I don't know if it's evident in my entries that I have 2 moms and belong to a polygamist family. During training, we were informed that this is a common reality for Muslim families in Salone, especially in the villages. Muslims can take on up to 4 wives.
I have no problem with that b/c that is the life they choose to live and they are happy with it........supposedly.
Well, my family is actually some type of Evangelical Christian and Papa Viktor was raised Catholic but doesn't really practice anything. So that goes against the "Muslim Only" concept of polygamy for Salone families. Overtime, I found out that this family dynamic is due to a girlfriend getting pregnant and taking her in and then......viola! Sister Wives!
Unfaithful men is common here in Salone and it is no news that many Salone husbands take on multiple side girlfriends. Wives, I'm guessing, turn a blind eye because a good home is provided for them.
Upon my first arrival, Mama Mami (2nd wife) didn't seem too fond of me especially since I was taken under the care of Mama Kenyah (1st wife). Mami seems to have warmed up to me over the weeks as I make sure to greet her every morning and every afternoon. She has even invited me to her church, so our means of communication has been opening up.
As I try to understand the dynamic of this polygamist family, I assume that in these situations, the wives are complacent and accepting of sharing their husband and the care of their children.
As I spend more time with the Simbo family, I observe that the 1st wife seems to handle the overall care of the family with food, chores, all the children, and lives in the main house. Whereas, the 2nd wife lives in an added apartment just across the courtyard and tends to only her child, her own laundry, and doesn't cook.
There seems to be a domestic issue at this point in time between the wives and the husband. I'm not too sure on every detail, as these arguments are shouting bouts of fast Krio, but I am afraid that they are arguing on how I'm being handled but the underlying issue is: attention from their husband, who gets to call the shots, and the attention given to their children.........not so Sister-Wifey afterall......
I can't really understand why a man would want more than one wife. It's not like they engage in orgies, or at least they say they don't. But in most cases, they take turns on who gets to sleep with the husband. This family even has a set schedule. So they sleep with one woman at a time but, when there is a dispute it is with all of them....at the same time. Not all wives are "nagging wives" but the term DOES come from somewhere and we, women, in my opinion, can't help it sometimes. So if you think about the common husband getting irritated of nagging from one wife, I can only imagine what it would feel like if your ear was being talked off by nagging from two separate directions.....simutaneously. In other polygamist families, maybe even 3 or more! Somebody put him out of his misery already, lol! But this is the life that Papa Viktor has chosen for himself.
So as I hideout in my room, the entire village can hear a husband and his 2 wives have a threesome yelling match. I'm gonna wait it out for the rest of the week, if the the household continues on like this, I may have to bring it up to the homestay coordinator. This is my 2nd night in a row listening to this. It had been brewing for some time time now, I had seen it coming in the days prior. So it is only fair for me to give it a few more days to die down as well.
TIP OF THE DAY: Invest in a good prostitute ;P
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