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punalua (poo-nuh-LOO-uh) - n., the marriage of brothers of one family to sisters of another.
The definition is worded vaguely to encompass both possible configurations, of separate monogamous marriages or of a group marriage. The former is the most common dictionary definition, as used in cultural anthropology, but the latter the original Hawai'ian meaning (which also at times encompassed other forms of plural marriage, such as a marriage of three unrelated spouses). The Hawai'ian word also can be used to describe one's spouses in such a group marriage, as in the husbands of one wife.
---L.
The definition is worded vaguely to encompass both possible configurations, of separate monogamous marriages or of a group marriage. The former is the most common dictionary definition, as used in cultural anthropology, but the latter the original Hawai'ian meaning (which also at times encompassed other forms of plural marriage, such as a marriage of three unrelated spouses). The Hawai'ian word also can be used to describe one's spouses in such a group marriage, as in the husbands of one wife.
---L.
