Bridging The Gap Between Tradition And Science And Technology: Myths And Realities In The Fulbe Classification Of Women

Abstract

As life partners and as mothers and wives women have remained inevitable to men since time immemorial. Different traditions and cultures see women differently, especially when it comes to selecting a life partner. In some traditions such as the Fulbe tradition selecting a wife was and to some extent still remains part of the responsibility of parents and elders within the family. This traditional practice is to ensure that, the marriage survives through a good choice. In the traditional Fulbe society where wives operate under full-term and are entirely domiciled in their husbands’ house, marriage institution is so much respected and the objectives are not only for procreation and raising children but for providing the husband with the needed comfort and psychological support which often times translates into success of the husband in his life endeavors. In the light of the Fulbe tradition as reflected in the book: Bolle Hikima De Dawa-see-dacce E Fulbe Wobbe, women in marital terms could be classified into 10 unique domains. However, out of the 10 categories only one is considered worthy of preference. It is against this backdrop that, this paper attempts to synthesize the traditional classifications with the aim of bridging the gap between traditional believes and science and technology advancements of recent times. The paper proffers some remedies that would help in demystifying some of the basis for the traditional classification cum stigmatization, still practiced among some Fulbe.

Keywords: Fulbe, Tradition, women, marriage, science and technology