ITS practice is more linked to Rastafarianism, but polygamy is an entrenched practice in Jamaica found largely, but not exclusively, in secluded religious communes, away from the prying eyes of the law.

The practice is defined in reference to multiple wives, never multiple husbands, under religious tenets that are patriarchal in focus.

Imam Shab of the Islamic Council of Jamaica says there are at least five polygamous families within the Jamaican Muslim community, four of them headed by Jamaican men.

“I am married to two women,” Shab, a Jamaican, told the Sunday Observer, saying he married his wives three years apart.

Jamaican law, which is influenced largely by Christian values, criminalises bigamy and polygamy, but practitioners of multiple marriages tend to get around the legal ban by marrying under religious law.

Quoting from the Islamic holy book, the Koran, Shab indicated that his faith promotes multiple marriages, but only where the man can afford financial support of his wives.

“Marry two or three or four, but if you think you cannot do justice to all, then marry only one,” he quoted.

“For this is better for you, if you only but knew.”

The Sunday Observer, also tried on different occasions, to speak with other men in mainstream society said to have polygamous relationships, but the interview requests were turned down or went unacknowledged.

Divorce attorney at Livingston, Alexander & Levy Susan Risden-Foster says that for a marriage to be recognised by the state it “must be performed by a Justice of the Peace or a marriage officer.”

She said too that, if an individual who is already wed, marries another without first being divorced, then, he or she commits bigamy. A cultural studies specialist at the University of the West Indies, posits however that the quest for multiple relationships was natural.

“Humans are not by nature monogamous,” says academic Orville Thomas.

He supported his claim by alluding to rampant infidelity within Jamaican society, saying the phenomenon was perhaps linked to the island’s slave past, where black men were used as studs for breeding, traversing various plantations in their lifetime.

Though Christian principles abhor unfaithfulness, either in the form of adultery or fornication, there is a cultural acceptance in Jamaica of men having several girlfriends, even if married.

So entrenched is it that former prime minister PJ Patterson got caught in a political gaffe, when, from a political platform, he boasted that his government, through its economic policies, had facilitated ‘more man having nuff gal’ than ever before.

Beckford said some traces of polygamous practice may be found within the Rastafari movement, but was unsure to what extent.

Just last month, one of Bob Marley’s daughters, Sharon Marley, reluctantly acknowledged growing up in a polygamous home in an interview published May 15 in all woman, a weekly publication of the Daily Observer, and suggested that her brothers had adopted the lifestyle.

Beckford said such practices within the Rastafari movement would not be considered illegal since, they marry “in their community, and by western standards, that union cannot be a legal marriage.”

At the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress Church of Salvation, more popularly known as ‘Bobo Hill’ in Nine Miles, Bull Bay, St Andrew, none of the brethren have multiple wives, but only because times are hard, economically.

Rastafarian priest Shimron told the Sunday Observer, on a visit to the camp, that while he and his councillors do not disapprove of those Rastafarians who follow the ‘Solomonic Order’ – the practice of polygamy based on the example set by King Solomon in the Bible – there were no polygamists at the camp, because resources were limited.

“To how hell (the world) a run yah now, from you find one you fi cling to her, and you and her mus’ try build life,” said Shimron.

“We done homeless, so with more youths and plenty women it ago harder . that kind of life would bring back more provocation,” he said.

Shab, meanwhile, said though he has two marriages, only the first is approved by the Registrar General of Jamaica. The other, he says, is only recognised under Sharia or Islamic law.

“As far as the law is concerned, it is not allowed but in Islam, we have what is known as a Nikah, an Islamic marriage,” he said.

“Both of them have to be done by way of an Islamic marriage ceremony, but the framework of the Jamaican legal system is only allowed to document the first.”

Despite this, the Imam maintains that both women must still be treated equally, referring to time and resources he shares between them.

Both his wives are Jamaican Muslims, he said.

Shab admitted, however, that despite the rule of equality, there is a possibility that the man’s own biases may intervene, resulting in his favouring one wife over others.

“There is no preferential treatment for the wives . the only thing, which is beyond man’s control, is that he might have a greater affection for one because she has certain qualities that charm him,” he said, adding that the way polygamy is practised is dependent on the culture of the country.

In certain countries, he said, the first wife is consulted before another wife is chosen and, it is upon her approval that the man can marry again.

The Imam also maintains that polygamy is simply an alternative to the western family structure and should only be conducted under the guidance of the holy laws.

henryr@jamaicaobserver.com