Progenitor?

Strictly speaking, marriage isn't a religious thing. It's something that exists/existed even in countries where religion is/was banned, just as it exists among atheists everywhere else. Marriage these days is a legal matter, tying people together in terms of wealth, responsibility and rights. If Hillanders lacked something resembling marriage it would mean that they don't form lasting relationships, the kind where someone might wish to leave their stuff to their partner after death, etc. and that they wouldn't feel any need to dedicate themselves to someone else either.

Lack of marriage isn't all that bad, maybe the Hillanders have more of a tendency to favor a polygamous or communal sense of relationships, but as showed with Towa and Kiwa, there's still couple boundings.
Perhaps not focusing too much on lasting relationships is a good thing for them, considering, ya know, being tiny and vulnerable in a huge world and all that.

Thing is, Hillander society is pretty much communistic, individuals don't really own anything. Money doesn't exist, everything is shared, and that extends to partners. Marriage would mean taking ownership of a partner... that goes against their core mentality.

Polygamy is a thing in Hills, sometimes several Hillanders will live together as partners. And even if you have a long-term partner, casual sex is with others is generally not seen as "cheating".

A permanent relationship only becomes relevant when kids are planned, since that's a shared responsibility. (Though even single parent Hillanders receive plenty of support, there are Hillanders who's only job is to be caretakers.)

A Hillander *could* request a legal document that states "we belong together till death do us part also I want to leave all my stuff to this person and I want this person to take care of my children" but no one would see much of a point in that. Who gets what is (usually) decided by the Council on the basis of who needs it the most and what is best for everyone. Even living space is distributed by the Council, you can't own a "house" in Hills, there's nothing to inherit because their concept of value differs greatly from ours. (For example Kiwa's binocular at the very beginning would be considered "valuable" in the sense that it's a very useful tool and the metal it's made from is a rare commodity. She could request to leave it to her partner or child but it would be seen as selfish since those binoculars could be given to someone who needs them for their work. Whatever is useful should be used by thos who need it most. And everyone would agree with that, it's how their society of very limited resources functions.)

So in summary, marriage doesn't exist in Hills because wealth doesn't exist in Hills. And also a Hillander is never truly alone, even if you have no living relatives left you will be taken care of. They're like smurfs, basically.

Huh. Smurfs have their own stuff though, even if they share willingly. But I guess that kind of a system could work for Hillanders. I guess I’ve though of them as human like to some degree, but honestly, even illithids are more human than the Hillanders, it seems. Not that not being a human is a bad thing, mind.

Finally, a voice of reason :T

Wow look at Aniwa showing emotion like a real person and everything

They’re probably suffering from a hangover.

I swear Aniwa went from Antagonist to somebody who needs to be protected just like that-