Polygyny: Power or Conflict?

Relationships are a vital aspect of many societies, but the formation and dynamics of these relationships vary greatly. In the western world, much emphasis is placed on the idea of a nuclear family. This is typically thought to be two parents and their children that form a close support system. However, many different societies have different views on relationships. In many African societies, kinship relationships are an important aspect of African culture. As described by Austin Ahanotu, kinship relationships were attachments to individuals that largely expanded beyond one generation.1 Kinship relationships revolved around providing love, respect, and protection to individuals and reinforced their identity.2 One aspect of importance of this relationship involved marriage, and in some cases, multiple marriages.3 One question that is brought to the forefront when thinking about kinship relationships, especially when analyzing multiple marriages is: Does the kinship relationships that have multiple marriages in Mali still operate according to the ideals that make up a kinship relationships (such as offering, love, protection, respect, and identity)? While these relationships were essential to African societies, they were not without conflict. Throughout many readings, including the Epic of Sundiata, which traces Sundiata’s life from childhood to his reign over Mali, many questions emerge about these relationships. Some aspects of kinship societies, such as simply having multiple wives, is ideally represented in the Epic of Sundiata and Ibn Battuta’s work in Mali. However, the epic and Ibn Battuta’s work also represent how kinship relationships can cause tension and conflict between multiple wives that may threaten kinship relationship ideals. It is impossible to know if these examples can give one a clear understanding of how kinship relationships occurred in African societies, but it can give one a better idea of these relationship dynamics, especially if analyzed in the context of the wealthy members of society.

One integral aspect of kinship relationships is marriage. In his work on Kinships, Ahanotu highlights that marriages were expected of African adults within the kinship system helped forge kinship relationships.4 Ahanotu discusses that polygyny marriages took place, and the more wives one had the more successful they were within a society.5 He highlights that in West Africa specifically, polygyny was a symbol of social prestige.6 The idea of polygyny marriages are represented in both Ibn Battuta’s account of Mali and the Epic of Sundiata. However, in both examples, the presence of multiple wives creates great conflict within existing relationship dynamics. This highlights that despite the importance of marriage in kinship relationships, the idea of polygyny might not be ideal in practice.

The Epic of Sundiata illustrates how polygyny can lead to complex relationships. Naré Maghan was a king who ruled over what would later become Mali and was the father to Sundiata.7 Sundiata was Naré Maghan’s son with his second wife, Sogolon.8 With his first wife, Sassouma Bérété, Naré Maghan had his eldest son, Dankaran Touman.9 Despite Dankaran Touman being Naré Maghan’s eldest son, Naré Maghan named Sundiata as his successor to Naré Maghan’s throne.10 This angered Sassouma Bérété, as she felt her son should be named the next king.11 As a result, Sassouma Bérété enlisted the help of nine witches to kill Sundiata, which would give her son the throne.12 In some ways, this dynamic exemplifies ideal kinship relationships. Since Naré Maghan had multiple wives, and had high status as a political leader, he was embodying the idea that polygyny is a sign of status within kinship relationships. However, this scenario also represents how kinship relationships can be overrun with conflict. A main idea of kinship relationships revolves around creating networks of support. Rather than giving support, Sassouma Bérété is attempting to kill Sundiata for her own son’s success and power. As a result, the kinship focus on close ties have been soured because of jealously. While Naré Maghan is upholding kinship ideals of multiple wives, one of his wives is going against the vital focus of community within the kinship model. This highlights how personal feelings, such as jealousy, can overrule the importance of support and community in kinship-based societies. Consequently, if many individuals in a kinship society act according to feelings of jealousy and personal gain, rather than providing compassion and support, the social networks that are vital to kinship focused societies could collapse. Without a strong support network, kinship societies could be overrun with tensions and threatened.

While the Epic of Sundiata provides a good example on how relationships within a kinship society are not always ideal, it cannot be applied to all of kinship societies. For one, the Epic of Sundiata is a story. While we know Sundiata existed, the epic is an oral tradition that has been passed down through many generations resulting in varying versions. As a result, it may not be completely historically accurate. Additionally, the Epic of Sundiata highlights Sundiata as the ideal leader and his struggle to gain leadership. To exemplify these traits, certain aspects of the epic may have been dramatized. Another important aspect of the Epic of Sundiata that may limit the application to broader society is the power that Sundiata’s family possessed. Polygyny, especially in West Africa, was more common among political leaders and represented social prestige.13 Since Naré Maghan was in a position of social power he was more likely to have multiple wives than a lay person under his rule. As a result, conflict among wives might not be as common or serve a threat to kinship-based societies, because many individuals may not have multiple wives. Thus, conflict among kinship units may exist more frequently within groups that possess more power than most of societies. Additionally, even if the average person does have multiple wives, this conflict may be more prevalent within groups of power because there is more to lose in these groups than there is for an average person.

Another work that highlights that conflict can threaten kinship relationships is Ibn Battuta’s writings on Mali. Ibn Battuta employed a guide to take him around Mali, during his time in Mali Ibn Battuta wrote about his observations.14 In one of his observations, Ibn Battuta noted that Sultan was annoyed with his chief wife and as a result he placed her in confinement and designated his other wife, Banju, to take the place of his chief wife.15 This highlights how polygyny in a kinship system can further led to conflict and punishment among wives. By confining his chief wife, Sultan is undermining the kinship ideas of support and community and creating conflict and competition. If this is a common practice, it can undermine social support networks.

Ibn Battuta’s example is also hard to apply to the general population. Some of the reasoning is similar to the Epic of Sundiata. As Sultan is in a position of power, he is more likely to have multiple wives than men in the general population, thus more conflict is likely to occur. What is unique to Ibn Battuta’s work is that Ibn Battuta is not living within Mali but simply reporting on it. As a result, Ibn Battuta’s writings and experiences are only based on his encounters and observations. It is unlikely that Ibn Battuta is truly able to immerse himself in the culture and experiences of a lay person in Mali. Thus, his work only provides a snapshot of what is occurring in Mali, not the full picture. As a result, our knowledge on how kinship relationships and the commonality of multiple wives, and thus potential conflicts, is primarily confined to individuals in position of power. Thus, these findings cannot be successfully applied to Malian, or African societies as a whole. However, these examples are also limited, so it is unknown if conflict among multiple wives in kinship societies were common or if these examples were just notable anomalies.

Kinship relationships are an important aspect of African cultures and help create a social and support network within these societies. Despite the importance of these relationships, conflict can occur within them, especially in cases of polygyny. It is important to recognize these conflicts as it provides a more realistic picture of how relationships in kinship societies functioned, rather than emphasizing an ideal model. Examples in the Epic of Sundiata and the work of Ibn Battuta highlight that these relationships were not always as harmonious as the ideal kinship model wanted them to be. However, these examples are not entirely applicable to the general population as they are focused on people in positions of power. As a result, it is not possible to know how often and important conflict among multiple wives in kinship societies played out. It is important to further study these relationships as they can provide details on how societies function and how problems that threatened social systems both came about and were resolved. Overall, further study on these relationships will provide a better understanding on African societies as a whole.