Abrahamic and African cultural identities: an appropriation of polygamy

Abstract

Polygamy as a part of socio-cultural life was not peculiar to Africa but also had a strong biblical root. In this wise, disregard for African cultural values like polygamy, and the insistence on monogamy for the culture of Africa by European missionaries appeared inappropriate. They rather seemed to be an imposition of the European culture on Africans. Missionaries’ solution to the debate on polygamy in the Christian church which required the converted African polygamist to divorce all but a wife before baptism seemed to suggest extremism. In fact, socio-economic security and family stability depended on the socio-cultural background, and number of children in the household. These undoubtedly were Abrahamic and African identities. Hence, the security and stability of polygamous households in both cultures seemed to be more at high value than that of monogamy imposed by the missionaries. The paper adopted socio-cultural principle, and hermeneutical method to examine polygamy and its appropriation in Abrahamic and African cultures. The study revealed that while the teachings of the missionaries on polygamy ought to be tailored towards the tenets of the biblical disposition on marriage, they rather considered polygamy in Africa to be an immoral cultural practice and unacceptable marital union. The paper recommended that the missionaries should demonstrate tolerance and magnanimity towards polygamists in Africa.