The Benefits of Punjabi-Mexican Marriages in the Imperial Valley
-
During the early 20th century, marriages between Punjabi men and Mexican women in the Imperial Valley offered mutual benefits. These unions, compared to those betweenPunjabi men and White women, were tolaerated – marriage licenses were increasingly granted to Hispanic women and Punjabi men.
After the first few marriages were established between them, a pattern emerged and Punjabi-Hispanic unions became more common.These relationships were primarily formed through shared labor in the cotton fields.Mexicans, seeking work across the border, came to the cotton fields in Texas and Southern California, where many met their future husbands. Punjabi farmers had settled in the Imperial Valley and set forth in a farming venture, many hiring Punjabi farmers, having settled in the Imperial Valley and embarked on farming ventures, often hired Mexican women to cook, clean, and work in the fields. Men seeking a stable home life began marrying these women.
One important factor to note is how one Hispanic-Punjabi marriage led to many others—Mexican women would call close family members and friends to arrange matches with their husbands' friends. In Southern California at least 101 of 239 wives had one or more female relatives married to Punjabis, making this a positive reason for marriage. One woman, who left Mexico at eighteen, recounted how worried she was when her sister married, leaving her alone to care for two children. Soon after, she found a husband through her sister’s husband. Overall, it is understood that these Mexican women entered these marriages primarily for economic security.
In addition, many of these women came to the U.S. already having families of their own, resulting in a significant amount of stepfathering. More than a third of these women already had children, with an average of 3.2 children each. The Punjabis were said to be “good stepfathers,” providing food, clothing, and care for these children, even if they were not biologically theirs.
Another reason these marriages benefited Punjabi men was their desire for children, as they needed to buy property in their children’s names, since they were not permitted to own property themselves or marry American women. In parallel, Mexican women sought to improve their families’ lives.
In conclusion, both Punjabi men and Mexican women had a lot to offer to one another, both improving one another’s economic and social standing in the West.