AFRICAN POLYGYNY: FAMILY VALUES AND CONTEMPORARY CHANGE 209 able evidence that traditional african women do value third wife these two wives would then be informed so polygyny, at least under certain circumstances. At this that they could help to look for someone with whom time, it may be informative for us to consider some of they would wish to share their lives and work. Women he evidence for this contention those Africans who felt that the most common reason a wife would advise have written in praise of polygyny have invariably her husband to take another wife was that he was a been men, but some African women have noted that rich man with lots of cattle and land, too much for one polygyny is to be preferred over stigmatized concubi- wife to handle alone. Twenty-five out of the 27 women nage. In general, little is known about the issue of considered polygyny to be better than monogamy "womens views of polygyny in the broad context of Other studies have also suggested that traditional their perceptions of marriage and womens issues as a (usually rural, uneducated) women view polygyny whole"(Ware 1979). A survey of over 6,000 Yoruba more positively than their educated counterparts females,ranging in age from 15 to 59, from the city of Susan Whyte(1980) provides information from Ibadan, Nigeria, found that about one wife in two lives Marachi, Kenya, on the practice known as okhwenda in a polygynous marriage; the proportion for women eshiebo, in which a wife could bring her sisters or over 40 rises to about two out of three. About 60 per- brother's daughter or occasionally her mother's cent of the women in the survey reported that they brother's daughter to be her cowife. She points out would be"pleased"if their husbands took another that this often happened at the instigation of the hus- wife. They would then have some companionship and band, but the Mariachi view of it is that it is the someone with whom they could share housework, woman who brings herself a cowife"(p. 137). Whyte husband care, and child care. Only 23 percent states that polygyny has become more problematic in expressed anger at the idea of sharing with another today' s deteriorating economic climate. Many men wife. More traditionally oriented women without edu still want the respect they can gain by having many cation(67 percent)were more favorable toward polyg-. wives and children, but women emphasize the diffi- yny than women with some formal education(54 culties of polygyny due to a shortage of land and labor and an increasing need for money for school fees, Ware(1979)suggests that sharing economic and clothing, labor, and food. Whyte points out that while domestic responsibilities among women might wel polygyny, in her opinion, has never been popular with women, it is even less so at pre esent because the that the sharing of a husband might be viewed as a resources of individual men are becoming less ade. detriment or an advantage, depending on the extent to quate; thus, there is an increase in competition for the which husbands as such are considered to be assets or already scarce resources of the polygynous husband liabilities. Some Ibadan wives see little value in having Studying another Kenyan society, Monique Mul- a husband except as a" recognized progenitor for their der(1992) found that married women have strong children"(1979: 190).When these women, who live in a views concerning polygyny that are generally posi society where 99 percent of women marry by the age of tive. Seventy-six percent of the women in her survey 40, were asked whether there was a need for a husband polygyny favorably. In general, cowie rela apart from his role in begetting children, 47 percent tions are not full of tension, nor do polygynously mar- Pb own a re equal to men, they often did better yny (Mulder 1989 1 seductive costs.Neither women answered that women do not need husbands. They felt ried women suffer repro that there were many disadvantages in marriage, and nor their parents expressed antipathy toward polyg- women on their own. Those women who did consider other Whatever the value orientation is toward polyg oles played by husbands (in addition to progenitor) yny, the reality is that throughout Africa, most men mentioned companionship most frequently. turn out to be monogamous. A recent study among the Around the time of the Ware study a survey was Zulu of southern Africa by Moller and Welch (1990) undertaken in western Kenya by a Catholic nun and a helps explain this male point of view regarding polyg Kenyan nurse. Lwanga (1976)reports the following yny. Among the Zulus, polygynist account for about concerning their discussions of polygyny with 27 10 percent of rural married men. There continues to be Samia women living in a remote rural area of western a shift from overt polygyny to covert polygyny or Kenya. Many women felt that polygyny can be a monogamy owing to several factors. Among these are happy and beneficial experience if the cowives cooper- (1)a shortage of agriculturally productive land and ate with each other. They caution, however, that this is other economic changes; (2)social pressures to accept not likely to happen unless the husband allows the the values of politically and socially dominant whites senior wife the chance to look for a second wife. Then and 3)the inflexible teachings and policy of Christian she may choose a relative or the daughter of another mission churches. From their research surveys, Moller family of which she approves. If he should require a and Welch(1990)found that a majority of monogamist