| Summary: | Today only three different ethnic groups from the Himalayan population exist. They are the Negroids, Mongoloids and the Aryans. The population, settled in the Himalayan region is greatly influenced by the topography, economic pattern and the climatic conditions. The climate is one of the main factors of population settlements, since extreme climatic conditions impose a restriction on the living conditions and tends to restrict movement and communication. But the ethnic groups living in the remote valleys of the Himalayan region have generally conserved their traditional cultural identities. The three tribes presented in this episode are the Jaunsar Tribe, Gaddis and Kinnaur Tribes, descendants of the Aryans and Mongoloid races. These tribes have one thing in common: they all are polygamous, practicing polyandry and polygyny. The unique way in which each tribe practices polygamy is almost rare in the world. Romance or emotions are not the sole determining factors of these alliances; rather polyandry (forming a sexual union with more than one male) or polygyny (the practice of having more than one female partner at the same time) are adopted in order to save the fragmentation of land and consolidate wealth. Polyandry is also practiced in order to save on the cost of the bride's dowry and the lack of marriageable women which can be seen in the dwindling sex-ratio, typically found in the Jaunsar tribe. All three tribes are also endogamous and marry within their clans. Women are treated as equals with men and have the right to divorce and to re-marry.
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