urban marriage introduction
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This article compares and contrasts data from the marital histories of 23 illiterate-rural men (66 marriages) and 47 literate-urban men (47 marriages), all Temne resident in the villages surrounding or within the small town of Magburaka in central Sierra Leone. The survey data were collected in 1962-63. Following brief discussions of other, similar studies in West Africa, of the two series utilized here and of Temne marriage, I deal in order with: (1) who objected to the marriages and the reasons why they objected, (2) the use of go-betweens and their relationships to the principals in these marriages, (3) the amount of bridewealth and who provided it, and (4) the desire for an additional spouse. This final point was addressed in terms of a hypothetical next spouse with respect to her place of origin, whether she should be virgin or premarried and educated or uneducated. The data are then considered in light of certain characteristics of Magburaka: its population is 81% Temne, it is a new town and it is small, with a total population of between 6-7,000.