ABSTRACT
The association of polygyny with social, economic and moral values has lent it a strength which 150 years of missionary activity in countries such as Cameroon has failed to eradicate. The missionary churches have, of necessity, moved from a hard-line authoritarian approach to polygyny to a more pragmatic ‘softly softly’ stance, reasoning that fundamental structural changes in society will not happen overnight, and that time and economic forces may well be on their side. In order to prevent Christian girls from living with their husbands before a church marriage could take place, the missionaries established ‘sister mammy’ settlements in or near the mission compound. Relations between the Roman Catholic Mission and the chiefs were not running so smoothly, and the District Officer suggested some of the factors responsible, in particular differences over infant betrothal and marriage, and the sanctity of the chief’s wives.
