ABSTRACT
The practice of polygyny in Senegal is embedded in a different context than that of Central Africa, but there is a higher incidence of this type of union than in the predominantly Islamic Sahelian countries. This chapter begins with those contemporary aspects of polygyny that exist in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. The urban context is complex, since different social categories and diverse expectations coexist there. More and more women are educated and subjected to new influences. As a result, they are hoping to develop new ways of living and new relations with men—in the household as well as in society. At the same time, social and religious norms continue to locate women's destiny in marriage and motherhood. The chapter presents two models here: The first concerns the beginning of a polygynous marriage, and the second deals with the end of a first marriage by divorce, because we feel a relationship exists between these two events.
