In many cultures it is not customary for couples to sleep together. I wonder what people in those places think of our custom of the marriage bed. Surely they know, what with the proliferation of television and all. I’ve observed, on television mostly, that even the remotest villages have television. Often they have a communal tv set.
So, are they jealous? Do they they think we’re weird, crazy, sinful, or what? Do they even care? I’ll bet they do think about it.
So, do any of the well traveled Dopers know?
Peace,
mangeorge
Can you tell me which cultures specifically you are speaking about?
The ones in the jungles of Brazil often sleep in hammocks. Not comfy for two very long.
Not with any confidence. It’s sinply something I’ve observed as an aside in documentaries.
In some South American forrest tribes some men sleep in men’s lodges, IIRC. Also in Africa.
I’ve also heard that in England the “upper class” couples often have seperate bedrooms.
“It’s sinply something I’ve observed”
Now there’s a freudian slip for you.
They can afford them!
Do you mean that it is not customary for couples to sleep together prior to marriage, or that it is not customary for married couples to sleep together in the same bed?
What is a “marriage bed”? I can’t recall hearing that term before. Are you referring to the bed a couple uses on their wedding night, or the bed that they sleep together on through the course of their marriage?
Well once, a long time ago when I was in the UK tour operating business, I enquired why twin single beds were offered instead of a nice bouncy double.
It seems that in the very old days, like the 1930s, the elderly British preferred that arrangement. Personally I like two large beds, it gives one a rational reason for a bit of qualitative analysis.
Just look to google for the answers to both your questions.