Fun_People Archive
8 Jul
Good News for Swingers in Cameroon

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Mon,  8 Jul 96 15:28:51 -0700
To: Fun_People
Subject: Good News for Swingers in Cameroon

Forwarded-by: elshaw@MIT.EDU (Libby Shaw)
Forwarded-by: jbredt@MIT.EDU
From: the BBC World News

    In the West African country of Cameroon, there is a ritualized ceremony
for banning an undesirable practice.  After denouncing the practice in a
public gathering, the political leaders smash a calabash, a large gourd.
Recently, a number of people in Cameroon have begun trading spouses, and
the practice became quite popular.  Ultimately, some people who felt cheated
complained to the government, and the ceremony was held to denounce the
practice of spouse swapping.  Unfortunately, when the moment came to smash
the calabash, the calabash resisted their efforts to smash it.
Traditionally, if that happens, the practice cannot be banned, and so
therefore it is permitted to swap spouses in Cameroon.

© 1996 Peter Langston