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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | When is 'Married' Married? Multiple Marriage Avenues in Urban Mali |
Author: | De Jorio, Rosa |
Year: | 2002 |
Periodical: | Mande Studies |
Volume: | 4 |
Pages: | 31-44 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Mali |
Subjects: | Bambara customary law family law marriage law Islamic law Urbanization and Migration Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Women's Issues Cultural Roles Marital Relations and Nuptiality urbanization |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/44093483 |
Abstract: | This study shows that marriage does not constitute a homogeneous or internally coherent text in today's urban Mali (especially in Bamako and Ségou, social contexts dominated by Bamana language and culture). There are multiple marriage scripts - civil, religious and customary - and these are partly and/or potentially in contradiction with one another. These competing models acquire different meanings and priorities among different strata of the population. During her fieldwork in Mali in 1993 and 1994, the author followed closely the efforts of one of her research assistants to invalidate the marriage contract of a young woman with whom he had fallen in love and who reciprocated his interest. This case study illustrates how differently one situation can be interpreted from the viewpoint of the three marriage models. It demonstrates the possibilities for individual negotiation created by some of the inconsistencies between different yet coexistent marriage models. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |