Curbing Infidelity in African Traditional Way: A Study Among the Yoruba People of the South West, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the efficacy of the dread magun (thurnderbolt) and its allies as a traditional means of curbing infidelity, sexual escapade, adultery/fornication among adult females (married, divorced, widow, and young ladies.) in South-West, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive design; using a questionnaire to obtain information from the respondents. The target population was four hundred (400) respondents from Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta, Ibadan, and Oshogbo (with 100 purposefully selected participants from these four central towns in Yoruba land). Simple random techniques were used to select respondents for the study. The instrument used was a self-designed questionnaire tagged (KoMS-Knowledge of Magun Syndrome) with four Likert scales. An in-depth interview was equally made among some selected elderly people including some herbalists in the town and villages used in this study. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages and, chi-square. Results show that the use of magun for and among adult females has reduced in Yoruba land. Although, findings revealed that there are still some rural parts of the target area that are still using the dreadful charm to checkmate and expose infidelity among the people and furthermore, the use of this thunderbolt has positively and significantly played roles in curbing adultery/fornication, infidelity and, sexual escapades in Yoruba land as the usual result is very devastating (an outright death) which scared people to their marrow. Finding still revealed the deadly potency of magun as a real traditional practice used to punish the act of infidelity among the Yoruba people especially those in the rural place of the Yoruba land. The so assumed downtrodden segments in the urban locations who think the rich people always catch on their poverty to snatch or messed up with their wives and poor and unfortunate daughters equally adopts this method as a result of a high rate of illiteracy, cost of justice and timedelayed, the traditions of the land, as well the knowledge and availability of the materials to prepare the efficacy. However, the study recommends that modern and more decent ways should be adapted to control and checkmate infidelity and other sexual escapades in society. People especially adults living in urban and rural areas should be educated on family life living and on modern methods of preventing adultery and
infidelity among the people. True and sincere copulations should be encouraged among the people.