NationStates Jolt Archive

The minister of culture was working overtime. Now that they had regular extragalactic contact again, the Emperor had had a fit once he realized that their files on world culture tended to be badly outdated. If Lady Ami wanted to keep her job and her children's jobs, she would have to get to work fast.

The problem was, she had no time to get to other nations and check on what they did. Instead, it looked like she would simply have to ask them about their various cultural habits and institutions.

She decided to send out a series of polls to get at least basic information.

This poll only applies to my FT nation and not the one I use for MT

[OoC: just culturally accepted, not necessarily legally accepted?]

OOC: yes

In Bardar polygamy have been abolished 200 years ago, so monogamy should be the best alternative. Same- sex marriages are forbidden by law though. Love marriages are becoming more common, even though arranged marriages are the tradition, especially in the upper classes. Interracial marriages, or marriage with people of foreign culture are allowed, but not recommended. Marriage with a being of another species is so absurd no Bardarian would ever consider it. When it come to child marriage, it's not legal in Bardar, but then again a person is considered adult at 14. Forced marriages are outlawed, and they are decreasing since the police has done a great job in stopping bride kidnapping and other forms of forced marriage. However it's sometimes hard to know where the line between an arranged marriage and a forced marriage goes.

Forced and arranged marriages are considered "cultural offsets of chauvinism and tyranny", although there are no sentient species other than humans, one could easily "marry" with a dog as long as no denounces of abuse were to be the consequence. Regarding children, the age of consent is 12, however a marriage between two children is accepted, a "marriage" of a child with an adult is considered a sign of pedophilia. Homosexuality is entirely normal and both women and men can marry with as many as they wish to, from both genders. Also, there is little consideration to adultery. The exception is the Christian conservative city of Fátima, where more traditional practices prevail, but arranged and forced marriages are still frowned upon.

In brief words: any sort of fully consensual marriage is accepted, and marriage does not imply exclusivity, only preference. The age of consent is 12 years old.

In Sumer marriage is a legal contract through the temples, and as such dictated by law. Unlike other religiously controlled marriage laws in foreign countries, marriage in Sumer is fairly open. As, for almost a thousand years, the ability to have children has been removed from the concept of marriage in Sumer, the contract is instead intended to facilitate legal, economic, and housing abilities to partners of a permenant, or semi-permenant, sexual and romantic nature. Adults over the age of 16, or 14 with the permission of their parent, guardian, or the state, may enter into a marriage contract through the government with any other willing adult of age 16 or over (and 14 in the afformentioned cases).

In Sumer the concepts of polygamy and monogomy, in terms of any differentiation of cultural norm, simply don't exist. It is not uncommon to see polygamy, nor is it uncommon to see monogomy, and various other forms. A man and woman may marry, and the woman may have herself a seperate wife, or the man a seperate husband, each of whom may also be married. It can be quite confusing, not only for the government, but the people involved. Because of this the most common form of marriage within Sumer is what is refered to as a "closed marriage", in which all partners are partners of eachother in a small closed group. The most basic closed marriage is two people, married to eachother. More common however is often three to five people married to eachother into a closed group. While the birthrate shift following the Great Europa War has shifted demographics, as for almost eighty years more women have been born then men on a slowly increasing rate, to provide a more female-dominated society in many respects, the result has also led to a larger prevelance of marriage between several women with one or few men.

Legally speaking there are few limitations to marriage, as those who wish to enter into the contract must be able to prove their case to a jury of their peers if deemed nessecary. Marriage between direct blood relatives of differing sexes is illegal, such that a brother may not enter into contract with his sister, however two same-sex blood relatives may enter into a marriage contract such that two sisters may enter into a closed marriage with one man, in which they would both be married to the man, and to eachother. Likewise legal incest laws do not apply to marriage with the divine, as Sumerian law recognises legal marrige to a god or goddess as a legal marriage (It is a temple rite used in religious practices, and must be endorsed by that god/goddesses' temple to be considered legal), in which case blood relation (Again, technicly legally recognised, although not claimed for a very very very long time) to said god or goddess is not legally considered incest, and thus legal regardless of gender.

Marriage is considered seperate from the act of child bearing and child rearing, although many different-sex partners will attain both legal statuses. As an aside, for a woman to be legally able to have children and raise them as a mother, she must verify that she is capable of providing for those children on an emotional, spiritual, and personal level. If this can be done she is provided what is commonly referred to as a "birthing permit" (Although this is not an accurate description) and thus considered legally compotent and able to care for a child. Prior to the Great Europa War this was only legally required of women, and men were not required to prove such compotency (Although it was open to them). Following the Great Europa War, both men and women who wish to provide legal guardianship to a child must be thusly certified. Such certifications are generally attained through public education programs in the mid to late teen years, however, and are commonplace (Ever seen those babysitting courses some high schools offer? Same idea, really easy to get).

In short, marriage in Sumer is confusing.

Marriages in Dekho have traditionally been rather open for some and shut for others.

Monogamy is the most common style of marriage. Polygyny (one man, multiple women) is the most common style of polygamy, especially among the wealthy and influential, but there is some polyandry (opposite), and the occasional group marriage.

traditionally marriages have been arranged, often for familial/political alliance or convenience, but the partners always had some choice, with pure forced marriage punishable by death. Today, love marriages are increasing in number, w/ parents increasingly only offering their stamp of approval rather than the options. Although arranged marriages can't become forced, societal pressure and the commonness of the custom generally prompt the partners to follow through.

Children can legally become engaged, but not married. This was once more common, but is now almost entirely gone except among clan leaders who have politics to consider.

in older times, the leader of a defeated clan would often offer one of his wives or future brides to the other tribe's leader. This would occasionally spread through the ranks, and the recipient had the right to offer the girl or woman to another clan member. the new wife would then be accepted as a full clan member and face no stigma among her new neighbors. since clans are generally bound by blood, it was traditionally or her to have a child as son as possible. this tradition is almost gone today. Another tradition involved the death or other removal of a clan leader. in that case, the new chief would traditionally accept all of the former wives of childbearing age, and all the engagements, for his own, except those who he is related to. this continues today.

Incest and homosexuality are taboo. Dekhons can marry at 16 minimum.

Romandeos practices a more traditional marriage system. Any marriages must be made between a single man and a single woman, and while a person could marry as many people as they wish in a lifetime one spouse at a time is firmly in place as the legal limit throughout the nation, save the city of Southcoast. There, anyone who can argue their legal case before the sitting metropolitan authorities well enough can marry as many as ten people. To date, however, there have been no succesful attempts to do such.

Homosexual marriages are strictly forbidden, as are marriages to non-sentient beings, such as dogs or hamsters.

Marriages can be arranged, and sometimes are, though for the final ceremony it is necessary for both persons to sign a document stating that they are not in some way averse to the arrangements. If the person who did the arranging in some way coerces one or both parties, that is illegal and grounds for arrest.

Marriage between two sentient being from different species or different races is perfectly legal and does not usually carry any social stigmas.

Marriage between cousins, though somewhat controversial, is legal.

Kahanistanians are Westernised Middle Easterners, for the most part, with a significant European minority. As such, they are significantly more liberal than their former neighbours ("former" because of having been uprooted and displaced by Doomani invasions) in sexual and other social matters.

Forced and arranged marriages are illegal and those responsible are severely punished. The age of majority is 15 (though to comply with UN / WA dictates, one may not be sent into combat until 18) and the age of sexual consent is 13. However, while teen sexual activity is common, there are effective government programmes encouraging the use of contraception, such as the pill, condom / diaphragm, or morning-after pills so teen pregnancy is not especially common. Delaying marriage until the 30's and having only one or two children is the norm.

Polygamy is legal, though in practice restricted to Kahanistan's Mormon and pagan minorities and some Muslim conservatives. Gay and interracial marriage are common (upwards of 15% of Kahanistan's population is homosexual, owing in large part to gay immigration from less tolerant states) and given the number of different ethnicities in Kahanistan (Jews, Arabs, and Europeans form a majority, with minorities of Kurds, Africans, Persians and Asians) nearly a third of all marriages are interracial.

Typically, a couple (or more rarely, a group, as with Mormons and some types of pagan) will arrive at the local marriage office and be legally declared married in the eyes of the state. If the partners are religious, a religious ceremony can be held at a local place of worship in which the people are married in the eyes of their god or gods, often the same day or within the next few days. This is a separate matter, and religious institutions are not required to violate their doctrine (e.g. a fundamentalist Muslim mosque would not be forced to marry gays in the eyes of Allah.)

Parenting education is mandatory in tertiary school (the university level) and taught in most secondary schools. This teaches basic child rearing skills and what to expect from children, including practical experiences with training dummies programmed to cry, spit, and even crap. As a result, almost all married couples have an idea of how to handle their first child.

Lady Ami was delighted. She could get to work now.