Polygamy in Contemporary Yorùbá Society of Southwestern Nigeria: The Yorùbá Writers’ View

It is on record that Polygamy had been part of the Yorùbá tradition since the inception of the race. In the past, marrying more than one wife was a factor used for determining the wealth and prosperity of a man. This is because most men were dominant peasant farmers, hence, the need to have more women and children to assist in farming activities. It is interesting that despite this situation, they lived together in harmony. In most cases, unless one is told, it was difficult to distinguish between children of one wife from the other. Today however, Polygamy has translated into something else. This paper examines the views of selected YoruÌ€baÌ literary writers on the issue of Polygamy as practiced in contemporary Yorùbá society. The objectives of the paper include: to determine the cause(s) of the change, the effect of the changes on the immediate, extended families and the society as a whole. Two Yorùbá written play texts are ex-rayed. They are: Láwuyì Ã’gúnníran’s Àà re-Àgò Aríkúyerí (2010) and OÌ©moÌ©táyò̩ and Ã’gúnníran’s AbínúeÌ©ni (1993). Our findings reveal that: colonialism and its attendant civilization caused a drift in the life of the people, that total dependent on foreign cultures and ideas have caused noticeable changes in the lifestyle of the Yorùbá people. The paper concludes that although it is not a crime to borrow cultural ideas since culture itself is not stagnant, it is however necessary to be careful and ensure that such borrowing is not at the detriment of one’s culture.