Polygamous Ways Of Life Past And Present In Africa And Europe Polygame Lebensweisen In Vergangenheit Und Gegenwart In Afrika Und Europa

Polygamy is a very complex phenomenon with a long tradition in Africa, but also in Europe. The anthology will contribute to the objectification of the discussion by portraying the variety of polygamous lifestyles showing the interconnections of family structure, social and economic conditions, cultural representations (especially in fictive writing and oral tradition), spiritual meaning and religious legitimation of this way of life between traditional belief, Christianity and Islam. Case studies from different countries in Africa south of the Sahara will be added by historic examples since antiquity in Europe up to the discussion in present times.

This book collates thematic reflections on Cameroon music exalting Manu Dibango, one of the first-generation Cameroonian musicians, who bowed to Covid-19 on 24 March 2020. Granted his enormous contribution to Cameroon, African and world music, one would have expected that scholarly books and encyclopaedia of recognition would be written in his honour prior to his demise. However, that was not the case. Like many other musicians in Cameroon, seemingly nothing substantial has been written about Manu Dibango and his music, with the exception, paradoxically, of his autobiography, Three Kilos of Coffee. What exists on this towering and humble giant of Cameroonian and African superstardom is scanty and mostly in the form of grey literature. We must learn to immortalise our artists and popular intellectuals beyond their entertainment value and the photo opportunities that we have with them in their lifetime. The inspiration for this book was drawn from the conviction that one of the best ways of honouring and valorising Manu Dibango would be by taking the cue from his music and then collecting essays generally on music, its role and impact in Cameroon, Africa and beyond.

This book provides a rich and full analysis of female Swahili novelists from a feminist perspective, highlighting their important contributions to the living Swahili literary and intellectual tradition. Compared to the diverse and centuries-old oral literature, or religious-philosophical poetry tradition developing since at least the 17th century, the novel is a relatively young phenomenon in the rich body of Swahili literary output, emerging only in the last hundred years. Since then, academia has focused primarily on male novelists, largely disregarding important female writers such as Ndyanao Balisidya, Zainab Burhani, Martha Mvungi Mlangala, Zainab Mwanga, Lucy Nyasulu, and Zainab Alwi Baharoon. This book traces the evolution of women’s writing in Tanzania, highlighting emancipatory and feminist discourses, as well as intersectional themes of class, education, and urbanisation. The author demonstrates how concepts such as utu 'the essence of humanity', aibu 'shame', 'disgrace' and heshima 'honor', 'social respectability' are used in the novels to articulate the value systems and social norms in Swahili communities, including the gendered perceptions of women that they create. Grounded throughout in the historical and socio-political contexts of the authors it discusses, this book will be an important read for researchers of African literature and women’s studies.

Forms of plural marriage, or polygamy, are practiced within most of the world's cultures and religions. The amazing variation, versatility and adaptability of polygamy underscore that it is not just an exotic non-Western practice, but also exists in modern Western societies. Polygamy: A Cross-cultural Analysis provides an examination and analysis of historical and contemporary polygamy. It outlines polygamy's place in anthropological theory and its rich sociocultural diversity in countries ranging from the USA and UK to Malaysia, India, regions of Africa and Tibet. Polygamy also addresses often difficult and controversial issues facing modern polygamists, such as prejudice, HIV/AIDS and women's emancipation. Polygamy: A Cross-cultural Analysis offers an anthropological overview of the fascinating yet often misunderstood institution of polygamy.

Women under Polygamy by Walter Matthew Gallichan is about women in polygamous marriages. Gallichan explores the role of polygamy in various cultures in history. Contents: "The Origin of the Harem, The Ancient Harem, Mohammed and Polygamy, Ancient Jewish Polygamy, The Women of India, The Cult of Women and Love..."

This book is not an advocacy for the practice of polygany. What it is advocating is the correct historical perspective of polygany and the reason for its development in ancient African societies, a view that has been historically distorted because of cultural biases and ignorance. Going through school and learning about the subject of history is, to many, the memorization of events and dates without any real understanding of historical events. Although we may know history, we have no understanding about it. For the most part, we don't understand history because of fragmentations caused by distortion and straight-out lies passed on as truth fragmentation due to the evolution of an idea evolving from one thing to another until the original idea or meaning is lost, fragmentation caused from the destruction of civilizations along with the loss of the meanings of the languages and customs and therefore its history, and fragmentations or distortions intentionally or unintentionally caused by an outsider when one looks through their own cultural lens in interpreting a culture that is not their own. However fragmented a piece of history may be, once those fragmentations are put back together as in a jigsaw puzzle, only then will we be able to see the whole picture and have understanding.

Here is another interesting book written by Musa Mseleku! This time around he has written such a controversial book concerning polygamy. He has researched deeply about polygamy from both a cultural and religious perspective. In this book he will slake your thirst about this topic!By the time you finish reading the book, you will be able to make up your own mind about polygamy. The author presents reasons for men wanting to enter a polygamous relationship. Such reasons include greediness, not wanting to lose their partners, avoiding loneliness, and following their culture or even religion. There are those women who find themselves in polygamous relationships because their men were not initially honest, and changed their minds when they had already committed themselves but were afraid of backsliding. What would you do? Some women accept it, while others say over their dead bodies, pack their bags and go back to where they came from!Musa is not owned by anyone. He speaks his mind on this very controversial and thought-provoking subject that promotes much debate today. Read it for yourself and perhaps you will rethink your beliefs on the matter!

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 edition. Excerpt: ... pre-occupied with women, but this pre-occupation does not spell only one kind of interest. The great feminists among men are the great lovers of women, the admirers of womanly beauty, grace and wit. We have noted that the haremlik has reached a stage of something like unpopularity. Polygamy is not likely to give place rapidly to universal monogamy in Turkey. We might as well expect to banish polygyny suddenly from Western societies. But the stricter rule of the seraglio is relaxing. Even doctors are allowed to enter the harems. Culture is invading the sacred precincts of "the Abode of Bliss," and culture brings a longing for a freer life. The West of Europe is setting Turkey an example, for good or ill, and Turkey is at least heedful and interested. The ground is being sown. What will the future yield? Is East eternally East? Turkey, at all events, is the most sensitive of all Eastern nations to the influence of outside social movements. In certain respects she admires England, and is willing to imitate English customs. Not even the influence of Mohammedism can withstand the irresistible force of human thought and social progress. Probably much that is admirable in Turkish custom will decline with the incoming of Western industrial and commercial ideals. Possibly there will be social gain also. Who can foretell? That which we laud as progress in the West is not always a boon to the East. Are we happier in our pseudo-monogamic, jostling, commercial, spiritually-deadening civilisation? The answer is doubtful to all but the unreflective. Pierre Loti, who feels, like a true artist, the strange enchantment of the Orient, has interested himself very closely in the affairs of Turkey. He has many friends in the country, and his...