Fela Kuti — Married 27 Women in One Day, Divorced Them All 8 Years Later
He married 27 women on one day to protect their honor. Eight years later, he divorced them all because 'marriage brings jealousy.'
Key Facts
What Happened
On February 20, 1978, at the Parisona Hotel in Anthony, Lagos, Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti married 27 women in a single traditional Yoruba ceremony presided over by twelve Ifa priests. The women — dancers, singers, and composers who lived and worked with him at his compound known as the Kalakuta Republic — had been branded 'prostitutes' by the media. Fela's solution was radical: marry them all to restore their honor and dignity.
During the wedding ceremony, Fela gave a short speech, pressed naira notes onto his new wives' foreheads in accordance with tradition, and distributed marriage certificates. The wives included his choreographer Laide Anikulapo-Kuti, Najite Olokun, Kikelomo Oseyni, Sewaa Kuti, Folake Oladejo, and Fehintola Anikulapo Kuti, among many others. It was simultaneously an act of protection, provocation, and performance art.
In 1986, shortly after being released from prison on charges related to his activism against the Nigerian military government, Fela divorced all 27 wives. His stated reason was simple: 'marriage brings jealousy.' However, he did not force any of his ex-wives to leave the Kalakuta Republic compound. Some continued living with him until his death from AIDS-related complications in 1997.
The Fela case challenges every conventional assumption about marriage and divorce. The mass marriage was an act of social protection in a specific cultural context. The mass divorce was a philosophical rejection of the institution itself. And the continued communal living after divorce suggests a relationship model that defies Western categorization. Yet it also raises serious questions about consent, power dynamics, and whether 27 women in a polygamous compound had genuine agency in either the marriage or the divorce.
Legal Breakdown: Mass marriage, mass divorce, and women's rights
Polygamy Under Nigerian Law
Nigeria recognizes polygamous marriages under customary and Islamic law, though not under civil (statutory) law. Fela's 27 marriages were conducted under traditional Yoruba custom, which allows polygamy. The legal status of such marriages — and the rights they confer upon divorce — differs significantly from statutory marriages.
Consent and Power Dynamics
While Fela's son Seun described the marriages as the women's choice, the power dynamics in a compound led by a charismatic cultural figure raise legitimate questions about genuine consent. In polygamous arrangements, each wife's individual rights and agency must be considered independently.
Mass Divorce and Property Rights
When Fela divorced all 27 wives, there was no formal property division or support arrangement — the women simply continued living in the compound. This informal arrangement left the ex-wives with no legal protections and entirely dependent on Fela's continued goodwill for their housing and livelihood.
What This Means for Your Divorce
- →Understand your legal rights under the specific form of marriage you entered — customary, religious, or civil.
- →Informal living arrangements after divorce provide no legal protections — formalize your rights.
- →Power dynamics in any relationship affect the genuine voluntariness of both marriage and divorce.
- →Cultural context shapes marriage and divorce, but individual rights should never be surrendered to communal arrangements.
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