Assignment 5

According to the reading by Julian Sanchez pp: 313-320 in your Risman text:

1) Identify one of the examples of ancient marriage described by the author and discuss how it differed from the "one man, one woman idea" of marriage
1. In Tibet about a quarter of marriages consisted of brothers sharing one wife, this differed from the one man, one woman idea of marriage because it consisted of multiple men and one woman and was not always a love marriage.

2) Among which two groups has postponing marriage become the most likely? Why?
2. Postponing marriage has become more likely for poor and middle class couples because they want to be somewhat settled economically first.


List all the wedding traditions in the clip.
exchanging of wedding bands
kissing the bride
bridesmaids and groomsmen
best man speech at the reception

Choose one tradition and do a little research on-line - what is the history behind that tradition.
Write about a paragraph about the origin of the tradition and whether you will include this in your own wedding - if you plan on having one.
Having bridesmaids and groomsmen dates back to ancient Rome.  There were typically ten maids and ten men standing up at the altar with the bride and groom to protect them from evil spirits.  The bridesmaids dressed exactly the same as the bride and the groomsmen exactly the same as the groom in hope to confuse the evil spirits.  I will definitely be having bridesmaids and groomsmen in my wedding.  I think it is important to share this special day with everyone I love and to have my closest friends and family up at the altar with me.