# Is Inbreeding Condoned Anywhere, Still? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 24, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541 "2012-01-24T21:41:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/1 "2012-01-24T21:41:18Z")
Of humans, I mean. And is it even (in some cultures) a preferred way of mating? Are you guys gonna throw up or anything? If so, leave the damn thread, okay? :D:D:D:D Quasi ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/2 "2012-01-24T22:58:08Z")
Define inbreeding. Much of the world encourages cousin type marriages, presumably to keep property in the family/clan/tribe. [Link.](http://www.hgc.gov.uk/client/Content.asp?ContentId=741) If you mean sibling marriages, I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/3 "2012-01-24T23:03:24Z")
Royalty? In my anthropology class I was told that in some Australian aboriginal tribes, the _only_ person you are traditionally allowed to marry is your “cross-cousin” (IIRC that means a cousin on the side of your parent who is the opposite sex to you). The teacher said this was one of the reasons these tribes were dying out, not because of genetic issues (actually genetic problems arising from cousin marriage are scarcely more likely than those for marring those who are completely unrelated) but because when your tribe falls below a certain size, there is a high probability that you will not have any cross-cousins of the opposite sex. I am pretty sure that cousin marriage in general is condoned and even encouraged in many cultures, and not just ‘exotic’ ones. It seems to have been common amongst the upper classes in Victorian Britain, for instance. I rather think the taboo on cousin marriage is largely a fairly recent American hangup, like women not being allowed armpit hair, or teeth having to be perfectly straight. On the other hand, I believe virtually all human societies regard sibling-sibling or parent-child sexual relations to be abhorrent. (That is not to say it never happens, but that most people in a society will regard it as icky.) ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/4 "2012-01-24T23:09:50Z")
I mean sister and brother. Of any class. Q ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/5 "2012-01-24T23:16:37Z")
I assume the general abhorrence of anything closer than cousins marrying or other wise procreating - is firmly established, where there might have been social exceptions, by the adoption of Judeo-Christian formal social rules. Christian societies orran and dominated any indigenous groups in the areas around europe. I assume Islam carried this prohibition to its sphere of influence too. I suppose the question is - what about other cultrures not western-based; what did traditional Chinese or Indian cultures say about this? Even in les developed cultures, there are very few that approve of the behaviour. The only one that comes to mind is pharaohs and sibling marriage; althouh there was seriously damaged Spanish monarch IIRC, whose mother was niece of his father. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/6 "2012-01-24T23:24:38Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > I mean sister and brother. Of any class. > Q None that I know of in the present day. Maybe we could find out which was the last culture to promote this. My best take would be Hawai’i, but I base that on James Mitchener’s book, not on actual history. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/7 "2012-01-24T23:25:55Z")
Well, just don’t be a motherfucker, okay? Otherwise, y’all have at it. Can’t wait till we’re all the same color! Q ---
**Author:** ![Vicullum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/6de8d8/32.png) [@Vicullum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicullum)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/8 "2012-01-24T23:27:56Z")
Is it too late to make some crack about Appalachia? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/9 "2012-01-24T23:36:48Z")
I didn’t say _shit_ about that, but now, how’m I supposed to keep a straight face, **Vicullum[?**??? _wheeeze of a laff_ Okay! Y’all straighten up! Q ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/10 "2012-01-25T00:02:38Z")
> [@](#): > > The teacher said this was one of the reasons these tribes were dying out, not because of genetic issues (actually genetic problems arising from cousin marriage are scarcely more likely than those for marring those who are completely unrelated)… For an isolated incident, maybe, but when the entire population makes a practice of it, the effects can accumulate. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/11 "2012-01-25T00:28:14Z")
I believe the Egyptian Pharoahs and/or the Ptolemys who ruled Egypt in Hellenistic times went in for brother-sister marriage. However, that is different from it being condoned throughout a society, more a matter of keeping the ruling dynasty of god-kings pure. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/12 "2012-01-25T03:51:16Z")
It’s fairly common in livestock breeding, where the breeders are trying to concentrate certain traits in a specific bloodline. Especially in trying to create a new ‘breed’. Though livestock breeders often distinguish between inbreeding (brother-sister cross) vs. linebreeding (father-daughter or mother-son crosses). They generally claim linebreeding is acceptable, but inbreeding is not. I don’t know if there is any genetic evidence to back this up. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/13 "2012-01-25T04:04:17Z")
It’s not well-known outside of some scientific circles, but Finland is a hotbed - so to speak - of inbreeding because the mountains tended to separate villages. All sorts of genetic diseases can be better studied there because of this. Where they exist in handfuls elsewhere, they exist in workable percentages in Finland. What I don’t know is how much if any of this still occurs or when it stopped if it did. But it has to be fairly recently. It’s seriously a real-life Appalachia. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/14 "2012-01-25T04:05:37Z")
I remember my philosophy lecturer told us once that anthropologists believe that the Incest Taboo is the only taboo that all human civilisations share. According to this wiki link the differences are concerned with what incest is defined as. > **[Incest taboo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest_taboo)** > > An incest taboo is any cultural rule or norm that prohibits sexual relations between certain members of the same family, mainly between individuals related by blood. All human cultures\[disputed – discuss\] have norms that exclude certain close relatives from those considered suitable or permissible sexual or marriage partners, making such relationships taboo. However, different norms exist among cultures as to which blood relations are permissible as sexual partners and which are not. Sexual rel... ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/15 "2012-01-25T04:14:05Z")
I wonder if some cultures have softer taboos than we do, meaning it’s only incest if you grew up with them, i.e. if you and your sister were orphans, grew up in different families, and met later it’s not incest. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/16 "2012-01-25T04:21:58Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I believe the Egyptian Pharoahs and/or the Ptolemys who ruled Egypt in Hellenistic times went in for brother-sister marriage. However, that is different from it being condoned throughout a society, more a matter of keeping the ruling dynasty of god-kings pure. Supposedly those marriages often didn’t result in children, leading to lineages of Pharoahs being through illegitimate children and suggesting that the incest taboo is strong enough that even when there is a social expectation of sibling marriage, the couple involved will avoid intercourse. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/17 "2012-01-25T04:27:59Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It’s not well-known outside of some scientific circles, but Finland is a hotbed - so to speak - of inbreeding because the mountains tended to separate villages. All sorts of genetic diseases can be better studied there because of this. Where they exist in handfuls elsewhere, they exist in workable percentages in Finland. > > What I don’t know is how much if any of this still occurs or when it stopped if it did. But it has to be fairly recently. It’s seriously a real-life Appalachia. CITE please, Finland is a land of lakes and not mountains. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/18 "2012-01-25T04:43:33Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > It’s not well-known outside of some scientific circles, but Finland is a hotbed - so to speak - of inbreeding because the mountains tended to separate villages. All sorts of genetic diseases can be better studied there because of this. Where they exist in handfuls elsewhere, they exist in workable percentages in Finland. > > What I don’t know is how much if any of this still occurs or when it stopped if it did. But it has to be fairly recently. It’s seriously a real-life Appalachia. This is also true of some small island communites such as Iceland and Sardinia where it is as much a question of a restricted gene pool as specific marriage customs. Genetic studies in both those places have been welcomed as they bring the opportunity for genetic counselling. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/19 "2012-01-25T04:46:34Z")
I did a quick search for Finland + incest. Oddly enough, I got links to a lot of porn videos, and specifically “Mon and Son” porn. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541/20 "2012-01-25T04:57:22Z")
[According to this BBC story](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6424337.stm), there is only one well documented instance of a society in which sibling incest was accepted – Roman Eqypt, when for about 3 centuries a “significant” percentage of all recorded marriages were between siblings. I’m really hoping this question ins’t one of those "need answer fast"ones. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-inbreeding-condoned-anywhere-still/610541.md?page=2)