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Key Terms
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bridewealth  See progeny price.
cross cousins  Children of a brother and a sister.
dowry  A marital exchange in which the wife’s group provides substantial gifts to the husband’s family.
endogamy  Rule or practice of marriage between people of the same social group.
exogamy  Rule requiring people to marry outside their own group.
genitor  Biological father of a child.
incest  Forbidden sexual relations with a close relative.
levirate  Custom by which a widow marries the brother of her deceased husband.
mater  Socially recognized mother of a child.
parallel cousins  Children of two brothers or two sisters.
pater  Socially recognized father of a child; not necessarily the genitor.
plural marriage  Any marriage with more than two spouses, a.k.a. polygamy.
polyandry  Variety of plural marriage in which a woman has more than one husband.
polygyny  Variety of plural marriage in which a man has more than one wife.
progeny price  A gift from the husband and his kin to the wife and her kin before, at, or after marriage; legitimizes children born to the woman as members of the husband’s descent group.
sororate  Custom by which a widower marries the sister of the deceased wife.







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