Marriage is а result of evolution. It has appeared a way of relationship regulation between two humans contrary gender – woman and man, concerning each other and their children. Today wedlock is permitted and regulated by society and it defines marital rights and responsibilities.
In primitive society such a thing as matrimony or family was not considered at all, because there was tribe where marriages were built both horizontally and vertically: parents and children, brothers and sisters. Subsequently, there appeared two types of polygamous group marriage: endogenous (kinship) matrimony and exogamous (punalua) matrimony.
The first step of kin evolution was endogenous kin, where marital relations were built in the same group within generations – horizontally. All brothers and sisters, both siblings and lateral relationship lived together. Upheaval in kin development became a “taboo” for the vertical connection between children and parents. They lived in a separate circle. Later appeared exogamous or punalua matrimony.
Punalua (Hawaiian – “married friend”) was the next step in the colony evolution, where men of one group (kin) married with women of another kin. Men came to a different kin with a purpose of marital cohabitation. It was a polygamous marriage. Savages killed babies that men excess in case of women have had several husbands.
In a group marriage a child’s origin could be established only the female line. There formed so-called «mother’s law» (the rights for the baby remained for a mother). Children were among women in the tribe, and when they became adult, they proceeded to men tribe. The men were members of a different kin, so women didn’t have any relation to the property. Such kin got a name «no-parental». Because of hetaerism – the praising woman in society – all the nations went through the polygamy to individual wedlock and family.
The being such wedlock had a substantive ground: a woman took a leading position because she led home collective farm. Matriarchal system existed for thousands years.
Changing economical organization in primitive society, namely the emergence of surplus product, has generated need to give surpluses to members of other community’s sexual partners. This led to the formation of responsibilities and rights in an intimate life.
Individual wedlock has appeared. Such a marriage meant the equality of a male and a woman, so that it was possible to break it with a will of anyone of the couple and without unnecessary formalities.
People broke marriage relationship and quickly found a new partner. So happened more than three times in their lives.
Subsequently a paired family has changed radically and turned from marriage to the economic center. The accumulation of definite tangibles put a male above a woman and respectively he wished to change the order of inheritance for their children, not for woman kin. The patriarchal paired kin has changed matriarchal steam and became intermediate between paired kin and monogamous marriage.
Shortly after the collapse of the patriarchal kin on the economic level, its place took one-marriage (or monogamous) family, which was based on the rule of a man with a definite purpose – procreation. In children’s origin from just one parent there was beyond dispute. Monogamous marriage differs from paired kin: it has safer and stronger ties between spouses, which are not so easy to break only at their wish.
For Ukraine monogamous treaty marriage is most common and traditional. There was a perception that a kin should not be created without the benediction, of the parents. Yet, the last word during courtship had to tell the couple. Newly-weds were rarely forced to marry.
Among Ukrainian in the XIX century at the conclusion of wedlock endogamy on the national principle was widespread. So Ukrainian women (men) married with the Ukrainian men (women), and rarely with people of other nationalities (Jews, Russians, Poles, Tatars and others).
Ukrainians had so-called «common law». So the son got married and stayed with his wife to live with parents. Respectively the daughter went to live with her husband. So it was from the time of Kyivska Rus.
Based on the above I can conclude that the modern concept of “marriage” emerged as a way to regulate sexual connection between unrelated partners. A wedlock is laid on sexual connection and isn’t limited by them. The marriage relationship should be perceived as voluntary and equal connection between sexually mature and free partners of the contrary sex, foundation on specific agreements. In marriage there are defined duties and rights, which are related by parties of this marriage. Marriage regulates not only sexual relations but it’s a matter of mutual household, property, giving birth and parenting that is possible within the family or genus.
