polygyny
One husband, several
Polygyny is the practice of having multiple wives simultaneously.
It's the most common form of polygamy worldwide, found in various cultures and religions that permit men to marry more than one woman: The community practiced polygyny, with some men having three or four wives.
Distinguished from polyandry, where a woman has multiple husbands.
Wives' sequestered quarters
- breedingReproductive cultivation of organisms
- fitnessGood physical shape
- territorialityDefense of claimed space
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
monogamy · promiscuity · gorillas · lions
Fellow spouses in polygyny
- sister-wivesWomen sharing one husband
- spousesMarried partners
- conjugalOf marriage
- wedlockState of being spouses
nuptials · betrothal · bride · consort · matrimonial · household · polygamous · polygamist
One partner at a time
- bigamyIllegal second marriage
- non-monogamyHaving multiple romantic partners
- polyamoryConsensual multiple romantic relationships
- concurrentHappening at once
Male-dominated social order
- chiefdomPolitical unit under chief
- bridepricePayment for marriage rights
- bridewealthMarriage transfer payment
- dowryMarital property transfer
status · wealth · tradition · levirate · exogamy · endogamy · cross-cultural · ethnography
Muslim royal ruler
- concubinesNon-wife sexual partners kept
- seraglioSecluded women's quarters
- purdahWomen's concealment practice
- seclusionVoluntary withdrawal from society
eunuch · odalisque · pasha · sheikh · emir · palace · royal · consorts
harem
Wives' sequestered quarters
- breedingReproductive cultivation of organisms
- fitnessGood physical shape
- territorialityDefense of claimed space
dominance · monogamy · promiscuity · gorillas · lions
co-wives
Fellow spouses in polygyny
- sister-wivesWomen sharing one husband
- spousesMarried partners
- conjugalOf marriage
wedlock · nuptials · betrothal · bride · consort · matrimonial · household · polygamous · polygamist · levirate
monogamy
One partner at a time
- bigamyIllegal second marriage
- non-monogamyHaving multiple romantic partners
- polyamoryConsensual multiple romantic relationships
patriarchy
Male-dominated social order
- chiefdomPolitical unit under chief
- bridepricePayment for marriage rights
- bridewealthMarriage transfer payment
dowry · status · wealth · tradition · levirate · exogamy · endogamy · cross-cultural · ethnography · prestige
sultan
Muslim royal ruler
- concubinesNon-wife sexual partners kept
- seraglioSecluded women's quarters
- purdahWomen's concealment practice
seclusion · eunuch · odalisque · pasha · sheikh · emir · palace · royal · consorts · favorites
patrilineal
Traced through fathers
ancestors · bloodline · progeny · offspring · dynasty · genealogy · inheritance · primogeniture · household · paternity
- marriagebride, groom, wedding, husband, wife
- reproductionreproduction, birth, baby, egg, sperm
- African traditionsinitiation ceremonies, naming ceremony, ancestral worship, rites of passage, tribal chiefs
- matingmating, breeding, courtship display, mating display, mating dance
- sexual customssexual norms, sexual taboos, marriage customs, courtship, virginity
- Islamic familyumm, ab, bint, household, birr