Cousin marriages in Beirut, Lebanon: is the Pattern Changing?

Abstract

The prevalence of preferential patrilateral parallel cousin marriage is recognized as a specific trait of the Arabs and their immediate Muslim neighbours. Most earlier studies have been of localized groups, villages or nomadic camps and, despite the urbanization and industrialization occurring in the Middle East, no recent data from urban contexts have been examined. In this paper the genealogical ties between spouses are analysed in a sample of 750 recently married couples from the city of Beirut. Consanguineous marriages are frequent, mainly first-cousin marriages. However, the classical predominance of patrilateral parallel cousin marriage is no longer evident in the most recent generation, which displays an equal preference for all types of cousin marriage. Hence, whereas endogamy persists in this town, its manifestation may well be changing.

Consanguineous marriages in Beirut: Time trends, spatial distribution

“…The finding here is that consanguineous couples are as "modern" as others for a number of criteria (Khlat and Khudr, 1984). Furthermore, the protracted civil war, now in its twelfth year, might well contribute to reinforce in-group preference in matrimonial choices.…”

Genetic Diversity among the Arabs

“…Although it is not a religious prescription, it is deeply rooted in the culture and has been practiced over many generations. The consanguinity rates are generally high, ranging between 25% in Lebanon [5] , up to 60% in Saudi Arabia [6] and 90% in some Bedouin tribes. The rates are still high in Arab immigrants in the West.…”

Consanguineous Marriages in the Middle East: Nature Versus Nurture

“…Inheritance of land by males and females is kept within the same family, and this is of great importance for peasants because small pieces of land are inefficient in agricultural economies. This pattern is common among Lebanese, Egyptians, Palestinians, and Jordanians [70].…”

“…Anthropologists have long agreed that the main achievement of consanguineous marriages is the inheritance of family structure and property, (families with specific features of intelligence) [21,70,71,72].…”