Changing Motivations for Woman-to-Woman Marriages among the Nandi of Kenya

Abstract

In Africa, marriage was only seen to be complete if there were offspring and for that matter, male offspring. In cases of childlessness or bearing of only girls, woman-to-woman marriages were explored as an alternative to siring of a male offspring. An elderly childless lady or one bearing only girl children would marry a young girl who for one reason or another would be able to get offspring to inherit the name and the property of the older woman. However, in the present situation the practice of woman-to-woman marriage is facing various challenges, health, legal, economic, social and religious implications. In this paper we will look at the past and present status of the practice and then give a summary of the practice in the African continent in general, in Kenya and within the Nandi community in Nandi in particular. We will show how this practice was done in the past as discussed by the ethnographies and we will show some of the changes that have come up in the modern context. We will also use two modern case studies to highlight the challenges that this practice is facing in the modern situation. We will specifically discuss the challenge that this poses to the church and how the church can respond to it. In the end we will provide some theological guidelines to the church even as they provide guidance for the adherents who are faced with challenges on this matter