Slovenes - Marriage and the Family



Marriage. Traditionally, village or regional endogamy was preferred. Marriages were arranged by parents and involved bargaining over dowry and inheritance. Preferred residence was virilocal, but it was sometimes uxorilocal if the inheritor of the land was a daughter. The aim was to gain land in a Marriage, and thus a peasant with little land might try to marry his son to an inheriting woman. Weddings were the occasion of a veselica, a celebration with feasting, music, games, etc., and might extend over three days. Civil marriages in the postwar period have not replaced religious marriages, which, However, are much briefer than formerly. Divorce, while permitted by civil law, is still relatively rare in rural areas.

Domestic Unit. The large stem family with many children has become smaller, increasingly being replaced by a small extended family or a nuclear family composed of parents, one to three children, and one or more members of the older generation.

Inheritance. Land is inherited by the rules of impartibility and primogeniture when possible. Women are granted dowries and may inherit land if there is no son. The son also Inherits money and animals. While status is not inherited, traditionally the son of a craftsman tended to follow his Father's occupation; however, in the modern period education and factory work have opened opportunities to all strata and both sexes.

Socialization. Children are welcomed, with sons preferred. Swaddling is no longer practiced, but a restraining nightgown may be used for the first year. Schooling is universal and education beyond high school is desired by the younger generation.


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