Northern Shoshone and Bannock - Marriage and Family



There were no strict rules on postmarital residence; couples could live with the relatives of the husband or wife and occasionally with more distant relatives. Depending on the group, there were tendencies toward matrilocality or bilocality, the latter probably being more common. Marriages were most often monogamous, but polygamy, usually polygyny, was possible. Some informal polyandry has been noted. Sororal Polygyny occurred, and the levirate and sororate were common. Divorce was simple, fairly common, and without formal rules. The usual domestic unit was the independent nuclear family. There seems to have been no concept of inheritance.


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