Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to at least two or more women at the same time. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (polugunía); from Ancient Greek πολύ (polú) 'many' and γυνή (gunḗ) 'woman, wife'.
Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholars theorize that the slave trade's impact on the male-to-female sex ratio was a key factor in the emergence and fortification of polygynous practices in regions of Africa. Polygyny is most common in a region known as the "polygamy belt" in West Africa and Central Africa, with the countries estimated to have the highest polygamy prevalence in the world being Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia, Niger and Nigeria. In the region of sub-Saharan Africa, polygyny is common and deeply rooted in the culture, with 11 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa living in such marriages (25 percent of the Muslim population and 3 percent of the Christian population, as of 2019). Polygyny is especially widespread in West Africa, with the countries estimated to have the highest polygyny prevalence in the world as of 2019 being Burkina Faso (36%), Mali (34%) and Gambia (30%). Outside of Africa, the highest prevalence is in Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq.
Polygyny was accepted in ancient Hebrew society, in classical China, and in some traditional Native American, African and Polynesian cultures. In the Indian subcontinent, it was known to have been practiced during ancient times. It was accepted in Ancient Greece, until the adoption of Roman marriage practices and Christianization. In North America, polygyny is practiced by some Mormon sects, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church). Polygyny is more common in societies that have the custom of bride price. Some studies of mitochondrial DNA have shown that there have been more mothers than fathers in the genetic record of the human species, meaning that the proportion of females that have reproduced in each generation has generally been greater than the proportion of men that reproduced. The authors of one 2014 study attributed these findings to widespread polygyny.
Cause and explanation
Augmenting division of labor Ester Boserup was the first to propose that the high incidence of polygyny in sub-Saharan Africa is rooted in the sexual division of labor in hoe-farming and the large economic contribution of women.
In some regions of shifting cultivation where polygyny is most frequently recorded, labor is often starkly divided between genders. In many of these cases, the task of felling trees in preparation of new plots, the fencing of fields against wild animals, and sometimes the planting of crops, is usually done by men and older boys (along with hunting, fishing and the raising of livestock). Wives, on the other hand, are responsible for other aspects of cultivating, food processing and providing meals and for performing domestic duties for the family. Boserup argues that though women's work comprises a larger percentage of tasks that form the basis of sub-Saharan life, women often do not receive the majority portion of the benefits that accompany economic and agricultural success.
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