MARRIAGE, WOMEN, AND TRADITION IN GUILLAUME OYÔNÔ MBIA'S THREE SUITORS: ONE HUSBAND

West Africa Review (2000)

ISSN: 1525-4488

Tola Mosadomi

Mariama Bâ did not attack tradition and custom blatantly, but she expressed her disapproval of certain glaring abuses of tradition, which impede progress. While she demonstrated an unflinching faith in the freedom of choice and the personal nature of marriage and romantic love, she also expressed her belief in the gain that the community in the modern context - the nation- would reap from the success and the attainment of happiness by individual couples. For her, family success depended on the founding couple, and in turn, it was the grouping of all these successful and happy families that would constitute the Nation.¹

This epigraphic comment on love, marriage, tradition, and personal pursuit of happiness describes best the notion of truth about the African woman as a "valuable human being" in Guillaume Oyônô-Mbia's Three Suitors: One Husband. The author, a south-central Camerounian dramatist, has contributed significantly to literary themes of traditional practices in African life, especially with specific reference to his own society or the societies around him. This paper will examine "tradition" through the institution of marriage, and its relationship to African women as "valuable human beings," But first, it is necessary to understand the role that drama plays in the lives of Africans, and how contemporary literary themes help our understanding of the new forms of African Francophone dramatic art.

Drama, which has generally been described as a mirror of human existence, has been around for many centuries in Africa and elsewhere. There are also claims by African literary critics that drama surfaced through religious rites and traditional festivals, which are manifestations of the presence of African men and women in relation to God and their fellow people. This relationship has also been found in numerous fundamental acts (ceremonies) of African human existence such as birth, death, religious and initiation rites, and marriage, all of which constitute elements of oral tradition. According to Traoré (32), the first manifestation of African drama has its origins in "les cérémonies religieuses et cosmiques" [religious and cosmic ceremonies]. African drama, therefore, mirrors real African traditional lives and values. It is no wonder, then, that African spectators are "heureux de voir la transposition sur la scène de quelques aspects de leur vie" [happy to see certain aspects of their life reenacted] (Traoré 107).

However, the early twentieth century (the colonial era), marks the beginning of new forms of dramatic art in Francophone Africa. Literary critics including Chevrier (157) have traced its developmental transformation in the 1950's to the form of protest or revolt, tradition versus modernity, the critique of social and moral politics, the denunciation of colonization, the analysis of the conflict of moral values between generations, and the struggle of the individual or nation for independence, all of which constitute main themes of African literature, mythology, and history. The development of these themes intensified in the 1960's with African Francophone playwrights like Seydou Badian, (La mort de Chaka) [Death of Chaka, 1962]; Bernard Dadié the most renowned African Francophone playwright today (Les Voix dans le vent 1970, Monsieur Thogo Gnini 1970, Béatrice du Congo 1971); Charles Nokan (Les Malheurs de Tchakô, 1968); Cheikh Ndao (L'Exil d'Albouri, 1967); Francis Bebey (Le fils d'Agatha Moudio, The Son of Agatha Moudio); and Guillaume Oyônô-Mbia (Trois prétendants, un mari, Three suitors: One Husband 1962); Notre fille ne se mariera pas, Our Daughter Shall Not Marry, 1969; Jusqu'à nouvel avis, Until Further Notice, 1970; and Le train spécial de son excellence, His Excellency's Special Train).

The above-mentioned literary themes unfold as paradoxes and binary oppositions such as found between parent and child, husband and wife, young and old, young generation and old generation, and tradition and modernity. Characters are trapped through these oppositions in a series of tensions or crises either individually, or collectively. Guillaume Oyônô-Mbia's Three Suitors: One Husband presents such an individual crisis in the sense that the protagonist, Juliette, a young girl, does not understand how and why an educated girl like herself should be subjected to, or become a victim of an arranged marriage. The play is a collective crisis because it is from Juliette's marriage that her immediate family, especially her father, as well as the community (the villagers), will benefit morally and economically. Juliette, who has already fallen in love with Oko, a fellow student at Libamba, is bewildered at this sort of economic transaction that makes her an essential market commodity and a veritable source of financial wealth. Juliette screams: "What? Am I for sale? Are you trying to give me to the highest bidder? Why can't you ask me my opinion about my own marriage?" (Oyônô-Mbia 10). In continued anger, Juliette expresses her shock: "So you were expecting me to make you rich! Am I a shop, or some other source of income?" (Oyônô-Mbia 12) By not conforming to the "grateful reaction" that Atangana (Juliette's father) and the elders of the village of Mvoutessi were expecting, Juliette is rupturing on the one hand the biological, social, and moral bonds between her and her father, and on the other hand the social and moral bonds between her and the community. All of these in turn translate into a conflict, a psychological and sociological rupture, not only of African tradition, but also of the bond between the young generation and the old generation, between ancient Africa and modern Africa, in short, between tradition and modernity.

The play is also a collective crisis because of the dilemma the community finds itself in, having been trapped by the demands and expectations of traditions and customs which include the commercial values of marriage, specifically that of bride-price. The intertwining of the individual and the collective crises is conveyed in the discouraging argument put forward to Juliette by Bella (Atangana's mother) when Juliette affirms that she is a valuable human being:

I simply can't understand these girls of today. In my day, only those girls for whom the largest bride-price had been paid were respected. Look here, Juliette do you want to be a disgrace to us all like your own cousin Myriam who married a good- for-nothing beggar? A young man who couldn't even give us enough money to.?" (Oyônô-Mbia 14)

When respect in Mvoutessi equals high bride-price, what does that say about how women are valued in that community? Is the appreciation of the worth of women in this small Camerounian village being put to test? Real respect for a young woman in love should be when you give that woman a face, a voice, a choice, and a chance to determine her being.

Respect should be bi-directional meaning from young to old, and vice versa. Moral or cultural values in Africa include respect for elders. By respecting elders, obedience is sustained. To disobey them is to disobey the authority that embodies and represents tradition, and to insult and contest the moral values that African tradition has laid down for centuries. Traditionally in Africa, the elderly, who are the immediate link to ancestors, represent the highest position next to the ancestors, gods, and God. These elders are practitioners and defenders of tradition. They are the moral, political, and economic executioners of the laws of the land. In many African societies, the practitioners and defenders of tradition are men. In many instances, no compromises are made in respect to obedience of the laws required by tradition. Abessolo, in this play, represents the highest level of uncompromising voice of tradition when he asserts:

Since when do women speak in Mvoutessi? Who teaches you girls of today such disgraceful behavior? Why are you trying to always have a say in every matter? Aren't you happy that your whole family made such a wise decision in your favour? (Oyônô-Mbia 11)

Atangana, Juliette's father, also authoritatively responds to Abessolo, Juliette's grandfather, "Consult a woman about her marriage!" (Oyônô-Mbia 8). The italicization of the word `woman' in the play implies also the uncompromising voice of tradition, which we often find conveyed in Atangana's orders to her daughter Juliette. As authority resides with the elders, it is common practice in some African societies for elders, especially fathers and grandfathers, to reject a young woman's choice of husband. Such a rejection can be considered in the words of Kané (347) as a "continuité, une répétition des croyances hérités" [a continuity, a repetition of beliefs inherited] from the ancestors.

One of the tragic consequences of not asking Juliette her opinion on her own marriage is the conflict among the generations, with the young generation represented by Juliette, and the old represented by Atangana and his fellow elders. A major source of this conflict of generations is the concept of bride-price and the role bride- price plays in African tradition today. Bride-price is like the boomerang that returns to the thrower. First of all, the community (which includes Juliette's father, the elders, the village women, and others) has paid for Juliette's education. A high educational investment such as that made on her calls for an exorbitant bride-price (cash transactions) from which everyone benefits handsomely. The money and monetary investment in a female child - (such as the original 100,000 CFA francs paid by Ndi the first suitor and young farmer from Awae to Atangana, and the following 200,000 CFA francs paid by the polygamous civil servant Mbia, the higher bidder, with additional transactional benefits such as clothes and kolanuts for Abessolo, gun permits, medals, and cases of alcoholic beverages) - reached its peak in the second half of the twentieth century in some African communities where the custom of bride-price is practiced. The bride-price can even translate to accumulation of bride-wealth through improper means. This is demonstrated in what I describe as the plea versus plea conversation between Matalina, Ondua's daughter, (Ondua is the brother of Atangana), Bella, Atangana, and Makrita (Atangana's wife) as a group, and Juliette. Atangana argues, "That civil servant [i.e. Mbia] could even help me to obtain a gun permit. You know how difficult that sort of thing is when one doesn't know the right people in Government offices..." (Oyônô-Mbia 14). Juliette responds to this plea "And you really expect to get all these things through me?"

The higher the education of the girl, the higher the socio-economic strata from which she can choose a potential husband, and consequently, the higher her bride- price. Abessolo, Juliette's grandfather, in response to Juliette asks, "Who else do you want us to turn to? You're the most educated daughter we have, and your brother Oyônô must pay for the girl he wants to marry in Ebolowa!" (Oyônô-Mbia 14). The benefits made from the bride-price also extend to younger siblings' future marriages. In some African cultures, the practice of bride-wealth in African traditional marriage is a cultural element well institutionalized and deeply rooted. However, it should be noted that not all African societies practice bride-welth. The practice of bride-wealth cannot be translated into foreign languages or foreign experiences because there is no one word that can represent or capture this phenomenon. Bride-price, the favorite term of early anthropologists in Africa, has been described in various dictionaries as payment made by a prospective husband to the bride's family. On the one hand, we need to understand that most dictionaries were not written by Africans, and that the definition of bride-price in many of these dictionaries may not adequately capture the practice.² On the other hand, it is important for Africans in their various communities to define what the term means them sociologically and economically. In some African societies, such as that presented in this play, the term that best captures the practice is bride-wealth since the phenomenon has both monetary and non-monetary values. When both are combined, they become bride- wealth. Non-monetary gifts include food, clothes, drinks, etc., which are never refunded. In societies with the tradition of dowry (i.e. the money brought to the husband in marriage), the dowry can always be returned in case of problems.³ For some, the idea of bride-price transforms the traditionalists into economic profiteers while it relegates or reduces the human value of the African woman as was assumed by Juliette in the play. It is no wonder then that Juliette, in her conversation with Makrita and Matalina, denounces this type of practice "You want me to let them sell me like a goat? After all, I'm a valuable human being!" (Oyônô-Mbia 14). By denouncing victimhood and oppression of Mvoutessi tradition, Juliette has, in the words of Nnaemeka, "chosen to act" and not be crushed or silenced (Nnaemeka 4).

On another level, it is a known fact that bride-wealth enhances the value of some contemporary African women. Such African women choose their potential husbands because of the material wealth they will accumulate. These are women for whom love is defined within the realm of social class. Without this social class, there is no love for them. These are women for whom the notion of marriage is wealth or material comfort, not love. This depiction of the African woman is in direct contrast to that portrayed in Three Suitors: One husband. Yet, both types of African women simultaneously co-exist in various African communities today.⁴ Some young women today will insist on high bride-wealth on them even as Juliette in Mvoutessi society is adamantly opting out of it. Similarly, while some parents are in favor of bride-wealth (whatever this means to them), other parents reject the idea. Still, in some other families, there is no practice of bride-wealth at all.

If the woman, according to Kané (376), constitutes "un signe de richesse, un bien matériel, dont l'acquisition rehausse la stature sociale de l'homme" [ a sign of wealth, a material possession, the acquisition of which enhances the social status of man], it is not surprising to see that traditionalists like Atangana do not wish to give up the privileges provided by the society, privileges which provide them with singular advantages "renoncer à leurs privilèges, à un type de société qui les avantage singulièrement" (Kané 375-6) .

The ability to access higher education in Africa provides some form of freedom for a girl to make her own choice, a choice that hinges on her (cap)ability to take a position, to make personal decisions, and to stand up for herself. The (cap)ability to make this choice can lead to biological, psychological and sociological rupture between father and daughter (as seen between Juliette and Atangana), and between modernity and tradition represented again by both characters. This rupture is attested and finally sealed when Juliette steals the entire sum of 300,000 CFA francs that both suitors had paid her family and gives it to Oko, the one she actually loves. This rupture also seals the individual's choice, the choice⁵ of a woman to create her own destiny.

If the woman metaphorically represents Africa as expressed in some early male literary writers' works (especially in poetry and novels), and if the woman is highly symbolic in African religion, why should she now become a commodity in African human hierarchy? To answer this question, Oyônô-Mbia presents himself as the mouthpiece for the liberation of women from conservatism and traditionalism. In Three Suitors: One Husband, the author ensures that women are given a voice and not relegated to derogatory roles. By developing positive female character, Oyônô-Mbia, in a satirical but comic manner, is redetermining the role of African women in a patriarchal society and in education, considering the fact that with African male playwrights, the female struggle for self-independence is rare. This singular and significant contribution to human reasoning in Mvoutessi, and to the liberation of their women represents an awakening of national consciousness. It is no wonder that Oyônô-Mbia is considered "le champion de l'émancipation de la femme africaine" [the champion of the freedom of African women] (Schipper, 119). I agree with Carol Boyce Davies who reiterates, "Skill at female portraiture is not automatic but requires sensitivity and insight in all writers, and especially in male writers" (Ngambika 86). Oyônô-Mbia has indeed expressed sensitivity to African women's problems and has sought "alternative images and symbols" to "develop [a] positive female character", and this is why he is problematizing `tradition'.

Tradition can be described in the words of Ojo-Ade (cited by Esonwanne in Nnaemeka 1997: 82) as the "established order of the past and the exigencies of the present". Much of tradition, as presented in this play, represent specifically the abuses, exploitation, and oppression of Mvoutessi women in West Africa. However, the concept of tradition is more complex than depicted by the dramatist in Three Suitors: One Husband. It appears that the old people in Mvoutessi have been aligned in opposition to the young. This is not necessarily so in every African society. Tradition is not uniform in Africa, and unfortunately, many people in or outside Africa see tradition as something rigid and static. Tradition is not static nor is it fixed. It is constantly changing (though not all aspects of tradition are mutant). It varies also from one African community to another. During the colonial era, what was presented as tradition was not mostly fabricated. Customs and customary laws were not really codified. At a deeper level, outsiders do not really understand the concept of tradition in Africa. And many insiders themselves have a static view of tradition. Tradition is a discursive practice, always and constantly facing challenges and interpretations. People modify or change tradition to accommodate their values and ways of life. Also, tradition is not a simple matter of old versus young. It is complexly opposed to modernity. Some old people can consider themselves modern even when they demand high bride-wealth for their daughters because of their daughters' education. Some other young women can also consider themselves as traditional by not believing in the practice of bride-wealth. These are all relative views of life about what tradition is. Therefore, with this complex view on tradition, the question then is: who is to blame for the oppression of bride-wealth in Mvoutessi community? In a sense it is the system that should be blamed. It is the institutionalization of oppression that should be corrected or eradicated. According to Nnaemeka in her introductory remarks (1997:19), feminist analyses claim that the oppression of women is a masculinist flaw. However, there are female collaborators in patriarchal violence who have also heightened female oppression. This is evident in Bella's behaviour in Three Suitors: One husband.

By problematizing the term `tradition', Oyônô-Mbia, as a social critic, is exploring ways to modernize African values. By so doing, he is representing the voice of African Francophone women and African women in general. Modernizing African values is having a voice. When you have a voice, you can make a choice. In many societies in Africa, women do not have a voice even in matters relating to themselves, how much less say do they have in the policy/decision-making process morally, politically, or economically even when they are educated. While Western education should not always be blamed for all the tragedies of contemporary Africa, it has its own pitfalls (which will not be discussed in this essay). Western education for women should not be used as a vehicle of oppression. That a woman is educated does not mean that she should be deprived of her dignity and value. African women should be considered "valuable human beings". The society depicted in Three Suitors: One Husband demands that the sickening and oppressive aspects of her tradition be reviewed, and that sociological cures be found for them. These sociological cures are probably what Kolawole (10) is referring to as a "reordering of the social order". Sociological cures to women's oppression are not easily attainable. Africa, therefore, needs women who will contribute to their own real values in contemporary Africa and also make such sociological cures a reality and a fixture. Africa women's values should not be restricted only to the biological function of motherhood.⁶

References

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Citation Format

Mosadomi, Tola. (2000). MARRIAGE, WOMEN, AND TRADITION IN GUILLAUME OYÔNÔ MBIA'S THREE SUITORS: ONE HUSBAND. West Africa Review: 2 , 1. [iuicode: http://www.icaap.org/iuicode?101.2.1.6].