Is there a culture where it's normal for women to have multiple children from various fathers?

Question

All the media about these polygamists where men have many wives and various children made me wonder. Is there a country/area on earth/type of people where it is the cultural norm for women to mother various children by different men?

i'm not looking for sarcasm. i don't want to hear remarks about the indigent and trailor park people or whatever snarky remark you may have.

i'm asking a SERIOUS question about culture and sociology (or rather anthropology?) of other places on earth.

so.. are there tribes, countries, areas etc, where it is the norm and socially acceptable?

Answer 1

Polyandry was historically practiced in Nepal, Tibet, and parts of China. I've also heard of it occuring in parts of Africa. Sorry, I tried looking for more info, but I don't have JSTOR access on this computer :( Anyways, I did a quick search and found a book about specific examples of polyandry, I'll post a link with its call information.

Answer 2

I lived in Nepal for two years, and the way polyandry would work in the Himalayas, usually among Tibetans, was that it was a culture of salt traders, and they would walk out of the mountains with salt on their pack animals (Usually goats), and return 3-4 months later...

Then it would be the next husband's turn to go, while the returning one stayed with the wife. This nomadic arrangement was explained to me by several polyandrous women, in whose homes, I was temporarily boarding at, as a paying guest!

Answer 3

In addition to the Nepalese and Tibetan women who marry a family of brothers, there are plenty of other cultures where female promiscuity is a good thing.  Check out the article linked below.  Polyandry, marrying multiple men, is fairly rare, as it can tend to decrease the population.  One woman can only have a dozen or so babies in her lifetime, most of whom would've died before adulthood, but a man can keep a dozen wives pregnant.

Now, just general sleeping around, that's plenty common.  There are the tribes mentioned in that article.  I especially love the "making a baby is hard work" outlook of the guys in the one group.  There's also some evidence, hinted at there, that men have evolved ways of dealing with wayward wives.  The second article goes into more detail.  Men's t******e size suggests that, while a man can expect his mate to remain mostly monogamous, it's also likely that she'll stray a bit.

The sexual double standard that we deal with in western culture is almost certainly a cultural construct.  Men aren't more adulterous than women, and they aren't more focused on s*x and sexual variety.  Our culture evolved this system when it evolved a patrilineal descent.  If you're a dad and planning on passing your wealth down to your oldest son, you better d**n well make sure he is your son.  The only way to do that is to make sure his mother stayed faithful to you.  It's been only a few decades since women were able to earn their own wages and hold property, so we're still dealing with the affects of ancient sexual mores.

Answer 4

American black. it's the norm...not really socially acceptable.

Answer 5

In the Himalayas (Nepal and Tibet), the woman can marry one man, but is essentially a wife to him and his brothers until they find wives of their own.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyandry_i...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/44...

Polyandry is very rare, it goes against the usual male instinct to share.

Answer 6

yes! But I don't know a lot about it, or where this tribe is...(it was either africa or south america somewhere....sorry) All I know is that the women will sleep with several men and when she gives birth the men she slept with will have to prove to the women that they are worthy to be the child's father since none of them know who's child it is.Whichever man is most loyal and loving becomes the 'father'