Question

Marriage and Adulthood in West Africa
SUSANNA FIORATTA
Summary
Across cultures, marriage is a rite of passage that confers statusboth legal and socialon those who participate in it. Marriage often increases social status and, in some societies such as the United States, affords participants legal protections not available through other means. However, it is not generally thought of as something that affects an individual's status as an adult. Individuals in the United States and other countries have every reason to believe that they will be successful whether they marry or not. In her article, "Marriage and Adulthood in West Africa," Susanna Fioratta describes a society in Guinea where marriage is the only way to be considered a responsible adult.
For both men and women in the Fouta Djallon, marriage is not a choice. It is vitally important that an individual be married in order to be considered a responsible adult worthy of offering advice, taking on roles in the community, and being trusted with money. Even potential leaderssuch as 72-year-old presidential candidatesmust have a wife, children, and a home; otherwise, they are considered incapable of being responsible, not worthy of offering advice, and unable to show sympathy or pity. In the local Pular language, there is not even a word to describe an unmarried adult woman. There are only words for girl or virgin (jiwo) and woman (debbo). A state of being an adult unmarried woman is incomprehensible.
Achieving and maintaining a marriage in the Fouta Djallon is very difficult. Men must make enough money to support a wife and family, build a house, and care for extended family. This requires migrating to nearby countries to find work and save money. Women, for their part, must endure painful excision to be considered eligible for marriage. As wives, they must submit to their husbands at all times, cook and clean for a dozen or more individuals, bear and take care of children, maintain a garden of vegetables, and do so with inadequate funds. To make ends meet, wives often earn supplemental income selling snacks, cloth, or other items in the village. Divorce and premature death are not uncommon. When women are divorced or their husbands die prematurely, their parents quickly arrange new marriages; some widows are inherited as wives of their deceased husband's brothers.
Fioratta argues that the challenges associated with marriage are what allow both men and women to demonstrate that they are responsible, trustworthy adults. Despite these challenges, particularly for women, marriage is a highly sought-after status and is necessary to becoming a respected elder in the community.
It is ideal that newlyweds have children soon after they marry so that the husband
may establish himself as the head of the household.

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