Following on from the topics of marriage proposal, dowry and polygamy, Sorosoro continues its exploration into the marital relationships of Gabon. Today’s featured video covers a practically universal topic, which definitely does not lack in excitement … adultery!

While it is often the source of many ills, adultery can nevertheless give way to some of the world’s most compelling stories, like that of Sheherazade in One Thousand and One Nights. Betrayed by his first wife, the King of Persia seeks revenge by slaying a virgin every night, until Sheherazade intervenes. She calls on all of her story-telling skills to weave a tale that spans a thousand and one nights, and convinces the King to put an end to his ruthless rampage.

This tale illustrates the wide-spread perception of adultery as a crime punishable by death. While the case of the Persian King is extreme, it leads one to question the severity of the reaction to adultery.

To explain this phenomenon, it must be understood that marriage, be it monogamous or polygamous, represents both a social and a legal institution. Marriage guarantees the lasting nature of conjugal bonds, and promises a sense of stability within society as well as a respect of the established order. Adultery is thus interpreted as a social disturbance – or even a breach of ownership – and the woman involved is perceived as both a thief and a theft.

Adultery has, up until now, been treated not as an individual matter, but rather as a collective issue that calls for a community sanction. Reactions span from damage compensation, to divorce or disowning, all the way to the death penalty (for either one or both adulterous parties). And as expected, in most cases adultery does not carry the same implications for men as it does for women…

In Gabon, among the lake-dwelling Akele, Jean Kédine offers us his view of the situation, emphasizing precisely the disctinction between male and female adultery.

Linguist: Jean-Marie Hombert
Camera and sound: Luc-Henri Fage
Translation: Hugues Awanhet
Editing: Caroline Laurent