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Polygamy: Insight on the practice of Polygamy
Have you ever thought of having more than one wife or husband? Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband simultaneously. The Greek word Poly means many and the Gamos which means marriage (Harper). Practicing Polygamy is something society looks down on and there are laws that make it illegal in the United States. There are two different forms of Polygamy: Polygyny and Polyandry (US Marriage). While Polygamy is illegal in some places, it remains tolerated in certain areas around the world. The ones who have gotten the most attention from the media are the FLDS. Those outside of the practice have a very limited, biased opinion on the interworkings of polygamy. It is important for the population to gain a deeper understanding of the practice, and to see why it is illegal and considered to be an immoral lifestyle.
The first version of polygamy is polygyny, in which a man has multiple wives at the same time. The general population would theorize that the men practice polygyny because they only desire multiple sex partners. There are other theories that there is a surplus of women and polygyny is utilized to balance the gender ratios (Schwimmer 1). Looking back at history, several people of power obtained multiple wives in Europe and Egypt. Polygyny is the most common form of Polygamy.
The second form of polygamy is the practice of polyandry. As opposed to polygyny, polyandry is the practice of a woman having one, or more, husbands at once. It is a much more rare form, and is concentrated in the Himalayan regions of South Asia. There are two forms of polyandry which consists of a woman married to her brothers, and where the husbands aren't related at...
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Schwimmer, Brian. Polyandry. University of Manitoba, Sept. 2013. Web. 5 May 2014. .
Szep, Jason. "Polygamist community faces rare genetic disorder." Reuters. 14 June 2007. Web. 27 May 2014. .
Weissert, Will, and Paul J. Weber. "Warren Jeffs: Polygamist Leader Had Nearly 80 Wives, 24 Under Age 17, His Meticulous Records Show." Huffington Post. 5 Aug. 2011. Web. 27 May 2014. .
"What do Mormons believe about polygamy?." Curiosity.com. Discovery, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014. .
One man having many wives may seem like something that would happen in a male-dominated society, but while the men are spending time and doing things for one wife, the other wives are left to fend for themselves and their children. When Sogolon Wulen Condé cannot conceive because she has been vexed by the other wives of her husband, Maghan Konfara, she convinces her husband to take on another wife to have a child with. He ends up giving into her demands and marries another woman. While Sunjata is not actually born from this tie, the reader can see that Maghan Konfara is willing to respect his wife and listen to her input on such an impactful topic. Women are seen in the story has having a profound effect on the world around them, instead of just being used as a wife and mother. In this culture, they have more of a say. While not downplaying this system, it is critical to note that the polygamous marriages put in practice in the story of Sunjata would possibly complicate a patrilineal system, which is why the Mande peoples follow a matrilineal way
03 Jan. 2014. Web. The Web. The Web.
The film Onka's Big Moka provided some insight into a few topics we have discussed during the course like Horticulture and Polygyny. The Kawelka are horticulturalists as they raise pigs, grow a variety of food including yams. Rather than foraging their crops allow them for permanent settlements. It is mentioned that Ongka has 4 wives. A man married to 2+ women at the same time are considered to be polygyny. The film mentions Onka got an extra wife for the capacity of work. Having more than one wife allows increase access to resources and work, which one of his wives, Rumbeka, had complained
Before the founding and organizing of the LDS church and introduction of polygamy, Joseph Smith received bitter persecution. He was tarred and feathered by a mob, but this was nothing compared to the treatment the saints received when their practice of polygamy became well known (Arrington JS 26-7). In order to escape the torture, Joseph Smith led one hundred and fifty or more saints from New York to Kirtland, Ohio in 1831 (Arrington JS 21). After living in harmony with the native Gentiles for several years, the town of Kirtland be...
All the way through Migdim's incident with arranged marriages, we can understand the old customs that has to do with marriage. It is obvious that, although women were believed to be obedient, they were capable to effectively convince men. Yet, today there seems to be a sign toward polygamous marriages that are eventu...
Polygamy is not something many Americans are accustomed to. Western culture teaches that monogamy, as opposed to polygamy, is the proper, accepted form of marriage. Western culture places that morality into it's people, often from youth.
According to the text book the definition of polygamy is “a family system in which one person has more than one spouse, usually one man to multiple women”. In class we talked about how this is illegal and Mrs. Barlow from the article also comment on how she had to hide this part of her life and that doesn’t seem right. It also is weird to me to see someone confess that partook in such a religion, knowing it created ten to do illegal things. We talked about it in class but it wasn’t real in my head until I saw this story. Another connection to class is the topic of women rights and how Mrs. Barlow felt she lost
The men who mostly practice polygyny are the healers of the tribe. Sex among this tribe has very little privacy and begins at a young age of 7-9. They had a natural and self-conscious attitude towards sex and their usual goal of intercourse is orgasm for both
“History of Fundamentalist Mormons.” Wheat & Tares. Wheat and Tares, 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. .
Polygamy is considered illegal in the United States, which would make it a deviant practice. That fact is on the bottom burner for me when considering this situation. Forcing someone to theoretically spend the rest of their life with someone not of their choosing is definitely out of the norm in my opinion. On to...
20 July 2007. Web. The Web. The Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
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“Polygyny is the marriage of one man to more than one woman at the same time” (Powell 167). This structure of marriage is prevalent among the families of Okonkwo’s village, and Okonkwo himself has three wives. A man with many wives was looked upon in a better light than a man with only one wife or no wife at all. In the novel, Okonkwo is said to have had a hard start as a young man because “he neither inherited a barn, nor a title, nor even a young wife” (Achebe 18). Men view wives as a means to gain titles and respect as well as extra labor power for thier combines. Women bring a number of benefits to a man: sexual services, reproductive power, labor, farms for women’s crops, in-laws with goods, land, and livestock. Men typically have only one wife if they lacked wealth (Amadiume 30-31). This is a feminist issue because the people of the village treat women as property that can be inherited. A feminist critic sees how polygyny devalues women and treats them the same as animals. According to Nigerian law, a woman is categorized “as an object who is not quite human” (Bazza 176). In Nigeria, if a woman is involved in polygyny and her husband divorces her for whatever reason, she cannot remarry and often turns to prostitution or extreme poverty for herself and her children (Kunhiyop 44). There is no good that comes from polygyny for
In today’s society the assumption asserts that there must be only two adults integrated in a relationship, however in polygamous environments, having more than one spouse is traditional. Some may argue that Polygamy is simply just an alternate lifestyle. This, however, ceases to be true. Young girls are being forced to marry older men and sometimes relatives. Little boys are often abandoned because it appears to be competition for older men. Children are victims of sexual and physical abuse. Whereas, for women, they generally become stripped of their money and experience competition against the multiple wives a husband. Although Polygamy is viewed as immoral by society, the main focus point should be saving young children and women because