Widows who reject inheritance don’t understand tradition

On Monday, the Nation published a story on page three where widows were appealing to elders to end wife inheritance.

I think the young widows are out of step with Luo customs and traditions.

In the Old Testament, levirate was the practice required by law, of marrying the widow of one’s brother, where levir referred to the husband’s brother.

First of all, according to the customs, Jater, the levir, takes a widow leviratically. The brother has no right to anything except for food and accommodation.

Jater has no prescriptive right, and cannot be allocated anything except temporary shelter.

But it is upon the widow to let it go farther if she wishes; she is not encouraged to do so just because Jater has appeared.

Even a widow of 80 years goes through this ritual. It is not just for sex as some writers have tried to make us believe over the years.

Why is this custom so, and why can’t it be discarded? It is an activity which involves two parties just like in a marriage and you cannot just get rid of it over night.

Luos, both men and women, are superstitious and fearful, just like everyone else. They believe the ghost of the dead might haunt them in future if they fail to do some rituals.

They also believe that the elders control the magic and ghost of ancestors.

This power of the elder is still vested in the quasi-religious-magical beliefs of the people.

In other words the principle of being a first born — primogeniture — is inherent in Luo culture.

It is erroneous to look at one cultural practice and judge the whole. Culture is all around us and it’s never one event or activity.

Most human beings marry, and this is one of the most important metamorphoses in life. But even marriage can generate problems or joy. Problems occur mainly due to ignorance.

For Luos, marriage has a host of rituals and cultural practices that one cannot ignore, so it’s no use saying “leave the widows alone…”