Widows in African Societies

Widows in African Societies
Author :
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Total Pages : 336
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780804766562
ISBN-13 : 0804766568
Rating : 4/5 (568 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Widows in African Societies by : Betty Potash

Download or read book Widows in African Societies written by Betty Potash and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 1986-02-01 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although widows constitute a quarter of the adult female population in many African societies, they have not been the focus of detailed, cross-cultural research. This is the first comparative anthropological study of widowhood in Africa, comprising ten case studies that cover a broad spectrum of societies in different parts of the continent. This volume shows clearly that widows are not passive objects of male transactions; they have interests and options, and make choices affecting their own lives. Ties to children, access to productive sources, and rights to housing are shown to have particular importance for widows' residential and marital decisions. This book provides a needed corrective both to the male perspective on kinship and to women's studies that deal almost exclusively with the adult married woman. In contrast to the traditional anthropological emphasis on widow remarriage and the functions such marriages have for the maintenance of marriage alliances, these papers deal with the women themselves and the quality of their lives. The introduction surveys the literature, examines the factors affecting the widows' strategies, and shows how accepted anthropological concepts of marriage, affinity, and community look different when considered from the perspective of widows. There is a foreword by Mariam K. Slater.

Widows in African Societies Related Books

Widows in African Societies
Language: en
Pages: 336
Authors: Betty Potash
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 1986-02-01 - Publisher: Stanford University Press

GET EBOOK

Although widows constitute a quarter of the adult female population in many African societies, they have not been the focus of detailed, cross-cultural research
The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-10-29 - Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

GET EBOOK

This definitive handbook is the first reference of its kind bringing together knowledge, scholarship, and debates on themes and issues concerning African women
A Cowrie of Hope
Language: en
Pages: 164
Authors: Binwell Sinyangwe
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2000 - Publisher: Heinemann

GET EBOOK

This reimagining of the Robin Hood legend tells the story of the young boy behind the bandit hero's rise to fame. Will Shackley is the son of a lord, and though
Masterful Women
Language: en
Pages: 302
Authors: Kirsten E. Wood
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2005-12-15 - Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

GET EBOOK

Many early-nineteenth-century slaveholders considered themselves "masters" not only over slaves, but also over the institutions of marriage and family. Accordin
Praisesong for the Widow
Language: en
Pages: 257
Authors: Paule Marshall
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 1984-04-16 - Publisher: Penguin

GET EBOOK

From the acclaimed author of Daughters and Brown Girl, Brownstones comes a “work of exceptional wisdom, maturity, and generosity, one in which the palpable hu