One form of polyandrous marriage is a Fraternal Polyandry. This comes from the Latin word Frater which means brother and the Greek words; Poly meaning many and Andras meaning Man. In this type of marriage two or more brothers will share one or more wives. In certain areas of Nepal and Tibet this is accepted as a social practice. It is Tibet that is considered to be the most “polyandrous” Society and yet polyandry has been outlawed there since the Chinese takeover. And still it is occasionally found amongst the Tibetan refugee groups who fled during the takeover. It is also was practiced by the Toda people of southern India, but more currently monogamy is preferred. It is difficult to fully know how many real incidences of polyandry have existed in other parts of the world as most conventional societies have been considerably transformed or destroyed.
The great asset to fraternal polyandry is that it keeps all brothers together with one wife and that allows one set of heirs per generation. Primogeniture achieved this in 19th-century England. Family estates would be preserved over generations by sanctioning only one inheritor per generation. The oldest son would inherit the family estate while any other sons had to leave home in order to find employment. In the United States modern society Polyandry is illegal yet, there are many reasons why certain men or women would like the idea of having multiple husbands or sharing a wife. Many women have a more dominant personality or needs; this is in and out of the bedroom. Most of these women are turned off when treated as submissive by the typical male. This only leaves the male feeling confused and rejected. These women are more comfortable and attracted to the non-typical submissive man who sacrifices himself to be more of a servant to a wife with more than one husband. He is relieved to not feel the burden of being the all-encompassing man that society has deemed he should be. He can share
Cited: . [1] Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Polyandry” (2012): 14 April 2012 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyandry> [2] Dictionary.com / Reference.com, “Polyandry” (2012): 14 April 2012 < http://www.reference.com/browse/polyandry > [3] Polyandry Society International, “About us” (2012): 14 April 2012 <http://polyandry-society-international.org/?page_id=5>