line marriage

An institution comprising a plurality of individuals who are each married to every other individual in the group. Spouses (spice?) may all agree to marry other individuals into the group over time. This form of marriage is very stable by virtue of the fact that the death of a single spouse does not destroy the group. The addition of younger husbands or wives over time allows the line marriage to survive ad infinitum. See The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

The line marriage is mainly characterized by the switching of gender for each new person who marries in. Male, then female, then male, and so forth. This differs it from other types of systems such as clans or S-groups. It is probably the most stable form of marriage adopted by human beings.