article
Dahomean marriage: a revaluation
Africa • 19 (4) • Published In 1949 • Pages: 273-287
By: Bohannan, Laura.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article re-evaluates the sociological context that led to the presence of thirteen ‘types’ of marriage in Dahomey. It traces this paradox to the culturally defined distinction contracting parties make between rights in a woman as wife—rights in uxorem—and rights in a woman as to the children she may bear, rights in genetricem. The fact that these rights are usually held concomitantly in Dahomey justifies a consideration of their distribution when they are not so coupled, as being of equal influence on the form and functions of the marriage—functions which are sociologically of a wider scope than the regulation of inter-personal relations between man and woman. The articles shows that in all the thirteen ‘types’ of marriage listed by Herskovits, with the possible exception of some instances of ‘friend custody’, rights in uxorem are recognized and that where they are recognized the status of the husband is regulated vis-à-vis his wife; he is also the socially recognized father of her children. Rights in genetricem may be vested (a) in the wife's or in the husband's lineage, (b) in an office, ‘title’, or ‘name’, and these rights give original jural authority over the woman's children—rights which may later be transferred without prejudice to the rights held in the mother and other children.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Cultural identity and pride
- Basis of marriage
- Regulation of marriage
- Mode of marriage
- Arranging a marriage
- Nuptials
- Termination of marriage
- Secondary marriages
- Special unions and marriages
- Family relationships
- Social placement
- Status of children
- Lineages
- Gender status
- Gender roles and issues
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Fon
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2017
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Western Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi Abate Adem ; 2014
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1930-1949
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Dahomey Kingdom (Benin since 1975)
- NotesAdditional notes
- Laura Bohannan
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 29010790
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Fon (African people)