Levirate Research Articles

Patriarchal Restrictions and Maternal Manoeuvres: Igbo Women’s Quest for Land Inheritance Rights

Abstract We examine the nature of maternal manoeuvres practised by Igbo women of Nigeria in negotiating access to resources under the traditional restrictive customary system and the contemporary plural legal framework. While extant feminist scholarship on African patriarchy often highlights discrimination and violations of women’s property rights, it rarely acknowledges the subtle strategies women use to navigate male-dominated societies, especially regarding land rights and inheritance. Among the Igbo, women have instrumentalized certain practices that uphold the patriarchal system for land access, inheritance, and succession. While employing a mix of socio-legal and discourse analysis and collaborative autoethnography, our study explores the traditional phase of silent politics of access, including practices like the female husband or woman-to-woman marriage, traditional single parenthood (nrachi), levirate marriage (nkuchi), and concubinage. We also delve into the modern phase, where women use Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs), child adoption, litigation, and legal instruments for property access. Our findings show that despite patriarchal biases in land rights, women navigate and assert their resource access using both traditional and modern methods.

The Controversy Name of Boaz in the Bible Genealogy from Matthean Perspective: Intertextuality Approach

Abstract The appearance of Boaz’s name in the Bible genealogy – Ruth, 1 Chronicles, Matthew, and Luke – creates difficulty. Ruth 4:21, 1 Chronicles 2:12, Matthew 1:5, Luke 3:32 informs that Boaz was the father of Obed. The issue is the Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, mentions that the father of Obed should be Mahlon, and not Boaz. According to the book of Deuteronomy, the purpose of Boaz and Ruth’s levirate marriage is to raise up an offspring (Obed) that would continue the name of Mahlon, and not Boaz. In Ruth 4:4, Boaz even confirms this purpose is to perpetuate the name of the deceased (Mahlon). In the Gospel of Matthew, Sadducees also explicitly narrate that the brothers of the dead man would raise up seed for him to perpetuate the name of the dead man (Mat. 22:24-25; cf. Gen. 38:8-10). Therefore, the Law opposes the idea of Obed carrying the name of Boaz, and not Mahlon. This research employs the study of intertextuality to offer another perspective – Matthean perspective – on the problematic name of Boaz in the Bible genealogy: Ruth, 1 Chronicles, Matthew, and Luke.

Argumentasi Teologis dalam Kisah Rut: Implementasi Hukum Levirat dan Tanggung Jawab Sosial

Talking about redemption, the Old Testament directs us to a book that tells about redemption, namely the book of Ruth. This book talks about levirate marriage. According to Torah law, if a man dies without having children, his brother is obliged to take his wife in a "common law marriage", so that the woman will give birth to children for her dead husband. This article will explore the concept of redemption in the Book of Ruth. The method used is the method of narrative literary exegesis. The methodological principles include structural analysis, stylistic analysis, editorial analysis, exegetical analysis, and theological analysis. As a result, The story of Ruth not only provides insight into the practice of levirate law in a historical context but also conveys theological lessons relevant to the present day. The principles in this story, such as social responsibility, protection of the vulnerable, and commitment to justice, remain pertinent and can be applied in a modern context.

Levirate Marriage & Theo-doctrinal Embargo a Kenyan Experience

African scholars have found themselves in a theo-doctrinal embargo, especially after the 19 th and 20 th century European missionary explosion, that ushered a vibrant protestant Christianity in East Africa that was largely dismissive of cultural dialogues with Christianity. One of the most contested subject, that went beyond the missionary era, and reverberates across the twenty-first century, is the levirate marriage (hereafter, levirate marriage). Outside the missionary armpits, African scholars have continued to debate its efficacy to the christian teachings. In view of this, the theo-doctrinal embargo that has evidently persisted across the mainstream churches and some African Instituted churches (AIC) in Kenya motivated the eventual research and publication of this article. Whereas the mainstream churches maintain that wife inheritance, especially where the male inheritor has another wife is sin, some AICs have tended to support the levirate marriage even where the male inheritor has another wife. They do this by quoting some Old Testament texts, as their reference point. The mainstream churches have insisted that wife inheritance narratives was permitted in the Old Testament in cases where the male inheritor was single and the deceased was childless. This article seeks to examine the biblical understanding of levirate marriage and its place in the Kenyan context. Overall, the article analyzed Scriptural texts dealing with the subject of Levirate marriages and reflected it from an African Christian perspective. The materials in this article were gathered through extensive reading of published works, interviews and via general observation of the practices therein.

KIRIM HANLIĞI'NDA LEVİRAT EVLİLİKLER

Etimolojik olarak latince kökenli olup günümüzde kocanın erkek kardeşi anlamına gelen levirat kavramı, Türk kültür tarihi araştırmalarında oldukça ilgi çekmektedir. Kadim bir gelenek olan ve sadece Türklerde değil Afrika, Amerika ve Avusturalya’daki kimi kabileler ve Yahudi topluluklarında, İslam öncesi Araplarda ve Hindu geleneğinde dahi görünen levirat evlilik, ölen kardeşin dul kalan eşiyle evlenme durumunu açıklamak için kullanılmıştır. Türk ve Moğol halklarında, ölen erkek kardeşin eşinin yanı sıra ölen babanın dul kalan eşleri yani üvey anneleriyle de evlenilmesi şeklinde de görülen bu evlilik türü Hunlar, Göktürkler, Uygurlar, Karahanlılar, Gazneliler, Selçuklular ve Timurlular gibi Türk devletlerinde yaygın bir şekilde uygulanmıştır. Türklerin İslamiyet’i seçmesiyle üvey anne ile yapılan evliliklerin yasaklanması neticesinde sadece ölen erkek kardeşin dul kalan eşiyle yapılmaya devam edilen levirat evlilikler konumuz olan Kırım Hanlığı’nda da görülmüştür. Altın Orda’nın dağılması sonucu ortaya çıkan hanlıklardan biri olan Kırım Hanlığı zamanla kuvvetlenerek bölgesel bir güç haline gelmiştir. Bu hanlığın yöneticilerinden biri olan I. Mengli Giray Han’ın oğullarının bazıları ölen erkek kardeşlerinin dul kalan eşleriyle evlenmiştir. Kaynaklarda tespit ettiğimiz bu levirat evliliklerin yanı sıra levirat evlilik olup olmadığı kesin olmayan kimi evlilik akitlerine dair ipuçlarına da rastlanmıştır. I. Mengli Giray Han’ın oğullarından sonra da bir takım hanların ve hanzadelerin ölen erkek kardeşlerinin eşleriyle levirat evlilikler yaptıklarına dair bilgiler bulunmaktadır. Söz konusu çalışmada levirat evliliklerin Kırım Hanlığı’ndaki mevcudiyeti incelenerek bir takım sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır.

Family Matters. The Levirate Marriage as a Nomadic Custom in Medieval Eurasia

Family Matters. The Levirate Marriage as a Nomadic Custom in Medieval Eurasia

Balancing Law and Justice: Resolving Inheritance Law Conflicts between Iraqi Federal and Kurdistan Regional Legislations

This research examines the conflict arising from the differences in legal texts between the existing Iraqi Personal Status Law and the frequently amended laws in the Kurdistan Region. Furthermore, the issuance of amendments by the Kurdistan Region has exacerbated this conflict, leading to confusion and disputes between the two legal frameworks. The uncertainties surrounding the rationale behind these amendments have raised questions and doubts among legal practitioners and researchers, prompting a conservative approach within the courts. This study addresses and resolves these uncertainties by employing a comparative and analytical methodology. With a focus on constitutional and legal standards and the principle of justice, the research aims to clarify the applicability of either law. By undertaking this comprehensive analysis, the study endeavors to eliminate perceptions of ambiguity and hesitation, thereby contributing to a more cohesive legal landscape in the region. The research results show the fundamental difference between the Iraqi Personal Status Law and the amended law in the Kurdistan Region in matters of inheritance, specifically centered on the obligatory will and the wife's inheritance, and the Kurdish legislator made amendments in both issues, considering that amending federal laws is guaranteed to the regions by constitutional texts as long as they do not conflict with the constant provisions of Islam and the principles of democracy. This is not considered a departure from the 2005 Iraqi constitutional framework because the Federal Supreme Court, in its capacity as supervisor of the constitutionality of laws.

The Authority to Define a Jew

Abstract This article focuses on a rabbinic controversy between the Greek Jewish scholar Elijah Mizrah.i and his Iberian colleague Jacob Ibn Ḥabib in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The case at hand concerned specific legal questions regarding levirate marriage. These had become particularly difficult with the involvement of converts, posing fundamental questions about Jewish group affiliation. Analysing the related but contrasting legal opinions of Mizrah.i and Ibn Ḥabib, I suggest distinguishing between an intellectual approach and a traditionalist approach to answering these questions. Whereas earlier scholarship has attributed the scholars’ diverging conclusions mainly to their different cultural backgrounds, I argue that Mizraḥi and Ibn Ḥabib chose different lines of reasoning for strategic reasons, grounded in their particular political situations.

Levirate Marriage – An Overview of an Ancient Matrimonial Custom

This paper utilizes historical-critical analysis to elucidate the ancient institution of levirate marriage, a type of marital union attested in Assyria, Ugarit, Hatti, ancient Israel, and beyond. It investigates the socio-cultural logic underlying levirate practices as well as their ramifications upon communal dynamics. Through examination of biblical episodes concerning Judah and Tamar along with Boaz and Ruth, two illuminating case studies emerge that reveal the complex interplay of kinship ties, lineage preservation, inheritance rights, and evolving cultural mores governing this marital custom over time. Expanding the historical lens, the study explores post-antiquity manifestations of levirate ideals resurfacing during the Middle Ages and modern period. Yet despite sporadic echoes across human civilization, levirate marriage remains an almost extinct phenomenon today – one largely confined to antiquity. By training a spotlight on ancient Near Eastern sources alongside salient biblical narratives, this investigation unveils the once prominent but now obscure levirate tradition which empowered past generations while also spurring social tensions, informing timeless tropes of sexuality and widowhood, and catalysing legal reforms over successive epochs.

A paradox of levirate marriage theology in the Seventh Day Adventist ecclesiology: A case of Itumbe station, South Kenya conference

The study sought to examine the participants’ perspectives on various aspects of levirate marriage theology in Seventh-day Adventist ecclesiology. The study employed the structural-functional theory of Emile Durkheim. The study’s target population was 774 respondents from the 8 districts that form the SDA church in Itumbe Station, and the sample size was 250 participants. Widowhood is a nerve-wracking life situation that not only affects the widowed person, but also the Christian community, the orphaned children that are under her care, who in most cases have to manage the loss of one of their parents. The study did not advocate for the abolishment of the SDA church teachings on marriage and Abagusii traditional levirate custom, rather it argued on the embracement of positive aspects of the custom while denouncing those that do not adhere to the well-being of the Christian widows; not all about levirate custom is bad. The study concluded that the SDA church in South Kenya Field, Itumbe Station, has made attempts to interpret Biblical teachings on marriage, considering it a permanent, monogamous contract solemnised by the church minister. The study recommends that SDA church should become aware not only of addressing the gospel message to individuals and showing how its teachings are contrary to the Abagusii levirate practice but also of the significant aspects found in the levirate practice itself.

EXPLORING WIDOW REMARRIAGE: A STUDY OF VEDIC INDIA

The study revisits the contentious issue of widow remarriage in Vedic India through an in-depth analysis of various passages from Vedic texts and different interpretations posited by scholars. The findings suggest that, while it has been historically viewed marriage as an indissoluble sacrament in Hinduism, evidence regarding widow remarriage is not conclusive. Some scholars argue that widow remarriage, specifically to a deceased husband's brother, was practiced during the Vedic era. This assertion is supported by Rigvedic passages X.18.8 and X.40.2, which purportedly hint at the practice. However, this interpretation is disputed, with some arguing that these passages actually underscore practices of self-sacrifice or 'niyoga' (levirate marriage). The study further explores Atharvavedic verses suggesting the remarriage of a punarbhu or a betrothed woman, not a widow. The research therefore suggests that Vedic texts did not explicitly endorse widow remarriage. It argues for a nuanced understanding of ancient customs and societal norms, highlighting the need for more rigorous and context-sensitive interpretations of Vedic texts.

Isupo: Assessing the relevance of Deuteronomy 25:5–10 in the Nigerian Christian context, with particular reference to the Yoruba

The description of levirate marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5–10 has reminiscences with the same practice in Africa, especially isupo (levirate marriage) among the Yoruba of south-west Nigeria. The article seeks the relevance of this text in Nigeria in the possibility of levirate marriage still being of some socio-economic value to Christian widows and the society at large. It employs the historical-critical and descriptive methods. The work finds that in both the Hebrew and African cultures, levirate marriage served the purpose of raising children for the deceased, who would perpetuate his lineage and inherit his property. But in Africa the institution was most significant in providing economic and social protection for widows and their children. Unfortunately, levirate marriage is fast disappearing in Nigeria because of Western influence, particularly Christianity. The effect of this for many widows is abject poverty, by virtue of which some of them resort to illegitimate and dishonouring means to make ends meet. The work, therefore, concludes that resuscitating levirate marriage would be of immense socio-economic value to Nigerian widows and the society.Contribution: The article is a contribution to Old Testament theology and Christian ethics. It proposes that levirate marriage can still be employed as a means of socio-economic protection for Nigerian Christian widows.

How gender-based cultural practices violate women's property rights and inhibit property ownership: A South African perspective

This article discusses the effect of gender-based cultural practices on women's property rights in South Africa and how this impacts on women's ability to own property – particularly land. The cultural practices discussed include those relating to customary marriages such as payment of brideprice and polygamy. They also include the practices of levirate marriages and male premogeniture. These practices are linked to the unequal position of women in society, and they do not only prohibit women's access to property ownership but they also infringe their constitutional rights. To that end, the constitutional protection of the right to equality in relation to property rights is discussed and suggestions are made on how the Constitution can be used to protect women's property rights. The role of the courts in protecting women's property rights is particularly highlighted. Specific reference is made to the significance of section 39 of the Constitution which requires a court to interpret the Bill of Rights in a way that promotes “the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom” and obliges the courts to consider international law when interpreting the Bill of Rights. Indeed the article concludes that denying women's rights to property under the guise of culture is discriminatory and offends against fundamental and intrinsic human rights. It is proposed that courts should be encouraged to draw inference from international law as mandated by section 39 of the Constitution as this will, in all likelihood, see more women enjoying independent rights in property.

Was machte Onan mit seinem Sperma? Zur Deutung von w e šiḥ(h)et in Genesis 38,9

Abstract According to the traditional understanding of Genesis 38:9, whenever Onan would perform the duties of Levirate marriage with Tamar, he would let his sperm »be ruined.« The central verbal form reads: wešiḥ(h)et. In the present contribution this translation is called into question. It will be argued that wešiḥ(h)et here is not to be derived from √šḥt (1) »to ruin,« but from a different root, namely √šḥt 2 »to let flow, to spurt« (corresponding to the Akkadian šaḫātu »to flow [away], to rinse, to wash«). The text would therefore simply state that Onan ejaculated his sperm onto the ground so as not to impregnate Tamar (coitus interruptus). Should this interpretation be correct, the far-reaching reception history of the text, including the prohibition of any form of »Onanism,« would have to be reassessed.

Saul M. Olyan. Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible

Saul M. Olyan. <i>Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible</i>

THE EXPLANATION OF CHILD AND WIFE’S INHERITANCE RIGHTS AS A RESULT OF SIRI LEGITIMATE MARRIAGE

Illegitimate children or children out of wedlock are under a legal relationship with their mother and their mother's family as stipulated in Law No.1/1974. On the other side, KUHPdt/BW views that the legal relationship is entitled to the person who acknowledges it. The Constitutional Court has declared Article 43, paragraph (1) of the Marriage Law to be conditionally unconstitutional. Problems occur in from the decision of the Constitutional Court Number: 46 / PUU-VIII / 2010 regarding the status of illegitimate children and inheritance from the father. In Islamic law, illegitimate children are not eligible for the inheritance from their fathers since there has to be a lineage or a legal relationship between them. This research comprehensively discusses the characteristics of inheritance distribution to illegitimate children in positive Indonesian law, as well as the reduction of a wife's inheritance rights as a result of the legal consequences of inheritance distribution to illegitimate children based on Constitutional Court Decision Number: 46/PUU-VIII/2010. In this normative legal research, case approach was used to analyze relevant laws and regulations and examine several relevant cases. The results confirm the apparent support for the inheritance rights of illegitimate children, which lies within the mother's family line. However, according to Article 863 of the BW, if there are legal offspring, a husband, or a wife, illegitimate children inherit only one-third of what legitimate children would receive.

I Am Onan: Rereading the So-Called Transgression of Wasting Seed

Abstract In this article, I aim to read Onan’s action in Gen 38 not simply as an act of transgression but also as a form of resistance to oppressive structures. I will demonstrate that Onan is resisting the dominating structure of levirate marriage that was strongly connected with patriarchy, heteronormativity, and hegemonic masculinity. To support this argument, I divide this article into three parts. First, I revisit the earlier interpretations of Onan’s narrative. Then, I explain Onan’s situational context and discuss the possibility of reading his narrative through the postcolonial, queer, and gender-critical lenses. Finally, I conclude that Onan’s action is an act of resistance toward oppressing systems of culture and that his act takes into account Tamar’s interest in achieving proper livelihood.

Women’s agency and re-alignment of the cultural tradition of ukungena or ukungenwa in Nelisiwe Zulu’s play, Isiko Nelungelo

The women of South Africa have their rights enshrined in the Constitution of 1996. However, in a patriarchal society, women’s rights are often viewed as conflicting with cultural beliefs and practices. This article discusses women’s agency and realignment of the cultural tradition of ukungena or ukungenwa (levirate marriage) in a post-1994 democratic South Africa. The article is framed by the principles of African feminism which guide the argument that this cultural practice can be at turns oppressive or liberating to women, or indeed both. The isiZulu play, Isiko Nelungelo (‘Culture and Rights’) by Nelisiwe Zulu, challenges the tradition of ukungena or ukungenwa and the way in which it infringes on the rights of women to choose who they want to marry if their husbands die. The play also presents the perspective that if women’s agency about whether or not they desire to stay in a posthumous marriage is respected, this custom cannot then be viewed as oppressive. The events in the play introduce a debate over whether the instigators of gender-based violence and abuse are always men, and how women are sometimes ignored as active players or pawns used by men to undermine the emancipation and empowerment of women.

Bondage of being born female in selected African literary texts

Many women have been victims of underage marriage, forced marriage, proxy marriage, levirate marriage, denial of education and the ignominy of male-child favouritism. These unwholesome practices have hampered the utilisation of the intellectual endowment of women, and have subjected them to untold trauma and deprivation. These plights are reflected in some female-authored works, and works by men who empathise with women. This study is an exegesis of selected African literary texts discountenancing the highlighted antiquated practices, within the ambit of feminist literary theory, with a view to explicating how the practices can be jettisoned. It is rendered in the course of the exegesis that under-age marriage, forced marriage and levirate marriage are still rampant in Africa; and also that male-child preference remains a phenomenon in the continent. The conclusion arrived at in the study is that no gender is superior to another. Marriage is a matter of choice, preference and mutual agreement between would-be spouses. It should not be imposed on anyone nor should anyone be forced into it. Rather than putting women in bondage, cultural practices which unburden their plights should be encouraged.

Procreation in the Sephardic Jewish Communities of Istanbul, Salonica, and Izmir from 1500–1850

The desire to raise a family with as many children as possible was a major aspiration of Jewish families in the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Many halakhic responses and other sources address this subject and its impact on Jewish families and society. This paper reviews how Sephardic Jewish society in the Ottoman cities of Istanbul, Izmir and Salonica (Thessaloniki) grappled with the reality of barren men and women – which was quite common – from 1500-1850, and how Jewish courts resolved cases that involved men’s requests to marry a second wife in order to fulfill the commandment of procreation. It discusses how the desire to procreate was realized through the institution of marriage, the undesirability of single life, the age at marriage, yibum (levirate marriage), women’s desire for children, the impact of kabbalah on fulfillment of the commandments, contraception, fertility treatments, the effect of child mortality on parents, and how the longing for children affected the private life of prominent individuals.