Practice and Perception of Tamang Women towards Cross-Cousin Marriage (An Anthropological Study of Tamang Community in Kavre)

Abstract

Marriage is a universal phenomenon which existed in every society from tribal tocivilized society. Marriage makes stability and continuity of the social order and for aregulation of kinship relations. In Nepal all ethnic groups have their own cultures andtraditions. Some of them practice cross-cousin marriage which is not taboo in theirrespective community though they know it is taken as the taboo in some othersocieties. Tamang, Gurung, Thakali, Chantyalare some of the ethnic groups whichpractices cross-cousin marriage even to date and Thakuri is an exception in the castegroup to practice cross-cousin marriage. Therefore, it is not as easy as presumed tofind the real reason behind the practice without annoying the community. Manyeducated youth of ethnic groups practicing this practice are afraid to speak out clearlyin the fear of wrong interpretation, as it is taken as a taboo in other society. There are limited studies on cross-cousin marriage practice among Tamangcommunity. In fact, only few studies have been done on Tamang marriage system.Therefore, this research study endeavored to study cross-cousin marriage practicewhich is helpful to explore the changing pattern of marriage practices amongTamangcommunity. This study has attempted to address the research questions-WhyTamang's prefers cross-cousin marriage? What are the impacts of cross-cousinmarriage in Tamang society? What are the perceptions regarding cross-cousinmarriage practices among Tamang women?The general objective of this study was tofind out themarriage practices of Tamangwomen and specific objective was toexamine their perception towards cross-cousin marriage in Kavre district of Nepal.The design of this research is descriptive as well as explorative. This study describes the practices of marriage among Tamang and explores theperception of Tamangs towards cross cousin marriage practice. Primary andsecondary data is used in this study. Primary data was collected from fieldwork usingvarious methods, tools and techniques. Both qualitative and quantitative data are usedin this study. The study was carried out at Madanvillage of Kavre district among the30 cross-cousin married Tamang women. To answer the research questions, 30married Tamang who got cross-cousin marriage were selected as respondents. Thereare various forms of marriage however love, arrange and capture marriages weremostly practiced in the research area. Interestingly,all the respondents were cross-cousinmarried either they got love or arrange or capture marriage. Regarding perception of majority of respondents desire to continue cross-cousinmarriage. The fact isrevealed that cross-cousin marriage makes the paired relation ofthe couple, legally and socially acknowledged, relatively permanent bond, securerights of offspring and other members of the kin network in Tamang community. Itprovides a formal and legal link to Tamang extended family, or kinship relatives, andthereby establishes property rights and stable lines of inheritance from generation togeneration.Cross-cousin marriage is a taboo in most Hindu societies. However, it issacred and popular in Tamang community even in 21 st century.The main concern ofcross-cousin marriage was not todivide the resources. Tamang people want to keepall properties including labour,resources, cash and other equipments etc.under ownfamily tree. They want to escape from the unfair financial competition between twofamilies.So thecross-cousin marriage is popular and alive in Tamang community ofMadan village.In Tamang community, the right of dowry property belongs to his/herdaughter as aPewabut itis not mandatory.This system has helped to empower thedaughters economically becauseany other familymembers could not sell and transfersuch propertywithout her consent. The young generations of Tamang are aware of their environment and have begun tochoose marrying partner of their choicerather than parentalwhich is creating conflictsbetween the generations though there is socio-cultural significance of crosscousinmarriage system in their community. In broad-spectrum some members of Tamangcommunity are rigid on traditional norms and practices which signifies the differingperceptions of cross-cousin marriage. Hence, anthropological significance on cross-cousin marriage system in Tamang community is worth explanatory. It can be concluded that in the age of modernization and globalization, Tamangcommunities are succeeding to preserve their traditions and customs. For instance,they have succeeded to make alive their traditional cross-cousin marriage practicewhich is playing significant role to unite and make harmony among the Tamang.Therefore, the roles and responsibilities of the nation is to preserve this uniqueidentity, beauty and harmony.