Marriage and Family

     In the Yanomami society, marriage is not the same two person, eternal commitment we traditionally think of. The Yanomami practice polygamy, where one man has multiple wives. They do not hold or celebrate individual marriage ceremonies. Young girls can be promised to men as young as five years old; however, girls can not be officially "wed" to the men until, their first menstrual cycle. After a young girls first cycle, she is literally handed off to an older man, usually a family relative. "Cross-cousin marriages, which are marriages between the girl and the son of a maternal uncle or paternal aunt, are the most common form of marriage." 
     Inter-tribal marriages are so common to reduce violent breakouts between different tribes. The new "wife" will take over the chores and duties of her spouse. Domestic violence is quite common among the Yanomami culture. If a woman cannot stand to live with her husband any longer, she may flee and live with her brothers. The elder wife in the "marriage" reins supreme over the other wives, and sexual relations with the husband typically stop. To reduce jealousy between the wives, the husband is not supposed to show favoritism. 

Yanomami: Indians of Brazil. Electronic document, http://www.crystalinks.com/yanomami.html, accessed 12 March 2013.