As publisher Pierre Beaumarchais put it, man differs from the animal in eating without being hungry, drinking without being thirsty and making love at all seasons.

Until recently a Chinese woman was ashamed to show her foot, , a Tuareg woman her mouth and an Arab woman is still ashamed to show her face; but the women of ancient Egypt and of twentieth century Bali never thought of shame at the exposure of their breasts.

It is substantially true that - as Anatole France ironically expressed the matter - "morality is the sum of the prejudices of a community". "A large proportion of the old and middle-aged men." says ethnologist Henry Schoolcraft of the Papuans, "have had many different wives, and their children, scattered around the country, are unknown to them". They laugh at Europeans for having only one wife and that for life; they consider that the Good Spirit formed them to be happy, and not to continue together unless their tempers and dispositions were congenial. The Cherokees changed their wives three or four times a year; the conservative Samoans kept them as long as three years.

But when it comes to having many different wives it is Muslims who are way ahead of all races and creeds of this world.

Nigerian Bello Abubakar is a healer, 84 years old and knows how to look after women.  He claims that thanks to the powers given by Allah, he has been able to take care of his family; a family of at least 170 children and about 86 wives. 

Most of his wives are less than a quarter of his age - and many are younger than some of his own children. They met when they went to him to seek help for various illnesses, which they say he cured.