ABSTRACT
In the Union of South Africa urban conditions have been closely examined, but the studies of Hunter and Schapera are the only ones which pay attention to the changing family in the rural areas. In East Africa, including the Sudan, the best accounts in existence, notably those of Evans-Pritchard, Nadel, and Mayer, are of peoples whose organization has been relatively little affected by modern influences. For educated Africans, the cost of marriage is further increased by the standard of display expected at weddings. Older Africans believe that in consequence many rash choices are made, and give this as a reason for the increasing instability of marriage, but it should be noted in this connexion that the records do not always show an increase in the rate of divorce. The influence of the ‘family council’ in maintaining the stability of marriage is weakened or even removed.
