one man one wife

T. M. ALUKO

"• • . .... '~M,1111•\, \
\
,~-~, f ,.,.

c

3''87 9

.AFRICAN WRITERS SERIES

Editorial Adviser . Chinua Achebe

30

One Man, One Wife

AFRICAN WRITERS SERIES

1 Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart 40 s. A . Konadu: A Woman in Her Prime
2 Cyprian Ekwensi: Burning Grass
41 Amu Djoleto: The Strange Man
3 Chinua Achebe: No Longer at Ease 42 Kofi Awoonor and G. Adali-Mortty
4 Kenneth Kaunda: Zambia Shall be (Editors): Messages - Poems from

Free Ghana

5 Cyprian Ekwensi: People of the City 43 Ayi Kwei Arm ah: The Beautyful Ones
6 Peter Abrahams: Mine Boy Are Not Yet Born
7 James Ngugi: Weep Not Child
8 John Reed and Clive Wake (Editors): 44 Elechi Amadi: The Great Ponds
A Book of African Verse 45 John Munonye: Obi
9 Richard Rive: Modern African Prose
1O Paul Edwards (Editor): Equiano's 46 Dennis Brutus: Letters to Martha and
Travels other poems

11 T. M . Aluko: One Man, OneMatchet 4 7 Tayeb Salitr. The Wedding of Zein
12 William Conton: The African 48 Bakare Gbadamosi and Ulli Beier:
13 Mongo Beti: Mission to Kala
14 Richard Rive , Alex La Guma, James Not Even God is Ripe Enough
49 Kwame Nkrumah:Neo-Colonialism
Matthews and Alf Wannenburgh: 50 J . P. Clark: America, their America
Quartet 51 James Ngugi: The Black Hermit
52 Sahie Sellassie: The Afersata
15 David Cook (Editor): Origin East 53 Peter K. Palangyo: Dying in the Sun
Africa 54 Robert Serumaga: Return to . the

16 Chinua Achebe: Arrow of God Shadows
17 James Ngugi: The River Between 55 S. A. Konadu: Ordained by the Oracle
18 Obotunde ljimere: The Imprisonment 56 Flora Nwapa: /du
57 Mbella Sonne Dipoko: Because of
of Obatala and other plays
19 Cyprian Ekwensi: Lokotown and other Women

stories 58 Ulli Beier (Editor): Political Spider and
other stories
20 Mugo Gatheru: Child of Two Worlds
21 John Munonye: The Only Son 59 Bediako Asare: Rebel
22 Lenrie Peters: The Second Round 60 Luis Bernardo Honwana: We Killed
23 Ulli Beier (Editor): The Origin of life
Mangy-Dog and other stories
and Death 61 Rems Nna Umeasiegbu: The Way We

24 Aubrey Kachingwe : No Easy Task Lived
25 Elechi Amadi: The Concubine
26 Flora Nwapa: Efuru 62 Christopher Okigbo: Labyrinths
63 Sembene Ousmane: God's Bits of
27 Francis Selormey: The Narrow Path
29 Ferdinand Oyono: Houseboy Wood

30 T. M . Aluko: One Man, One Wife 64 Cosmo Pieterse (Editor) : Poems
31 Chinua Achebe : .A Man of the of Conflict
People
65 Duro Ladipo: Three Plays
66 Tayeb Salih: Season of Migration to
the North
32 T. M. Aluko: Kinsinan and Foreman
33 Stanlake 67 Nkem Nwankwo: Danda
Country Samkange: On Trial for my 68 Gabriel Okara : The Voice

34 Cosmo Pieterse (Editor): Ten One- 69 Taban lo Liyong: Fixions
Act Plays
70 T. M. Aluko: Chief The Honourable
35 Alex La Guma : A Walk in the Night Minister
and other stories
71 L. S. Senghor: Nocturnes
72 Tchicaya U Tam'si: Poems
36 James Ngugi : A Grain of Wheat
37 Lenrie Peters: Satellites 73 Len Ortzen: North African Writing
74 Taban lo Liyong : Eating Chiefs
38 Oginga Odinga : Not yet Uhuru 75 Jan Knappert: Myths and Legends
39 Ferdinand Oyono : The Old Man and
of the Swahili
the Medal 76 Wole Soyinka: The Interpreters

One Man, One Wife

HEINEMANN TEMPLE

UNIV.

LfBRARY

PALEY

-. e

IBADAN LONDON NAIROBI ...__ _ . - ~ - "

~-Yr~j ~f 1-_ t• ') (( ' .....~'
i If 1t_J (f (.~~ 'I.I '

Heinemann Educational Books Ltd

48 Charles Street, London W1X BAH
PMB 520 5, Ibadan • POB 2 5080, Nairobi

MELBOURNE EDINBURGH TORONTO AUCKLAND
SINGAPORE HONG KONG NAIROBI

SBN 43 5 90030 7

© T. M. Aluko 19 59, 1967

First published by
Nigerian Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd 19 59
First published in African Writers Series 1967

Reprinted 1970

Printed in Malta by St Paul's Press Ltd

Author's Preface
to the First Edition

One Man, One Wife is an imaginative story. The persons
here described are imaginary and any resemblance to any
known persons living or dead is purely accidental. The
relationship between the village of Isola and the town of
Idasa described in these pages is not intended to be a
proper record of the relationship that exists between a
village and a town in Western Nigeria. Finally, any
seeming sarcasm on any known and established system of
administration or religious movement is purely accidental
and in no way intentional.

Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria T.M.A.
November IJJ8

Author's Preface
to the Second Edition

I have made several alterations and deletions in this
edition as well as revising the text throughout. Since I
first wrote this novel, much has happened in Nigeria but
I am glad that this picture of a society in Western Nigeria
is now reissued.

University of Lagos T.M.A.
November 1g66

Part One

One

THE village Christians gathered after the Sunday evening
service under the big Odan tree in the village square. An
open-air service once in four weeks was a regular feature
of the Church's campaign against heathenism. The Lord
Jesus was taken out to the hundreds of village souls too
far steeped in the worship of streams and trees to seek the
new God in the little mud-walled church down by the
other side of the village stream.

The sky was overcast with thick, grey clouds drifting in
the direction of Idasa. That meant rain. It would come, as
long as the clouds drifted in that direction. Lightning
flashes momentarily- parted the clouds. They were fol-
lowed at varying intervals by the deep rumbling of thun-
der, behind the clouds. Shango, the god of lightning
and thunder, was registering his anger at this strange talk
of a new God taking hold qJ_sitnpl~_folk who were once
unquestioning votaries o{ his order. The new malady

-jmust be nipped in the bud.

But Royasin and his band had resolved that their bud

awas destined to flower and to bear fruit. He was the village

schoolmaster, tall lanky man with deep tribal marks of

3

,

rdtehulrtaeiteeisovnoesrftoisfccfaihcloepro.almr'Talaelseatlceshr oearnn' dweaaccsahttehccehheinesatkm.aenHdbeygcewonmheirbcaihlneepvduebtrlhyice-
one knew him in the village.
The first hymn bad
to the village square. brought the village urchins flying
To them the open-air service was

entertainment designed solely for their amusement. The
boys gaped at a respectable distance from the select.

aIebApdrTetmnrioedpamdoahpi.ecsekhenTehdaaawtvieesneioryaihntdzfcirnepchteadohoheeadteaurdthhvilhtrenaieononesgcugfixccarntaeturttssh,rolmreiofueefotubfanodhrodlddreiirltnneyhobtrrghheouetwiepyhtKsbesehaebbin.inhaeltNpciaignnhnonnoddeerdctf.rostaeiiHmdti.otolhieneodfoeduffaftrrhcohGogpelfiomefoysoudpidpndctuhrwohstlieonsaeategrehsrbfrnuehfaieedamgytgcrmthtaebbhiatrvllnaisinaeontcdtlonyigok.t.f
gwwwoaHbmtrhntahoeeehiedlTximandetwtotthebreuepierolrnrwnaoenecrtcnuweaohftk.oynrlhahaloHdfenatori~brbeeosrtTtlhe,eluawaweaeatcncaclhankadgkcuaissd,shrrtsatoaieuafrsoanurvraints.tidrpecid,natstrgybnoiwyyhoegumfhehtndeatcaibrlhohtduwl'oesaifnmllbditldwtthirhahrtknoheheaneuoinataetwgTtevalthehiieencotetftnahdhotrctisaelnhathhlethageie-bsrenasmrislh'ewgalsst.woetegahhsepvTe-steepcerhoartiaoneedpuefdmm,merthtrondehyhueareuasanicmdtrtttoweaiwotl-tnrnhlhauyaatdeseaorsr.

HTeeNaacolhowenreitnchoaluet aldrwnwainsrgitIreeFlmeotartreTkrasebaalcneh.deriSnwoteamrspetorhenetetperlg~irdgeeraatomefrsI.stohlaon.
The pastor looked round
converts, and cast an anxious the little group of potential
glance at the jumbled group

4

of thatched houses in which he knew villagers went about
their secular business indifferent to the call of the Word.
He would give them a few more moments. He recited the
four lines of another song, and started off in a deep,
rumbling voice on the first line:

O'er heathen lands afar
Thick darkness broodeth yet.

Arise I oh morning star,
Arise and never set.

As the fold were finishing the last line the leader swiftly
started on the first line again. The spirit of the thing
caught on. They all repeated the verse again and again.

Then followed the golden word: 'We have brought
into your darkness the light of Christ.' The pastor's voice
was melodious. They all admired him, this curious hero
of much learning. 'There is no salvation in the worship of
trees and rivers.' So saying he kicked the trunk of the
huge Odan tree fairly viciously. That was a challenge.
That tree was known to be inhabited by the ~pirit of the
god of the village. He looked round as if waiting for
something to happen - enough time for the tree to hit
back if it would. It didn't. ·

'You see, brethren, it is only a tree, and therefore can-
not hit back when kicked,' he continued. 'There is no
salvation in the worship of trees and rivers. . . . There is
one and only one way to eternal life. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the way and the life.... Throw away your false
gods and follow Him. Burn your idols - they have no
mouths - they cannot talk.'

He once more paused for a moment, as if expecting
something to happen. This time it did. There was a shout
from the crowd.

s

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

11 11 I I

39074002499903

Photograp h- Dotun Okubanjo

T. M. ALU KO was born in 1918 at llesha and educated at
Government College, Ibadan. He studied civil engineering and
town planning in Lagos and London, and in 1960 was
appointed Director of Public Works for Western Nigeria. He
has now joined the staff of the University of Lagos.
, One Man, One Wife was first published in 1959 bythe Nigerian
Printing and Publishing Company in Lagos. Since then he has
puo1ished two other novels, One Man One Matchet (AWS 11)
and Kinsman !ind Foreman (A\A/S 32).

The village of Isolo has great difficulty in accepting the mission-
ary concept of 'one man, one wife': this is the story of how a
large portion of t he village populace becomes disillusioned
with mission Christianity and returns to the worship of the old
gods. This is accompanied by intrigue against t he Christians,
resulting in Teacher Royasin, the village catechist, being
hounded from Isola on suspicion of having an affair with
another man's young wife. The various sub-plots introduce a
number of colourfu l characters : Elder Joshua·, a respected
member 6f the commu nity; Dele, a village boy who becomes
a smart young man-about-tov,n ; his beautiful v.,oung sister
Toro; and Bible ·Jeremiah, loyal pillar of the church in Isola.
An ingenious tale is w oven round such characters, capturing
extremely well the atmosphere of t he village community.

Cover drawing b y A. Adenuga

·~~-' I I I ~ ~.~ -~~~-

'■ jf:fJ 5:riJCO§m W

UK only 9s net : Africa and elsewhere 7s or equlvalent loc I