Benedict discusses the matricentred nature of the traditional Seychellois family
structure and explores the roots of the traditions in the history of slavery and
employment in the islands. In later chapters his research data enables him to make
detailed comparisons between 1960 and 1975 for employment, class & mobility,
domestic expenditure, etc. He argues that: "Money symbolises relations between the
sexes over the course of the life cycle", (p182). He goes on to say that, "In Seychelles a
man is a male with money. A male without money is not a man but a dependant, a boy,
a sponger, a dotard", (p183) and again: "a woman is a female with children, just as a
man is a male with money", (p201). Commenting on the traditional arrangements in
poorer households, he points out that-
"The pattern of expenditure found in the so-called matrifocal households
of the lower economic class does not really indicate that women are in
charge. It simply means that virtually all money has to be spent on
subsistence. Once the wages rise above subsistence level, the men take
over", (p216).
Chapter 19 deals in detail with marriage and concubinage (known in Seychelles as
living en ménage), and explores the attitudes of men and women to one another in
various kinship groups. For those who are in marriage or en ménage relationships,
Benedict emphasises that sexual relations entail obligations of maintenance both in
monetary terms & in terms of domestic labour. Failure to fulfil these obligations leads
to fights. The concept of "household" has a certain fluidity in that a Seychellois man
may be a "member" of more than one household in terms of recognising financial
obligations to other households containing parents, children, siblings, or lovers, (p250).
Women's family networks (chapter 20) are strong and operate apart from and to some
extent against men:
"Men are necessary to support [them] with their earnings, but they enter
into [them] only peripherally as brothers and sons, scarcely at all as
fathers and husbands", (p260).
Men and women's very differing roles often bring them into conflict: a woman needs a
man's earning capacity and a man needs a woman's domestic services but in the
Seychelles context these needs can conflict rather than being complementary.
Although Benedict's data relates to the 1960-75 period, his analysis is useful for an
understanding of the traditions underlying life in Seychelles today. It is also interesting
as a basis for comparing the Seychelles with islands in the Caribbean in terms of the
role and status of women and the academic success of girls in the education system.
DFID - Department for International Development