Reflection on an African Traditional Marriage System

ABSTRACT

Every nation then and now is bedeviled with societal problems. Among these problems are: disorderliness, robbery, immorality, disrespect, laziness, idleness, poor attitude to work, conflict, indiscipline, selfishness, etc. Attempts are made by nations and her people to ameliorate situations. When one is solved, another occurs. This paper looks at how marriage in the traditional African system contributed to the relative peace in their societies. The objectives of the paper are: to show the relationship between stable families and well-ordered societies. The paper adopts a philosophical method. The scope is on the Yoruba marriage traditional system, though references are made to other societies in Africa. Even at that, it must be said that there are more than one marriage systems among the Yoruba people.

Keywords: Marriage, Love, Family, Responsibility and Division of Labour.