Orokaiva - Marriage and Family

Marriage. Polygyny among the Orokaiva is accepted but rare. Clan exogamy is preferred, but not strictly enforced. Villages are not exogamous. A large bride-price is required for arranged marriages, although in the past wives were also obtained through capture. Postmarital residence is ideally patrilocal, but in practice people have a wide choice between the villages of patrilateral or matrilateral kin or of affines, and residence may be changed at any time. The distribution of clan branches through a number of villages is closely related to access to the group's land, hence the initial motivation for a long-term change in residence may be influenced by proximity to land intended to be brought into cultivation. Divorce is allowed, with custody of minor children going to the father, except for infants.

Domestic Unit. The basic domestic and economic unit is the household, composed of either a nuclear or extended family.

Inheritance. Inheritance is usually patrilineal.

Socialization. Errant children are subject to beating and especially to scolding. Education is predominantly through a system of mission schools, partly financed by the government's department of education.