Culinism: How the World's Most Disgusting Polygamy Tradition Works
At first glance, a phenomenon known as kulinism seems like a distant relic—an outdated tradition that grew up in the depths of a foreign culture. It's an unfamiliar system of marital norms, one in which marriage was never a voluntary union of two. In Hinduism, kulinism is, above all, a tool for preserving caste "purity" and social status. The feelings and hopes of women were disregarded: their fates were decided solely by the principle of "use, status, and lineage." What lies behind this cold and cruel mechanism?
In India, most men lived with one wife. Polygamy remained the privilege of the Brahmins, a priestly caste that stood apart. Brahmin men could have as many wives as they wanted, sometimes reaching up to fifty. But this was not the polygamy we are accustomed to from Islamic tradition. We are talking about a special system that Hindus themselves call Kulin Pratha, and the rest of the world simply calls Kulinism.
Kulin Pratha translates from Sanskrit as "practice of Kulin." The word "kulin" denotes the sum of all the rights granted to a member of this caste by birth. Simply put, it is "the observance of the rights granted to a person at birth." To be considered a Kulin, one must have at least fifteen consecutive generations of Brahmins in one's family line, so it is impossible to transfer to this caste from another.
It would seem that a person of the highest caste was obliged to be wealthy. But this was far from always the case. A Brahmin's well-being depended entirely on the generosity of the inhabitants of the village or city where he performed rituals. A priest was not allowed to work and lived solely on charity. Therefore, even a Shudra—a member of the lower caste who cleaned sewers—was often richer than a Kulin.
A poor, often old and sick, Brahmin could have ten, twenty, or more wives. The youngest were usually only nine or ten years old. When girls were married to a Kulin, no one asked their consent. Such marriages had one goal: to preserve the purity of Brahmin blood.
Compared to other castes, Brahmins were very few in number. They were strictly forbidden from marrying outside their caste. If a village had only two Brahmin families, girls from one would be married to a boy from the other. The worst situation was when a family was the only one in the area—then the daughters were sent to distant lands.
Girls were absolutely essential for marriage, so no one kept track of how many wives a groom already had. Parents literally gave away young daughters "without even looking," without even waiting for puberty. Often, a huge dowry had to be provided for an old and infirm Brahmin to agree to take a girl as his tenth or twentieth wife.
A special relationship developed between a kulin and his wives' families. A man invariably expected an honorable reception and generous gifts from his father-in-law and mother-in-law on every visit. It's easy to imagine the life of a Brahmin with dozens of wives. He regularly visited the homes of his wives' numerous relatives, thus providing himself with everything he needed.
He was greeted with gifts, treats, jewelry, and new clothes, so the husband easily observed the caste prohibition on any work. Moreover, many of these "husbands" didn't even remember how many wives they had, their names, or what each of them looked like.
The situation was especially dire in southern India. Brahmins were very few there, and girls were married to decrepit old men, sometimes already dying. The key was to marry before age thirteen, lest the daughter dare choose her own partner and, God forbid, lose her virginity to the wrong man. By marrying a man of another caste, a woman automatically became dead to her family.
A Brahmin with a whole horde of wives and children was a burden to the villagers or townspeople. Their entire existence depended on offerings. The worst thing happened when a Brahmin died. Then his wives had two choices. The first was to ascend the funeral pyre with their husband's body.
The second was to remain supported by the locals. The widow was not allowed to remarry, and no one was waiting for her in her parents' home. The people were left without a Brahmin, but were forced to feed and clothe his entire large family.
In ancient times, when religious principles were unshakable, this was tolerated. But in the 19th century, a solution was sought. It was found in allowing remarriage: widows could now rejoin someone else's harem. Because of this, the number of Brahmin wives only increased. There was a catastrophic shortage of suitors, even the most unattractive ones—fewer men were being born, and they didn't live long.
The practice, dating back thousands of years before our era, didn't bother anyone until India became a British colony. In the 19th century, the British began actively combating polygamy. Special inspectors were even appointed to combat culinism. But there aren't enough inspectors for every village.
There were places where the colonizers were simply afraid to tread with their new customs. Therefore, the British ultimately suffered defeat in the fight against polygamy. In the 19th century, local reformers also emerged. One of the most famous, the writer and philanthropist Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, wrote:
Culinism is officially condemned by the authorities in modern India, but it still exists. People have been accustomed to this way of life for millennia, and being a Brahmin's wife, even if only the tenth or twentieth, is still an honor. Most of these harems remain in the south and in Bengal, now part of Bangladesh. Do you think such customs can be justified as "cultural heritage," or should any tradition built on inequality and suffering become a thing of the past?