The Matriarchs of Guinea-Bissau
• Gender Studies
An actual matriarchal society has existed on Guinea-Bissau off the African coast. Here it has been a perpetual Sadie Hawkins day where women have the exclusive right of choosing her mate.
But Christian missionaries and western capitalism have come. So this West African society will eventually become just like any other. Will it prove an advance or just a shift sideways?
Like all men on this African isle, Carvadju Jose Nananghe knew exactly what it meant. Refusing was not an option. His heart pounding, he lifted the steaming fish to his lips, agreeing in one bite to marry the girl.
“I had no feelings for her,” said Nananghe, now 65. “Then when I ate this meal, it was like lightning. I wanted only her.”
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It’s the equivalent of a man bending on one knee and offering a woman a diamond ring, except that in one of the world’s matriarchal cultures, it’s women who do the asking, and once they have, men are powerless to say no.