Polygamy in Igbo Culture

Being successful can be by wrestling, wealth, titles, and wives to men in the Igbo culture which for them is their personal achievement to have these in life. For example, “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife”(8). This signifies the wealth the men have with yams and by having a title in their clan they can have more wives to show that they are able to support them and feed all of them. In contrast, Titles are a major symbol in men and their reputation, unlike women, care more about their families. For instance, “among these people, a man was judged according to his

Along the River Niger and dispersed across southeastern Nigeria, the Igbo people have thrived for centuries. Their traditions have remained prominent in their culture to this day, including arranged marriage. The concept of arranged marriage is controversial for a variety of reasons, but it is still prevalent in many regions of the world. People of the Igbo tribe are expected to marry for benefits rather than love, which is not something most are familiar with. The process of arranged marriage within the Igbo tribe, opinions on its propriety, and the preferable characteristics of a spouse according to the Igbo people are all well represented in Chinua Achebe’s short story, “Marriage is a Private Affair”.

Achebe uses the tribe’s spirituality as a beacon of relation to the western reader. Often times, westerners believe that African culture and spirituality is riddled with mysticism and voodoo, however, Achebe describes it differently through the use of imagery. In this quote, Achebe explains The Feast of the New Yam, and its importance to the Umuofia people. “It was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani, the earth goddess and the source of all fertility. Ani played a greater part in the life of people than any other deity.” (Achebe 36). To the Umuofia, Ani was their explanation of where their vibrant crops and healthy lives arose

In the Ibo culture, when a woman was to be married, the family of her suitor would come and inspect her to be sure she was beautiful and ripe enough to be a part of their family. A woman did not have any value other than her beauty and her abilities to cook and bear children. In a conversation between Okonkwo and his friend Obierika, they spoke of two other villages where their ''customs are all upside down'' and ''titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives'' (73).

The first element is the different types of polyamorous relationships and to explain this I use an article call This is my Partner, and this is my…Partner’s Partner: Constructing a Polyamorous Identity in a Monogamous World and also I used information from the Polyamorous Society main website, where they create campaigns and educate people about this lifestyle. Both of this articles explain the different categories of polyamorous, primary, secondary, third, triads, quads, etc. Also, they explain the difference and characteristics of each type of relationship and they provide additional information about what polyamory was and what kind of people tend to be polyamorist. I used another article call There Aren't Words For What We Do Or How We Feel So We Have To Make Them Up': Constructing Polyamorous Languages In A Culture of Compulsory Monogamy to describe the reason why polyamorist create their own language and why they are against the language that monogamous use. The article call Situational Sexual Behaviors: The Ideological Work Of Moving Toward Polyamory In Communal Living Groups, I used to describe the community that polyamorous create for people who solely practice their lifestyle. Also, this article provided with three main reasons why they did not wanted to live in monogamous communities, which I has stated in my paper. All of this sources gave me detail information and quotes that allowed me to prove that they were characteristics of

Polygyny sets social role in the culture of the igbo people, which ranks are first inherited from father to son along with a farm. The festival in which the tribe celebrates the new coming of their primary food source and to praise the earth goddess which proves their peaceful bond with nature. Although others may include that the igbo tribe may be disruptive towards nature because of the sacrifices that are made as offerings to the earth goddess, Ani. And the fame for their unique and interesting culture around

Polygamy is the practice of being married to more than one person simultaneously; also known as plural marriage. “Traditionally, polygamy has been practised in Hindu, Islamic, and Christian (Mormon) societies, among others” (Chittom) Polygamy is illegal in the united states, however it is still practiced. In fact, polygamy is becoming more widespread. According to the Daily Beast, “In 2001, only 7 percent of Americans deemed polygamy morally acceptable. Now 16 percent find it morally acceptable. (Allen) Plural marriage is becoming more popular. “Rough estimates place the polygamous population in the U.S. is somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 people” (Allen) Even though plural marriage is illegal in most 1st world countries, “Polygamy remains a common practice

The Igbos used consensus to run their villages. They had the ndichie also known as the leading citizens run meetings where they would argue about issues. The Igbo had set up a system to stop men from achieving too much power. For men to be able to claim a higher title they would have to pay money to to the poor. To be able to reach the highest rank in the tribe you had to pay the debt of every man in the tribe, resulting in many men not achieving this rank. Unlike in many cultures, women held a spot on the social structure. Daughters of the clan were known as the umuada, they were the authority in the markets and they handled the civic. Men who abused their wives in public were abused with hurtful signs from the women in the rest of their village(McDougal

Throughout the reign of the Missionaries, the Igbo religion became lost. Clan members no longer worships their sacred gods and goddesses. “To abandon the gods of one’s father and go about with a lot of effeminate men clucking like old hens was the very depth of abomination,” (153; pt.2, ch.17) Okonkwo says in regards to his fellow clansmen converting to Christianity. At first, many members of the clan did not notice the changes around them. They became oblivious to the missionaries and what they had brought with them, “the white men has not only brought a religion, but also a government.” (155; pt.2, ch. 8) The changes brought by the white men, occur slowly and cautiously, until it becomes too late for the clan members to react. Members of

Women’s Rights in the Igbo Tribe In the Igbo tribe, women are portrayed as submissive wives to their husbands and taking care of their family. They have limited rights and freedom, and have arranged marriages planned by their fathers and other males in their tribe. The men they get married to freely beat them when they do not do what they are asked or behave properly.

How would you feel if you were forced to marry someone you had met a week before just because your parents told you to? Arranged marriages are one of the most important traditions within the culture of the Igbo tribe. Even though this tradition has been sustained within few ethnic groups around the world, society has been evolving and changing over time, which may lead one to believe it’s only a matter of time before everyone has succumbed to the more modern lifestyle. The view that certain tribes have on marriage and how it has changed in certain places over time can be seen within the short story, “Marriage is a Private Affair.”

For example, knowing how to work the fields is very essential, therefore, male children are taught how to work the easiest crops as soon as they are strong enough. After the children get older they climb the levels of work until they can farm the main crop, yams. Yam farming is a venture undertaken by only the men of the Umuofia community, therefore, yams are grown to gain wealth and also to feed one's family. They are a symbol of masculinity and ability as a provider. "The King of Yams" was an event where men worked for three or four moons to grow as many yams as possible. It demanded hard work and constant attention, "during the planting season Okonkwo worked daily on his farm cock-crow until the chicken went to roost." (Achebe 13). This shows the importance of farming yams in the Igbo culture, and how it's a male role. The men in the Igbo culture were responsible for protecting their property, family, and specially the tribe they lived in. Not only that, but men were the ones that provided the political decisions in the tribes. For example, if someone had to get punished, they choose what would happen to them. In addition, they would choose if they would go to war with other tribes. These are some of the main things men were supposed to provide in the Igbo

Yam, the king of crops, was a man’s crop” (Achebe, 1994, p.22-23). This proves that there are gender roles in every aspect of the Igbo culture including the growing of crops. It is a man job to do the yams because yams are the main food staple of the Igbo culture. In this culture is a man’s job to provide for the family. The yams also show masculinity because it shows they're not afraid of hard work. Even if Igbo faction are sophisticated in male/ female jobs and partnership others may argue that Igbo faction are

Yams are the starchy tubers of some plant species in the Dioscorea genus, that form the basis of the agricultural life in Nigeria, both at the time of Things Fall Apart, and to some extent in the present day. Yams are a strong signal of your status in the Ibo village in Things Fall Apart. Okonkwo lists them firstly as the two signifiers of the success of Okoye, his neighbor, “he was not a failure like Unoka. He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives,” along with Okoye’s wives (6). They are a sign of your status much the same way money is, as they represent wealth. “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams,” and “There was a wealthy man in Okonkwo's village who had three huge barns [of yams],” both demonstrate yam’s connection with wealth. However, it also shows your neighbors that you are dedicated and hard-working. While you can inherit yams, the same way you can inherit money, it takes hard work to continually have a good harvest and keep your yams. Furthermore, when you start from nothing as Okonkwo did, it is even more impressive and a testament to his work ethic that he has reached a high social status, and many yams.

This paper reflects the novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe in 1958. Achebe gives an overview of pre-colonialism and post-colonialism on Igbo, detailing how local traditions and cultural practices can “fall apart” in some scenarios through some introduced, externally created hassles elevated because of colonization. The protagonist named Okonkwo mentioned in the story is a proof showing the lifestyle of the tribe. My main objective and focus is to lay emphasis on Africa specifically the Igbo society, before and after the arrival of the Europeans in Umuofia community; the results of their arrival concerning Igbo culture, thus leading to the clash of cultures between the two categories. I will also draw on post-colonialism with respect to globalization.