Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0030/00304.txt

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$Unique_ID{bob00304}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Cote d'Ivoire
Chapter 5A.   Family}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{T.D. Roberts, Donald M. Bouton, Irving Kaplan, Barbara Lent, Charles Townsend, Neda A. Walpole}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{marriage
family
bride
lineage
woman
divorce
children
father
wife
price}
$Date{1973}
$Log{}
Title:       Cote d'Ivoire
Book:        Area Handbook for Ivory Coast
Author:      T.D. Roberts, Donald M. Bouton, Irving Kaplan, Barbara Lent, Charles Townsend, Neda A. Walpole
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1973

Chapter 5A.   Family

     Of all the institutions of the traditional society, the family is in
many ways the most resistant to change. Under the impact of a modern money
and market economy and a centralized national government, many of the
functions once associated with the family and clan have been given over
more and more to specialized political, economic, educational and religious
institutions. At the same time, however, those functions which tend to be
the particular concern of the family are still strongly associated with the
family. Allowing for some variation between ethnic groups and geographic
regions, it appears that the family systems of the Ivory Coast are not
radically different from what they were 100 years ago. The major
celebrations of the life cycle still reunite most of the family, despite
its increased geographical dispersion. The ways in which children are treated
and brought up still reflect the same cultural values, although now a Western
school may intervene more often and a traditional initiation society less
often. Inheritance rules have undergone some changes to bring them in line
with the exigencies of a cash-crop economy. Bride prices may be higher and
betrothal later, but basic marriage and divorce patterns remain the same.

     The family is changing in adjustment to modern life, but it remains the
core allegiance of the African, a relatively stable element in a more rapidly
changing environment.

The Structure of Kin Groups

The Lineage

     Although an Ivory Coaster recognized kin relationships through males
and females, relationships through one sex tend to differ importantly from
relationships through the other. Kin through males and kin through females
are often referred to by different terms, and behavior in relation to them
differs.

     In addition, relationship exclusively through males or females provides
a basis for the formation of lineages. A lineage is a distinct group whose
members-males and females-trace descent from a common ancestor and
relationship to each other exclusively through either males (a patrilineage)
or through females (a matrilineage). In the first instance, children belong to
the lineage of their father; in the second, to the lineage of their mother.
This pattern persists only if spouses are themselves members of different
lineages, and one of the characteristics of such systems is that the lineages
are exogamous; that is, members must marry outside their own lineages.

     Typically there may be four to six generations between the founding
ancestor or ancestress and the youngest living adult generation. With
occasional exceptions, only three generations are represented among the
living adult members of a lineage. Although the closeness or remoteness of
kin ties is likely to be of some importance in relations within the lineage,
those outside the lineage-members of other lineages-tend to see all the
members of a given lineage as undifferentiated for many purposes.

     The lineage structure provides the context within which the domestic
group or family operates. Moreover, lineages are significant for the control
of resources, religious belief and activity, dispute-settling and other
matters.

     Lineages are continuing groups, but they are subject to fission. If,
after several generations a lineage becomes too big to function
effectively-a situation often marked by a high incidence of intralineage
quarrels-it will split. In the patrilineal instance, the sons or grandsons
of the original founder become in turn the founders of the two lineages
which have formed as a result of the breakup. In the matrilineal instance,
daughters or granddaughters of the original ancestress may play the same
role. Sometimes, these related lineages will act together for limited
purposes, usually religious ones, but the new groups will be the more
significant units for the daily lives of their members.

     Not all lineages grow as the generations pass. Formerly, war, disease,
famine and other factors might have diminished the membership or
procreative potential of some of the lineages in any community. Some of these
factors still have their effects. Such weakened lineages found that they could
not function independently and attached themselves to another, stronger one,
using either a real or fictional genealogical link to that end. Lineages tend
to be localized, or at least to have a home base. Ecological conditions,
postmarital residence patterns or agricultural practice and land tenure may
prevent the members of the group from living in the same village or hamlet,
but each group recognizes a given locality as its home grounds.

     Many of the peoples trace their descent further in a more extensive
relationship known as the clan-a group of lineages claiming an even more
remote common ancestor.

     Most of the people of the Ivory Coast reckon descent primarily through
the male line and are grouped in patrilineages. Some, particularly in the
southeast, reckon descent primarily through the female line and are grouped in
matrilineages. Several of these people, while grouped in one or the other
type of lineage, appear to mix the paternal and maternal principles in matters
of succession and inheritance of property. The southwest forest peoples have
patrilineages, each of which is divided in branches, generally two to six in
number. The branch is the most effective social unit. The senior male heads
the branch and controls the land. Inheritance of important wealth, such as
kola trees, palms and coffee, passes from father to son, whereas objects with
traditional value, such as cloths, arms and treasures, pass in the maternal
line from a man to his sister's children. Succession and inheritance in the
northern regions are essentially patrilineal. Although large kin groups
claiming descent from a common ancestor exist, the significant social unit is
the patrilineage. Among the Lagoon Cluster people of the southeast, the Abbe,
Abidji and Attie are all patrilineal, but among the Attie succession can pass
through the maternal line if the paternal line is void. The rest of the
Lagoon Cluster peoples are matrilineal.

     With the exception of two tribes of the Baoule which are known to be
patrilineal (Beoumi and Kode), the Akan peoples of the southeast appear to be
matrilineal and composed of matrilineal clans and lineages. Clan members are
dispersed and have only a vague sentiment of relationship, and as with the
patrilineal groups, the lineage is the effective social unit. Among the Agni,
a lineage is identified with a particular village, but all of its members do
not necessarily live there. A lineage is autonomous with respect to other
such groups. It has its own stool-the symbol of religious and judicial
power- and its own name, often that of the ancestress or of the village in
which it was first established. Such lineages are frequently further
subdivided into branches, each of which consists of the matrilineal descendant
of one of the daughters or granddaughters of the founder of the larger unit.
These branches have no stool, and the head of each lineage branch is
subordinate to the head of the lineage as a whole.

     Positions of authority in the lineage and its branches are transmitted
matrilineally, that is, from one man to another who is related to him through
a woman. Such positions do not descend to a younger generation until all those
of a previous generation have been eliminated. Sons of lineage and branch
headmen, although often living with their fathers, belong to different
lineages (their mother's) and cannot succeed them, nor can they inherit
lineage property from them. Traditionally, they could only look to males of
their own matrilineage for inheritance and succession to office. Although
some kinds of property now pass from father to son among some Agni, succession
remains matrilineal.

     Succession and inheritance are not entirely automatic. An heir may reject
all of the rights to authority and property or may be judged physically or
morally incapable of adequate performance. In such cases he is passed by, and
the next in line succeeds. When significant lineage property and the headship
of the lineage or one of its branches is at issue, the senior woman of the
lineage (often referred to as the lineage queen-mother), or of the branch,
subjects the prospective heir to careful scrutiny, and her approval is
essential. Although women rarely exercise authority directly in matrilineal
systems like that of the Agni, they are considered the ultimate repositories
of the authority which males, in fact, exercise.

     The paternal line plays a relatively small role, less even than among
other Akan groups in Ghana. Still, among the Agni, each individual
traditionally remained subject to the gods of his father's lineage and to the
ancestor cult attached to it, and in time of war, he fought in his paternal
group.

Family Structure and Realtionships

     While the lineage tends to be the largest socially significant kinship
grouping, the traditional domestic unit is the extended family, consisting of
several related males, with their wives and children, living in close
proximity and forming a unit for production, consumption and the rearing of
children. In almost all cases, regardless of whether the lineage structure
follows the paternal or maternal line, extended families are based on fathers
and sons who reside together; daughters expect eventually to leave their
father's hearth after they are married.

     The extended family is thus two or three generations in depth and
includes at least two married couples. Since polygyny is practiced among all
ethnic groups, in many instances the family may include the several wives of
one or more of the men, each with her respective children. The size of such an
extended family may vary from 10 to 50 persons, but 15 appears to be the most
common. In a polygynous household, there is usually a system of sharing or
rotating duties as well as sexual access. The first wife normally is senior
manager of the compound and often the confidant of her husband. Each wife has
a separate house in the compound.

     Traditionally, polygyny was a highly favored practice limited only by its
great expense, which meant that only a few of the older men could afford it.
Today, both Christianity and modern, secular Western values have made some
inroads on polygyny, but fewer than the numbers of Christians and
Western-educated might lead one to assume. To some extent, the practice of
polygyny varies with class and education. The elite affects an allegiance to
monogamy, but wealthy planters and merchants probably are more likely than
before to have several wives, simply because of the affluence brought on by
the money economy. For the majority of the population, polygyny is still
desirable but, because of inflation of bride prices, probably less attainable
than before.

     The male is the figure of authority in the family, particularly in terms
of daily economic decisions and the education of the children, whether
succession and authority pass through the male or female line. In general, the
status of women in the family is inferior to that of the men, especially among
the Islamized northern peoples. Occasionally, in the southwest, women
traditionally could attain the status of chief, but in general, they had
little authority. Infertility is considered a source of great shame, and women
without children are often suspected of being sorcerers. Difficulties about
inheritance and a desire to assure economic security in old age have led
women into active roles in cash-crop farming and commerce, which have further
enhanced their status. Where women have continued their traditional role as
subsistence farmers while the men were taking up cash-crop farming, the status
of women relative to men has further declined. Sons are desired everywhere,
but this is perhaps most true among matrilineal peoples, paradoxically,
because there the son can in some measure act as the guarantor of the mother's
old age when, after the death of her husband, she risks neglect and poverty.
Those women who have received a Western education want greater equality for
women. In practice, that equality only obtains fully in those very few urban
households where the woman is a university graduate, or at least a secondary
school graduate.

     The child, too, is an inferior being in an Ivory Coast family. He is
submitted to the total authority of his elders and is expected to perform
various household tasks, in which his role is that of a domestic servant.
Nevertheless, children are treated with much kindness as well as severity,
and traditionally the mother's role is one of considerable indulgence. The
relation of an African child to his mother is a passionate one that lasts
all his life. For his father he feels primarily respect, although much
affection may be present.

     Grandparents, by contrast, remain a solidifying symbol of love and
veneration in the family structure. They transmit traditional love, mediate
conflicts-even the modern conflicts of generations, middle-aged versus the
young-and are a link to the past. This general affection is extended to all
the aged of the family.

     Tensions within the family exist, particularly in matrilineal groups.
When a man marries he expects to bring his wife to his father's house as soon
as possible. He may live at his father's house, participating in its domestic
and economic affairs until his turn at succession in his matrilineage comes,
which may not be until he is well into middle age. Sometimes a man may
continue to reside in his father's house after the latter has died and been
succeeded by his brother or by his sister's son. Indeed, if a man dies
leaving children, his successor is, by custom, obligated to support them,
although there is an increasing attempt to divest oneself of such duties.
Occasionally, a man may join his mother's brother's domestic group while the
latter lives, but he feels constrained to justify his doing so. Thus in
matrilineal groups, such as the Agni, a man's relation to his maternal uncle
was traditionally an ambivalent one. Often living at a distance from each
other, they were bound together by the juridical link and responsibilities of
the uncle for his potential heir. The uncle may have contributed to his
schooling or given him land upon marriage. A father could afford to be more
lenient with his son than could the uncle, who had to incarnate respect.

     The fact that the Agni man works, lives and forms strong ties where he
does not inherit and inherits where he does not live has always engendered
stress and conflict. Recent economic developments have aggravated the
situation. A man who has helped his father start and cultivate cash-crop
plantations cannot inherit them as a routine matter. He may acquire some
of the property if his father turns it over to him while still alive, or
bequeaths it through a written will; but a father must seek the approval of
his legitimate heir-uterine brother or sister's son-for such an act. If he
accomplishes the deed in secrecy or without the approval of his legitimate
heir, he lives in constant fear of sorcery. Since in any particular case no
one can any longer be sure what system of inheritance will be applied, the
nephew fears that the maternal uncle will arrange to leave his goods, by
deed or gift, to his son, the cousin of the nephew. The uncle fears in turn
that, to prevent such a happening, the nephew will poison him. Both fear the
other will use sorcery. These conflicts and fears are known to continue even
after the heritage is passed on. The inevitable inequalities of inheritance,
given the existence of different-sized plantations, constantly reinforce the
tensions.

     This system of matrilineal inheritance is under strong attack by the
young educated elements in the southeast Ivory Coast today. Organizations
have been formed to combat it. Complaints about the system center about its
lack of incentive to economic enterprise and the disruptive effects it has
on the harmony of the household. These attacks have had some success. In
1959, for example, the Adioukrou of Dabou formally abolished the matrilineal
system. Among the Agni, a number of interim solutions have been found, such
as dividing the inheritance between the matrilineal and patrilineal line,
using a formal will, creating enterprises in the name of one's wife and
children, or opting for national civil status.

Marriage and Divorce

Marriage Under Traditional Law

     In general, African marriages under traditional law have shown four
distinctive features: a high value on polygyny; the institution of a bride
price; relatively easy procedures for divorce; and the collective nature of
marriage transactions and relationships. Although the last feature is
diminishing in importance, and traditional celebrations are less
significant, it can be said that this remains the pattern of most marriages
in the Ivory Coast today. Furthermore, marriage is almost universal,
particularly in a rural milieu. There no woman over 20 would be single unless
she had grave imperfections or infirmities.

     Marriage occurs across ethnic boundaries but not indiscriminately. In
general, among matrilineal groups (Agni, Baoule) marriage into another ethnic
group is more frequent for the women, since the children will belong to her
group. Conversely, among patrilineal groups (Abbe), such marriage is more
common for the men. In both cases, they are protecting the cultural integrity
of their ethnic group. The Baoule engage in widespread ethnic intermarriage
and concubinage and are therefore sometimes called the "cement of the Ivory
Coast."

Southeast Groups

     Among the Agni-Baoule (Akan), marriage is a convention between two
lineages. Its objects are the birth of children and the production of wealth.
It is a precarious accord of undetermined duration, depending on the good
will of the partners. Traditionally, the marriage was arranged by the parents,
sometimes at birth, although a young man could sometimes choose his bride.
Free choice of partners is increasingly practiced. To marry, a man must be
able to support his wife, must be sane, healthy and virile, must never had
had sexual relations with a relative of the bride, and must have no living
relative on his mother's side married at the moment to a close relative of
the bride. A man may not marry two women of the same lineage, nor a woman of
the same matrilineal lineage. The general rule is that of lineage exogamy.

     Premarital sexual relations are common, and relatively little importance
is attached to the virginity of girls. The average age of marriage for girls
is about 15 and for men, about 23, though the average is somewhat higher in
the urban areas.

     When a man desires to be married, some kin or friends are asked to
present the demand to the father of the girl. This is a procedure with
relatively little formality. The girl's father will arrange the amount of the
bride price. In 1960 it was estimated at between $20 and $120, usually about
$50. This sum includes traditional gifts in kind which are offered to the
family of the bride, such as a bottle of rum and a bottle of gin and the
clothes the young man brings his fiancee. If the engagement is broken, the
gifts are returned. This bride price is under no circumstances considered a
purchase. The man and woman, after marriage, are partners in a freely
consented union. The man does not own the woman, nor can he keep her
indefinitely against her will. The bride price is both compensation for loss
to the bride's family and a guarantee against future contingencies, since it
is returnable in case of divorce.

     The bride price is not necessarily kept by the father. It may be turned
over by him to his brothers, sons or nephews if they are taking care of the
girl's maintenance and education, to a friend who is the girl's tutor, or to
the lineage head if he is bearing the expenses. The bride price is composed of
various parts. The most recent innovation is the bla-on-kole (debt of the
woman) which is a nonreimbursable, voluntary gift used to help purchase the
trousseau. The second part is the adyia-tila, which means "the seizing of the
feet." The man must seize his fiancee's feet and give her this gift
personally. The actual seizure is done by a friend or, if it is a subsequent
marriage, by his first wife, who must in turn receive a gift. The main portion
of the bride price is be-ti-sika (head money) given to her parents. There are
various other small gifts plus the liquor.

     When the formalities are completed, the father of the bride or his
representatives announce the marriage as valid. He then informs his daughter,
who has not been present at the ceremony, sending her a token amount of money.
The man sends one of his sisters and her friends to get the new bride, who
then sets out with them, some of her own friends and her trousseau to her
husband's home. Her trousseau consists of three parts: gifts of her parents,
clothes and objects given her by her husband and gifts of the bride to her
husband. This last group is beginning to disappear today with the high price
of imported goods. Sometimes, en route to her husband's home, the bride will
be conveyed to the home of the head of the extended family to receive his
benediction and his last counsels of good behavior. The marriage of a divorced
woman is similar but smaller, and the bride price is lower.

     Polygyny is widespread among the Agni. In theory, the Agni husband must
treat all wives equally. The first wife, often chosen for family or social
considerations, has certain advantages, but her authority over the other wives
is limited, particularly since they can obtain a divorce in case of
ill-treatment.

     Sexual relations outside marriage can take several forms. Relations
between two young single persons without promise of marriage confers on the
boy a moral right of precedence in seeking marriage. Relations between an
engaged couple confer on the man the right to demand compensation for adultery
if the woman has relations with another man. Relations between two adults can
take three forms: undeclared, declared, and declared with a gift of liquor
to the parents of the woman. In the first case, the man has no moral or
economic rights over the woman but must, in case of conception, either marry
her or support her during pregnancy. If the relationship is declared, the
woman, still remaining in her parents' home, may perform small services for
the man but not work on his farm. The man may give his name to a child but
cannot demand compensation for adultery. In the last case, the woman has most
of the rights and obligations of a married woman.

     Among the Akan, divorce is the denunciation of a marriage agreement
by one of the partners, decided upon and validated by a traditional tribunal
of friends or relatives, sometimes presided over by the chief of the village.
Divorce from a dead partner may also be sought since death does not
necessarily end marriage obligations. An Agni woman may obtain a divorce
because of impotence or sterility of the husband, avarice, abandonment,
brutality, insults directed at relatives, bad relations of the husband with
his associates, adultery, bad conduct of the husband or grave and contagious
illness. In the first and last cases, divorce is granted immediately; in other
cases, conciliation is attempted. Unless he is caught in flagrante delicto or
his conduct is notorious, a husband's adultery is seldom a cause of divorce
but rather is compensated for by presents to the legitimate wife. The
complaints of the husband may be inveterate laziness of the wife,
irascibility and grave insults, affront to a friend, adultery, bad conduct or
sterility. In cases of adultery, the husband may choose between a fine or
divorce and reimbursement of all the expenses of the marriage. Divorce for
sterility of the woman, known only since World War II, is linked to the
pressure to shift to patrilineal inheritance.

     After a divorce the children are distributed in various ways. If the
husband is Agni and the wife is of the same Agni tribe, the father may keep
all weaned children and ask that the others, when weaned, be sent to him. The
mother retains the right to visit and to supervise their education. If the
wife is of a different Agni tribe, the mother has prior rights to the
children, but with the consent of the mother or her tribe, the father may
retain the children. If the father is not Agni, custom permits him only
visiting rights. If the father is Agni and the mother a stranger, the custom
of the woman's group prevails. These rules are observed less absolutely today
than formerly.

Southwest Groups

     Marriage among the Bete is also traditionally arranged between families.
The three conditions necessary for marriage are the payment of the bride
price, reciprocal consent of the couple and effective consummation. Marriage
within the patrilineage is incestuous. However, genealogies are not traced
beyond the third or fourth generation, especially for a group which has broken
away to form a new lineage.

     As among the Agni-Baoule, people may be engaged from their birth, but it
is more usual for the man to be engaged when he is past puberty. Aside from
the discussions among families, there is no particular celebration of
engagement. The man's family must pay a bride price to the woman's family.
Negotiations about the bride price are conducted by an intermediary who later
can serve as witness to the settlement. There is no special celebration of
marriage other than the announcement. The head of the extended family receives
the bride price, buts he normally delegates this right to the head of a
household, not necessarily that of the bride. The bride price must not be
squandered but must be used to acquire another woman for the family. This
bride price is not a fixed sum paid in full during the engagement. Rather,
there is an obligation to maintain matrimonial payments throughout life, and
the debt is never acquitted. Additional payments may be required if the wife
is not well treated or if she or her family is insulted. Usually additional
payments are made at the time of funeral celebrations or official visits
between families.

     Matrimonial payments among the Bete and the Dida are considerably higher
than among the Agni-Baoule, particularly since cash-crops have been
introduced. Consequently, considerable resistance has arisen among the young
men to the bride price. The family of the bride uses the pressure of shame to
maintain the regularity of payments. Ultimately, in case of nonpayment, the
bride's lineage can refuse to release the woman when she returns home to the
village for funerals. In such instances, the women are loyal to their families
of origin and often remain with them for one or two years awaiting further
payments. However, the children then remain with the father. The Agni, by
contrast, purposely keep bride prices relatively low because they fear that a
high price indicates a state of captivity for the woman, and more importantly,
given the frequency of divorce, it would be necessary to keep much liquid
capital in order to meet the demands of reimbursement.

     The high bride prices have led to a high rate of polygyny, since wives
are considered a symbol of social status-the more wives, and the more
expensive the wives, the more prestige. One sample indicates that up to
two-thirds of Bete men have more than one wife. High polygyny rates mean late
age of marriage for the males, sometimes past 30. As a result, an irregular
though permitted form of marriage has almost totally replaced among the Bete
the formerly more conventional marriage by promise.

     In this form, the agreement between the families is reached after the
consummation of the marriage instead of before. The usual pattern is for a
young man to make secret contact at night, through a friend, with the girl who
interests him but who is already promised to another. After several trysts,
the girl goes away with the man to his village, where she is greeted with
great ceremony. Several days later, her family head comes to the village to
protest the kidnapping. He is well received with the courtesies due a future
relative by marriage and is offered matrimonial payment with which he can pay
back the kidnapped woman's fiance. The bride's father may, however, oppose the
marriage and contest it in the traditional tribunals.

     Sometimes this procedure is pursued with women already married. This is
true of the Bete but not of the Dida. In this case, too, the woman's family is
offered compensation, though occasionally on a delayed basis. Thus the young
men, in effect, steal wives from older men who have several, with the tacit
consent of the woman. The reaction of the husband from whom the woman is
stolen does not seem to be one of great anger. He may contest it in the
customary tribunal, but if he loses the judgment he will usually accept it in
good grace. Friendship may even grow up between the two men involved. The
woman's family, or the woman herself, may in some cases actually instigate the
kidnapping.

     Those men who, by the age of 30, have not been able to acquire a wife
often resort to the aid of magic to kidnap one. The bachelor is ashamed and
thinks of vengeance, often against his own family whom he blames for his
plight. Concubinage is institutionalized and is considered neither wrong nor
inconvenient. A concubine may work only for her man.

     Among the Bete, divorce can only be initiated by one of the spouses,
unlike the rupture of the engagement which can be initiated by the heads of
the respective families. To be valid, the divorce needs only to be announced
publicly by the families. If the families disagree, however, the matter is
brought before the traditional tribunal. The divorce rates are exceptionally
high. There are three principal motives for the man to ask for a divorce. One
is adultery, but this is rare, especially if the wife has children. Usually,
abandonment must be added to adultery before divorce is asked. If the wife
commits adultery while living under her husband's authority, the husband may
ask that the lover repay the bride price as compensation. Once this is done,
the woman becomes the wife of the lover. If adultery is committed when the
wife is living with her family, restitution can be demanded from her family,
to whom she reverts upon payment. The other reasons for divorce are
incompatibility and grave insult in public.

     The wife can demand a divorce because of adultery, especially if the
other woman belongs to the wife's family, since this has an incestuous
character. The other motives for divorce are grave insults for which no
apologies are made, incompatibility, habitual cruelty, abandonment of a sick
or infirm wife, blows or wounds leading to a permanent injury or mutilation
and refusal to pay the bride price or obligatory indemnities. In case of a
divorce, the children belong to the father, including those who are conceived
but yet unborn.

Northern Groups

     Following Koranic law, Moslems are allowed four legitimate wives and a
number of concubines. In practice, this is not different from other
traditional forms of polygyny in the Ivory Coast. Previously, among the
Dioula, one could not marry women of inferior caste or slaves, although one
could have them as concubines, and their children had full rights. Early
engagement for girls is relatively frequent. It was not the traditional
practice to consult the girl.

     A Dioula marriage, to be valid, needs the consent of the girl's father,
the payment of a bride price and the testimony of two witnesses of good
reputation, who bring the matrimonial payment to the bride's family. The bride
price can be waived for reasons of piety, when a father arranges for his
daughter to marry a holy man. These are known as "charity marriages". Marriage
is not permitted within the lineage, but one may marry cousins outside the
lineage.

     Premarital sexual relations are known, particularly among engaged
couples. Still, virginity is praised among the Dioula, and there were certain
ceremonies to mark it. Marriage is celebrated by the almamy or marabout
(Moslem officials). Previously the various marriage rituals lasted over a
week. Kidnapping of a girl is known but rare and requires payment of damages
to the girl's fiance.

     Dioula are free to marry women of any ethnic group or religion but make
a serious effort to convert the woman to Islam. Their argument to the woman
is that this gives her inheritance rights under Islamic law. The marriage of a
Dioula woman to an animist male remains scandalous. Even among immigrants to
the south, marriage remains an alliance between families. This is why
first-generation immigrants are reluctant to marry even Moslem girls of forest
origin, since their family origins remain doubtful. This is all the more true
of non-Moslem girls.

     Senoufo men and women may be married once they have been initiated into
the poro (secret societies). Marriage is arranged by the parents, but the
consent at least of the young man is required. In recent years, the women
have had recourse, when they objected to the marriage, to a civil tribunal
under French law. Marriage is forbidden within the lineage, but first-cousin
marriages are tolerated among Islamized Senoufo. A widow may never remarry,
but must continue to serve her husband's family. If the husband left no
brothers, she might be allowed to rejoin her own family. If this is
impossible, she may be allowed a free union, but the children of such a union
belong to her ex-husband's family.

     During the several years of engagement, the young man must render
premarital service to his future parents-in-law. He must cultivate lands given
by his future father-in-law and play an important role in any funeral
celebrations. Sometimes, if the young man is of high social rank, he may do
this work to the accompaniment of music of a ceremonial character. If the
engagement is broken by the woman's family rather than by the man, they must
return all presents. Death breaks the engagement, but a substitute is usually
provided by the family.

     All matrimonial payments must be completed before the marriage, which
then closes the matter. In practice, some persons arrange to defer these
payments, the woman being thus "loaned" to the man. Premarital service is more
significant than actual payments, although in urban areas the latter is
increasing. Marriage by exchange of women instead of payments is also known.
Marriage by kidnapping is rare. These customs concerning payment are also
largely true of the Koulango and Bambara.

     Among the Senoufo the marriage ceremony, consisting of exchanges of
visits and gifts, may last for several months. A number of rituals are
attached: the young bride brings her household utensils; a cortege composed
of two girls and a boy of the same age is sent to accompany the bride to her
husband; and the bride makes a solemn demand of water from the old women of
her husband's house. The marriage itself is always consummated on Thursday.
After one or two days, the newly wed bride is sent home to her father, to be
returned several days later.

     Polygyny is widespread and normally involves 2 to 3 wives. However,
certain major chiefs may have more than 30 wives. This, however, is
disappearing. Temporary marriage, which is in fact concubinage, may be
contracted, especially in the urban areas. It is particularly practiced
between Senoufo women and Dioula civil servants in temporary residence and
involves an exchange of presents. It is not looked on with great favor, as it
further unbalances the Senoufo sex ratio for insufficient compensation.

     In the north, among the Moslems, repudiation (the arbitrary breaking of
the marriage tie) is a privilege restricted to the man and not often used,
because it involves waiver of all recompense. Both partners may, however,
seek a divorce. The woman may do so for reasons of impotency, voluntary
continence of her husband for four consecutive months, accusation of adultery
and disavowal of paternity by husband, failure to maintain the wife or insults
to the wife's family. Divorce is pronounced by the almamy, who also decides if
the marriage payments are to be restored. In case of divorce, the children
remain with the man or come to him after weaning.

     The Senoufo know both divorce and repudiation. Divorce seems to be a
relatively recent institution, implying the emancipation of women. The man's
position in this matter is still favored, as he can give virtually any excuse
for divorce, but a woman may also initiate divorce actions. The most common
reasons are proved adultery by the woman (unless a fine is paid), repeated
adultery by the husband, impotence, refusal of sexual access, excessive
cruelty, nonmaintenance, nonpayment of matrimonial compensation, flight of
wife, refusal of wife to perform household tasks, insults to one of the wives
of the father-in-law, or insults by the mother-in-law to one of the man's
wives.

     Usually it is the woman rather than the man who seeks divorce. The man
has little interest in getting rid of a woman, even if she commits adultery,
as she represents an investment. Punishments for adultery, which once
included death or exile, are now milder. Elderly, now impotent, polygynous
men may permit, even encourage, their wives to have children by another man.
Repudiation is rare except when the man's honor is at stake. Divorce is
pronounced by a tribunal composed of the village chief and several elders in
the presence of witnesses of both sides. The children, when weaned, remain
with the father.

Marriage Under the Civil Code

     The French civil code brought certain modifications in traditional
marriages. The decree of June 15, 1939, as modified on February 20, 1946,
requires the consent of marriage partners for a valid marriage. Furthermore,
it forbids requiring a widow to serve her husband's heir without her consent.
The decree of September 15, 1951, imposes certain limitations on the bride
price and forbids it for adult or divorced women. For minors, it requires that
the sum not exceed a certain limit, fixed according to the area by the
traditional authorities. The civil tribunal may, however, judge what is an
excessive amount and authorize a marriage without the consent of the parents.

     The same decree permits the inscription in the marriage declaration of a
pledge of monogamy, which then is binding. In theory, all marriages (as well
as births and deaths) should be registered, though the practice is far from
universal. Apart from these statutory limitations, individuals retaining
traditional personal status under customary law may not, at their will, opt
for provisions of the French civil code concerning marriage, although they
may observe them de facto, and they may utilize the civil courts for certain
proceedings. The decree of November 19, 1947, expressly permits such persons
to celebrate their marriage according to the civil code. This does not,
however, alter their customary obligations or the system of inheritance.

     Persons of French civil status are bound by the obligations of the
French civil code. This includes Frenchmen, other non-Africans resident
in the Ivory Coast and a small group of Ivory Coast evolues who accepted
French civil status in the colonial era. In case of conflict between the
customary and the civil law, there is no general statute indicating which
prevails, although juridical competence belongs to the civil tribunal. Mixed
marriages must be contracted under the civil code. Noncelebration under the
civil code nullifies the marriage. Since independence, the Ivory Coast
Government has maintained these provisions. A new marriage code is under
consideration.