The Process of Marriage in African Societies: A Multiple Indicator Approach

This article demonstrates the use of multiple indicators of union formation to study marriage customs in African societies. While previous studies of African marriage generally provide information only on type of union as self-reported this study uses information from the 1980-81 Cote dIvoire Fertility Survey to develop a more detailed typology of marital unions based on the sequence of events in the union formation process. This new classification incorporates information on the processual nature of Ivorian unions and more adequately reflects the diversity of marital systems practiced in Cote dIvoire. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (EXCERPT)