CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE
Preamble
The objective of this study is to find out the influence of polygamy on the behaviour patterns of in-school adolescent as expressed by secondary school teachers in Ilorin metropolis. Therefore, the review of literature in this chapter shall focus on various studies that are related to polygamy, behaviour patterns and adolescence and shall be discussed under the following sub headings.
• Concept of polygamy;
• Concept of behaviour pattern;
• Concept of adolescence;
• Behaviour characteristics of in-school adolescent
• Influence of polygamy on the behaviour patterns of in-school adolescents and;
• Summary of the reviewed literature.
Concept of Polygamy
Polygamy is defined as a marital system in which a man is married to more than one woman at the same time, Elbedour S, Bart W.M, & Hektner J.M, (2000). This form of multi spousal relationship is practised legally in over 850 societies worldwide and is accepted by a wide range of non Western, ethnic and religious groups. Traditionally polygamous family system has been a long practice. According to Mayaki (2000), it is a situation in which in which a man marries many wives as his wealth can acquire as well as many children as the wives can bear. The purpose of having many wives and children according to Hake (2000) is a boast on the prestige on the individuals involved. He stressed further that a man’s wealth is some times measured by the number of wives and the children he has. This is also advantageous from the fact that a man with large family will have numerous hands to help him to work on the farm. In contemporary Africa or Nigeria to be specific, this had really helped to measure the integrity of man.
Polygamy has been a traditional practiced in Nigeria long before the colonialist and the missionaries came in. There are several reasons why it is practiced in Nigeria. From the religious stand point, the Muslim dominated northern part of Nigeria has a high polygamy spread because it is permitted under Islamic law to marry up to four wives, as long as you can love them equally and mete out the same kind of treatment to all of them. There is also the war theory; only men fought wars in the past and many of them died in these wars, leaving fewer men to a lot of women. In some Nigerian traditions the size of a man’s family signified the size of his wealth, therefore marrying many wives equaled having more children, having more children equaled having more farm hands. A larger farm, and a lot of farm hands equaled bigger barns and a wealthier man (Ilevbare, 2009).
However, one must not fail to emphasize that polygamy here that the practice of polygamy is beginning to phase out in the society today, since western education has eventually manifested in an average Nigerian coupled with it numerous disadvantages, which includes diabolical involvement of children of the same father and not the same mother, ritual killings of one another either children of the same father or wives of the same husband wanting to be favoured by their father or their husband Bamidele (2001). Factors Responsible for Polygamy
Traditionally, most African societies have practiced a custom of polygamy due to some factors. These factors may be attributed to the reasons for the practice of polygamy in Nigeria. According to Oladipo (1992) men tends to marry more than one wife because men tend to go after more women in search of male children due to the believe that male children are more important to the father. Another reason advanced is the need to meet the sexual need of both partners, parental or maternal influence on the husband to get more wives due to their taste or believe of getting more children because some may die along the line. Without the man’s knowledge a woman will be brought from the village to live under the same roof with the man then she eventually became a wife start bearing children.
More so, the man may not be satisfied with the attitude or the behaviour of the woman towards the children, neighbours or the extended family. She may be the troublesome or quarrelsome type; or may not be able to prepare good meal or keep the home clean and in good shape, not taking good care of the children and the entire household. The husband may be frustrated and go for another woman. Oladipo (1992).
Cultural and religious belief is another factor that contributes to polygamous marriage. Some religion especially Islam encourages man to have more than one wife if he can equally meet their needs. Based on Muslim laws derived from both the Quran and Hadith Muslim men can have four wives but women are allowed to have only one husband. It is widely believed that polygamy was tolerated for social reasons: so that poor women could find someone to take care of them. The Koran was written at a time when women lost their husbands in wars, tribal clashes and for other reasons which permits people to go into polygamy (Hall & Company, 1994). Culturally one with many wives is seen as chief a wealthy man to have wives more than one wife is a source of pride to an African man.
Economic factor is another reason for polygamy. In many societies, sharing the workloads in the family e.g. farm, home and /or the husband place of work is always difficult and/or stressful in family with few members. It was said that in the ancient times several wives and large number of children were regarded as an economic asset. Men are motivated to have two or more wives because their wives and children serves as a form of cheap labour and as a means to expand their ownership of farmland. In addition to farming, there are many domestic chores to do (e.g. fetching water and firewood, cleaning cooking and nursing). A woman may even encourage her husband to take in co-wives to share her heavy workloads. Oladipo (1992).
Health factor is another reason advanced for polygamy. According to Lary (1980), some societies, particularly in tropical regions, have a long post partum sex taboo. Infants are particularly susceptible to certain tropical diseases and nursing provides some protections. To keep her milk, a woman may refrain from sexual activity for up to two years, at which point the infant is stronger. Often the woman feels in such a long time her partner will seek other sexual partners. Thus to know another wife may be preferable to an unknown other woman. Some others attributes polygamy to woman’s menstrual period and her aversion to sex during that time as well as to her exhortation after child birth and her desire to avoid sexual intercourse during nursing period.
Durant (2006) opined that in the primitive societies women grow old quickly. That is why, in order to be able to nurse their children for a longer period, to lengthen the interval their own pregnancies, without interrupting the husbands desire to have children and to enable him satisfy his sexual urge, they encourage their husbands to have a new wife.
