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The types of marriage include:

1. Monogamy
2. Polygamy
3. Levirate
4. Surrogate marriage
5. Ghost marriage
6. Endogamy
7. Exogamy

1. Monogamy: 

This is the type of marriage whereby a man is married to only one wife at a time or vice versa. One in a monogamous marriage cannot have another partner unless divorce or death separates them.

2. Polygamy: 

This is the type of marriage whereby a man is married to more than one wife at a time or a woman is married to various husbands. There are two forms of polygamous marriage.

i. Polygyny:

Marriage of a man to more than one wife at a time. The man is married to several women. It is common in Nigeria and many other African countries.

ii. Polyandry:

Marriage of a woman to more than one man at the same time. The woman is married to several men. It is common in India, Tibet and Burma.

Note: Bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. It is a subset of polygamy and can either be polygyny (where a man marries more than one woman) or polyandry (where a woman marries more than one man).

3. Levirate:

This refers to the type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother’s wife (widow) who is also obliged to marry her deceased husband’s brother.

The deceased brother is expected to inherit the possessions, status and responsibilities of his late brother.

It is important to note that in this type of marriage the widow is still regarded as the dead man’s wife.

4. Surrogate Marriage:

Here, the husband marries or engages in sexual relations with his wife’s sister, usually after the death of his wife or if his wife has been proven infertile.

5. Ghost Marriage: 

This type of marriage is when the unmarried younger brother of a deceased man marries and produces children in the name of his deceased brother.  The children from this type of marriage are still regarded as the deceased man’s children. This type of marriage is practised in Sudan.

6. Endogamy:  

This is the system of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class or family and rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable. This practice is often based on the keen desire of a group to maintain its purity, conserve it’s property, wealth and maintain solidarity.

7. Exogamy:   

This type of marriage permits a man or woman to marry outside their clan or tribal group. There are two forms of exogamy;

i. Biological exogamy:  This is marriage outside blood-related beings regulated by incest law.

ii. Cultural exogamy:  This is marriage outside the cultural group to which an individual belongs.

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