Ajirioghene Imah
The Irigwe culture is a unique one in Nigeria that allows women to have multiple husbands and they can move freely from one man’s house to another.
The tribe is found mainly in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, Middle Belt (central) Nigeria. They speak the Rigwe language (also Nkarigwe), a Central Plateau language. Their headquarter is the town of Miango, west of the state capital, Jos with about 17,000 people.
Although largely uncommon, the Irigwe women of Northern Nigeria, traditionally acquire numerous spouses called “co-husbands”.
One of the most interesting thing about the culture is the fact that apart from their custom and tradition allow polyandry, they have practical reasons they are strong supporters of their women having multiple husbands.
One of the reasons for polyandry is for economics. They believe that they could pull resources, labour and land together which is important for the agricultural community.
Another reason for the practice of polyandry is for infertility. It is believed that if one husband cannot have children, the responsibility of fathering children is shared among the other husband’s in the marriage.
Another reason is the fact the since all the children are considered to be owned by all the husbands, the family land and assets, inheritance and land rights stay within the family.
