ABSTRACT
The La Zoute Conference marked a change of emphasis by all missions from outright condemnation to general sympathy towards African custom. In 1928 it was rightly noted that ‘until lately there has been no serious and systematic attempt by the missions to familiarise missionaries with the peculiar qualities of the materials to be handled’. The fundamental meanings and sanctions of customary African marriage were conditioned by and depended upon the existence of an organic and unified society which was through Western influences, of which the missionary was only one, rapidly disintegrating. The lack of understanding by Africans of the values inherent in the Christian marriage ideal is acknowledged by missionaries in many parts of Africa. In many reports there is no mention of positive teaching on the subject of Christian marriage, and some missions openly admit that such instruction is non-existent. Mission opposition to polygamy is enforced ‘even at the expense of individuals’.
