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5 - The mechanics of marriage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2009

Robert Launay
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
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Summary

The very flexibility of Dyula kinship makes the choice of a spouse all the more important. Any children born belong, of course, to the husband's kabila, but members of the wife's family are also considered an extremely important category of kin. Formerly, an adolescent or young man whose father was dead could choose to work for his maternal, rather than his paternal, relatives. The choice remains much too crucial an affair to be left to the whims of young men and women. Marriages are arranged by the kin of the bride and groom; most often, neither partner is consulted beforehand. On the groom's side, the decision rests with his father, if he is still alive, or with the senior kinsman under whose authority he is working. On the bride's side, the decision is also in the hands of her father or of a foster parent. Normally, the heads of the descent groups concerned, the kabila tigis – and, in large descent groups, the lu or gba tigis as well – are also consulted, if only as a matter of form.

Islamic law does not exclude the possibility of marriage between close kin. Prohibitions apply, for the most part, to close kinswomen of ascending or descending generations, and to the wives of close kinsmen of ascending or descending generations. On the other hand, within one's own generation, there are relatively few prohibitions, the only ones being sister, ‘milk sister’ and wife's sister.

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Traders Without Trade
Responses to Change in Two Dyula Communities
, pp. 60 - 76
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1982

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  • The mechanics of marriage
  • Robert Launay, Northwestern University, Illinois
  • Book: Traders Without Trade
  • Online publication: 15 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511558054.006
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  • The mechanics of marriage
  • Robert Launay, Northwestern University, Illinois
  • Book: Traders Without Trade
  • Online publication: 15 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511558054.006
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The mechanics of marriage
  • Robert Launay, Northwestern University, Illinois
  • Book: Traders Without Trade
  • Online publication: 15 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511558054.006
Available formats
×