into other influential families. This can help ensure that the family retains its status and influence over time.
Enhancing Social Status: Finally, marriage alliances can enhance social status for individuals or families by aligning them with powerful or prestigious partners. This is often seen in arranged marriages where parents seek out partners who will elevate their children’s social standing within the community.
Symmetric vs Asymmetric Marriage Alliance
The central tenet of marriage alliance theory is the incest taboo, which is the idea that marriage should not take place between members of the same family. As a result, men are forced to seek out women outside of their own family.
Since it is forbidden to offer one’s daughter or sister to someone inside of the family, kinship groups initiate a cycle of exchange of women, creating a reciprocal exchange of women that creates affinity between the participating kinship groups.
Thus, a marriage alliance can be either symmetric or asymmetric, reflecting the pattern of marriage within and between groups.
Symmetric Marriage Alliance
The concept of a symmetric alliance is an important aspect of marriage exchange systems in many cultures. In this type of system, women are exchanged between two kin groups, with women from either group being paired with men from the other group, and vice versa. This creates a symmetric exchange of women moving between the two groups.
According to French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, this type of system can create stability between the two kinship groups participating in the exchange. By exchanging women in a symmetric manner, each group is able to maintain balance and ensure that neither side becomes too dominant or powerful over the other.
However, Levi-Strauss also noted that this system can isolate the two kinship groups from other groups outside of the exchange. Because both sides are focused on maintaining their own balance and stability within the exchange, they may be less likely to form alliances or relationships with other groups.
Asymmetric Marriage Alliance
An asymmetric alliance is a type of marriage exchange system where marriages occur between more than two kinship groups, but women only travel in one direction. This means that some groups are always wife-givers and the other groups are always wife-takers. This system can be conducive to wider integration between different kinship groupings than symmetric marriage alliances, but it is also less stable.
Unlike symmetric alliances, which seek to maintain balance and stability between two kinship groups, asymmetric alliances often reflect power imbalances between the participating groups. In situations where one group has more power or resources than another, they may be able to demand that the other group provide wives for their own members in order to strengthen their position.
This type of alliance can lead to wider integration between different kinship groupings because it involves multiple groups rather than just two. By exchanging wives between several different groups, the system can create complex networks of relationships that extend beyond just two families or communities.
However, because this system is based on unequal power relationships, it is often less stable than symmetric alliances. The wife-giving groups may become resentful or feel exploited by the wife-taking groups, leading to tension and conflict within the larger network of relationships.
Conclusion – Asymmetric vs Symmetric Marriage Alliance
In conclusion, symmetric and asymmetric marriage alliances are two different systems of marriage exchange that have played important roles in many cultures throughout history. While symmetric alliances seek to maintain balance and stability between two kinship groups through a symmetric exchange of wives, asymmetric alliances involve marriages between multiple groups but with women only traveling in one direction. Asymmetric alliances can promote wider integration between different kinship groupings, but they are often based on unequal power relationships that can lead to instability and conflict over time.
Both types of alliance have their benefits and drawbacks, and it’s important to recognize the nuances of each system in order to fully understand their impact on society. By studying these different systems of marriage exchange, we can gain insight into how societies form social ties and build relationships with other groups.
Related Terminology:
Alliance – a relationship between two or more groups, typically for the purpose of mutual assistance or protection.
Kinship – the network of relationships that exist between people who are related to each other by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Incest – sexual relations between members of the same family.
Taboo – a social prohibition or ban.
Structural Anthropology – a branch of anthropology that focuses on the structure of human societies.
Cooperation – working together to achieve a common goal.
Reciprocity – the exchange of goods or services (or women) between two parties, in which each party receives something of equal value from the other.
Social structure – the way in which a society is organized.
Status – the relative position of an individual in a social hierarchy.
Band Society – A band society is a type of small-scale society in which people live in small groups, or bands, and have relatively equal access to resources. Band societies are often nomadic, and they have simple social structures.
Anthropology Glossary Terms starting with A
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