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Polyandry As A Cultural Adaptability to High Altitude: A Case Study of Kinnauras

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Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. Nos. 1-2, (2011) : 145-161

POLYANDRY: A CASE STUDY OF KINNAURAS

Rajesh K.Gautam and Gautam K. Kshatriya

ABSTRACT
Polyandry in human society exists in various regions of the world. Polyandry has been
practiced in India by some population/tribal groups such as Toda, Kota, Kinnaura, Raji
and Lahula among many others. Present study investigates the prevalence of polyandrous
marriages from the data collected on 820 Kinnura households of Kinnaur district of Himachal
Pradesh using a semi-structured schedule, interview, formal and informal group discussions
and case study methods. It was found that 13.2 per cent marriages among Kinnauras are
polyandrous. Although the relevance of polyandry is being debatable with the advent of
modernization and exposure to outer world, but it still has social significance in the life
style of Kinnauras. In this type of marital alliance, the wife enjoys many privileges over
their male partners. Further, a polyandrous union is a cooperative mode of life in the difficult
terrain especially in Himalayan highlands. The reproductive fitness of such marriages
appears to have been an adaptation to the environment. The statistical analysis in the present
study indicates that reproductive success is higher in the polyandrous marriages suggesting
its relevance in the context of the survival of such population in the difficult geo-climatic
conditions.
Keywords: Marriage, Polyandry, Reproductive success, Kinnaura tribe, India

INTRODUCTION
The elevation of 3,000 meter or more, known as high altitude, invariably leads to a
constellation of stresses, namely, hypobaric hypoxia, cold, rugged terrain, less
vegetation, high dosage of ultraviolet radiation, iodine deficiency, limited resources
etc. (Gupta et al., 1989). Beyond literal definition of high altitude, the rugged and
inaccessible terrain of Himalayas and Nilgiri Hills has still preserved the age old
tradition of polyandry. There are a number of views regarding the origin and
existence of polyandry e.g. imbalance in sex ratio, practice of female infanticide,
fragmentation of land and other property, primogeniture mode of inheritance,
solidarity of sibling group, high bride price, prolonged absence of husband from
home, tough struggle for existence, physical inadequacy of man to conceive the

Rajesh K. Gautam, Department of Anthropology, Dr. H. S. Gour University, Sagar, Madhya

Pradesh, E-mail: goutamraj@rediffmail.com, Gautam K. Kshatriya, Department of Anthropology,
University of Delhi, Delhi-110007, E-mail: g26_51@yahoo.co.in
146 Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. No. 1-2, 2011
wife among many. Thus, there are diverse reasons for the origin and occurrence of
polyandry and it may differ from one society to another living in the same or
different geo-cultural and geo-climatic conditions. There is no reason to assume
that similar institutions must have the same function or need to be produced by
the same concentration of causal factors (Goldstein, 1987).
There is reason to believe that polyandry may be a product of peculiar geo-climatic
conditions which might have lead to the development of polyandry. But at the
same time, similar conditions need not necessarily result in identical social
institution. It is thus interesting to note that all societies living in the similar socio-
economic and socio-ecological environment are not polyandrous. Some may be
polyandrous but others practice monogamy, of course polygyny co-exists in both
with weak strength.
In connection with the origin and distribution of polyandry, Berreman (1962) rightly
asserted that polyandry, like polygyny is evidently not a sufficient unitary
phenomenon to be explained in the same terms everywhere. It may have certain
advantages or functionally related correlates in some areas and not in other areas.
Polyandry was reported among a number of communities belonging to different
parts of the world, viz. Sub-Saharan African, Asian and American indigenous
communities. The Guanches of Canary Islands practiced it until their disappearance.
It was reported from Canadian Arctic, Mangolia, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet,
India etc. In India polyandry is reported from the states of Punjab, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand (part of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh) and Jammu and Kashmir
in North; from Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in North-East; from Tamilnadu and
Kerala in South (Raha and Coomar, 1987).
The ethnic groups practicing polyandry in India were Jat and Gujjar of Punjab,
Bodh and Meg of Ladakh and Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir), Pangwala of Pangi
valley, Siraj and Kanet of Kullu, Kinnaura of Kinnaur, Lahuals of Laula, Spitian of
Spiti, people of Sirmaur (Pangi valley, Kullu, Kinnaur, Lahul, Spiti and Sirmaur
are region of Himachal Pradesh), Khasas of Jaunsar Bawer of Dehradun district o f
Uttaranchal state. From North-Eastern state it was reported among Bhotia and
Lepchas of Sikkim; and Gallong, Dafla, Ramo and Khampa of Arunachal Pradesh.
In south India it was reported among the Toda and Kota of Nilgiri Hills; Nayar,
Iravas, Mannan, Panans, Vilkurpas, Kaniyans, Panikkams, Thandans of Keral (Raha
and Coomar, 1987).
Of the different forms of polyandry, fraternal polyandry is the most common. The
other forms are intergenerational polyandry and Uncle-nephew polyandry, but,
these are not common. Many anthropologists and social scientists have worked
among the polyandrous groups, namely, Aiyappam (1935), Radcliffe Brown (1941),
Kapadia (1955), Leach (1955), Saxena (1955), Majumdar (1962), Prince Peter (1963),
Chandra (1974 and 1992), Parmar (1975), Raha and Mahato (1985), Goldstein (1987),
Chakravarty (1997), Raha (2002), Gautam (2006), Kaur & Kashtriya (2007), Mishra
and Kashtriya (2007) among many others.
Polyandry as a Cultural Adaptability to High Altitude: A Case Study of Kinnauras 147
The scholars working on polyandrous groups have reported that this institution is
vanishing rapidly. While many southern Indian polyandrous groups viz., Todas,
Kotas and Nayars are becoming monogamous, there are few in the Himalayan
region e.g. Jaunsaris of Central Himalayas (Kaur and Kshatriya, 2007), Kinnauras
and Lahuals of Greater Himalayan region (Gautam, 2006; Mishra and Kshatriya,
2007), which still practice polyandry. Its continuation in Himalayan belt needs to
be investigated further as an important social institution. In this paper an attempt
has been made to find out the prevalence and the relevance of polyandry among
the Kinnauras of district Kinnaur of Himachal Pradesh.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

Present analysis is based on primary and secondary data collected on polyandry.
The primary data were collected directly from the Kinnauras practicing polyandry.
Secondary data were collected from literature. Primary information is collected on
different aspects from 820 households of Kinnauras of Kinnaur district (Himachal
Pradesh, India) using a semi-structured schedule, interview, formal and informal
group discussions and case study method. The data were collected in summer (June-
August) of three years (i.e. 2001, 2002 and 2003). The compilation and processing
of data was done in the year 2004. As evident from Table 1, data were collected
from 27 villages on a total of 820 households. Out of these 820 households, 394
households belong to middle altitude while 426 households belong to high altitude.
The village wise distribution of Kinnaura households of middle and high altitude
by types of marriage is presented in Table 1. SPSS (statistical package for social
sciences) and MS-Excel softwares were used for various statistical analyses.
Information was also collected about polyandry in Todas and Nayars of south
India, and Lahulas and Jaunsaris of Indian Himalayas for a comparative purpose.

RESULTS
Table 1 presents village wise distribution of the types of marriages. It is observed
that 13.2 per cent marriages are polyandrous, 83.9 per cent are monogamous and
2.6 per cent marriages are polygynous among the Kinnauras. The proportions of
polyandrous marriages are slightly higher in high altitude (15.3 per cent) as
compared to middle altitude (10.9 per cent). The differences in marriage pattern
between middle and high altitude are not significant.
Table 2 shows the distribution of family structure by types of marriages practiced.
It is clear that 90 per cent of nuclear, 76.2 per cent joint and 74.8 per cent extended
families are monogamous; and 8.1 per cent nuclear, 15.5 per cent joint and 23.3 per
cent extended families are polyandrous whereas only 1.9 per cent nuclear and
extended families and 6.3 joint families are polygynous. There are significant
differences between family structure and types of marriages. It can be seen from
Figure 2 that in the joint and extended families, the proportion of polyandry is
significantly higher.
148 Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. No. 1-2, 2011
Figure 1: Showing the Location of Study Area — District Kinnaur (H.P.)
Polyandry as a Cultural Adaptability to High Altitude: A Case Study of Kinnauras 149
Figure 2: Marriage Type and Family Structure among Kinnauras of Himachal Pradesh, India

Table 3 provides information on the age of women and types of marriages practiced
by Kinnauras. It is apparent from the table that a majority of the subjects (63.4%)
belong to age group 25 through 44 years. 26.9 percent of the subjects are 45 years of
age and above. Only 1.6 per cent is below 25 years of age but none below 16 years
of age. For visual presentation of age structure a bar diagram is constructed (Fig.
3). Simultaneously, to show the trend of marriage types by the age of women a
comparative line graph is also drawn (Fig. 4), which clearly shows that the women
below 34 years of age group prefer gamy while the women aged 35 years and
above show higher proportion of polyandry as compared to monogamy. The
differences between the ages of women by types of marriages are statistically not
significant.
It is worth mentioning here that education has been a key social indicator which
has had significant impact on many other social institutions like family, marriage
and kinship. To explore further, information is gathered on educational attainment
of women practicing monogamy, polyandry and polygyny, and is presented in the
Table 4. It is found that while 54.2 per cent of women have formal education, only
36.2 per cent are illiterate. The comparison of educational attainment of women by
different types of marriage does not show significant differences (χ2= 1.64, d.f.= 7,
N.S).
Table 5 shows the information on the distances between the birth places of spouses
by different types of marriage. In all kind of marriages, the trend is similar as the
distance increases the proportion decreases.
150 Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. No. 1-2, 2011
Figure 3: Age Structure of the Subjects Women

Age Wise Distribution of the Samples (women)

Figure 4: Comparative Line Diagram showing the Age Wise Trend of Monogamy and Polyandry
Polyandry as a Cultural Adaptability to High Altitude: A Case Study of Kinnauras 151
On the basis of possession of different assets viz. Radio/Television/Car/Television
etc. and availability of essential items of life style viz. drinking water, electricity,
and fuel used for cooking, toilet type etc.; an index of standard of living is developed
and households are classified in three categories— poor, moderate and affluent.
Data by marriage types and standard of living are presented in Table 6. It has been
observed that 2.9 of total subjects belong to poor category, 75.4 per cent to moderate
category and 21.7 per cent to affluent category.
Since a long, it was said and accepted that the polyandry is evolved because of
imbalance in sex ratio due to female infanticide. In this study, household census is
conducted to collected age and sex wise information of individuals from 820
households. Information is gathered on a total of 4991 individuals, out of which
2588 are males and 2503 are females, and the sex ratio is estimated as 1006 females
per thousand of males. Gautam (2006) has provided detailed age and sex wise
analysis. Even in the cohort of 50+ age group the sex ratio of Kinnaura is good as is
evident from Fig. 5. But the Census of India reported the low sex ratio (851 female
for 1000 of male) for Kinnaur district. The sex ratio estimation of census is for total
population which includes “others”, which are mostly male migrants from outside.
We have also attempted to find out the relationship between polyandry and
reproductive performance (Table 7). A total of 803 mothers are interviewed for
their pregnancy enumeration. Information is collected on live births, surviving
children, number of abortions and total fetal loss. Out of 803 mothers 106 are
practicing polyandry, 675 are monogamous and 22 are part of polygyny.
It can be seen from the Table 7 that mean number of live birth per women is
estimated as 3.48. (±1.94 S.D.). Further, the percentage of foetal loss is significantly
Figure 5: Population Pyramid of Kinnaura (Pooled)
152 Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. No. 1-2, 2011
low among the mothers practicing polyandry (2.9%) as compared to monogamy
(6.9%). In the same way mean number of abortion per mother is also lowest among
the polyandrous mothers (0.08) as compared to monogamous (0.16) and polygynous
mothers (0.18) which is evident from bar diagram (Fig. 6 and 7). As apparent from
error bar diagram (Fig. 8) the total pregnancy experienced and total live births
given by the mothers of polyandrous union are significantly higher than the mothers
of monogamous union. Contrary to that the reproductive wastage in terms of
abortion and fetal loss is significantly higher among the mothers of monogamous
union (Fig. 9).
Figure 6: Percentage of Foetal Loss among Mothers Practicing Different Marriage Type

Figure 7: Mean Number of Abortion Per mother Practicing Different form of Marriages
Polyandry as a Cultural Adaptability to High Altitude: A Case Study of Kinnauras 153
Figure 8: Error Bar Diagramme Showing 95% Confidence Interval of Mean of Total Number of
Pregnancy Experienced and Mean of Total Live Births given by Mothers Practicing Different
form of Marriages and Comparison between Variables and Groups of Mothers

Figure 9: Error Bar Diagramme Showing 95% Confidence Interval of Mean Total Abortion and
Total Foetal loss and Difference between Variables and Group of Mothers Practicing
Different form of Marriages
154 Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. No. 1-2, 2011
DISCUSSION
Polyandry is a very old social institution, and social scientists have tried to provide
various explanations for its beginning in the human society. Polyandrous marriages
are thought to be considered as a transition from sexual promiscuity to monogamy
in the process of cultural regulation of sexual alliances. This however, does not
explain its absence in various small old social groups away from main stream such
as Jarwa, Onge, Nicobarese, Great Andamanese of Andaman and Nicobar islands.
In the same way, there are many primitive tribes, who do not practice polyandry.
The second explanation given for polyandry was demographic i.e. imbalance in
sex ratio due to female infanticide But, it should be noted that there are many such
societies, where sex ratio is low but polyandry is not practiced. It is worthwhile to
state that population pyramid of Kinnauras in the present study indicates no
substantial change in sex ratio throughout various age groups. Females are higher
in proportion than males. The access number of women remains unmarried and
live either with their parents or with their brothers or brother’s children. Sometimes
they become zumo (Buddhist nun).
Westermark (1921), Linton (1936) and Breeks (1983) have found correlation between
poverty and polyandry. Westermark (1921) stated that the difficult economic
condition may lead to polyandry. Breeks (1983) observed that in poor Toda families,
two or more brothers used to marry a common wife. This cannot be a universal
explanation as poverty prevails in many societies but polyandry is practiced in
few, even polyandry is being practiced by affluent as observed among Kinnaura.
The third explanation given in support of polyandry is to avoid property division
especially to check the further division of small pieces of cultivable land. This
explanation has some credence, but again polyandry is not reported from all the
Himalayan groups, where many of them face land deprivation. Interestingly,
polyandry is being practiced even by those individuals in Kinnauras who are
employed in service sector (e.g. Government Jobs). The fourth explanation proposed
for polyandry was high bride price (Westermark, 1921 and Dalton, 1960), but bride
prize is not prevalent only in polyandrous societies. It is also customary in many
monogamous societies. In the same way, fifth reason for polyandry is mentioned
as pastorality (River, 1906; Westermark, 1921 and Crooke, 1974) but again all
pastoral community are not polyandrous and all polyandrous community are not
essentially pastoral. Among Kinnaura, as already stated, polyandry is practiced
even by individuals who are employed in different service sectors. Security of wife
is the sixth reason given in support of polyandry (Raha, 1996).
Ironically, the security of wife is not a problem, as in the secluded area/hilly terrain,
crime rate is negligible. Lastly according to Raha (1991) Kinnaura and Jaunsari
trace polyandry from Pandavas, the mythological legendary figure of Mahabharat
(Great Indian Epic). But in our opinion, it is a skeptical statement because the
characters of an epic cannot be historical. At the same time none of the contemporary
of Pandvas was practicing polyandry, nor their descendants. Besides, if the Kinnaura
are descendant of Pandavas why do they worship the descendants of a devil Vanasur
as deity (e.g. Chandika, Sheshering, Markaring etc.) and why many of them have
Polyandry as a Cultural Adaptability to High Altitude: A Case Study of Kinnauras 155
adopted Buddhism. Thus, it is difficult to assume that they are descendants of
Pandavas and it is equally difficult to accept that polyandry is linked with the epic
of Mahabharat. In the light of above discussion, it can be concluded that the earlier
explanations of polyandry in terms of demographic imbalance, socio-economic
condition, ecological circumstances and historical (or mythological) tradition fails
to clarify the origin of polyandry. Therefore, in the present investigation an attempt
has made to find out more logical explanation of polyandry.
The polyandry in human being can be better understood by such kind of mating
practice among other non-humans. In nature, such practices can be observed among
insects, birds and monkeys. These creatures increase the rate of reproductive success
by such mechanism. Among insects such practices are common, one of this kind of
mating can be seen in the Field Cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus), which is an
invertebrate of Order-Orthoptera. It is observed that female Field Cricket mates
with any male closer to her. And in this way, she mates with more than one male
and thus, promoting the sperm competition. Post-copulation mating with multiple
males increases the survival of the female’s offspring as all mating partners care
for offspring in expectation of securing own DNA. In the same way, the Polyandry
can be seen in fish (such as pipefish), bird species (in around 1% of all bird species,
e.g.- jacanas), primates (e.g.- marmosets ) and other mammal groups (e.g. the
marsupial “mouse” genus- Antechinus). It is also reported that 61% of Saddleback
tamarins (Primate) have polyandrous union. In fact, polyandry reduces the effective
population size and increases the reproductive success in many ways.
The theory of reproductive success is also applicable among the human polyandry
of high altitude region, where survival is so difficult due to limited resources,
extreme cold, radiation, hypoxia etc. and other harsh climatic condition. For
conception, only fittest sperm is required for fertilization of ovum, which is ensured
through sperm competition of more than one male partners of polyandrous union.
This is also proved by significantly higher reproductive success among the mother
of polyandrous union. Further, in the study area it was observed that certain
proportion of women conceived before marriages, and gave births. Such children
are nurtured in their maternal houses, without any social stigma indicating the
existence of extra marital relations too. In many primitive societies such kind of
practices (pre-marital and extra-marital alliances) are common. The extra-marital
alliances may be post copulation mating to increase the sperm competition. One of
such practices was reported among the Baiga, a primitive tribe of Central India, in
whom the common form of marriage is monogamy, but in a genetic investigation,
it was found that one third (33%) of the total investigated children were not genetic
offspring of both the ostensible parents (Reddy and Modell, 1996). This is possible
only through liberal sexual contacts or extra-marital relations. The extra-marital
relations, relates to more natural form of passion independent of cultural sanctity
and indirectly enhances reproductive success through sperm competition. This
mechanism is regularized among Polyandrous societies. In ultra modern society
too, such kind of liberal practices can be observed, in which a marital alliances is
not strict and mates are available easily. But in tough ecological condition it is
difficult to arrange extra mate, hence arrangement were made within the same
156 Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. No. 1-2, 2011
roof. The advent of science and technology has reduced the harshness of ecological
condition. Medical science has provided opportunity of survival to even less fit
individuals and to successful survival of genetically defected fetus. But in the
secluded areas like high altitude, where the medical aids are still negligible, it is
not easy for inhabitants of such area to avail health services easily. Hence, again
polyandry ensures the reproductive success through sperm competition.
Polyandry in primates and other mammals is also correlated with reduced or reverse
sexual dimorphism. When males of a species are much larger than females, polygyny
is usually practiced. As size difference decreases, a species is more likely to practice
monogamy or polyandry. The great apes (gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees)
are highly dimorphic and practice polygyny. Male and female gibbons (lesser apes)
are similar in size and form monogamous pairs. Human males and females are less
dimorphic (aroused) in body size than other polygynous great apes, and are often
monogamous. But, in high altitude, the ecology, economy and occupational
compulsion imposes males to be occupied more in outdoor activities and as a result
males have to spent considerable period of time away from the homes. This therefore,
requires a care taker at home. And brothers are considered good care taker. In the
absence of brothers, other relatives or neighbors are needed to look after the wife
and children. In this way, they may start becoming the part of union, either in the
absence of husband or due to his inability to be successful performer, especially when
women is in intense receptive mood. To regularize all such needs, the polyandry
appears to be most logical outcome of such particular circumstances.
Recently, Polyandry was being practiced among some of the south Indian populations
(e.g. Toda, Kota, Nayar etc.), but now there is no Polyandrous union in these
populations. However, in high altitude populations the Polyandry still has not lost
its relevance, although its proportion is declining continuously as shown in Table 8.
Malinowski’s theory of functionalism pointed out that the cultural institution must
satisfy human needs. If the needs of humans change, the cultural institutions have to
change or transform accordingly. Possibly, in high altitude too, the Polyandry may
gradually lose its function and relevance with the advent of modern means of
communication (especially television and cell- phones), availability of medical
facilities, changing economic resources and spread of modern education.

CONCLUSION
On the basis of present findings and discussion it can be concluded that Polyandry
has played a greater role in the adaptation and survival of human being in the high
altitude. As a cultural institution it worked as cushion to reduce the stress of high
altitude not only culturally but also biologically. As proved through statistical analysis
the polyandry increases the reproductive success. It increases the chance of selection
of ‘best’ possibly through sperm competition. In the zone of limited resources,
polyandry still serves to reduce the effective population size. Furthermore, polyandry
alone cannot be looked in isolation. It is a part of larger cultural complex of the area,
which is still secluded, where, resources cannot be generated, and hence, cooperative
units are still needed to reduce the natural stress. The employment of younger
generation in other sectors like government jobs, away from hills, may slightly twist
Polyandry as a Cultural Adaptability to High Altitude: A Case Study of Kinnauras 157
the present scenario, and such individuals would prefer monogamy, but at the same
time, it was also observed that in such cases too polyandry is smoothly functioning.
In one of such cases during harsh winter, the wife (alongwith children) stay with the
husband who is employed in plains (warmer area) and during summer she goes
back to hills for agriculture/horticulture works and stays with other male partners.
When children are of school going age they stay with the father who is posted at city
and get enrolled in good school for getting better education. This case again indicates
the functional and structural relevance of polyandry for high altitude inhabitants
even in changing ways of living conditions. Finally, to understand polyandry, one
should adopt the bio-cultural approach, because culture is a mechanism of survival,
it facilitates in leading successful life and perpetuation of species.
Table 1: Village Wise Distribution of Household as Per type of Marriage

S. No. Village Type of marriage practiced

Monogamy Polyandry Polygyny Total
Middle Altitude
1. Kilba 20 9 3 32
2. Kashmir 15 1 2 18
3. Kothi 32 4 2 38
4. Khwangi 26 5 0 31
5. Sudharang 30 2 0 32
6. Yuwarangi 17 3 1 21
7. Pangi 31 4 0 35
8. Khwanta 27 1 1 29
9. Duni 30 2 0 32
10. Kalpa 24 4 3 31
11. Saryo 27 3 2 32
12. Telingi 29 2 2 33
13. Brilingi 26 3 1 30
Middle Altitude Total 334 43 17 394
Per cent 84.8% 10.9% 4.3% 100%
High Altitude
1. Nako 35 5 1 41
2. Thangi 16 1 0 17
3. Maling 26 4 0 30
4. Giabong 15 3 0 18
5. Leo 29 6 1 36
6. Pooh 56 8 0 64
7. Dubling 24 1 2 27
8. Akpa 13 2 1 16
9. Kanam 4 2 1 7
10. Morang 26 8 1 35
11. Chango 20 3 0 23
12. Hango 6 1 0 10
13. Sumra 27 10 0 37
14. Shalkher 55 10 0 65
High Altitude Total 354 65 7 426
Per cent 83.10% 15.26% 1.64% 100%
Kinnaura Total 688 108 23 820
Per cent 83.90% 13.17% 2.80% 100%
χ2= 8.1, d.f. =2, significant 5% level. (there is significant difference in marriage pattern of middle and
high altitude)
158 Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. No. 1-2, 2011
Table 2: Family Structure and Type of Marriage among Kinnaura of
Himachal Pradesh India

Family Structure Type of Marriage

Monogamy Polyandry Polygyny Total
N % N % N % N %
Nuclear 425 90.0 38 8.1 9 1.9 472 100
Joint 144 76.2 33 17.5 12 6.3 189 100
Extended 119 74.8 37 23.3 3 1.9 159 100
Total 688 83.9 108 13.2 24 2.9 820 100

χ2= 39.44, d.f. =4, significant 1% level

Table 3: Age-wise Distribution of Women Practicing Different

Forms of Marriage

Age of Women Type of Marriage

Monogamy Polyandry Polygyny Total
N % N % N % N %
16-19 5 0.7 - - 1 4.3 6 0.7
20-24 66 9.8 6 5.7 - - 72 9.0
25-29 125 18.5 14 13.2 1 4.3 140 17.4
30-34 110 16.3 13 12.3 5 21.7 128 15.9
35-39 107 15.9 21 19.8 4 17.4 132 16.4
40-44 90 13.3 14 13.2 6 26.1 110 13.7
45-49 63 9.3 14 13.2 2 8.7 79 9.8
50-55 54 8.0 13 12.3 2 8.7 69 8.6
56+ 55 8.1 11 10.4 2 8.7 68 8.5
Total 675 100 106 100 23 100 804 100

Table 4: Distribution of Sample as per Marriage Type and

Educational Attainment

Education of Women Type of Marriage

Monogamy Polyandry Polygyny Total
N % N % N % N %
Illiterate 242 36.0 36 34.0 12 50.0 290 36.2
Literate 65 9.7 10 9.4 2 8.3 77 9.6
Primary 97 14.4 15 14.2 3 12.5 115 14.3
Middle 123 18.3 18 17.0 4 16.7 145 18.1
High School 96 14.3 16 15.1 2 8.3 114 14.2
Higher Secondary 23 3.4 6 5.7 1 4.2 30 3.7
Graduate and above 26 3.9 5 4.7 - - 31 3.9
Total 672 100.0 106 100.0 24 100.0 802 100.0
Polyandry as a Cultural Adaptability to High Altitude: A Case Study of Kinnauras 159
Table 5: Distribution of Sample as Per Marriage type and
Marriage Distance

Marriage Distance Type of Marriage

Monogamy Polyandry Polygyny Total
N % N % N % N %
Within village 113 16.4 24 22.2 5 20.8 142 17.3
1-5 Km 212 30.8 27 25.0 8 33.3 247 30.1
6-10 Km 71 10.3 11 10.2 1 4.2 83 10.1
11-20 Km 79 11.5 19 17.6 4 16.7 102 12.4
21-30 Km 61 8.9 7 6.5 3 12.5 71 8.7
31-50 Km 74 10.8 15 13.9 2 8.3 91 11.1
51-100 Km 62 9.0 4 3.7 - - 66 8.0
Above 100 Km 16 2.3 1 0.9 1 4.2 18 2.2
Total 688 100 108 100 24 100 820 100

Table 6: Distribution of Sample as Per Marriage Type and

Standard of Living

Standard of Living Type of Marriage

Monogamy Polyandry Polygyny Total
N % N % N % N %
Poor 18 2.6 5 4.6 1 4.2 24 2.9
Good 526 76.5 74 68.5 18 75.0 618 75.4
Better 144 20.9 29 26.9 5 20.8 178 21.7
Total 688 100.0 108 100.0 24 100.0 820 100.0

Table 7: Number of Mothers, Pregnancies Experienced by them, Number of Live Births, Children
Surviving, Number of Abortions, Total Foetal Loss, Mean live Births, Mean Number of
Abortions and Per centage of Foetal Loss among Kinnaura Mothers Practicing Different
form of Marriages

Type of Number Number Children Children Abortion Total Mean Mean Per-
Marriage of of preg- ever born survi- Foetal Number Number centage
mothers nancies (live ving Loss of Live of of Foetal
births) births Abortions Loss
Monogamy 675 2463 2292 1970 111 171 3.4 0.16 6.9
Polyandry 106 478 464 398 8 14 4.4 0.08 2.9
Polygyny 22 104 98 85 4 6 4.5 0.18 5.8
Kinnaura (Total) 803 3045 2854 2453 123 191 3.5 0.15 6.3
160 Ind. J. Phys. Anthrop. & Hum. Genet. Vol. 30. No. 1-2, 2011
Table 8: Proportion of Polyandrous Marriages among Different Indian Populations
during Last One Century

S. No. Population/Area Ecological Zone Year Polyandry (%) Source

1. Toda Low/Middle Altitude 1906 Sufficient River (1906)
2. ——”—— ——”—— 1996 1%* Parthsarthy (1996)
3. ——”—— ——”—— 2007 0%† Present Study (2007)
4. Nayar Low Altitude/Coastal 1959 Sufficient Gough (1959)
5. ——”—— ——”—— 1976 0% Fuller (1976)
6. Kelong, Lahul High Altitude 1938 67% Peter Prince (1963)
7. Lahul ——”—— 2007 9% Mishra and Kshatriya (2007)
8. Ladakh ——”—— 1955 90% Peter Prince (1955)
9. ——”—— ——”—— 1978 8% Man (1978)
10. Kinnaur ——”—— 1985 30% Raha and Mahato (1985)
11. ——”—— ——”—— 2006 13% Gautam (2006)
12. Zanksar ——”—— 1987 11% Crook (1987)
13. Jaunsari Middle Altitude 2007 10% Kaur and Kshatriya (2007)
*Only two cases of polyandry was reported by the author.†Recently a team of anthropologist visited
Nilgiri Hills in search of Polyandrous union but none of the union were found polyandrous.

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