punalua
/ˌpuːnəˈluːə/(also pinalua) Cultural Anthropol.
noun
A form of group marriage in which a wife's sisters and a husband's brothers are also considered to be spouses.
- Used by L. H. Morgan in his theory of the evolution of kinship systems, in which punalua was assumed to succeed promiscuity and precede exogamy..
Origin
Mid 19th century. From Hawaiian punalua the spouse of a sibling, person with whom one shares a spouse.