Extramarital Children Research Articles

Status anak diluar nikah komparasi hukum islam dan hukum positif

One of the legal consequences of the status of a child out of wedlock is the status (position) of the child out of wedlock. In Indonesian legislation, there are several laws that explain the status of children out of wedlock, although there are differences in the law and status of these children between these laws. In Islamic law, children out of wedlock have a different position from legitimate children, biological children, adopted children, and children resulting from adultery. The existence of this position affects in determining guardianship, nasab, inheritance and hadhanah. This research uses a normative study approach, namely comparing the status of adopted children according to Islamic law and positive law. This research is a type of Library Research (literature), the author will present library data in the form of books, journals, research reports, papers and other library materials that are accurate to the object of the subject matter. Based on the results of the research conducted, it can be concluded that, the status of children outside of marriage based on Islamic law is not the same as biological children, and legal children in Islamic law the status of children outside of marriage in terms of nasab, remains with the mother and her mother's family. According to positive law, Constitutional Court Decision Number 46/PUU-VIII/2010 stipulates that the status of children out of wedlock can only be related to the mother and her family, unless there is recognition from a biological father who can be proven scientifically and technologically. This is different from Constitutional Court Decision Number 43/PUU-VIII/2010 which regulates other aspects of children's rights. This is because the status of extramarital children is only dinasabkan to the mother and the mother's family, so directly from the Constitutional Court's decision stipulates that the position or nasab of extramarital children (either due to adultery or nikah sirri) is to their biological father who can be proven by science and technology.

Kedudukan Anak Luar Kawin Dalam Pewarisan Suku Minangkabau Ditinjau Dari Hukum Waris Adat

The status of extramarital children can be grouped into three kinship systems in Indonesia, namely patrilineal kinship, matrilineal kinship, and patrilineal kinship. The position of an extramarital child according to customary law is not the position of heirs or natural heirs of the father's descendants. Extramarital children only have a relationship with their mother and relatives. However, related to the context of the Supreme Court case law and the Constitutional Court decision Number 46/PUU-VIII/2010, this is an opportunity for extramarital children to get inheritance and legal protection from suspected biological fathers. So even an unrecognized extramarital child automatically has a civil relationship with his mother and his mother's family. Thus, the necessity of a mother to recognize her extramarital child as mentioned in the Burgerlijk Wetboek is no longer necessary. Likewise, it has been affirmed in the Constitutional Court Decision Number 46 / PUU-VIII / 2010 which is also part of legal reform, so that the child also has a juridical relationship with his biological father if it can be proven based on science technology and / or other evidence according to law.

Effects of Mebyakaonan Marriage Law in the Perspective of Balinese Customary Law: Study on Balinese Community, Rantau Jaya Village, Ilir District, Putra Rumbia, Central Lampung Regency

Marriage is the outward and inner bond between a man and a woman as husband and wife to continue their lineage. Marriage in Balinese customs is called pawiwahan. Pawiwahan is a sacred thing in the process of human life from the status of brahmacari to the time of grhasta. Mebyakaon marriage is marriage under the hand. The problem in this study is why mebyakaon marriage is taken by the parties to form a marriage and the legal consequences of mebyakaon marriage on their marital status in the community and the status of children born from this marriage in Rantau Jaya Ilir Village, Putra Rumbia District, Central Lampung Regency. This research is normative-empirical legal research with a descriptive research type. The problem approach used sociological juridical approach with data sources is primary data and secondary data. Data collection techniques with literature studies and field studies are interviews with informants and respondents who carry out marriage mebyakaon. Data analysis is qualitative analysis. The results of research and discussion show that the reason for the marriage is caused by several factors, namely economic factors, educational factors, mutual demen, parental desire factors, and the factor of men who are still legally married to other women. The marital status of mebyakaon is not the same as traditional Balinese marriage in general, what distinguishes it from mebyakaon marriage is that it lies in a traditional procession that has not been carried out completely. Based on the decisions and decrees of Parisadha Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI), the validity of marriage is determined on condition that Tri Upasaksi. The legal position of mebyakaon marriage does not have a strong binding force so that this marriage may not have the same legal status as traditional Balinese married couples in general. Similarly, the legal consequences of marriage will be different. Couples who perform mebyakaon marriage may not enter the temple and participate in the massacre in the village because mebyakaon marriage is valid according to the parties only but, according to Balinese customary law this marriage is invalid and children born from mebyakaon marriage are extramarital children (anak astra) and marital property in mebyakaon marriage There is no legal certainty and there is no mixing of property between husband and wife.

The Constitutionality of Inheritance Rights for Extramarital Children: Assessing the Legal Response under Balinese Customary Law

This article analyzes the inheritance rights of extramarital children under the post-Constitutional Court decision of Balinese customary law. Any child born of unmarried parents or out of adultery is stigmatized as an extramarital child (walad al zina) for his entire life and forbidden from inheriting an estate from his biological father. This legal issue is chosen as the main subject of this study is because of the legal circumstance in which the Balinese community does not grant status to extramarital children in matters of inheritance from the Purusa line. Hindu-Balinese religious leaders such as Parisada and the Traditional Village Council have never upheld the Constitutional Court’s ruling that states that children born out of wedlock have civil relations with their biological fathers. Islamic religious leaders have followed up on the Constitutional Court’s decision by issuing a fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). The fatwa imposes an obligation on biological fathers to separate their wealth for a guarantee of life to children. Applying the statutory approach, conceptual approach, sociological approach, and case approach, it can be understood that children born out of wedlock (the Balinese call it begin at children) have no status as heirs in the Purusa line but have inheritance rights from their mother and their mother’s family.

Analisis Maslahah dalam Konsep Perwalian Pernikahan Anak Luar Nikah Berdasarkan Kompilasi Hukum Islam

This research examines Maslahah in the concept of Islamic law. In the context of guardianship of children out of wedlock in a marriage bond according to the compilation of Islamic law, the substance of this maslahah is very relevant. However, sometimes situations where a child is born outside of marriage can occur. The research method used is Normative/Doctrinal/Literature Research The findings of this study indicate that the concept of guardianship of children out of wedlock in the perspective of the Islamic compilation has been listed in Law No. 1 of 1974 concerning marriage, Article 19 of the Compilation of Islamic Law, Article 53 paragraph 3 of the Compilation of Islamic Law, and Article 75 letter (b) of the Compilation of Islamic Law. That maslahah plays an important role in determining the view of Islamic law on this issue. In this context, it is found that a proper understanding of maslahah, which includes the protection of individual rights and the welfare of society, is essential in dealing with the guardianship of out-of-wedlock children. In this scientific work, several important aspects related to the concept of guardianship of extra-marital children have been discussed. Firstly, there are differences of opinion among scholars regarding the halal or haram guardianship of out-of-wedlock children, Secondly, the importance of paying attention to the values and principles of Islamic law underlying the concept of guardianship of out-of-wedlock children. Third, the a need for a clear and effective regulatory framework to regulate the practice of guardianship of out-of-wedlock children.

THE INHERITANCE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN FROM MARRIAGE ARE NOT RECORDED ACCORDING TO THE MARRIAGE LAW AND THE COMPILATION OF ISLAMIC LAW

The inheritance rights of children from unregistered marriages is an important aspect of the Compilation of Islamic Law. Although legal marriages should be registered, there are many cases where unregistered marriages can have legal consequences, especially regarding the inheritance rights of children. This research aims to explore the understanding of the inheritance rights of children from unregistered marriages in accordance with the provisions in the Compilation of Islamic Law. This research uses a qualitative research method with a normative juridical approach that is carried out based on legislation which in this case includes kuhperdata, Law No. 1 of 1974. Data is obtained from sources of Law, Civil Code and journals. Data analysis is carried out to filter the data obtained and collected according to its type and finally draw conclusions from the findings obtained. The results showed that, the inheritance status of children from irri marriage according to the Marriage Law can only be obtained from the mother and her mother's family, but after the decision of the Constitutional Court, extra-marital children can get inheritance rights from their father if it can be proven legally and clearly that he has a blood relationship with his biological father. Meanwhile, the inheritance rights of irri marriage according to the Compilation of Islamic Law remain in accordance with their position which states that they only have a nasab relationship and inheritance relationship with their mother and their mother's family but not with their father. Parents can apply for itsbat, the determination of isbat nikah is the emergence of inheritance that gets legal protection because of the kinship or nasab relationship between the person who inherits and the person who inherits caused by birth. So children born in marriage are entitled to inheritance from their parents. If there is a rejection of itsbat nikah, the status of the child from the siri marriage does not have legal force. So children from irri marriages are not entitled to receive inheritance from their father.

Function Of Notary In The Appointment Of Extra-Marital Children As Testamento Heirs

In inheritance law, it has been regulated regarding inheritance for extra-marital children differently in accordance with the principles regulated by civil inheritance law which certainly rests on justice. In a condition where an extra-marital child who does not get recognition, can get inheritance through testamentair or will. The granting of a will containing efrstelling in the form of an openbaar testament to an unrecognized extra-marital child is an effort to fulfill a sense of justice. Justice is basically a relative thing, which does not always have to be the same, something can be said to be fair if it has done something according to the appropriate provisions. As the concept of distributive justice put forward by Aristotle, namely justice that gives everyone a portion according to their achievements. This legal research method is normative legal research. The approaches in this research are statutory, and conceptual approaches. The results of this study state that wills containing efrsteling against unrecognized extra-marital children in the form of openbaar terstamen have provided a sense of justice. This is because the Openbaar testament to an unrecognized extra-marital child has fulfilled the provision of rights to all heirs including extra-marital children who get a share in the inheritance, in other words, the principle of justice has been fulfilled due to the openness of the testator made before a notary and in the presence of witnesses. The notary plays a role in providing legal counseling to the person who will make a testament on an extra-marital child. The granting of Openbaar Testamen to extra-marital children has fulfilled a sense of justice. This is because the Openbaar Testament is an open form of testament so that the child outside of marriage can know the part to which he is entitled.

Inheritance Rights of Extramarital-Children after the Constitutional Court Decision of 2010

Extramarital-children refer to children who are born outside the marriage. The position extramarital-children are legally vulnerable and therefore needs attention. The Constitutional Court Decision No. 46/PUU- VIII/2010 recognizes the legal status of extramarital children against their biological fathers as long as their genetic relationship can be proven by way of DNA testing and supported with other evidence. This study aims to examine the inheritance right of the extramarital-children, especially after the issuance of the mentioned Constitutional Court Decision. This normative legal research employs statutory, case and comparative approaches. Although the focus of this study is more on the legal development in Indonesia, however, this paper also provides a comparative analysis with some other countries, especially with regard to the utilization of the DNA Testing for legal purposes. The results show that the Constitutional Court Decision No. 46/PUU-VII/2020 does not address the inheritance right of extramarital-children and therefore they cannot inherit each other from their biological fathers. In regard to inheritance, this issue will be referred to the existing law of inheritance.

Sociological Study of The Civil Rights of Extramarital Children Towards Biological Fathers Post Constitutional Court Decision No. 46/PUU-VIII/2010

The sociological legal study provides meaning that it examines the nature of humans or human interactions as legal subjects in relation to the law, as well as investigates legal norms. The Sociological Study on Extra-Marital Child's Rights to their Biological Father after the Constitutional Court of Indonesia Decision No. 46/PUU-VIII/2010, examines the legal sociology of recognizing the biological father in light of this decision. Recognition in civil matters for the biological father cannot be enforced, except in cases where it is compulsory under criminal law, as stipulated in Article 280 and 287 of the Civil Code (BW). The rights of Extra-Marital Children (EMC) protected by the Constitutional Court's decision have altered the norm of Article 43(1) of the Marriage Law (UUP) and the law in action regarding the proof of biological paternity. The purpose of this research is to sociologically examine the rights of extra-marital children regarding their biological father after the Constitutional Court's decision, particularly in proving the blood relationship between the child and their biological father based on the Constitutional Court's decision, thereby ensuring the children's civil rights. This research employs a normative-sociological research method, as well as primary and secondary legal materials to support research credibility. The Sociological Study on Extra-Marital Child's Rights after the Constitutional Court's decision faces challenges in its sociological application. In this study, legal sociology only amends the legal norm of Article 43(1) of the Marriage Law as per the Constitutional Court's decision, while the enforceability of proving the civil rights of the biological father cannot be automatically imposed.

Fulfillment of civil rights of extramarital children and its effect on social dimensions

This article examines the fulfillment of the civil rights of extramarital children which has become a controversy since the issuance of the Constitutional Court decision no. 46/PUU-VIII/2010, which is considered as a progressive and responsive measure to guarantee children's rights. However, the content of this decision is considered to violate Islamic norms in giving family lineage to extramarital children for it will create a stigma that one does not need a sacred marriage institution if he only wants to establish a civil or lineage relationship with his biological father; instead, it only requires evidence based on science and technology or others in court. This article answers the questions of how to interpret the concept of the civil rights of extramarital children to avoid conflicts with Islamic norms and what are the philosophical and sociological benefits of fulfilling civil rights for extramarital children. This study is qualitative in nature. It is focused more on conceptual ideas based on library research using conceptual and case approaches. It was found that (1) the civil rights of extramarital children are not a lineage right but compensation from their biological father as a form of moral responsibility; (2) philosophically, the civil rights of extramarital children are to fulfill the value of social justice which is distributive and, sociologically, these rights create a prosperous social condition for society by fulfilling the civil rights of the next generation of the nation covering their physical, mental, spiritual, and intellectual needs.

Perlindungan Hukum terhadap Anak Diluar Perkawinan bagi Tenaga Kerja Wanita di Kabupaten Cianjur

Protection of female workers in Cianjur District is indeed necessary, especially when working abroad. One of the problems is when there are many migrant workers who give birth to children out of wedlock and return to Indonesia without their husband. The purpose of this study was to determine the legal protection illegitimate child born by Women Workers in Cianjur Regency and to know the role of the government to cope with unmarried children born by Women Workers in Cianjur District. The study was analytical descriptive with the method of this research approach through normative juridical. The results of the study found that legal protection for illegitimate child born by Indonesian Female Workers in Cianjur has a regulation protecting it, namely Article 28 of the 1945 Constitution, Law No. 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection, Article 43 paragraph (1) of the Marriage Law and Constitutional Court Decision No. 46 / PUU-VIII / 2010. The role of the government in protecting extramarital children born by Indonesian Workers in Cianjur, West Java is not optimal. The role of the village government is very helpful for women migrant workers, namely finding companies that will send their citizens. Whereas illegitimate child born by migrant workers can be protected one of them by smoothing all administrative processes for these children such as issuing a free birth certificate.

Infanticide as a Manifestation of Women’s Deviant Behavior in the Right-Bank Ukraine in the Late 19th–Early 20th Centuries (on the Materials of the Zhytomyr County Court)

This article analyses the subject and the motives of the crime against the life of a newborn baby on the Right-Bank Ukraine in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The methodology of the infanticide study is based on general scientific principles of historicism, objectivity, consistency, and comprehensiveness. The principle of historicism has been applied to consider infanticide under the historical circumstances of the period and determine the prevalence of this phenomenon in modern Ukrainian society. The principle of objectivity has consisted in the analysis of court cases on infanticide to present reliable facts about this crime. The principle of consistency has aided in establishing the place of female infanticide in deviant behavior manifestations. The principle of comprehensiveness has served for a thorough analysis of the literary and document source base, factual consideration of all storylines of the issue under study. The adopted interdisciplinary approach has enabled to use research tools of other social sciences and humanities. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a comprehensive study of infanticide in the Right-Bank Ukraine at the end of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th century in terms of the subject and the motives of the crime carried out on the extensive source base. From the results of the study, the authors conclude that the subjects of infanticide were predominantly unmarried women in difficult living conditions. Children deprived of life were illegitimate. The primary motives behind the crime were hidden in the society’s attitude to extramarital affairs and illegitimate children. Violation of unwritten norms caused women’s condemnation by the community and close relatives, which resulted in their marginalization. There were passive and active ways of murdering a child. A newborn could die because of a mother’s inactivity or active actions aimed to deprive a child of life.

HARMONISASI NORMA HUKUM BAGI PERLINDUNGAN HAK KEPERDATAAN ANAK LUAR KAWIN DALAM SISTEM HUKUM INDONESIA

Communities and laws have long discriminated against children outside of marriage. This causes out of wedlock children to get a negative stigma in their daily lives. People call it with various terms such as: “anak haram”, “haram jadah”, “anak kowar”, “anak astral” and so on. Until now Indonesian law distinguishes the status, position and rights of children out of wedlock. An urgent issue to be resolved is disharmony in written legal norms that regulate the protection of children outside of marriage. The research objective is to evaluate and harmonize the legal norms that exist in the field of protection of civil rights of non-married children. Harmonization of these legal norms is based on the practice of legal protection, doctrine, and written norms that are directly related to the protection of extramarital children in Indonesia. This research is a complement to the dissertation. In this research, an inventory of positive legal norms in the field of status and position of out-of-child children, legal practices relating to the protection of children outside of marriage and the relevant legal theory to see the possibility of protection of children's rights. In this research, mapping of norms and institutions will be conducted to find out the parts that are conflicting / incompatible with each other, as a basis for formulating harmonization of laws and regulations in the field of status and position of children outside of marriage. From this harmonization, it is expected that norms that need to be revised will be found and formulas for norms that provide protection for civil rights for married children in Indonesia. Outputs are in the form of: draft dissertations that have been approved by promoters, reputable international scientific publications, accredited national publications, speakers of national and international meetings, and additional outputs in the form of draft reference books.

KEDUDUKAN ANAK DI LUAR NIKAH DI INDONESIA

Children are the mandate and gift of Allah SWT, which we must always guard because in him the inherent dignity, dignity and rights as human beings must be upheld. Out-of-wedlock children are children born to a woman, while the woman is not in a legal marriage with a man who intercourse with her. This paper discusses the legal position of extramarital children in Indonesia with the aim of knowing the criteria for extramarital children according to Islamic law and the position of out-of-wedlock children in religious courts in Indonesia based on Law No. 1 of 1974 concerning marriage.

Od dzieci z nieprawego łoża do dzieci nieślubnych. Z dziejów polskiej terminologii prawnej

From Unlawful Bed to Extramarital. From the History of Polish Legal VocabularyThe paper presents the various names given in Polish legal terminology to children born outside of marriage, from the oldest times to the interwar period. The process of stabilization of indices of this concept was a relatively long one. In mediaeval legal texts, we find multiple variants, most of which mirror Latin terms, e.g. nieprawego łoża ‘of unlawful bed’, nieczystego łoża ‘of impure bed’, niecnie narodzony ‘dishonourably born’, niedobrze urodzon ‘ill-born’, and also the neologism wyleganiec. Synonymous terms survive into the Middle Polish stage (16th – mid-18th c.), the most frequent ones being złego łoża ‘of bad bed’, niedobrego łoża ‘of wrong bed’, niepoczciwego łoża dzieci ‘children of indecent bed’. In the 19th century, two terms compete: dzieci nieprawego łoża ‘children of unlawful bed’ and, introduced in the translation of the Napoleonic Code, dzieci naturalne ‘natural children’; by the end of the 19th century, dzieci nieślubne ‘unmarried children’ become more widespread. A characteristic feature of the analysed terms is the presence of an evaluating element, which mirrorrs the contemporary legal status in which extramarital children were treated as a worse category and discriminated against. Finally, the paper draws attention to the differences between the civil and the canonic law, with regard to their choice of terms for ‘love children’.

Sir Edward Grey: The Private Life of a Foreign Secretary

ABSTRACTThis article examines the private life of Sir Edward Grey in order to explore some of the contradictions in Grey's character that continue to interest biographers and academics: he was apparently without ambition yet he pursued a successful political career; he longed to live his life in the country but spent much of it working in London; he was a man whose reputation was built on honesty and integrity but recent studies hint at extra-marital affairs and illegitimate children. It shows that Grey had an aptitude for public life and a desire to satisfy a sense of public duty but was reluctant to become defined by it, having other passions as countryman and naturalist. But the balance in his life between work and leisure became increasingly strained due to the pressures of a ministerial career and the changing nature of politics. It also finds that Grey's personal life was not without colour, even if not all the infidelities attributed to him seem credible. In addition the article contributes to the debate over whether Sir Edward Grey was an ‘ambitious political operator’ or a ‘gentleman amateur’.

The Serbian family in the late Middle ages

Marriage in Serbia in the middle ages was conducted only between persons belonging to the same social class. It was arranged and the woman would bring a dowry which would be controlled by the husband as long as the marriage lasted. Male children would inherit their father. Daughters played a significant role in connecting families through marriage. A man, unlike a woman would not bear any consequences in case of adultery. The consequence of this was a large number of extramarital children.
 In the Serbian state in the middle ages the family, or the “home” (kuća as it is named in sources), was the basic unit of society. The family could be nuclear or cooperative. Through the analysis of diplomatic data, as well as the first Turkish books – defters, one can see that one quarter of the population lived in nuclear families. More than half of the families which lived in cooperative arrangements were made up of small cooperatives numbering no more than two or three members. Almost all cooperative families were made up of father-son or brotherly cooperatives. The type of cooperative was largely influenced by the length of life or the capability of giving birth. The source material shows a small number of large cooperatives.
 Nuclear families and cooperative families are present in both the nobility and the small folk (dependents). There is no difference in the family structure with regard to social status. Nuclear families are omnipresent, and the characteristics of cooperative families are the same in nobility, serfs, sokalniks (a class a little above the serfs, who were most often servants, with certain privileges), priests, repairmen or fishermen. The difference is seen only within the Vlach population where in the cooperative there are more sons in law than in other populations. This is the result of an attempt of an agrarian population to move toward the status of herdsmen which was more favorable for them.

Extra-Marital Children and Their Right to Inherit from Their Fathers in Botswana

Extra-Marital Children and Their Right to Inherit from Their Fathers in Botswana

Urodzenia i płodność kobiet w wybranych krajach Unii Europejskiej

The purpose of the article is to make a comparative analysis of changes, intensity and structure of births and the structure of reproductive age of women in selected countries of the European Union. The study included four countries of the so-called ”old Union”, i.e. Denmark, Finland, Germany and Sweden and also Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, the countries that joined the Community in 2004. The attention was drawn to the change in fertility model, increase in the average maternity age and the structure of births by sequence. Constant growth in the extramarital birth rate in total number of births is a characteristic feature of contemporary demographic behaviours. In Scandinavian countries extramarital children are, somehow, a standard. The research was made on the grounds of data from the years 1996–2008.

Loin de mon père by Véronique Tadjo

comment Ann, femme à hautes responsabilités qui ne pense qu’à son travail, néglige sa famille; elle passe à côté de l’anorexie d’Angélique pendant maintes années puis, se rendant finalement compte du problème de sa fille, elle pense le gérer comme dans le monde du travail: “Angélique constitue un dossier ardu” (274). Siac a su cerner les défis que pose la société actuelle, tels que le manque de repères, les rôles inversés entre hommes et femmes, les choix de la femme entre sa carrière et sa famille, la fragilité des couples et la perte des valeurs traditionnelles comme l’honnêteté et la fidélité. C’est également avec justesse et à l’aide d’excellentes descriptions psychologiques, qu’est dépeint l’enfer au quotidien d’Angélique, jeune fille anorexique, qui a succombé à l’un des fléaux les plus difficiles à vaincre pour les adolescentes. Le roman se termine avec une lettre d’aveux et d’excuses d’Ann à sa fille où elle lui demande pardon de l’avoir ignorée dans sa souffrance et d’avoir donné priorité à sa carrière. C’est une lettre d’une grande honnêteté, sans crainte de dire ce qui dérange, comme l’égoïsme dans l’acte de procréer: “Les enfants n’ont pas choisi de naître et si on les a eus, c’est bien parce qu’à priori on avait une intention, une envie. L’envie consiste surtout à prendre. On profite de ses enfants [...] dans un but toujours intéressé” (470). Siac a réussi à tisser un monde d’ambitieux et à révéler les dégâts de l’ambition démesurée. California State University, San Marcos Véronique An ~over TADJO, VÉRONIQUE. Loin de mon père. Arles: Actes sud, 2010. ISBN 978-27427-9127-9. Pp. 189. 18 a. The novel takes place against the background of contemporary Côte d’Ivoire as it emerges hesitantly from civil war. Nina is returning after a long absence in France to assist with the funeral of her father. The title takes on additional levels of meaning as Nina, while drawing closer to the site of her father’s life, finds that she is further from the reality he lived. She discovers one by one the existence of five extramarital children. Her initial shock gives way to considering the unexpected offspring in the light of the traditional African context of polygamy. Nevertheless, Kouadio was French-educated, an internationally respected scientist , married to a white woman: to interpret his conduct in this way seems incongruous , atavistic. Perhaps more noteworthy from a contemporary African woman writer, the mothers of these children play no role in the novel, nor does the effect such a marital configuration may have had on Nina’s mother. Rather, this situation becomes part of a larger generational conflict that underlies the novel, involving politics, language, sorcery, and burial customs. When the second pair of unexpected children come to introduce themselves to her, Nina finds their faces familiar: in fact they came regularly to visit doctor Kouadio; his sisters were privy to the situation and Nina realizes that she was never taught her father’s African language, which we must deduce would have revealed the identity of these children. Though Nina has been away from her native land for so long, as soon as she arrives in Abidjan she integrates herself with the complicated ceremonies and interpersonal diplomacy that the funeral of a public figure and patriarch such as her father require. This perspective allows Tadjo to provide detailed lists and Reviews 409 costs that are of less interest than a developed discussion of human relationships would have been. She finds a journal describing her father’s youth, a curious document written in the third person, focused almost entirely on his academic successes even though it covers the period of his marriage to Nina’s mother. Three other such texts make the father seem even more distant: instructions on countering the effects of witchcraft, a third-person narrative of his meeting with a marabout who “multiplies bank notes” and a laconic...