The nuer are a cattleraising people devoted to their herds, although milk and meat must be supplemented by the. The polygamy comes mainly in three different forms. Polygamy in africa has little to do with sex september 26, 20 by msafropolitan 35 comments at its core polygamy is natural because men biologically need to spread their seed and it is hard for them to commit to one woman. Third, the slave trade predicts polygamy, but not robustly.
These hypotheses test whether polygamy responds to economic incentives. This study would not have been a reality without strong support from individuals and different organizations. Muthengi polygamy has been a persistent problem in africa for the christian missions which brought the gospel to the contment. While the insular groups living in and around utah are recognized by mainstream society, muslim. Nuer, people who live in the marsh and savanna country on both banks of the nile river in south sudan. Precolonial inequality, the slave trade, and colonial education matter in the present. Polygyny is the specific practice of one man taking more than one wife. Its no secret that there is a disproportionate number of black men in prison in the west. They were best friends, then pen pals until one day, the letters stopped coming finding fukue duration. I am grateful to both the anglican church of tanzania, diocese of mara and the church missionary society, england, for. Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse. In this paper we will be dealing with the most serious problem of all faced by africa, i.
Polygamy and islam polygamy and islam 5 one point greatly in need of clarification is the fact that in the matter of marrying more than one woman, the initiative does not lie solely with any individual man. I evaluate the impact of education on polygamy in africa. First, historical inequality better predicts polygamy today than current inequality. Faucon polygamist families in america live as outlaws on the margins of society. The polygamy was widely accepted throughout the world until the roman empire and the roman catholic church has imposed the rules of having just one wife, but multiple other lovers were the norm. In almost all african societies, polygamy is an acceptable and valid form of marriage in fact, monogamy has been associated with. Polygamy has been practiced by many cultures throughout history 3 there are numerous examples of polygamy among close followers, devotees, and the faithful to god in the old testament, but it is generally not accepted by most contemporary christians, though other christian groups permit the. These types of marriages have been more present in the whole history of africa like no other continent in the world. Readers are made aware that the author will use i, my, me, the researcher and the author when. Second, greater female involvement in agriculture reduces polygamy. Polygamy and christianity in africa t a falaye, ph. According to elbedour 2002 and bergstrom 1994, in some parts of africa an.
Daltony wake forest university tin cheuk leungz chinese university of hong kong may 20 abstract polygyny rates are higher in western africa than in eastern africa. Pdf polygamy is a phenomenon often associated with african people. Polygamy is legal in 58 out of nearly 200 sovereign states, the vast majority of them being muslimmajority countries in africa and asia. Polygamy africa ethnic institutions family structures i evaluate the impact of education on polygamy in africa. For example, 33% of women in nigeria reported that their husbands have more than one wife demographic and health survey, 20. This serves to show that the culture or the concept of polygamy is rooted in our ancestral history. Polygamy is a phenomenon often associated with african people. Polyandry, marriage of a woman to two or more men at the same time. The polygamy has existed in all over the african continent thanks to the fact that it represents an aspect of their culture and religion. You, poor women, will become nothing more than a dish at the buffet.
This view, as stated by goody 1976, holds that polygyny exists where allocating. Polygamy is a centuriesold practice in africa that has yet to disappear from modern life. They speak an eastern sudanic language of the nilosaharan language family. Polygamy of either sort is far less common than it used to be, and is now concentrated in africa, the middle east, india, thailand, and indonesia. First, greater female involvement in agriculture does not increase polygamy. A historical background stephanie coontz professor of history and family studies the evergreen state college director of research and public education council on contemporary families the new hbo television show, big love, has led many people to contact the council on contemporary families for background on polygamy. In north america polygamy has not been a culturally normative or legally recognized institution since the continents colonization by europeans. Polygamy is the practice of having more than one wife or husband at one time. The polygamy was widely accepted during the last two thousands of years in the subsaharan africa also. However, polygamy continues to be practiced in much of africa 7,8,9, 11. Polygamy continues to be widely practiced by statesmen i n africa. In south africa, polygamy has a long history in some cultures, and males with both middle and low socio economic background practice contemporary polygamy. Combine that with an oppressive system of welfare and imbalances in the earning power of black women and you have a. The trend over the past century has been toward limiting polygamy.
The author also looks at modern africa, under pressure to adopt western ways. Records are unclear, but it is believed that he took more than 70 wives and had somewhere between 67 and 210 children. Polygamy remains common and mostly legal in west africa. Much has been written on this subject as evidenced by the extensive bibliography of this article. The legality of polygamy varies widely around the world. Muthengi polygamy and the church in africa 59 second, polygamy is mot1vated by desire to secure all1ance w1th good families in this case, marriage from the african context is viewed as involving families and communities rather than individuals hillman 1975. Polygamy has been cited as a possible contributor to africa s low savings rates tertilt, 2005, widespread incidence of hiv brahmbhatt et al. There is much shrewd practical advice in this book. Polygamy is common in africa, and is blamed for negative outcomes.
Cohabitation, marriage and remarriage patterns in africa. Sobhuza ii maintained tight control on swaziland politics by marrying into notable swazi families. In many ancient kingdoms, these tensions often led to one wife plotting to kill the children of another. History of polygamy in africa polygamy in south africa posted. There is always the conditionan inescapable onethat whatever the society, the women should outnumber the men. In most of these states, polygyny is allowed and legally sanctioned. In africa, polygamy is viewed as a sociological issue rather than a religious one doi, 1996, and in some countries polygamy has also become a legal issue. While sociologists view polygamy as a reproductive strategy by which men maximise the number of their offspring, but minimise investment in each. This very old practice is essentially recognised under customary law andor religious practices. The issue of polygamy has dominated the press for the past week in south africa not least of all because of president zumas polygamous practices, as profiled on the world stage, and his impregnation of irvan khozas daughter as revealed in the press over the weekend. We describe key features of african polygyny, variation in its form, and the. Moreover, we need to correct a common mistake in referring to polygyny as polygamy.
Polygamy, which is defined as the practice of having more than one spouse, is a common, and widespread, socially as well as culturally accepted phenomenon in many african countries 1,2. Black polygamy has been low key trending for decades. Increasing education in the present is not a perfect. These types of marriages here are some more compilation of topics and latest discussions relates to this video, which we found thorough the internet. By studying the history of polygamy you are going to better understand how everything works and what are the motivations in the past that have made this practice accepted. Sociodemographic and behavioural profile of women in. The ndebele in history south african history online. Polygamy news the new york times history blog this article on jacob zuma and polygamy in south africa caught my eye the other day. A history of christian marriage the history of christian marriage is as complex and diverse as the history of christianity, with the meaning of that word marriage having changed and morphed as generations of faithful christians have sought to define for themselves the nature of a holy life lived out in the midst of daily life. When the husbands in a polyandrous marriage are brothers or are said to be brothers, the institution is called adelphic, or fraternal, polyandry. Motivated by a simple model, i use dhs data to test nine hypotheses about the prevalence and decline of african polygamy.
Polygamy and poverty are both widespread in subsaharan africa. Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. Polygynous marriage and child health in subsaharan africa. I use dhs data to test nine hypotheses about its prevalence and decline. Alexander although the occasion of many of the sermons i have given in church gatherings has faded into oblivion, the evening i reported my mission in the ogden twentyninth ward is indelibly impressed on my mind. In vhavenda culture to marry more than one wife is a sign of richness, power and a symbol of control over women. Polygamy devalues women and the only person who revels in it is the husband who gets to enjoy variety. Polygamy is concentrated in west africa and has declined in recent. Polygamy in africa is not an alternative lifestyle. In senegal, for example, nearly 47 per cent of marriages are said to feature multiple women. In the united states, polygamy has been practiced primarily by the mormon church, although the practice is much. Polygyny and womens health in subsaharan africa penn arts. Pdf critical reflections on polygamy in the african. One of the preconceptions more popularly held by both academics and lay public alike in regard to southern african rural society is that the indigenous family unit is polygamous in nature.
Pdf critical reflections on polygamy in the african christian context. Especially interesting is the association of polygamy with what we would call traditional moral valuesie extended family, respect for elders, that sort of thing. Whereas polygyny is the practice of one man having more than one wife at one time. Whereas it is believed erroneously among many people that polygamy implies the art of a man being married to more than one wife, the true definition of polygamy implies the. Polygamy in the historical and cultural context of subsaharan africa although subsaharan africa has had a long history of contacts with the outside world, a form of rather ancient culture that was based on an economy of high land man ratio became wellestablished in subsaharan africa. Polygamy has declined in the last decade but remains common in west africa. Districts of french west africa that received more colonial teachers and parts of subsaharan africa that received protestant or catholic missions have lower polygamy rates in the present. A strong argument of weather the subject is right or wrong.
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