In this episode of Necessary Blackness Podcast, Rahiem Shabazz, Goddess Funmi and Ashton Breon discuss the subject of Polygamy and how most woman are in a Polygamist relationship and don’t even know it.

The cultural relativity of Polygamy as practice is Africa, where a man would marry for social status and, more importantly, for economic gains, The practice was seen as an economic necessity, since multiple wives and their children provide unpaid labor in farm fields. Historically, the first wife helped choose her co-wives, because new brides essentially became her coworkers.

Here are a few reason for the practice of Polygamy.

• Increase the probability of children, particularly when a wife is barren or gives birth to a female children only.

• Increase the labor supply within a kinship network.

• Deal with the “problem” or surplus women.

• Expand the range of a man’s alliances so he is able to maintain or acquire a position of leadership.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS | More