Polygyny has been defended by some men in terms of ‘tradition and culture’ but a cursory observation suggests that it is currently being embraced even amongst women. It seems that some women are willing to allow a husband to take a second wife and even in arranged marriages some women seem content to enter into a polygynous union because they will be answering the call of duty. This study seeks to explore why even some middle-class educated women enter polygynous marriages. The study is different than the previous studies conducted because it focused on women who were educated and had employment that made them financially independent. Previous studies focused on poor rural women who had no better option but to marry into polygynous marriages for a better life because in the past it was only wealthy men who could afford to support more than one family and unfortunately that is not the case in today’s society, now it is just any man who wants to ‘elevate his manhood’ by having more than one wife but who he cannot support. The findings showed women entered such unions for numerous reasons such as love, family and societal pressures as well as desperation to have a higher social standing in the community than a single woman. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

The thesis underpinning this dissertation is based on the Zulu people’s belief in the living-dead and the fact that the latter control the lives of their living descendants. The living descendants use names to express their dissatisfaction with one another. The families perform rituals to appease the living-dead. The living-dead are perceived as guardian angels who are closer to God. They are believed to be able to reward good behavior and reprimand those who are not behaving in an acceptable manner. Names, as Bhengu (1975:52) states, connect people to their living-dead. It is therefore important that this relationship with the living-dead is maintained. Friction is always going to be a problem in polygynous families. Avoiding confrontation is important to people who want to appease their living-dead, who control their lives. Personal names act as a deterrent to angering the living-dead. In a situation where getting even is not an option, opting for a name to voice your disapproval is the easy way out. Names become communication channels between members of the family and the community at large. This study is done from an ethnographic perspective with an attempt to fully describe a variety of aspects of a cultural group to enhance understanding of the people being studied. Spradley (1980:3) states that “The essential core of ethnography is the concern with the meaning of actions and events to the people we seek to understand”. This understanding may be seen as the basis of the method; through ethnographic study, the researcher comes to comprehend, through detailed observation, the existences of peoples and their cultures. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.