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urbanization, plural marriage, and family size in two African cities 1
Author(s) -
CLIGNET REMI,
SWEEN JOYCE
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1974.1.2.02a00010
Subject(s) - urbanization , polygyny , context (archaeology) , plural , demographic economics , ethnic group , diversity (politics) , demography , geography , sociology , economic geography , economic growth , population , economics , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , anthropology
In this article we examine the degree to which two facets of traditional familial arrangements, plural marriage and familism (as measured by number of children), continue to be closely interrelated in the African urban context. We demonstrate that urbanization is, in effect, associated with changes in the number of choices available to male urban residents with regard to their familial life‐style, but not necessarily with changes in the nature of such choices. We show that male exposure to urban forces (as measured by educational and occupational attainments or by migratory experiences) is not necessarily accompanied by a decline in the incidence of polygyny or in the number of children attached to a household. Nor does it necessarily lead to a decline in the association between these variables. Further, we also examine whether the interaction between types of marriage and number of children varies with the characteristics of the immediate surroundings in which these individuals live, notably with their relative isolation from ethnic peers, or with the housing facilities that they use. Finally, we show that the responses of men and women to the problems of urbanization are not alike and that the functions performed by monogamous and polygynous wives are increasingly divergent. We conclude that the effect of urbanization on traditional life‐style is not necessarily unidirectional.