Arranged Marriages within the Indian and Chinese Cultures Research Paper

Arranged Marriages within the Indian and Chinese Cultures - Research Paper Example Arranged marriage should not be confused with forced marriage in which one party is forced to get married to another. Arranged marriages are the responsibilities of older family members, parents, matchmaking agents or trusted parties. In some cultures, courting is not prevalent. Spouses are brought together by their parents. In this case, it is the responsibility of the parent to see to it that his or her child passes the marital rites. This way, the adult children see it as a norm. The people who are responsible for the arrangement marriages might be subjective to emotional infatuation and come up with illogical decisions. In either case, intra-generational relationships supersede marital relationships. Following the partners sharing some factors, it is believed that some form of understanding develops between the couple and the relationship lasts. Discussion Arranged marriages are practiced in China and India with the sole aim of maintaining the social caste. Families bring the chi ldren together so that they may keep the family ties strong. In India, arranged marriages, though discouraged, are widely practiced. The parents see it as their personal responsibility to ensure that their children pass their marital rites. The legal age for marriages in India is 18 for females and 21 for males. However, through arranged marriages, family members marry their girls as early as 15 but the marriages consummated after the ages of 18 (Seymour and Seymour 132). In China, arranged marriages are practiced at a low rate because the pace of technology in the country does not allow for conservation of some cultural practices. Females are supposed to marry at the age of 21 and 23 for males. This means that the parents can only seek for suitors for the children at the right age. However, in China, people are given the right to choose their partners and it is only after they have made their choices that the parents can intervene in wedding preparations (Fox 191). Similarities Arr anged marriages are common in the Chinese and Indian cultures. These two cultures share a number of factors they put into consideration when coming up with the best match. Among the major factors is that of religion. In both cultures, it is believed that the preference should be given to the people sharing same spiritual and religious beliefs. Culture and caste is also another most common factor considered in both cultures. When picking on the matches, food habits, language, and region are considered so that the couple shares the same culture (Fox 182). The reputation of each party together with that of the family and friends that directly affect the reputation of the party is considered. One can have a good reputation but fail to be selected because of the bad reputation of his or her friends or family members. Dowry is an extremely important factor for both cultures, thus, a match would be selected from people sharing the same social class. A lady from a wealthy family background would have a match selected from a gentleman with a similar family background (Reaves 4). Vocation is another factor considered in both cultures. However, the location of the man matters more than that of the woman. The man has to provide for the family and as a result, he should be with a substantial amount of income.