The power of sex: some reflections on the Caldwells' ‘African sexuality’ thesis

Abstract

This article consists of a series of reflections about the nature of sexuality in East Africa framed in response to the theories put forward by J. C. Caldwell and his collaborators. It argues that their views fail to grasp the way sexual restraints and restrictions form the basis of the moral order in East African societies. Their model of a distinctively African sexual system overemphasises descent in a way that systematically underplays the importance of marriage and reduces ancestor cults to exclusive concern with lineage, reproduction and continuity. By contrast, it is argued with reference to the Gisu of Uganda, ancestral beliefs in their general form are associated with the overall templates for correct social living and these hinge not on lineality but on sexuality and its control. In this light, most East African cultures can be labelled ‘respect cultures’, in that they see their social orders as rooted in respect, respect which implies deference, attention to proper decorum and above all self-restraint. The rules problematise sexuality. The article then turns to the sacred power attributed to coitus itself. This is addressed by looking at the metaphor of the mingling of bloods, widely used of sexual intercourse in East Africa. In the last section of the article attention is paid to the contrast between consanguinity and alliance and the idea that the union of man and woman serves as the prototype of contractual relationships.