December 23, 2022
Afro-Scope—The Magazine
(Directed By Harry Agina)
IS THE HAREM ACTUALLY FOR POLYANDRY, OR FOR POLYAMORY?
Greetings!
Welcome to Afro-Scope. We share the African ways of life with the world. And we do this in various InfoTaining ways. A tour around this site will show you our varieties. This is episode 6 of our drama series on polyandry in Africa. If you are new to Afro-Scope, you must know that wherever there is episode 6 of anything, then episodes 1 to 5 must be lurking somewhere nearby. I will point you in the right direction at the end of this, with the link to episode 1, which will connect you to episodes 2 to 5.
In the last episode, we saw that Lady Zalika’s was apparently willing to take up the responsibilities as a polyandrous wife of three guys. The question was whether the guys were/are willing to play their role of being subordination and subservience harem. In other words; are the guys in her polyandrous harem ready to play by the rules, just as it is traditionally done by female harems in patriarchal polygamous marriages?
At the end of the last episode, Lady Zalika and her harem were still in the pub drinking. For Zalika, the conversation was getting too private to be continued in the pub, and she said so. She requested for adjournment until they got to the privacy of their home. Now what next? Our dramatist, Michael Shaibu will tell us, as “Reversed Harem” continues, thus:
POLYANDRY IN AFRICA, “REVERSED HAREM” 6:
- INT. LOUNGE. DAY.
ALL ARE STILL DRINKING IN SILENCE. ZALIKA IS ONLY HOLDING HER OWN GLASS, LOOKING AT THEM, HAVING A SMALL SMILE OF TRIUMPH ON. NOW OTIENO FINISHES HIS OWN DRINK, PUTS HIS EMPTY GLASS ON THE TABLE, AND BRINGS OUT HIS WALLET…
OTIENO (Opening his wallet): So uh…what is my contribution?
MWANGI: Contribution?
OTIENO: Well…? Or is someone footing the bill alone?
BOTH MWANGI AND JOHN TURN TO LOOK AT ALIKA ASKANCE…
ZALIKA (Feigning ignorance): Hmn? What?
MWANGI: Are we uh…contributing to pay for the drinks?
ZALIKA (Resignedly): Alright, alright! I will take care of it.
OTIENO: Sure? I mean I came prepared to pay for my own drinks.
JOHN: Stop it, Tee. That would be indirectly saying our wife is incapable of shouldering her responsibility!
ZALIKA: Responsibility? It is my responsibility to pay for our drinks?
MWANGI: And our food. And our conveniences. Etc. But of course!
JOHN ONLY NODS VEHEMENTLY AND THEN TURNS TO ZALIKA WITH AN ASKANCE SHRUG…
ZALIKA: Look guys, this is getting kind of absurd. I think we need to go home now, thrash out the whole matter, and make everything succinctly clear once and for all.
JOHN/MWANGI (Shrugging in unison): Good idea!
OTIENO: Well, I still need to run back to the office to close.
MWANGI: So do we all.
JOHN: Yep!
OTIENO: I’ll meet you all at home then.
HE SHAKES HANDS WITH BOTH MWANGI AND JOHN, TAKES AND KISSES ZALIKA’S HAND, THEN WALKS OUT. ZALIKA RAISES HER HAND AND WAVES THE BARTENDER OVER TO THEM…
- INT. SITTING ROOM. DUSK.
ZALIKA IS PACING ALONE, AGITATED, STILL IN THE SAME DRESS. SOUND OF CROCKERY FILTERS OUT FROM THE KITCHEN; WHILE THE HUMMING SOUND OF LAUNDRY MACHINE FILTERS IN FROM UPSTAIRS. AFTER A WHILE OF PACING, ZALIKA STOPS AND LOOKS TOWARDS THE KITCHEN AND AT THE STAIRS…
ZALIKA: Guys, I am still waiting! What are you doing that cannot wait?
NOW JOHN APPEARS AT THE KITCHEN DOOR WEARING AN APRON. MWANGI APPEARS DESCENDING THE STAIRS, WEARING CASUALS…
JOHN: I am cooking. It is my turn to.
MWANGI: And I was doing our laundry, honey. Welcome.
ZALIKA: Well, thank you. But you can continue afterwards. This is important. I’m sorry I am getting home a bit late. Something urgent came up in the office and I had to attend to it.
JOHN/MWANGI (In unison): That’s okay.
ZALIKA: So…can we finish what we started at the lounge now? I think we should.
JOHN/MWANGI (In unison): Absolutely!
JOHN: But Tee is yet to arrive. Shouldn’t we wait for him to get here first?
ZALIKA: Oh. In that case, yeah. Please, call him, Mwangi love. Let’s know if he is on his way. I mean…there is a bit of traffic out there.
MWANGI GETS HIS PHONE AND DIALS…
MWANGI (On the phone): Yeah Tee, are you not coming? … Oh, okay. We are waiting. (Cuts the call): He is on his way. Will soon be here.
ZALIKA: In that case, I’ll rush a quick shower then. And you two can finish up.
ZALIKA RUSHES PAST MWANGI UP THE STAIRS…
JOHN (Rolls his eyes): It is clear who would be her first gentleman with the way she lights up concerning Tee.
MWANGI BURSTS INTO LAUGHTER…
MWANGI (Laughing): Someone is already getting jealous!
JOHN: I am not jealous!
MWANGI: Of course, you are!
JOHN HISSES AND GOES BACK INTO THE KITCHEN. MWANGI CONTINUES LAUGHING…
- INT. DINNING. DUSK.
ALL THE MEN ARE EATING AS THEY TALK. ZALIKA’S FOOD IS UNTOUCHED…
MWANGI (Mouth full): …the light of all that, I think it is now necessary to have a concrete definition as to whether this is marriage or just polyamory.
ZALIKA: And what would you like it to be?
JOHN (Mouth full): No, no, no! I think in this case, you are the one who should decide what you want it to be.
ZALIKA: Well, I thought this was very clear from the beginning. But now that you have brought it up, perhaps I should ask to know your conditions for each before I can clarify it once and for all.
BOTH MWANGI AND JOHN DROP THEIR CUTLERIES, CHEWING WITH THEIR MOUTHS FULL, LOOKING AT EACH OTHER AS IF WISHING THE OTHER WOULD START FIRST.
OTIENO CONTINUES EATING, NOT EVEN LOOKING UP TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON…
ZALIKA: Uh…that includes you too, Tee, now that you are here and are yet to make up your mind.
OTIENO LOOKS UP WITH MOUTH FULL AND DROPS HIS CUTLERIES TOO, CHEWING…
END
Umm huh! Now we’re finally getting to the brass tags. Lady Zalika asked a crucial question, “I think it is now necessary to have a concrete definition as to whether this is marriage or just polyamory.” In other words, she wants them to define if she should continue to just date the guys; or formalize it all into marriages.
Silly me, and I already presumed in my previous commentaries that Lady Zalika was already married to Nwangi and John. And she was courting Otieno to add to the harem. Now Mikey the dramatist has made it clear that she has not even married Nwamgi and John yet. So, as Lady Zalika asked, is the harem actually for polyandry, or for polyamory?—romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners.
And, whether it ends up being polyandry or polyamory; what are the rules going to be? These are for Mikey the dramatist to know for now, and for you and I to find out…in the next episode of “Reversed Harem.” You’ll be sure not to miss it when you subscribe to Afro-Scope. Please do subscribe…pretty pplleeaasse!
They call me Harry Agina. Bye for now.
LINK TO EPISODE 7: