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The Family

COURTSHIP
Courtship during the early period
took patience and a spirit of
dedication on the part of a man to win
the hand of his fair lady.

Engagement
or Betrothal is a promise to wed, and also the period of time
between a marriage proposal and a marriagewhich may be
lengthy or trivial.
During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced,
engaged to be married, or simply engaged. Future brides and
grooms may be called the betrothed, a wife-to-be or husband-tobe, fiance or fianc, respectively (from the French wordfiancer).
The duration of the courtship varies vastly.
Long engagements were once common in formal
arranged marriages, and it was not uncommon for parents
betrothing children to arrange marriages many years before the
engaged couple were old enough.

Typical steps:

Negotiation of a match-usually done by the couple's families with bride and groom
having varying levels of input, from no input, to veto power, to a fuller voice in the
selection of marriage partner.

Negotiation of bride price or dowry

In most cultures evolved from Europe, bride prices or dowries have been reduced to
the engagement ring accompanying the marriage contract, while in other cultures,
such as those on the Arabian Peninsula, they are still part of negotiating a marriage
contract.

Blessing by the parents and clergy


Exchange of Vows and Signing of Contracts

This is not as widely practiced as it was historically, although it is still common in


culturally conservative communities in Israel, India, Africa, and Persian Gulf countries,
although most of these have a requirement that the bride be at least allowed veto
power.

Often one of these is omitted

Celebration

A betrothal is considered to be a 'semi-binding' contract.


Normal reasons for invalidation of a betrothal include:
Revelation of a prior commitment or marriage
Evidence of infidelity
Failure to conceive (in 'trial marriage' cultures)
Failure of either party to meet the financial and property
stipulations of the betrothal contract
Normally, either party can break a betrothal, though some financial
penalty (such as forfeit of the bride price) usually applies.

MARRIAGE
Is a sacrament of the hearts, a covenant with the State, and a holy
agreement with God.
It should be a happy union of two affectionate hearts tied by Gods love and
grace, and cemented by the States immortal mandates of preserving the
sanctity of family life at all cost.
In religious parlance, marriage is among the most intimate of all human
relationships.
In the West, marriage is generally perceived as an unstable institution.
Sociologically, marriage is a partnership between a man and a woman
formalized by either a religious or a civil ceremony and having a required
particular status in law as well as in social custom.

Marriage Restrictions
Cultures restrict the choice of marriage patterns by
exogamy, which means marrying outside a given group.
Endogamy on the other hand implies marrying within a
given group. Conservative Hindus are mostly endogamous,
as are Rwandans in Central African. It is important to note
that endogamous groupings can be based on lineage or
even ethnic or economic similarities.
Moreover, it is possible to simultaneously have an
endogamous marriage (within an ethnic group) that is
alsoexogamous (outside one's lineage)

Types of Marriage
Monogamy: a marriage arrangement that
implies having one spouse at one time.
Polygamy: a marriage arrangement that implies
a man marrying more than one woman at one
time.
Polyandry: a marriage arrangement that
implies a woman marrying more than one

Economic Aspect of Marriage


Marriages involve transfer of some type of
economic consideration in exchange for rights of
union, legal rights over children and rights to
each other's property.
There are many cultures in the world which
consider marriage as more than a union of man
and wife but instead an alliance between two
families.

Types of Marriage Transactions


1. Bride-wealth: transfer of wealth from a groom's family to
that of the bride's (approximately 47%).
2. Bride service: labor in exchange for a wife, common in
small scale societies, lacking material
wealth(approximately 17%).
3. Dowry: transfer of wealth from a bride's family to that of
the groom's. This practice was popular inmedieval Europe
and may still prevail in several parts of Northern India
(approximately 3%)

In the anthropological literature bride price


has often been explained in market terms, as
payment made in exchange for the bride's
family's loss of her labor and fertility within her kin
group.
The tradition of giving bride price is still
practiced in many Asian countries although the
amount changing hands may range form a mere
token amount to continue the traditional ritual to
many thousands of US dollars in some Thai
marriages.

A traditional
presentation of
the bride price
at a Thai
engagement
ceremony

4. Woman Exchange: two men exchanging


sister's as wives. This practice is limited to a small
number of
societies (approximately 3%) in Africa and the
Pacific region.
5. Reciprocal Exchange: a roughly equal
exchange of gifts between bride and groom
families. Found
amongst traditional Native Americans and islands in
the Pacific region (approximately 6%).
(Note: These above statistics are not very recent
and should not be taken literally but rather as an

Rights and Obligations of Husband and Wife


The Family Code of the Philippines in Article 68
1. The husband and wife are obliged to live together, observe mutual love,
respect and fidelity, and render mutual help and support.
2. They shall fix the family domicile. In case of disagreement, the court shall
decide.
3. Spouses are jointly responsible for the support of the family.
4. Management of the household shall be the right and duty of both spouses.
5. The aggrieved party may apply to the court for relief if the other spouse
neglects his/her duties or commit acts, which tend to bring danger, dishonor
or injury to the other members of the family.
6. Either spouse may exercise any legitimate profession, occupation, business
or activity.

Father
And
Mother
I(implying the presence of children)
Love(which must prevail) &
You

FAMILY
The basic unit of the society.
Primary social institution or social group where one is born.
A social group characterized by common residence economic cooperation,
and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom
maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children,
owned or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults. (George Murdock)
May be viewed as a subsystem with interacting personalities.
May also be seen as an agency playing a vital role in the development of
ones personality and in the process of values formation and development.
Group of people who are united by ties of marriage, ancestry, or adoption,
and who are reorganized by the community as constituting a single household
and as having responsibility for rearing children. (other sociologists and
anthropologist)

Classification of the Family


1.

According to organization, structure, and membership


a)
b)

2.

Nuclear family- Primary or elementary family


- Father, mother and children
Extended family- composed of 2 or more nuclear families
Two types of families may be derived from this classification:
i.
Conjugal Family- marriage bond is important and stressed.
ii.
Consanguineal Family- considers the nucleus of blood relatives as
more important than the spouses.

According to place of residence


a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Patrilocal Family
Matrilocal Family
Bilocal Family
Neolocal Family
Avunlocal Family

3. According to descent
a)
b)
c)

Patrilineal descent
Matrilineal descent
Bilateral descent

4. According to authority
a)
b)
c)
d)

Patriarchal family
Matriarchal family
Equalitarian family
Matricentric family

4. According to marriage
a)
b)

Monogamy
Polygamy: Polygyny, Polyandry & group marriage

The Filipino Family

Is still monogamous.
Plays a unique role for the child as it gives him affection, care, attention,
protection, and engenders in him a sense of belonging or security.
Is an institution of security which protects its members from exigencies of
living.
Members are bound to help each other, to help unemployed or the
physically handicapped and to take care of the aged.
Founded on love and affection, sanctified by marital virtue of whatever
religion is cohesive in nature.
Husband and wife relationship as well as parent and children relationship is
one of closeness and harmony. It is governed in the best tradition of
human rights and of understanding of each and every member of the
family.

Four kinds of love that should exist within


the family:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Conjugal love
Parental love
Filial love
Fraternal love

Members of the Filipino Family:


5. The husband and father
6. The wife and mother
7. Children

Illegitimacy
The term designated unmarried mothers, unmarried fathers, and
their unlucky children as deviants. All were called illegitimate,
and illegitimate children were sometimes also called bastards.
As a label, illegitimacy described their collective status as
outcasts who were legally and socially inferior to members of
legitimate families headed by married couples.
Unmarried birth parents and children suffered penalties ranging
from confinement in isolated maternity homes and dangerous
baby farms to parental rejection and community disapproval.
Before the 1960s, unmarried mothers were usually considered
undeserving of the public benefits offered to impoverished
widows and deserted wives. To be illegitimate was to be shamed
and shunned.

These children were at higher risk than their legitimate counterparts for
malnutrition, mediocre child care, maternal separation, and other
hazards.
Unmarried mothers were, by definition, unattached to male breadwinners
and wage work was their only option for economic survival. The unskilled
occupations in which they were concentrated, such as domestic service
and wet-nursing, ironically required them to care for others children but
made it very difficult for them to raise their own.
Unmarried women and children may have been tainted with sexual
immorality, but those who lived under the shadow of illegitimacy were
endangered.
Eugenicists were also dismayed by illegitimacy because they considered it
a major factor in the reproduction of mental deficiency, disease, and antisocial behavior.
They needed help, according to reformers and policy-makers, who insisted
that alleviating the stigma associated with illegitimate birth status would
do more to improve child welfare and family life than either contempt or
condemnation.

Causes of Unmarried Motherhood:


1. Instability of modern family
2. Divorce and separation
3. Suppression of the expression of
sex desire
4. Young women lured to
romanticism
5. Increased social contacts with
opposite sexes.
6. Premarital and extramarital
relationships.

Dissolution of Marriage
The Family Code- which was adopted on August 3, 1988, provides the following methods in which
Filipino couples could dissolve their marriage bond.

A.

Legal Separation

A petition for legal separation may be filled on any of the following grounds:
1. Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a
common child, or a child of the petitioner.
2. Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious affiliation.
3. Attempt to respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the
petitioner to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement.
4. Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years, even if
pardoned.
5. Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent.
6. Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent/
7. Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the
Philippines or abroad.
8. Sexual infidelity or perversion.
9. Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner.
10. Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year.

Implications
It's important to understand the legal implications of separation, including the
difference between an informal break and a legally binding agreement. Remember that
separation laws vary by state. In some jurisdictions, for instance, all assets and debts
acquired after the date of the agreement are excluded from consideration as marital
property. Without a legal agreement, you are considered married in every sense of the word
and held liable for every cent your partner spends.
For this reason, a formal separation agreement can go a long way toward protecting
your financial assets, your custodial privileges, and your personal rights. After all, the
separation agreement covers essentially the same ground as a divorce agreement:
division of assets and debt, child support and custody, visitation, and spousal support.
Remember, a separation agreement is a binding contractone that is put in writing,
signed by both parties, and typically notarized. Each separation agreement is different,
based not only on the laws of the particular state, but also the circumstances of the
couple involved.

B. Annulment of Marriage
A Marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes existing at the
time of the marriage, to wit:
1. Absence of parental consent if one of the parties is eighteen years old
but below twenty one.
2. Either of one party was of unsound mind.
3. Consent of either party was obtained by fraud.
4. Consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation, or undue
influence.
5. Physical incapacity; or
6. Affliction of serious and incurable STD.

C. Recent Development on Divorce

Quiz
1. What is engagement?
2. What is marriage?
3. Types of marriage transactions
4. Differentiate conjugal and
consanguineal marriage
5.Describe the Filipino family?

5.Enumerate the 4 kinds of love


6.What is illegitimacy?
7.Illegitimate children are risks for? (give 2)
8.Give 3 causes for unmarried motherhood
9.A code which is contains the legal concept
of marriage and family and it also provides
the methods for dissolution of marriage.
10.Give a method for marriage dissolution

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