Polygyny and Christian Marriage in Africa: The Case of Benin

African Studies Review, Sep 2008 by Falen, Douglas J

Although these patterns still hold true for many marriages today, the patterns are in flux, particularly in urban areas. Today, older people complain that bridewealth payments are expensive and increasingly rare, although this trend may not be new (Quenum 1999[1936]:110-11). The ideal of love, along with urban mobility, has fostered an informal style of union, often beginning with sexual activity and resulting in cohabitation and the birth of a child. These informal "marriages" may be accompanied by customary obligations, but there is more flexibility for spouses to negotiate these responsibilities. Furthermore, polygynous men today often try to avoid cowife jealousy by housing wives in different places, sometimes in different towns. This creates more variability in the different relationships or may even result in the husband's favoring one wife over another.

Educated and wealthy Beninois for the most part see Christianity and monogamy as modern and desirable. Yet for male farmers, having multiple wives may have the functional advantage of producing a greater labor force. More significantly, the ability to support many wives and children is a matter of prestige, and men also receive respect for acquiring multiple sexual relationships. Thus, there are three different and competing avenues to male prestige: open polygyny, Christianity and monogamy, and multiple sexual unions. Depending on a man's background and priorities, these three strategies may play themselves out in a variety of relationships. Some men are strictly monogamous, while others are monogamous with extramarital affairs. Some are openly polygynous, while others are outwardly monogamous with additional hidden wives and families.

For women, financial concerns are important in their marriage strategy. Many women, especially educated Christians, strongly prefer monogamy, but some accept becoming a cowife for financial security. Other women agree to be the outside wife, although this arrangement may come with the same financial obligations as a formal marriage, depending on how the couple negotiates the terms. In such cases, the families may or may not be inclined to intervene on behalf of one of the spouses. Some women avoid marriage, preferring to engage in sexual unions (sometimes with multiple men) in exchange for financial support. Increasingly, whether or not a marriage is Christian, contracted with bridewealth, or publicly recognized, the application of customary duties and responsibilities is largely dependent on negotiations between the couple. People can be married according to a customary bridewealth marriage, in a civil ceremony, and/or in religious ceremony (with none of these mutually exclusive) . With such a variety of options, it is interesting to see how choices are made and what roles are played by Christianity and ideological concerns.

Marriage and Identity among Beninois Men

In interviews, the people most likely to attach ideological importance to marriage were men, although there was a range of opinions. Most men I interviewed claimed to be opposed to polygyny, including a number of men who were polygynists themselves. Their rationale was that polygyny invites too many quarrels and expenses. I did consider the possibility that if these men saw monogamy as a Western tradition, they may have felt uncomfortable expressing their preference for polygyny to this American researcher. Indeed, on further questioning more of their ambivalence was sometimes revealed. For example, one polygynous man explained that polygyny is undesirable but went on to say that "an African man must have at least two wives." A young single man also said that polygyny is part of the African "heritage," as compared with "modern" monogamy. An older man called polygyny a "croyance ancienne" (ancient belief), claiming that monogamy is a new way of thinking learned from Europeans. This same man explained that "en Afrique là, nous continuons d'avoir dans notre sang là, l'élan de la polygamie" (In Africa, we continue to have the spirit of polygyny in our blood) . Although this man was monogamous, and made no personal statement about his preference for polygyny, I learned from another informant that he recently had tried to marry an additional, younger wife. On other occasions men hid their girlfriends or outside wives from me, although I learned about their existence from others.