MODULE I

Concept of
Social
Institutions

Marriage and Family Life Relationship

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 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE RELATIONSHIP

OVERVIEW

This module presents a discussion on the basic unit of

society, marriage,family and kinship to illustrate the extent to
which these elements of social organization are present.

It is imperative in this module to discuss religious and

legal considerations on topics of social institutions because
laws form part of social norms and religion.

Cases drawn from Philippine society specifically from

cultural groups that forms and part of belief system which
define the existing structure and mechanism.

Questions for discussion

1. Describe the characteristics of your dream husband/wife.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. What were your bases (such as religion, ethnic or racial background, educational
background, socio-economic status, geographic location, similar values and so on) in
choosing these characteristics?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. What do you think are the roles of the social forces that influence you in choosing
someone whom you want to marry in the future?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module the student must be able to:

a. To know the concept of social institution and the five basic institutions in society, as well as
identify the normative system of beliefs, social norms and values operating in the institution
especially that of law.
b. To recognize the importance of the familial institution to social life and understand its
structure and mechanism in serving its purposes and functions
c. To describe the how marriage occurs in the past few years and differentiate the two marriage
procedures.

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 CONCEPT OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

MODULE 1.1

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE RELATIONSHIP

Concept of Social Institutions

Social institutions refers to the configuration of integrated beliefs, social norms, and
social values formed and patterened around the social needs, activities, and way of life of
member of society. The pattern establishes the structure and mechanism for a normative
system in carrying out roles, functions, and orderly living. There are five basic social institutions
that carry out these normative systems namely;
a. Familial
b. Political
c. Economical
d. Educational
e. Religious

Marriage: Definitions and Views

Definition and views about marriage have changed tremendously. For instance,
marriage is often defined as a “socially sanctioned sexual and economic union between men
and women.” (Howard &Hattis, 1992 : 450).
There are some social scientists, on the other hand who view marriage not as an
“institutional but as a relationship.” To consider it as an “institution” is, in effect, to imply that
appropriate marital roles and statuses come from the outside and from “above,” but to call it a
relationship connotes that statuses and roles come from within, from the practice itself.”
(Morgan 1985 : 5)
All these views about the shift of emphasis of marriage from an institution to relationship
emerge from the following arguments:
1. That marriage involves the personal choice of the couple, and that there is tendency
for them to expect personal growth.
2. That this concept is widespread, and if ever variations occur, the ethnic affiliation of
each spouse may have been responsible for them.
3. That there is the need for divorce, and separation in some cases.

As stated earlier, marriage is no guarantee that couples will live together until death
separates them. When in the course of the marriage one of the spouses does not derive any
personal growth from the relationship. They may separate and eventually divorce.

Reason Why People Marry

There have been a number of reasons why people marry

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 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE RELATIONSHIP

1. Human infants have a prolonged period of dependency. Thus someone

has to take care of them. Caring for them requires time and attention; often it becomes
burdensome of the “career” who is usually a woman.
2. People get married to overcome the threat of sexual competition. It is
argued, particularly by male scholars, that “sexual competition is a reproductive and
economic threat to the survival of the society.
3. People get married because they benefit from each other’s labor. Most
societies have clearly defined division of labor based on sex and age. In a horticultural
society, men are responsible for clearing the fields while the women are the planters.
With marriage, both men and women share the fruits of their labor.
4. Men marry because this is one way of naining dominance over women.
Thus, in a foraging society where women provide substantial diets or food for the social
group, men, as husbands gain access to the product of womens labor and thereby,
reducing men’s work load.

On the other hand, women work outside the house and the same time perform
household chores. Feminist have argued that wimen are the most exploited laborers for
they perform necessary and tedious services and men, as husbands rewarded them as
they see fit.
5. In small scale societies , all men and women are expected to marry.
Those who do not marry are interpreted to mean that they refuse to assume adult
responsibilities. Unmarried man and women are not conferred adult status. In our
society, people are pressured to marry by kinsmen and peers. However, there are those
who remained unmarried, yet the decision or choice are respected and accepted. A
number of people however, still consider marriage as an important social relationship.

Study Helps:
1. Why do people marry?
2. What are the ways by which marriage is perfectly handled both men and women?
3. Explain in your own words what is marriage? Do we need to get married? Explain.

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 MODULE 1.2
CONCEPT OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

The Family: Development Cycle

The family passes through three stages or undergoes a development cycle.

1. Expansion
This occurs with the birth of the children. The children are nurtured and
socialized until they reach the reproductive age. This period is characterized by the
dependency of the children on their parents.
2. Dispersion and Fission
This period is characterized by the marriage of the firstborn child and reaches the
fission stages when the youngest child decides to marry
3. Replacement
This is mark by the death of the parents and the assumption of their statuses and
responsibilities by the families of their children.

Marriage as a form of alliances

Marriage does not refer only to the bonding of two individuals as husband and wife. It
involves the formation of a network of relationships which include relatives of the bride and the
bridegroom’s.
Marriage is a form of alliance, is more latent in the union of the children of politicians or
chief.

The marriage process

Howard and Hattis (1992 : 255) look at marriage as a process of that consist of three
parts: finding a potential spouse, securing the marriage, and maintaining it.

a. Choosing a Spouse
Rules on the selection of mates vary among societies. In some societies, mates must be
selected endogamously, that is, a mate must come from within one’s community. However, it is
possible that potential spouses may be chosen outside the community, or what is commonly
known as exogamy.
Among contemporary urban Filipinos, there are cases of rejected suitors, abducting the
women who spurned them. The women oftentimes are forced to marry their abductors. In other
instances, it is not the women who are captured but the men. With the help of their relatives
women may set traps to “capture” men of their choice. This is locally known as “pikot” (roughly
translated as “capture”)

b. Meeting the Terms

Once a potential spouse has been selected, he is expected to perform the bride service.
This was the practice in many of the rural communities in the Philippines. The bride service

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 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE RELATIONSHIP

could be performed for a period pf one year or more, depending upon the wishes of the bride’s
parents. The bride service could take the form of chopping firewood, carrying water from the
well to the batalan(extended portion of the kitchen, a common structure in many rural homes.)
plowing fields, or other personal services as may be required by the parents of the woman. This
was done to test the sincerity of the bridegroom and the seriousness of his intention to marry
the woman.
But in the cities, bride services come in different forms since needs and demands of city
life are different from those found in the rural areas.

Securing the Marriage

Marriage is secured through the payment of bridewealth. It means the transfer of land,
livestock’s, usually a carabao, jewelry, textile, as well as an agreed-upon amount of money, to
the bride’s parent.

The Marriage Ceremony

The marriage ritual varies from one cultural group to another. In some cultural groups,
rites are simple but attended by kinsmen as well as peers to publicly recognize and witness the
ceremony. The kinds of wedding ceremonies are determined by a pamanhikan (formal asking of
a bride’s hand in marriage.)
In the past pamanhikan was an elaborate ceremony where a mediator, usually a
spokesman of the family, using oratorical tone and figurative language, would start the married
arrangements.
o The pamanhikan may start with a statement like, “Ilanna bang bahay at
hadanananginyongdinaanan?” (Roughly translated, how many houses and stairs have you gone
up to?) such inquiry has reference to the number of the women and men had courted in the
past. Bridegroom’s to determine whether or not they had been through a pamanhikan. The
spokeman for the bridegroom would also respond in methapors like “Iisalangangbahat at
hagndangamingtinahaksapagkatiisalangangpusongaming binate.” (Roughly translated: we have
come only one house and stairs because our gentleman has only one heart and one love).
o At present, however preparations for the wedding take about a year. Some
churches, particularly those located in the center of the city, require a year of reservation as
their calendar for church weddings are filled up.as stated earlier the wedding expense used to
be shouldered by the parents of the bridegroom.
o The bride are responsible for selecting color motif of the wedding. The bridal
bouquet, wedding cake, church decorations and giveaways or gifts from the newlywed to all the
wedding guest must also carry the color motif chosen by the bride.
o Wedding sponsors are personally chosen by the bride and the bridegroom. The
female wedding sponsors are chosen by the bride while the male sponsors are handpicked by
the bridegroom.
o It used to be that the bride would proceed to the church from her parent’s house
on her wedding day. But present most brides stay in hotel where they and their bridal entourage
are attended to by beauticians as they prepare for the church.

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 CONCEPT OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

o If the couples are both Catholic, church weddings are preferred. Most rituals are
help on weekdays, as church officials prohibit the holding of wedding on Sunday.
o Brides are expected to come late for their weddings to lend more “drama” to the
occasion. Everyone expects this. As she gets married only once in her lifetime. To be early in
the church or go there ahead of the bridegroom implies eagerness to get married.
o The bride is always radiant and beautiful on her wedding day. It used to be that
the bridegroom, together with his best man, waits for his bride at the foot of the altar.

The Future of the Family in the Philippines

The Filipino remains to be a strong and vital institutions in molding the character of it’s
young members, though there are forms other than the nuclear family that may emerge in the
future, we believe that the young generation will still recognize its importance.
Though we see the proliferation of agencies and services available to assist working
women with the burden of housekeeping, working women will continue to assume some of their
traditional roles, i.e., as principal socializers to their children. More men will begin to be
supportive of the womans right to pursue their careers after marriage.

Study Helps
1. What are the ways by which marriage is maintained and secured?
2. Explain why marriage is considered a form of alliance. Give concrete examples .
3. What are those marriage ceremony which need to be followed by the past few years?

Activity 1
Research Topics:
1. List down the relatives that you know. State your relationship with them.
2. Observe a wedding ceremony. Interview your mother, an aunt and a neighbor who is
about as old as your mother and ask them about the wedding ceremony during their
time. Note some changes between the present and past wedding ceremonies. Which do
you prefer? Why?
Video and Analysis
https://youtu.be/ttVGEIxEtvg (PAMAMANHIKAN)

Guide Questions:
What did you observe in the video?
Explain and discuss what to do in pamamanhikan,

Reference/s
*Book of Society and Culture (introduction to sociology and anthropology) by Isabel
Ponopio pg. 152-158.

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 CONCEPT OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

Essay Rubrics

Features 4 – expert 3 accomplished 2 capable 1 beginner

Quality of  Piece was  Piece was  Piece had  Piece had
writing written in written in an little style no style or
extraordinary interesting or voice voice
style and style and voice  Gives  Gives no
voice  Somewhat some new new
 Very informative informatio informatio
information and organized n but n and very
and well poorly poor
organized organized organized
Grammar, Virtually no spelling, Few spelling and A number  So many spelling,
of
Usage & punctuation or punctuation errors, spelling, punctuation and
Mechanics grammatical error minor grammatical punctuation or grammatical errors
error grammatical errors that it interferes
with the meaning

Interview and Research Rubrics

Poor (2) Average (3) Good (4) Excellent (5)

GRAMMAR and 7 or more errors 4-6 errors 1-3 errors No errors
SPELLING
ATTENTION No clear book or Average attention Good attention Excellent look and
GRABBER or attention grabber grabber grabber attention grabber
“LOOK”
TURNED IN BY 3 or more days 2 days after the 1 day after the On or before the
DUE DATE & after the deadline deadline dead line said deadline
TIME
QUOTATIONS No Quotes Quotes used Quotes used Quotes greatly
WERE USED IN poorly or in properly enhance the words
THE incorrect format effectively of interviewee
INTERVIEW excellently

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Formal Essay Rubrics

Areas of 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Assessment
Ideas Presents ideas in an Presents ideas in a Ideas are too Ideas are vague
original manner consistent manner general or unclear
Organization Strong and Organized Organized Some organization; No organization;
beg/mid/end beg/mid/end attempt at a lack at a
beg/mid/end beg/mid/end
Understanding Writing shows strong Writing shows Writing shows Writing shows
understanding clear understanding adequate little
understanding understanding
Word Choice Sophisticated use of nouns and verbs Needs more nouns Little or no use
nouns and verbs make make the essay and berbs of nouns and
the essay very informative verbs
informative
Sentence Sentence structure Sentence structure Sentence structure No sense of
Structure enhances meaning; is evident; is limited; sentence
flows throughout the sentences mostly sentences need to structure or flow
pice flow flow

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