Marriages and Spouse Selection in Tibet

Abstract

Tibet has its unique geographic characters and special natural resource distribution patterns. Because of its natural conditions and relative isolation from the outside world, special social systems and marriage patterns have formed in Tibet during its long history. These marriages cannot be classified simply by the categories of other societies. Polyandry, which can seldom be found in other parts of the world, is still popular in Tibet today. This article reviews the literature on Tibetan marriages and spouse selection, and based on author's field survey, analyzes the structure of marriage patterns in the late 1980s in Tibetan Autonomous Region and discusses the factors affecting spouse selection in contemporary Tibetan society.