Levirate Marriage of Kalmyks in the XIX^th Century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the question of the existence of the levirate marriage among Kalmyks in the XIXth century. The levirate was one of the fundamental institutions that maintained the stability of society and opposed the processes of social and economic fragmentation. The institute of the levirate of Kalmyk aristocracy defended their family from the loss of material and human resources as a result of fragmentation of the inheritance among the heirs. The levirate marriage among Kalmyk-commoners was predominantly economic form of marriage: to prevent the fragmentation of the farm of a large patriarchal family. However, the reform of 1892 and the reduction of areas of Kalmyk lands caused the crisis and led Kalmyks make the transition from nomadic economy to a semi-nomadic economy. At the end of XIX - early XX centuries large patriarchal family was gradually losing its importance among Kalmyks, while an individual small monogamous family was becoming increasingly prevalent.

Keywords

• family and marriage of kalmyks
• levirate
• history of kalmykia
• traditional culture
• common law