African American women

that practice polygyny by

consent.

INTRODUCTION
Polygyny- the practice of having more than one wife or
mate at a single time.
Once a world wide practiced tradition
Declined after western expansion in the 15th century
Western laws prohibit African Americans the right of the
option to have a legitimate traditional polygyny
marriage.
It could be a source to heal African American families.

Reasons for the practice

I.

Necessity
a.
b.

shortages of males due to war

Shortages due to number losses

II. Philanthropic
a.
b.
c.

Ensures that all women can get married

Have children
Be supported by a large family group

III. Beneficial
a. Larger family leads to a smaller work load
b. Leaves time for mental, emotional, spiritual growth
c. More potential for economic growth

Reasons of western
opposition
I.

Racism
a.

Population control

b.

Because black people are more fertile

c.

Would make whites the global minority

II.

Sexism
a.

Supports the sexual exploitation of women

b.

Women not able to marry end up having detached sexual relationships

III.

Capitalism
a.

Based of the nuclear family structure, men support the women

b.

Focused on people putting their labor into capitalistic super structures

How the west obstructs

the practice of polygyny
I.

Propaganda
a.

Barbaric
1.

It is practiced amongst savages

2.

Code for black people

b.

Inferior
1.

Monogyny is superior marriage form practiced by superior people

2.

But concubines, prostitution, voyeurism and pornography was accepted

c.

II.

Immoral
1.

Based on monogyny being what God intended

2.

Western marriage is based off of Greco-Roman marriages

Legal constraints
a.

Illegal
1.

Monogyny is the only form of marriage given legal sanction

2.

Polygyny is criminalized as bigamy

Dr. Patricia Dixon on

Polygamy
https://youtu.be/9PxE-iQXFjI

The Ausar Auset

Society
I.

Founded in 1973 by Ra Un Nefer Amen

a. Provides an alternate lifestyle for Africans in
America
b. Based on traditional African culture
c. Chapters based in North America, the United
Kingdom, West Africa and the Caribbean
d. have communities comprised of all forms of
leadership with their own restaurants, grocery
stores and schools.
e. Basic principle is to share the devine qualities
of God

Marriages in Ausar Auset

I.

Provide individuals with primary relationships within a family

a.

II.

Mates who help one another develop spiritually, help achieve one anothers incarnate
objective, destiny, or reason for being
Love

a.

Selfless behavior to one another

b.

Giving not seeking in return

III.

Oracle
a.

A tool that allows one to communicate with God

b.

They guide every aspect of a persons life

c.

Oracles are consulted to determine whether or not a potential is compatible and things the should work on.

Entry into Polygyny

I.

Women joining Polygyny in Ausar Auset

a. A husband and/or a wife must ask the Shekhem about a
woman then he or she may approach the potential wife.
b. Attraction for the husband is minimal in the addition of
the second wife, the second wife is more interested in
the friendship she may gain with the first wife.
c. In some cases it is important for the secound wife to
know that is the first wife that wants her t join the
family.
d. Transcending conventional conditioning
e. Be secure
f. It takes a lot to accept polygyny and live in it.

Personal Issues, Insecurities,

and Adjusments
I.

Already existing wives might feel the new wife is taking their husband.
a. Main reason the didnt want to invite new sisters into their homes
b. Insecurities can jeopardize sisters friendships between one another

II. The idea of being with someone elses husband

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Feelings of regret
Not legally married and not really feeling like a wife
Publicly stating they are married but signing legal documents as single
Feeling isolated from the outside world
Being judged by people who dont live the lifestyle

III. Going from single to being married

a.
b.
c.
d.

Sharing personal space

Making decisions interdependently
Adjusting to different personalities
Giving up ones independence and adjusting to a new family's way of life

IV. Feeling like an outsider once joined to the new family

a. Getting over that feeling
b. Feeling ganged up on

Jealousy
I.

Wife relationship dynamics

a.
b.
c.
d.

Sisterly love
Estrangement
Conflicted
Cliques can be formed

II. The husband

a.
b.
c.
d.

How he treats one wife in comparison to the others

Wives may blame each other for injustices
The husbands function in the relationship is key
Should not take sides or show favoritism

III. Types of jealousy

a. Jealousy of another wifes relationship with the husband
b. Jealousy of relationships between other wives
c. Jealousy over children

IV. Avoiding jealousy

a. Not discussing personal relationships you and your husband share
b. The husband has to keep things fair

Conflict Resolution
I.

Types of resolutions
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

Oracles that communicate with God

Counseling
Family meetings
Wifely meetings where only the wives meet
Communicating and not letting things fester
Changing for the better
Taking care of the small things right away

Reactions of families of
origin
I.

How the family of origin respond to polygyny

a. Origin families can influence whether the
marriage last or not
b. Some will appose to a polygyny marriage and
some will be liberal about it.
c. Some will act as if it has not happened
d. Most fathers and mothers disagree with the
lifestyle with the exception of a few.

Economic and legal

matters
I.

Insufficient money
a. Lack of autonomy when making decisions on how money is spent
b. money is pooled for expenses and each person has or her own personal money

II. Dealing with finances before marriage

a. Understanding that one no longer is an individual and money earned becomes family
money

III. Financial roles

a. Some mothers can be earners while others stay home with the kids
b. The Husband can work two full time jobs
c. The wives can work at the family business

IV. Legal matters

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Marital status
Property
Insurance
Property
taxes

Whats necessary for

polygyny to work
I.

Interviewees suggestions
a. Needs to be some larger spiritual-religious and
social community support structure
b. pre and post marital counseling
c. Legal matters, finances and issues related to
children should be discussed before marriage
d. Each woman having their own space
e. Wives and the husband agreeing on bringing in
a new wife into the family
f. Wives have to have a good relationship with
each other