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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Beyond 'Great Marriage': collective involvement, personal achievement and social change in Ngazidja (Comoros)
Author:Blanchy, SophieISNI
Year:2013
Periodical:Journal of Eastern African Studies (ISSN 1753-1063)
Volume:7
Issue:4
Pages:569-587
Language:English
Geographic term:Comoros
Subjects:marriage rites
towns
matriarchy
age grade systems
social change
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17531055.2013.842090
Abstract:The sumptuous 'Great Marriage' celebration in Ngazidja, Comoros, is a dynamic social practice, but it is criticized today as counterproductive for development and a burden on individual life. How can the continuing success of the 'Great Marriage' be explained in an era of monetization, Western education, Islamic contestation, and globalization? This paper argues that a close examination of what lies behind the practice is needed to understand its individual and social meaning. The 'Great Marriage' is the most salient part of an age system, in which collective commitment to matrilineal groups and individual achievement are managed simultaneously, and gendered conception of personhood and of human temporality are put into action. Grounded in historical hierarchies, these institutions change under various influences without abandoning the core values on which they are based, which explains their enduring success. App., bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract, edited]
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