Marriage Rules in Bengal 1

Abstract

This is an essay in structural analysis: an examination of the rules governing prescription and permitting choice in the initiation of marriage in West Bengal villages. Four structural features emerge as significant in the Bengal variant of marriage in India: arranged marriage, kin‐group exogamy/endogamy, intensification of ties, and extension of ties. These features (variously modified) appear to characterize marriage in other parts of India, and it is suggested here that the approach utilized for Bengal may provide greater insight for the study of Indian marriage patterns than the more traditional dichotomy: North India characterized by village exogamy, South India characterized by preferential close‐kin marriage.