Beyond ‘Great Marriage’: collective involvement, personal achievement and social change in Ngazidja (Comoros)

The sumptuous ‘Great Marriage’ celebration in Ngazidja, Comoros, is a very dynamic social practice, but it is difficult to comprehend its attraction given the increasing cost. This paper argues that the ‘Great Marriage’ is the most salient part of an age system that should be carefully examined. The framework, in which collective commitment and individual achievement are managed simultaneously, and gendered conception of personhood and of human temporality are put into action, has no equivalent in Western life. Grounded in historical hierarchies, these institutions change under various influences without abandoning the core values on which they are based, which explains their enduring success.