In remote Nepalese villages, several brothers will often marry the same woman to keep household wealth together and allow families to survive.
When Tashi Sangmo was 17 she married a 14-year-old neighbour in a Himalayan village in Nepal and as part of the package she also agreed to wed his younger brother.
In ancient times, the sons of almost every family in the region of Upper Dolpa, 500 kilometres from the capital Kathmandu, would jointly marry one woman but the practice of polyandry is dying out as the region begins to open up to modern life.
“Things are easier this way because everything we have stays in one family. It doesn’t get divided among many wives and it is me in charge,” said Sangmo. “Two brothers bring in the money and it’s me who decides what to do with it.”
When Sangmo wed Mingmar Lama 14 years ago, it was understood that her spouse’s brother Pasang – then 11 – would later join the relationship in an old practice that persists in only a few isolated Himalayan villages. Between them, they now have three sons aged eight, six and four.
“I wanted to share this bond with my brother because life would be easier for both of us,” said Pasang, 25, speaking at the family home in Simen village.
Polyandry prevents the practice of each generation of a family dividing their holdings, and food supplies just manage to cover the locals’ basic needs.
Marriages are typically arranged, with a family picking a wife for their oldest son and giving the younger brothers the chance to wed her later.
In some cases the wives will even help raise their future husbands, entering into s*xual relationships with them when they are considered mature enough.
Husbands in polyandrous marriages handle domestic duties, helping with cooking and childcare, while women are in charge of the money.
