The "arranged marriage", a western term meaning a marriage that is chosen by the two sets of parents. Contrary to some people's beliefs, arranged marriages aren't always a blind date at the altar. This does still happen in some cases, although it is the exception rather than the rule. Instead, as early as from birth, the parental pairs decide that their children will one day be joined in marriage and the intended couple meets each other several times before their wedding. Some cultures use a third party, usually an elderly women much respected for her wisdom, to make these love matches. In these cases, the couple usually doesn't officially meet until their wedding day-although they may be able to sneak glimpses.
Today, this type of marriage is practiced in Southeast Asia and parts of the Middle East. Globalization has played a part in helping Pakistani immigrants arrange marriages by using matchmaking websites to meet prospective spouses.
So how do parents, matchmakers and sometimes the children themselves (although parents have full veto power) choose a prospective spouse? Some of these factors in some order of priority may be taken into account for the purpose of matchmaking:
*Reputation of the family
*Vocation: For a groom, the profession of doctor, accountant, lawyer or engineer are traditionally valued as excellent spouse material. More recently, any profession commanding relatively high income is also given preference. Vocation is less important for a bride[citation needed] but it is not uncommon for two people of the same vocation to be matched. Some preferred vocations for a bride include the profession of teacher, doctor, or lawyer.
*Wealth: Families holding substantial assets may prefer to marry to another wealthy family.
*Religion: The religious and spiritual beliefs can play a large role in finding a suitable spouse.
*Pre-existing medical conditions
*Horoscope: Numerology and the positions of stars at birth is often used in Indian culture to predict the success of a particular match. This is sometimes expressed as a percentage, for example, a 70% match. Horoscope becomes a determining factor if one of the partners is Mângalik (lit., negatively influenced by Mars).
*Psychological compatibility (this factor became especially popular in the post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine, see e.g. Socionics)
*Diet: Vegetarianism or omnivore
*Height: Typically the groom should be taller than the bride.
*Age: Typically the groom should be older than the bride.
*Other factors: City of residence, education level, etc.
*Language: Language also is deemed to be an important criteria. The groom and the bride should have the same First language.
What's interesting to me is that these are the same factors that "normal" people use when they are seriously dating in hopes to find a spouse. Dating websites especially break it down in similar clinical categories because these factors are important in finding a compatible spouse.
So signing up for match.com is like hiring an elderly matchmaker to sort through the unacceptable and select you a suitable mate? It's actually pretty close, much closer than I had previously imagined.
This is a commercial that makes light of arranged marriages.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1046663618
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1046663618
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2006/12/pakistan_this_ilinks.html
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