Polyandry in Indonesia

Eventho it is not legal, I've heard several times about polyandry cases in Indonesia. Just as with many polygynies, they did it by performing 'nikah siri', an unregistered marriage. In Indonesia to be legally married, one has to registered their religious marriage at Civil Register for non-moslems, or at Religious Office (KUA) for moslems.

The last polyandry union I know involving a foreigner who did a nikah siri with a Javanese. After a while, the lady's parents wanted her to get married officially. I dont know why she didnt do that with her foreigner husband, instead she got married officially as a second wife of this Indonesian guy. The foreigner, the wife and Indonesian husband sort of lived together (both men are now deceased). I heard when the Indonesian husband stayed away rather long, the foreigner would asked the wife if they had a fight. At one point the foreigner even paid for the wife, the husband and his wife to go for the Haj pilgrimage.

Another unions that I know were form because the first husbands couldnt keep up with their wives' sexual urges, so he let her marries someone else. This is also a reason why some ladies letting their husband getting another wife in polygyny.

To the best of my knowledge, it is illegal to practice polyandry in Islam. Therefore it is interesting to see how these unions are possible.