AFRICAN POLYGYNY: FAMILY VALUES AND CONTEMPORARY CHANGES 207 RETHINKING POLYGAMY pe, the "primary marriage, is arranged by parents prior to the couple's adolescence. "Second marriage" In the Western world today, the term marriage is is arranged later by the couple itself. When a woman defined as a social institution that legally joins one leaves her primary husband and goes to a secondary man and one woman at the same time; that is, it is syn- husband or later on to still another secondary hus- onymous with monogamy. Nevertheless, anthropolo- band, she leaves behind everything except the clothes gists define marriage more broadly as to include and jewelry she is wearing. She may be fetched back cultural variation, such as number of mates, at the by her former husband, or she may decide to stay and same time recognizing the universal function of mar- take up residence with her new husband, who then iage as a public contract that makes socially legiti provides her with a house and everything she needs mate any offspring resulting from the marital union or for housekeeping. The traditional Irigwe marriage sys- unions. Anthropologists tell us that monogamy is the tem has no divorce. A woman's prior marriages are norm around the world(Fisher 1992). This assertion is not terminated by her switching residence to another correct in the pragmatic sense because even in cultures spouse. At any point in time, she may return to any of that permit polygyny, or marriage between one man her spouses and resume residence with him. Paternity and more than one woman at a time the majority of settled by consensus, and a husband competes w individuals, in actuality, are married monogamously his wifes other husbands for the paternity of the child Nevertheless, in the majority of the worlds cultures, she bears polygyny exists along with monogamy as a viable Advocates for Euro-American polygamy have met and, in many cases, ideal form of marriage. Ford and with stiff resistance. For example, the great nineteenth- Beach (1951), for example, found that in 84 percent of century explorer Captain Richard Francis Burton the 185 cultures they studied, men were permitted to shocked and angered the Victorians by writing openly have more than one wife at a time. One common mis- about sexual matters. He also angered his wife with conception in the West about polygyny is that its func- his private opinions concerning polygamy. Neverthe- tion is primarily one of sexual gratification. That this is less, he believed that polygamy would help keep fam not the case can be derived from the sociology of ilies stable, lessen the need for prostitutes, and help polygynous family life, which reveals that in all cul the single wife with her many household chores cures in which polygyny is practiced, there are a num- Although Victorians may not have understood Bur- ber of commonalities. Ideally, for example, work is tons opinion, it is probably fair to say that most Irigwe divided evenly among wives; the fair practice visiting men and women would have agreed with him rule requires the husband to visit each wife equally wives usually have separate houses and sleeping quarters; and the first wife is given the most respected AFRICAN POLYGYNY AS A CULTURAL VALUE status of senior wife One of the best-known cases of polygyny comes In her research on family structure among the Yoruba from the Islamic religion. An important ordinance in of Nigeria, Sudarkasa(1982)describes the typical situ Islam provides limits on the institution of polygyny: ation. Whether or not a husband is polygynous, he has "And if you fear that you cannot act equitably toward his own room separate from that of his wife or wives orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, who, in turn, have their own rooms and their own 2, 3, or 4, or if you fear you will not do justice(between household belongings. Although separated physically That your right hand at times, the polygynous family should be thought of possesses"(the Koran 4: 3 ). Polygyny, in this case, can s one family, not as separate families sharing a com- not be understood apart from community obligations mon husband. Sudarkasa points out that the latter toward widows and children. The actual practice view would rule out the very significant role that the allows considerable variation, although as set forth as senior wife plays in the polygynous family. The senior a religious ideology in the Koran, its basis is under- stood best in a humanitarian, communitarian context. wives, and she sometimes serves as an intermediary Polyandry, found in less than 1 percent of the between her cowives and their common husband worlds cultures, always exists in combination with Wives of the same husband frequently cooperate in polygyny. Among the Irigwe of Nigeria ( Sangree economic activities. Distinction is made between chil- 1969), there are two basic types of marriage. The first dren of the same father and children of the same mother by the same father Sudarkasa emphasizes that for certain purposes, a mother and her children consti- tute a"subunit within the family, but they do not con Reprinted by permission of the author stitute a separate unit within the family(p. 142)