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Woman-to-Woman Marriage:
Practices and Benefits in Sub-Saharan Africa*
R. JEAN CADIGAN **
INTRODUCTION Ethnographic studies reveal that many African societies have practiced woman-towoman marriage, and some still do (Herskovits, 1937; Krige, 1974; Obbo, 1976; O'Brien, 1977; Oboler, 1980).' Woman-to-woman marriage, also known as woman marriage or marriage involving a "female husband," refers to the institution whereby a woman marries another woman and assumes control over her and her offspring (Krige, 1974:11). In most cases, the wife will bear children for the female husband. All ceremonial aspects of these marriages are observed, bridewealth is paid to the girl's father, and all rules of divorce in the society apply (Herskovits,1937:335). Despite the fact that woman-to-woman marriage has existed or exists in many societies, this institution has often been overlooked by researchers studying such topics as marriage, the family, gender relations, and the position of women in African societies. However, it is important to realize that woman-to-woman marriage has great relevance to these subjects.
The theory of male dominance and female oppression in terms of gender relations has long been discussed in the literature. Claude Meillassoux (1981) claims that senior men control the labor and produce of women through their control of the marriage (see also Potash,1989:190). Such theories virtually ignore woman-to-woman marriage because the concept does not concur with the ideology of male dominance. However, another approach to the study of gender relations views both women and men as social actors who use various systems and their positions in society to achieve maximum personal benefits (Obbo, 1976:371; Potash, 1989:191). This article examines the relevance of woman-to-woman marriage as a strategy that women use to further their social and economic positions in society.
Cross-culturally, women take wives under three circumstances, all of which increase the status of the female husband: ) barren women and widows take wives to obtain rights over children produced; 2) rich women accumulate wives to gain prestige and wealth in the same way men do through polygyny; and 3) in some societies where women have the right to have a daughter-in-law, women without sons can exercise their right to a daughterin-law by marrying a woman and giving her to a non-existent son (see Huber, 1969; Krige, 1974). In each of these situations,...