Ifi Amadiume

Ifi Amadiume (born 23 April 1947) is a Nigerian poet, anthropologist and essayist.

Quotes

Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society (1987)

• … a flexible gender system … meant … certain women could occupy roles and positions usually monopolized by men, and thereby exercise considerable power and authority over both men and women.
  • Amadiume page 40.
• As men increased their labour force, wealth and prestige through the accumulation of wives, so also did women through the institution of "female husbands.‟ When a woman paid money to acquire another woman, the woman who was bought had the status and customary rights of a wife, with respect to the woman who bought her, who was referred to as her husband, and the "female husband‟ had the same rights as a man over his wife.
  • Page 46-47
• Man seems to have wanted… to give the universe his own gender…anything believed to have value belongs to men and is marked by their gender…he gives his own gender to God, to the sun.
  • Page 31
• “Since women were basically seen as producers, the principals of control and protection applied to them throughout their productive period, whether as daughters, wives, or mothers. It is said when a woman outgrows the question, 'whose daughter is she?' people then ask, 'whose wife is she?' Only as matrons were women no longer valued in their sexual or reproductive capacity; matrons were, therefore, beyond control.
  • Chapter four
• A woman at this stage of her life no longer sought to be sexually attractive to men, and was no longer in sexual competition with other women. Matrons, in order to succeed economically and wield power, had to free themselves of 'messy' and 'demeaning' female domestic services, which included sexual services. Woman-to-woman marriage was one of the ways of achieving this. The younger wife would then take over the domestic duties.
  • Chapter four
• In the traditional society, a flexible gender system meant that male roles were open to certain categories of women through such practices as nhaye, 'male daughters,' igba ohu, 'female husbands. These institutions placed women in a more favourable position for the acquisition of wealth and formal political power and authority. Under colonialism, these indigenous institutions – condemned by the Church as 'pagan' and anti-Christian – were abandoned or reinterpreted to the detriment of women.
  • Chapter seven
• “The fact that biological sex did not always correspond to ideological gender meant that women could play roles usually monopolized by men, or be classified as 'males' in terms of power and authority over others. As such roles were not rigidly masculinized or feminized, no stigma was attached to breaking gender rules. Furthermore, the presence of an all-embracing goddess-focused religion favoured the acceptance of women in statuses and roles of authority and power.
  • Chapter 13 -
• She is said to have had about 24 wives… the qualities attributed to her were hard work and perseverance. She was … a clever woman, who knew how to utilize her money.
  • Page 47
• Extremely powerful and assertive women were able to dominate their husbands.
  • Page 45
• The men were no longer known by their own names, but by reference to their role as husband.
  • Page 48
• It was with pride that Nwokocha Agbadi returned the twenty bags of cowries to his former son-in-law and he even added a live goat as a token of insult.
  • Page 39

Quotes about Ifi Amadiume

• This fine collection of poetry on love, nature and Sufism bursts forth with pure humanity and elegance of language. Dominated by the presence of beautiful, dignified womanhood that is tough but loving, giving and grateful, the poems peel off layers of time to reveal memories that refuse to dissipate. A celebratory voice singing the beauty of fall colors and the magic of Africa's star-studded sky and enchanted moonlit night is interlaced with a strong, unyielding moral voice that speaks against the injustice and bullying of the powerful, and the pillage and greed of empire. Amadiume's beautiful, moving, and well-crafted collection returns to nature what belongs to it--simplicity; and reminds humanity of what it has lost--the love that is divine. Love is Great!
  • Obioma Nnaemeka as quoted in CIRCLES OF LOVE Poems, by Ifi Amadiume, Africa World Press.
• Ifi Amadiume's Circles of Love speaks with passion of love gained, love lost, love desired. These are poems which embrace the pains and joys of exile--memory, sweetness, history and a sense of peace with the landscapes of home wherever these may be.
  • Carole Boyce Davis as quoted in CIRCLES OF LOVE Poems, by Ifi Amadiume, Africa World Press.
• Love is a many splendored thing and Ifi Amadiume spins the wonder of love in circles of memory, humor, joy and even political satire with a lyrical and often intimate voice that describes family, friends and special places. Here are poems you will want to read and remember.
  • Nagueyalti Warren as quoted in CIRCLES OF LOVE Poems, by Ifi Amadiume, Africa World Press.
• Read for my Anthropology of Gender class. This is an incredibly thorough ethnography that traces the history, colonisation, and modern traditions of a small area in Nigeria. Amadiume doesn’t just reclaim, explain, and evaluate the customs of the Igbo people from the town where she was born, she also demonstrates the long history of how colonialism has distorted, misconstrued, and tried to erase them. It makes me wonder how many indigenous religions we’ve completely lost due to the efforts of colonisation trying to either mould them to the “White Christian ideal” or wipe them out completely. It’s a sad thought, but I’m still glad Ifi Amadiume is here to speak for herself, taking back the fierce power of anthropology from those who would use it for ill.
  • Mia as quoted in Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society, Goodreads, October 6, 2020.
• I bought Male Daughters, Female Husbands on the title alone, expecting it to be an anthropological study discussing how an indigenous society had made space and roles for queer people. I was very wrong. Instead, Ifi Amadiune presents a brilliant study of how the Nnobi of Nigeria made space and roles for women, and how the Christian patriarchy took those roles away. Amadiune challenges her fellow anthropologists and western feminists about their assumptions about African societies. (Namely, that colonialism helped African women get out from under the thumb of bad African men, yet they still need western feminists to save them further. Amadiune clearly demonstrates how neither of these things are true and how these kinds of simplified views of any indigenous society are steeped in racism.
  • Cameron Sant as quoted in Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society, Goodreads, June 26, 2016.