#*& I'm not native american & I don't know anything about any real world religions

[bumblingbabooshka]

Something something the Janeway/Chakotay/Tuvok dynamic when it comes to religion, mysticism, spirituality and science.

[warm-starlight]

No denying in some cultures marriage started as something toxic like that website you cited claimed (probably still for some people around the world) but in other cultures "marriage" wasn't a legal issue it was more a personal promise.

But ofcourse that I suppose wouldn't be counted as a "real" marriage by today's standards where the law has had to get involved. Many had just spiritual weddings (E.g the ancient Egyptians prayers for blessings), just vows or in another example for Native Americans, marriage was just public recognition + they started living together.

And then futher, does it really matter what marriage started as thousands of years ago?

As, if people are now lucky enough to live in cultures which have gotten rid of those terrible roots of basically selling your daughter, they are essentially once again just vows to stay together + the law acknowledging you're married.

And for many religious people (those that do not abuse their religion and twist it to what they like) marriage is a promise in front of God and should be held to the upmost importance. Whether or not people agree with religion it is no denying that it is very important to those people.

Ofcourse, going back to it just being vows, some people just don't see the point as they could promise to stay together without having a legally binding wedding/ they are not religious or any other reason. And that's perfectly valid!

But some want to officially acknowledge what they are to eachother in "marriage" whatever that may be in the culture they belong to. Which again is also perfectly valid!

Traditions change and evolve and marriage is one of those. And even then "marriage" as a concept is different in different societies, so it's even harder to generalise and say it's something that was toxic then and now.

I'm not trying to diminish your opinion and I'm sorry if I came across as too forward. This is just my ramble about my views on your views of the topic and you can probably tell cause it's all mixed up XD

Considering ancient egyptians here's what i found

"There was no marriage ceremony in ancient Egypt. A woman was married to a man as soon as she entered his house with the goods agreed upon. Marriages were usually arranged by one's parents with an agreed upon bride price and reciprocal gifts from the groom's family to the bride's." Very economical and not romantic at all.

"In most Native American cultures, nearly all adults were married, yet marriage was not seen as permanent. It was recognized that people would be together in a married state for a while and then separate. Divorce was accomplished easily since the couple did not own property in common."

No vows of eternal love here either.

So in conclusion marriage is overrated and overromanticized by many people who don't really know it's true meaning.

I am one of the people who just don't see the point of marriage oustide of financial security in case of a break up, so i probably wouldn't care enough nor want to spend the money for a procedure that really doesn't change anything regarding my relationship with my partner. Too many people marry and then get divorced so the procedure itself becomes meaningless and only a waste of resources which they could have spent on more fun things like traveling the world lol. I mean you can start and end a relationship just as you marry and get a divorce. You don't need to be married to love your partner and stay with them.

But agree to disagree. :)