In the first study of its kind, a research team led by Massey University professor Murray Cox, in a publication in the advanced online edition of Molecular Biology and Evolution, has examined the effects of arranged marriages on genetic diversity.
From hemophilia and color blindness amongst British and Russian monarchies, people have long known the potential damaging genetic consequences of inbreeding. But until recently, no one could measure or understand the impact of marriage rules on genetic diversity.
Amongst the traditional culture of the Indonesian Rindi, with an isolated population of just a few thousand on the island of Sumba, marriage rules dictate that a man ideally marries his first cousin on his mother’s side, with an aim to consolidate wealth and power by bringing the bride into his family’s sphere of social influence.
