Preferred Citation: Swartz, Marc J. The Way the World Is: Cultural Processes and Social Relations among the Mombasa Swahili. Berkeley:  University of California Press,  c1991 1991. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft9v19p2m5/

 
4 He Who Eats with You Kinship, Family, and Neighborhood

Divorce

The return of the bride wealth when divorce occurs did not occasion serious conflict in any of the cases I have information about. If the furniture

― 94 ―

is sold, the groom's parents expect to get the money paid for it, but if it is not, they will accept the chairs, tables, and pans and, even, not necessarily pursue every item bought.

Divorce is fairly common, especially for first marriages. I estimate that somewhat more than a third of first marriages are dissolved by divorce. It is substantially less common for subsequent marriages, and it is not common to find men or women who have been divorced more than twice. Divorce is generally viewed as an extremely unfortunate event that is, however, sometimes a necessity. One commonly hears people say, "Of the things God allows, He hates none more than divorce."

4 He Who Eats with You Kinship, Family, and Neighborhood
 

Preferred Citation: Swartz, Marc J. The Way the World Is: Cultural Processes and Social Relations among the Mombasa Swahili. Berkeley:  University of California Press,  c1991 1991. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft9v19p2m5/