Are there any societies that practice two-way polygamy?

Many cultures practice polygyny. A few have polyandry. Are there any societies where both men and women are allowed to have as many spouses as they want? How does marriage work when there’s five heads of household in one unit? Is there a size limit to how many people can get married to each other?

This presumes that all societies have “head of household” as a cultural concept, and also by implication that there would be multiple heads of household in societies only where polyandry is practiced.

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I’ve never heard of such a society, and my google-fu has come up empty.

I can’t think of any that currently do this, but Hawaii used to do so in a limited way. The Aliʻi (chief/queen/king), who could be either male or female, frequently had many spouses. King Kameheha was married to most of the female Aliʻi in the islands, many of whom were also married to other men (usually their brother or another close male relative since the Aliʻi could only marry members of their own caste). Children born to a woman from such a group-marriage would be considered the children of her senior husband.

The Oneida Community in New York had open/group marriage arrangements as well, though of course no marriage other than your first (to a spouse who was free to marry) was legally recognized by the state.

Well, that’s what I’m asking. How is the family organized if you have several adults of various genders?

You’re asking for a friend, I assume. :wink:

Among the Paharis in India you can sometimes find polyandrous marriages where the men are allowed to have other wives if their first wife is sterile or there is a large age-difference between the brothers. In Tibet, polygamy and polyandry existed in the same society, although not in the same family.