Mende Of Sierra Leone Ils 65 by Kenneth Little

Author:Kenneth Little [Little, Kenneth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781135034696
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2013-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

8. Marital Obligations

The wife’s duty is to obey and satisfy her husband in every way possible. She is expected to defer to him in everything except purely domestic matters, and traditional etiquette requires her to approach him on bended knee. If she comes into the household as a junior wife, however, she is under the immediate control of her husband’s big wife and takes her orders directly from the latter.

The husband’s obligations towards his wife are to maintain her so long as she remains with him and to provide her with clothing. He is expected to treat all his wives in the same way, though an exception is made in the case of senior wives. If he gives an article of clothing to one wife, the other should receive the same kind of article, but it need not be the same in pattern or value. Wives retain a large measure of control and influence over their own children, and the fact that there is a special relationship between the latter and their mothers’ brothers creates a situation which is extraneous, to some extent, to the patriarchal structure of the household.

As mentioned in Chapter V, a husband is expected to help his wife’s parents on their farm and in other ways. Any general services he gives are also counted in his favour with respect to the question of returnable bridewealth. His wife’s parents have no specific obligations of a reciprocal kind towards him.

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