child marriages, generally

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Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on October 7, 2001 at 15:15:00:

In reply to: OT/ Age of Aisha posted by txilar on October 7, 2001 at 07:13:53:

I haven't found any sources that say anything other than that she was
6. I agree that without birth documents, anything that long ago is
open to question. At the time of Mohammed, there were several sorts of
marriage norms. Adult women could choose sex partner (or several
or not), adults could agree among themselves (either sex making the
proposal), or adults could arrange marriages for their children (of
any age). It was an interesting transition period when older
polytheistic religions were giving way (under pressure from a vicious
climate change) to one of several sorts of monotheism. The same
disaster pushed kinship commitment changes, favoring polygyny over
previous serial monogamy, and female sexual self determination.

In any case, child marriage was not uncommon in 7th century Arabia,
particularly when political and economic interests were at stake.
Child marriages made good sense in terms of community structure,
corralling emotionally and financially wasteful adolescent
infatuations and giving them a legitimate channel for expression.
Through the medieval period, Armenians would arrange marriages for
their daughters by age 2, to deter them being abducted. In the Yemen,
prior to the 20th century, brides younger than age 13 were considered
the best choice, as they were more apt to be obedient. In National
Geographic, 1917, a woman attending a night of the henna in Algeria or
Morocco (exact location is unclear in the story) the bride was age 2
and the groom was age 4. Child marrige was outlawed during Indian
independance ... though it's still not unheard of.

So, on that line, as I was hennaeing 20-something adult models, I
realized that this was probably not a very good choice in terms of
bridal demographics for the medieval period. So, when one of my
favorite models (the lady with the hand previously posted) said her
daughter was fussing to be hennaed like mommy ... I said yes. You can
see a family resemblence in thumb shapes there!

I got that little hand hennaed in 7 minutes flat. She was ready to
explode from fidgits by the time I got the last lines down!

Follow Ups

Re: child marriages, generally txilar 21:21:24 10/7/2001 (4)
- Re: child marriages, generally Catherine Cartwright Jones 03:14:31 10/8/2001 (3)
  - Levels of Maturation txilar 15:06:38 10/8/2001 (2)
    - Re: Levels of Maturation Catherine Cartwright Jones 17:10:01 10/8/2001 (1)
      - Re: Levels of Maturation txilar 18:37:11 10/8/2001 (0)
soem info here Erfan 17:44:42 10/7/2001 (0)
Re: child marriages, almost always Darlahood 16:43:52 10/7/2001 (0)
Fidgeting (was: Re: child marriages, generally) Sarah Jasmijn 16:31:07 10/7/2001 (2)
- impulse control and body consciousness Catherine Cartwright Jones 21:24:26 10/7/2001 (1)
  - Re: impulse control and body consciousness Sarah Jasmijn 11:44:42 10/8/2001 (0)
oh to speed sling with such delicacy... Alissa 16:26:49 10/7/2001 (0)

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: I haven't found any sources that say anything other than that she was : 6. I agree that without birth documents, anything that long ago is : open to question. At the time of Mohammed, there were several sorts of : marriage norms. Adult women could choose sex partner (or several : or not), adults could agree among themselves (either sex making the : proposal), or adults could arrange marriages for their children (of : any age). It was an interesting transition period when older : polytheistic religions were giving way (under pressure from a vicious : climate change) to one of several sorts of monotheism. The same : disaster pushed kinship commitment changes, favoring polygyny over : previous serial monogamy, and female sexual self determination. : : In any case, child marriage was not uncommon in 7th century Arabia, : particularly when political and economic interests were at stake. : Child marriages made good sense in terms of community structure, : corralling emotionally and financially wasteful adolescent : infatuations and giving them a legitimate channel for expression. : Through the medieval period, Armenians would arrange marriages for : their daughters by age 2, to deter them being abducted. In the Yemen, : prior to the 20th century, brides younger than age 13 were considered : the best choice, as they were more apt to be obedient. In National : Geographic, 1917, a woman attending a night of the henna in Algeria or : Morocco (exact location is unclear in the story) the bride was age 2 : and the groom was age 4. Child marrige was outlawed during Indian : independance ... though it's still not unheard of. : : So, on that line, as I was hennaeing 20-something adult models, I : realized that this was probably not a very good choice in terms of : bridal demographics for the medieval period. So, when one of my : favorite models (the lady with the hand previously posted) said her : daughter was fussing to be hennaed like mommy ... I said yes. You can : see a family resemblence in thumb shapes there! : : I got that little hand hennaed in 7 minutes flat. She was ready to : explode from fidgits by the time I got the last lines down!
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