Wife Inheritance in Abamarachi Culture: Challenges of Integration in the Catholic Church

Description

Wife inheritance remains a customary practice in many patriarchal societies of the world and dates back to time immemorial. This custom is linked to socio-cultural norms and assumes various shapes and forms. Among the Abamarachi people of western Kenya, for instance, wife inheritance as part of the indigenous culture, forms part of the belief system that functions in important ways in society. The Catholic Church on the other hand, prohibits this practice on the basis of synonymy with polygamy, and therefore against its teachings. Wife Inheritance in Abamarachi Culture is, therefore, a cultural critique of this highly controversial ideological difference between the Catholic Church doctrine and the Abamarachi community’s indigenous culture. Drawing on practical experiences of the Abamarachi Catholic Church faithful that are also widowed, the book reveals their own conceptions of how to be an Abamarachi widow and a Catholic Church faithful. Wife Inheritance in Abamarachi Culture posits a new place for speaking ‘wife inheritance.’ This book is a vital research output for scholars in indigenous knowledge, cultural, and social, as well as in development and gender studies.

Mrs Lilian Were is currently a high school teacher and a PhD student in Religion at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). Lilian also holds a Diploma in Education from the formerly Siriba Teachers College, a Bachelor of Education Arts degree from Kenyatta University and a Masters of Arts in Religion degree from MMUST.

Dr. Ochieng Lukes Ahaya holds B.Ed (Arts) degree from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. He also holds M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees in Religion both from Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. Dr. Ahaya is currently a lecturer and Chair of the Social Science Education Department at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). He has a bias towards Islamic and African Religious Studies, with particular reference to the general area of religion and social change. He has research interest in the area of evolving nature of religion in the public sphere.