Declining Fraternal Polyandry & Land Implications

This ongoing research investigates the link between declining fraternal polyandry and land ownership in Kinnaur, Western Himalaya. 

Kinnauri fraternal polyandry, where a woman marries a set of brothers, is a rare form of marriage, but a common traditional practice. Polyandry is a complex cooperative strategy that has alleviated uncertainty in a harsh mountain environment.

In Kinnaur, a high elevation region with land, resource, and labor scarcity, flexible relationships and strong social networks have reduced risk and supported livelihoods.

Declining polyandry is changing land ownership and contributing to land partitioning in Kinnaur. Smaller land units may possibly have significant long-term economic consequences, i.e. inefficiency of production supporting individual households. Shifting marital customs reflect wider social transitions driven by increased exposure to the broader market and modernization. 

Some findings from this research effort have been published in the journal Human Ecology: Rahimzadeh, A. (2020). Fraternal Polyandry and Land Ownership in Kinnaur, Western Himalaya. Human Ecology. doi:10.1007/s10745-020-00181-1