Unsteady Is the Cross: Catholic Missionaries, Marriage, and Fang Communities in the Gabon Estuary, ca. 1914–1945

Abstract

Abstract Between 1914 and 1945, French Catholic missionaries and Gabonese priests tried to impose their faith and ideals of family life on Fang communities in the rural Estuary region of the French colony of Gabon. Catholic evangelists offered benefits such as education as well as threats of spiritual punishment to convert Fang people. However, Fang men and women often rejected these demands. While Fang men tried to maintain polygamy as a sign of successful manhood, women often rejected their spouses. At the same time, missionaries relied on Catholic lay Fang catechists in their work. Male catechists often violated the marital ideals of the missionaries, but they also successfully promoted Catholic conversions. Ultimately, rural Estuary communities selectively appropriated aspects of Catholicism, even if relatively few followed Catholic teachings on marriage.