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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page paper which compares and
contrasts the polygamist marital system of the Kikuyu and the monogamous marital
system of the United States. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JR7_RAkikuy.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
or society, and are one of the most powerful units or institutions in any given culture. It is from marriages that families spring, that cultural and societal ties are linked,
and it is from marriages that all societys arise. When we speak of marriages, however, it must be understood that we are not just speaking of what the Western world
sees as marriage, that being a marriage sanctified by the church or an official and then put into public record. When we speak of marriage we speak of any union
between people who are establishing a family. This denotes a commitment and a plan for a future. The following paper examines two different societies and their marriage culture. The paper
first discusses Kikuyu and then the United States. The Kikuyu are a people who live near and around Nairobi and are generally known for being polygamists. The United States, of
course, is a country and a people that generally adhere to monogamous laws when regarding marriage. Marriage In first examining the marriage culture of the Kikuyu and their
polygamist traditions we look at a study which indicates that the rate of polygamist marriages is reducing due to the cost and due to the rise in Christian followers. In
this study there were 229 respondents who were married and 207 of them "said that bridewealth had been or was being paid. Items included were very similar to Goldschmidts list
for the Sebei: money, cows, goats, sheep, a watertank, clothing, millet, sugar, beer, honey, milk, bread, and salt" (Adams; Mburugu, 1994; 159). In this study it was noted that the
bridewealth was a very powerful tradition in the culture and "Several Kikuyu noted that bridewealth is still the prime indicator of marriage. One male said: There was no ceremony, but
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