Polygamy is the practice of maintaining simultaneous sexual relationships with multiple partners, usually through non-exclusive marriages. In practice, it is far more common for men to be polygamists than women.
While the holy figures of the Two Prophets religion set an example of monogamy for their followers, the Quadrate God never issued a statement against polygamy, and many of his wealthier followers kept large harems.
Polygamy was practiced by the Mormons, deeply offending the sensibilities of both the United States and the Confederate States. This contributed to the longstanding antagonistic relationship between Mormons and the US government, spilling over into the occasional Utah Troubles. Though the Confederates despised the Mormons, they supported these movements during their wars with the United States.
During the Second Mexican War, prior to a battle between the US Army and the Mormon rebels, Colonel George Armstrong Custer told his men that each time they killed an enemy, they would leave behind a lot of widows.
Wealthy Makuraner men often kept many wives who lived in large harems. They were sequestered strictly from the outside world, although this custom was loosened somewhat in the generations after the Time of Troubles. By contrast, the culture of the Empire of Videssos tended to eschew polygamy, which was rarely accepted in the rest of the known world.
Due to the short life cycle of Minervanmates, polygamy was the only option for Minervan breeding. Only after Minervans' encounters with Earth medicine did any other option became feasible.
Polygamy was practiced by the Race during its mating season in the natural state. Extensive ginger use by females following the arrival of the Colonization Fleet on Tosev 3 disrupted the Race's mating cycle, leading to continual sexual behavior, and in some cases close friends of opposite genders began practicing monogamy, occasionally to the point of formalizing an exclusive mating arrangement in imitation of Tosevite marriage, which the Race saw as perverse.
See also[]
Monogamy, an exclusive arrangement between two partners.
