--- a/src/dbinc/mutex_int.h
+++ b/src/dbinc/mutex_int.h
@@ -850,7 +850,11 @@ typedef volatile unsigned char tsl_t;
  * alignment locally.
  */
 #ifndef	MUTEX_ALIGN
-#define	MUTEX_ALIGN	sizeof(unsigned int)
+# if defined(__linux__) && defined(__sparc__)
+# define	MUTEX_ALIGN	8
+# else
+# define	MUTEX_ALIGN	sizeof(unsigned int)
+# endif
 #endif
 
 /*
