Tibetan polyandry allowed man to live with wife of son, nephew

New Delhi, June 10 (UNI) Polyandry which permitted a man to live with and claim marital rights over the wife of a son or a nephew existed in parts of Tibet in the late nineteenth century, an Indian pioneer traveller has reported.

Sharat Chandra Das made a rare visit to Lhasa and Central Tibet for an indepth assessment of an area known to be the 'roof of the world' and its system of governance, culture and practices which records the existance of polyandry, a practice of several brothers marrying a common wife.

Mr Das, born in Chittagong and a student of Presidency college of Kolkata, travelled to Lhasa using all possible modes of transport -- trekking, pony and palki rides-- in this remote wonder land in 1881 and his report got published as an 'order' of the Government of Bengal. However it was kept under wraps as 'confidential' until 1890 for various reasons till it got published in 'Contemporary Review', a prestigious magazine, in 1890. Now it has been printed by Rupa and Co this year.

Mr Das writes that it was not unusual for a father or an uncle to live with his son's or nephew's wife, and even in their advanced age make themselves a partner in the marital rights over the son or nephew's wife.

The writer, who made a detailed assessment of the working of Tibetan system, culture, marriages and and other social customs and social laws, brings out a system that existed in the Himalayan regions of India.

The author says Tibetan system had origins in 'Khams' who were practicing it extensively, mainly to keep ancestral property united.

The Tibetans of U and Tsng had borrowed this practice but was not universal among them. The elder brother's wife could be claimed by the younger brothers only as long as they continued to live with him.

When they separated, they could not claim the wife and she would remain the lawful wife of the eldest brother.

The book titled 'A Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet', authored by Mr Das, who was rewarded with a title of 'Rai Bahadur' in 1887 by the British for the services rendered, also quoted a maid of the Tibetan ruling class (Lachams) who drew him into a conversation about the marriage laws and customs prevailing in India at that point of time.

She was told by Mr Das that in India, a man could have several wives while the Europeans could have just one. "She stared at me with undisguised astonishment. ''one wife with one husband,'' he quoted her as saying. ''Don't you see we Tibetan women are better off? an Indian wife gets only a portion of her husband's affections and properties.'' She also told him that in her country, the housewife was the real lady of all joint earnings and inheritances of all brothers sprung from the same mother who were all of same flesh and blood. Brothers are all one, though their souls are several. In India the man is married to several women who are strangers to each under.

When the author countered her withs "Am I to understand that your ladyship would like to see several sisters marry one husband? he got a reply, ''my contention is that Tibetan women are happier than their Indian counterparts for they enjoyed better privileges.'' Mr Das's memoirs are viewed as a text book example of a travelogue. He also brought out an English Tibetan dictionary and the Royal Geographical Society awarded him the 'Black Premium' for his geographical research.

UNI