This book deals with the system of exchange marriages in South Punjab, Pakistan. This system does not only regulate mate selection, but it is also an institutional guarantee of reciprocity, welfare and social cohesion. It connects families by means of one marriage, and also creates a double bond between two (or sometimes more) couples. This establishes specific conditions for stability and possible changes in marriage pattern. Valuation and stigmatization as social mechanisms are used to maintain the system of the exchange. It also shows to what degree new forms of cultural values and new...