article

Dahomean marriage: a revaluation

Africa19 (4) • Published In 1949 • Pages: 273-287

By: Bohannan, Laura.

Abstract
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.
Subjects
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
culture
Fon
HRAF PubDate
2017
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Western Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem
Field Date
not specified
Coverage Date
1930-1949
Coverage Place
Dahomey Kingdom (Benin since 1975)
Notes
Laura Bohannan
Includes bibliographical references
LCCN
29010790
LCSH
Fon (African people)