POLYGAMY : A VODUIST VALUE ?

NOTE : I AM A FRENCH-SPEAKING STUDENT IN ECONOMICS. ENGLISH IS OUR SECOND LANGUAGE. I DO MY BEST TO TRANSLATE THIS TEXT FROM FRENCH TO MAKE IT AVAILABLE FOR ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES.
(You can send corrections to vozkoffi@gmail.com)

Zuma and his wives

French 

When we speak of African civilizations, many think that we make a blind defense of "traditional" values. Others see in our writings a blind call for a return to retrograde values, ​​incompatible with an evoluating world, which would pull our new "civilized" societies back. They think that the "outdated" traditional values ​​can not be used in an evoluated society or have no place in a westernized civilization. There are some truth in these observations because we should be happy to return to ancient values ​​in a single view to regain our authenticity. The true values all ​​of our african societies are not perfect! they are not all outdated either! Which of our values ​​have pulled our socities down? We will discuss the case of polygamy, which is a CANCER of our societies.

Men will freak out here. Polygamy has been the source of many of our problems in Black Africa. It is a pride for a man to have many women undoubtedly because men who had many wives are highly respected since it reinforces his status of Grand man among men.

Advantages

 Men had many children to have labor for agriculture and ensure security. The high number of women ensured marketing of agricultural products. Polygamy prevent Blacks from extermination over the Arab-Islamic and European slavery ...

Disadvantages

• Hate in the family

Let us face the fact : Co-spouses (rivals) don't and will never love one another. No one is happy to share his/her spouse with another person, man or woman. Worse, these women often live in the same house where the atmosphere is unbearable. Quarrels are so intense that it is difficult for children from different mothers ( but of the same father) to be in good terms : do not even ask them to love one another : it is impossible! The husband in those situations, can never contain that hate which is destroying his house. He can try to manage the situation but really he is POWERLESS. No man is able to love two women in the same way because there is always a woman X that the husband treat better than the others. And when a husband has no more feelings for one of his wives, it is difficult for him to take care of children of the said woman for he has trouble dealing with that particular woman. Children suffer a lot when their mother doesn't have money to take care of them. While some of the children languish in poverty others have a high class life style. Some children go far in their studies while others will not. The great power of the husband in our african society allows him to get his wife out  without justification: in addition, a woman thrown out by her husband, is always a subject of mockery. This reality makes some women prefer a collapsing mariage rather than leaving it.

• Influence of family

In addition to the previous hard problems, influence of the husband's family must be taken into account. Husband's sisters, "rivals" of their brother's wife, don't make life easy for wives in the family house. After husband's sisters, we have mother-in law, very powerfull in these situations. She can ask his son to "push" his wife out. Men are also influenced by their brothers (other husbands of  the wife according to tradition) who can make a monogamous man become polygamous.

So if we summarize the situation wife as follow:
-She competes with other women
-She lives with her rivals
-She lives under the threat of her sisters-in-law
-She lives under the pressure of her mother-in-law
-She must also cajole her husband's brothers
-She must respect her father-in-law
-Her children compete with other children
-Her husband can get her out anytime
-She largely bear her children's charges.
-Her life and the happiness of her children depend on the love that her husband devotes to her.
-As soon as the polygamous husband stop loving her, her life is ruined.

• Consequences:

 Taking into account the unbearable atmosphere in which wives live and the precariousness of their destiny, some of them use unconventional methods to keep their husbands: "Gbontémi" the zokas ...

To be competitive, some women use witchcraft. That's why witchcraft is widespread in women community. In fact, by survival instinct in a polygamous society too coercitive, wives need protect their lives and children by using particular voduïds. The introduction of witchcraft in this story of polygamy, destroys many things : Intelligent children are murdered or made mad by rivals of their mother; many children leave the family house forever . Let'us add that not only women can bring the occult forces into the house: children, who inherit rivalry of their mothers may use these occult forces to kill, get sick, crazy other members of the family..... In short, the family house has become a hell for children and their mothers. The trauma generated by such a situation makes some children never return home! others children no longer see their father till their death because he didn't take care of them. Some children refuse to pay for care of their sick father, others will not go to the funeral of their father. We do not blame those children because no one knows how they were traumatized by this destructive atmosphere of the family house. Can you imagine that some kids don't know their grandfather (or grand mother) because their parents have never bring them home as revenge? Victims of family war, never accept to replace their voodoo priest father. a child who is affected by the witchcraft is likely to reject voodoo that has nothing to do with witchcraft! He prefers to be a christian or a muslim in reaction to the trauma. This explains why some children refuse to take care of a voduist father.

If the family father has left an important heritage, war will get worse. Mothers on one side, children at the other, ready for the general war. All of the family properties are sold and the income is always unfairly shared. The family house, sometimes is occupied by the husband's family, very present in the whole process of share. Some wives are fired from their housee by the husband's family.
Other members of some families who become rich, refuse to deal with children who have the same family name like them ... if we add the other brothers of the father-in-law and his descendants, problems can be multiplied by thousand ! 

Polygamy has had a negative influence on tradition transmition ​​from generation to generation. It has had a destructive effect on the preservation of our traditions and customs which are rejected by children too traumatized by witchcraft and Zokas (Cf: elemenet basic concept vodouisme)

Africans values are diferent from european ones

Proposed solution :

What does Vodouism say ? King Agbanon II of Glidzi has written in "History of Little Popo and  Guin's Kingdom":

"Mawu (God) created Segbo-Lissa and Anana-Bliku followed by Gu and Legba. The first two, Lissa and Anana's mission was to give birth to other deities; enven though Segbo-Lissa was a male, Anana-Bliku had no sex; How will they manage to have children then ? They went to see the two messengers of Mawu with their problem: Legba and Gu who, after reflection, came to an agreement; the first Gu, must make the incision generator of female sex and the second Legba msut give the sex power of procreation. Hence Sakpate and Heviesso,Tokpadoun and Dan were born. Mawu congratulated those two messengers of their initiative and gave them a place of honor among all the deities. This is the origin of all the inhabitants of the earth.But Tokpadoun the wife of Heviesso, was assiduously courted by his brother Sakpatè. This created a big rivalry between them. So, in anger, Heviesso broke away from the earth to go to heaven . The sky as we see it today is a construction made by Heviesso. Dan settled therefore between the two rivals in atmosphbre to continue to play a treacherous role. Fighting still continues today. When Dan is with the terrible Heviesso, it is seen as a bright snake (flash) encouraging thunder or lightning to destroy the earth. When, on the opposite, Dan serves Sakpatè, she is felt, wavy and invisible in the wind preventing rain to fall. "

Note: This is a MYTHOLOGY, created by the human imagination, to define a hierarchy of vodu! In reality, there is no such hierarchy:  But make no mistake, the only scriptures that exist in the voduism are FA. And no one has claimed that the FA has fallen from the sky. The purpose of having a hierarchy of vodus is to be able to make ceremonies to all vodus in a single Vodu place : So or Hevieso  until today. The only energy that unites vodu is MAWU. I could tell immediately that vodu are monogamous. But this mythology shows the existence of prowl even in vodu. For this, there is no vodu POLYGYNOUS.

The lesson:

 Remove polygamy! men will never be faithful to their wives, it is known: but please, do children with a woman ONLY! This will reduce CONSIDERABLY many problems. We are not talking of a law prohibiting polygamy but a true culture of monogamy. Let me explain: There is no law prohibiting polygamy which can prevent a man to divorce. A man who took another wife after divorce is a polygamist! If he divorces several times, the same effects noted above, will happen again and nothing will change. The cultural revolution must be to have espected positive effects. Even a man who choose to BE polygamist, must make effort to build A HOUSE to each woman, it also reduces the problems without eliminating them. NEVER KEEP A WOMAN IN A FAMILY HOUSE! The man should never allow his family to interfere in the problems of his home: Whatever happens! A man must know how to manage his own mother in order to not leave his wife to her mercy : Mothers are possessive and will always be jealous of the wife of their son. Man must understand that he is a private property of his mother and he can not manage any conflict between his mother and his wife since HE HAS NO POWER!

In return, the woman will have a heavy responsibility to provide a good home for her husband so that he will not be obliged to go elsewhere! Women have the power: What she wants is what MAWU wants. The emancipation of women is good for women to work and have the same wages as men. Education of women today an invaluable advantage for the education of children in our society. An independent woman is more attractive. However, if the woman does not offer a good home to her husband, polygamy will still raging in our society regardless the laws voted against it.

Tsetula TSAGLI