Hypergamy is the practice of marrying or partnering with a spouse perceived to hold higher social, economic or mating status than oneself, colloquially called marrying up. Its inverse, hypogamy, describes partnering with someone of lower perceived status; both terms describe a status-driven rule for arranging or choosing marriage partners rather than a specific ceremony. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Descent RuleSourced to the subject's own accountA mate-selection rule rather than a descent rule: it describes a person marrying a spouse perceived to hold higher social or economic standing than themselves; its opposite, hypogamy, describes marrying down. 1 Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountHistorically documented on the Indian subcontinent, where 19th-century Hindu law books used the Sanskrit terms anuloma and pratiloma for hypergamy and hypogamy respectively. 1 Descent Rule
Descent Rule (category)Sourced to the subject's own account Connections
Associated With
Hypergamous marriage, in which a bride marries into a higher-status family, is historically associated with dowry inflation as families compete to secure higher-status grooms for their daughters.
Endogamous marriage systems, such as the South Asian caste system, frequently incorporate hypergamous norms permitting a bride to marry a groom of somewhat higher status within the same endogamous group.
In Rule Category
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Hypergamy
WikipediaHypergamy, lead paragraph
Hypergamy (colloquially referred to as "dating up" or "marrying up") is a term used in social science for the act or practice of a person dating or marrying a spouse perceived to be of higher "mating value" than themselves.
Hypergamy, History section
References to Hindu law books from the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century include the Sanskrit terms anuloma and pratiloma, respectively, for the concepts of hypergamy and hypogamy.
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