Polygamy (particularly polygyny) has had a checkered history in feminist discourse with the West generally denouncing it as sexist towards women and insidious to children. Polygamy is stereotyped as advancing discrimination against women and a basis for abuse and oppression. The unequivocal condemnation of polygamous arrangements have been challenged with counter discursive arguments that seek to justify its choice as a preferred domestic arrangement from cultural and religious basis (particularly among Muslim feminists) for some groups of men and women. This paper interrogates Toyin Falola’s representations of experiences and practices of polyandry in A Mouth Sweeter than Salt. It examines the logic and philosophical underpinnings that define and shape the practice, forms, nodes and models of polyandry in the text. The paper further explores the dynamics and complexities of co wife relations and generates alternative understandings of social relations, assumptions about vulnerabilities, power dynamics (empowerment and disempowerment) and negotiation strategies in polygamous arrangements portrayed in the memoir. Additionally, the paper explores ways in which wives in polygamous marriages navigate and experience patriarchy .The study revealed five models of polyandry and discovered fluid, dynamic and shifting hierarchies among women (co wives) and their husbands in the family arrangement. From the analysis, the paper posits that Falola, through his various multifaceted representations of polygyny, advances subjectivity, an approach to women’s history which privileges the perspective of the individual self rather than some neutral, objective perception from outside the self’s experience. Falola’s new historist’s stance has deeper implications for alternative knowledge and understanding of feminism(s) and gender discourse in Africa.
Key Words: Polyandry, Polygamy, Subjectivity, New historism, Feminism.