South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

, a ghost marriage is a

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

where a deceased

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and Groomsman, ...

is replaced by his brother. The brother serves as a stand in to the

bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is a newlywed. When marrying, if the bride's future spouse is a man, he is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, ...

, and any resulting children are considered children of the deceased spouse. This unusual type of marriage is nearly exclusive to the

Dinka The Dinka people () are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of three provinces that were formerly part of southern ...

(Jieng), Nuer, and Atuot people of South Sudan although instances of such marriages have also occurred in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. These tribes overlap in cultural practices, potentially because all of these tribes are cattle-herding

pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anima ...

Nuer people

Nuer women do not marry deceased men only to continue the man's

bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

. In accordance with Nuer tradition, any wealth owned by the woman becomes property of the man after the marriage. This wealth that is transferred is in the form of cattle, being exchanged from the father's lineage to the mother's lineage. Once this exchange is completed, the male children of that woman who received the cattle can now marry. Thus, a wealthy woman may marry a deceased man to retain her wealth, instead of giving it up after marrying. Among the Nuer, a ghost marriage is nearly as common as a marriage to a live man.

Atuot people

There was a decline in ghost marriage among the Atuot people in the 1970s, and some sources attributed it to a connection with the cattle trade.

References

Death customs Posthumous marriage Culture of South Sudan Widow inheritance {{SouthSudan-stub

Nuer people

Atuot people

See also

References