Monday, September 27, 2010

THE GOOD POLYGAMIST

White Man's Way

Quannah Parker, a native American of the Comanche ethnic group,  adopted many of the white man's ways after he quit the warpath. However, he  clung to one aspect of the custom of his fathers until his old age. He continued to be a polygamist.

He was a friend and admirer of President Theodore Roosevelt and on one occasion when Roosevelt was touring Oklahoma, he drove out to Parker's camp to see him.


With pride Parker pointed out that he lived in a house like a white man, his children went to a white man's school, and he himself dressed like a white man - whereupon Roosevelt was moved to preach him a sermon on the subject of morality.


"See here, chief, why don't you set your people a better example? A white man has only one wife - he's allowed only one at a time. Here you are living with five squaws. Why don't you give up four of them and remain faithful to the fifth?"


Parker stood still a moment, considering the proposition. Then he answered, "You are my great white father, and I will do as you wish - on one condition."

"What is the condition?" asked Roosevelt.


"You pick out the one I am to live with and then you go kill the other four."


You shouldn’t have married so many in the first place; Roosevelt thought.

 But he could not offer another solution that would not involve Parker hurting the women who loved him.







                                                           

2 comments:

  1. This don't end will,
    I had a hard time finding out what the writer is talking about.

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  2. The very idea of polygamy is not immoral; at least not from a biblical vantage point. The famous King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and still won favors from God. I know of villages in Cameroon where polygamy is not only practiced but is essential for the sustainability of the village. I know of tribes that are almost going extinct in Cameroon; polygamy is essential in such cases as means of rejuvenating the village. The Muslims practice polygamy with skill and admiration. You never hear two Muslim kin quarrelling either between them or with their spouses.

    The white man has made it hard or almost impossible for him to handle more than one wife. They look at an African man involved in a polygamous marriage more with envy than with pity (they just don’t admit it). It takes great managerial skill and candor to upkeep such a marriage. Why lie, cheat and have a mistress instead of a second wife in the comfort of your home and working together for the betterment of the entire family?

    Mola Esuka

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