Multiple Husbands | National Geographic

it’s called polyandry one woman several
husbands it’s an unusual arrangement
today polyandry only persists in
isolated villages in the Himalayans when
it was time for Sunita Kumari to Wed her
family like many in India made
arrangements but they involve more than
a dowry celebration Sunita has not one
husband not two systems but three all
brothers
what muster life be like
Westerners might find the practice
shocking but for this community it works
fine one reason sheer practicality in
the Himalayas arable land of scarce
farms are tiny if each generation
divided each family’s holdings everyone
would starve polyandry preserves the
farm and a family’s future unlike most
men in India husband’s here handle
domestic duties they’re willing to help
with the cooking and childcare in
fraternal polyandry a family picks a
wife for its oldest son the marriage can
also include his younger brothers they
don’t have to join in but most do so
that isn’t it no one takes a decision
regarding one’s own marriage everyone at
home sits down together and then it’s
decided with the consent of everyone
polyandry also functions as a form of
birth control no matter how many
husbands she has a wife can get pregnant
only so often if each man were Wed
separately the population here would
explode but what about sex
the forbidden core of the polyandry
taboo in truth it’s a matter of
scheduling and on the wife’s part for
Berens for disease tolerance is very
important the wife has to understand
everything up submissive be a Cuby the
older brother’s nature if the younger
brothers Nature had taught away kissing
what about jealousy that beign of even
the most mundane there a target while
you open if the wife is smart bye uncle
bocce we’ll take turns each night modify
Saudia that was asleep with all the
brothers
let’s get box Olivia I see grass have
you boy yeah saw what that it’s not like
the older brother wants or old Todd
these needs what they get on subject has
subtly O’Neil’s
until recently no one here much cared
with the outside world thought isolation
and preserved a way of life that had
withered everywhere else but a road now
links the region to distant cities and
on roofs once decorated only with prayer
flags satellite dishes sprout this
village has entered the modern world
whose images of romance stand in sharp
contrast polyamory but polyamory here
faces a bigger threat education as more
people are becoming more educated we are
also practicing family planning if a
father has only one son there will be no
question about the land therefore common
marriages will come to an end in two
perhaps three generations polyandry may
vanish here but for now those who
practice it find comfort in the familiar
I’m desert I myself feel that common
marriage is very good on desert a girl
at everybody ready I feel like everyone
should live like our family even if we
do not have anything to eat or drink
we shall kiss terrific we sit happily we
live peacefully