Book
Dominance and defiance: a study of marital instability in an Islamic African society
American Anthropological Association • (6) • Published In 1971 • Pages: ix, 213
By: Cohen, Ronald.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of marriage stability and divorce among the Kanuri of northeastern Nigeria. The divorce rate among the Kanuri is extremely high: 64% of marriages ever contracted end in divorce and 71% of people have been divorced at least once. Cohen uses a questionnaire, student essays and a psychological test to identify the major factors influencing marriage instability. Controlling for gender, urban-rural differences, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status, the author concludes that an ideology of male dominance rooted in Islamic teachings--most manifest in the practice of purdah--combined with societal acceptance and accommodation of divorced women are among the principal influences affecting divorce. Divorce rates are highest in urban areas where households tend to be more wealthier and status-oriented, and housing for divorced women more available. In poorer rural areas, husbands are more dependent on their wives' labor and divorce is less frequent. Cohen sees divorce as a consequence of women's defiance of male dominance.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Tests and schedules administered in the field
- Urban and rural life
- Status, role, and prestige
- Gender status
- Family relationships
- Basis of marriage
- Termination of marriage
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Kanuri
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- 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
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- 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.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1996
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1955-57, 1965-66
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1960s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Borno State, Nigeria
- NotesAdditional notes
- Ronald Cohen
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-213)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 77029661
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kanuri (African people)