Interesting thoughts here.

I think the rite came along because raising human children takes a lot of resources due to how undeveloped they are born into this world compared to a majority of the animals, especially herbivores. Human development takes exponentially longer than most animals.

With that being said, the rite itself can be a very spiritual process, and I wrote a blog about it not too long ago https://steemit.com/relationships/@becomingwhtur/ten-years-and-still-having-fun

I tend to think of it as a spiritual challenge in learning how to love someone, but sadly not many people see it this way - it's just another machination they go through in life without giving the reasons for its existence much thought.

Very insightful! Thank you for sharing!