Akha - Marriage and Family



Marriage. Akha traditionally marry in their teens or early twenties. Polygyny is permitted. Marriages may be village endogamous or exogamous. Each non-Christian village has a courting ground, where young people gather in the evening to sing and dance. Nowadays radios playing songs in the national language replace Akha love songs. A teenaged girl progresses through graded changes of clothing and ornamentation, culminating in the donning of the high hat which proclaims her marriageability. In general, young people are free to choose their own spouse, although parental approval should be obtained. The wedding ceremony takes place at the groom's family's house. At marriage a woman leaves her father's patrilineal kinship units to join those of her husband. Initial postmarital residence is patrivirilocal; that is, the wife joins her husband, who lives with his father or elder brother. Since only one married couple is permitted to live in a single house, a newly married couple often live in an adjacent hut, taking meals in the main house. After he has children, a married man may move out of his father's house. This household becomes an independent patrilineal family only when it installs its own ancestor altar. Either spouse can initiate divorce. Before children are born this is common; afterwards, women are constrained by the fact that children remain with the ex-husband. Marriage involves not simply the couple but also their natal patrilineal kin. Wife giving and wife taking relationships are central to Akha society, with wife givers superior to wife takers. Scholars disagree about whether the system can be classified as one of asymmetric alliance, the prototypical mainland Southeast Asian example of which is the Kachin.

Domestic Unit. Although many patrilineal families (minimal lineage) live in a single compound, it is not, strictly speaking, a residential unit because not all members need reside together; rather, it is a ritually defined unit. Given the developmental cycle of the patrilineal family, membership can range from a nuclear family to an extended family of four generations living in one or more houses.

Inheritance. At marriage a daughter is given a yoked carrying basket, a hoe, and a knife. Additional gifts are optional; however, a woman leaves with her high hat, which may be laden with silver coins and ornaments. A married son who builds a house of his own may receive livestock, tools, seeds, cash, and household items. The son (often the youngest) who stays with the parents in their old age inherits their house.

Socialization. Both parents care for children, who are also tended by their older sisters and brothers as well as other kin. Girls, who fetch water and firewood, take on household responsibilities earlier than boys. The mother's brother, believed to have power over the welfare of his nephews and nieces, can perform various ceremonies to ensure that a child grows up healthy and strong.


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