article

Matrilineal descent and marital stability: a Tanzanian case

Journal of Asian and African studies4 (2) • Published In 1969 • Pages: 122-131

By: Brain, James Lewton.

Abstract
This study argues that marriage in Luguru society tends to be stable for the first twenty-or-so years, after which the rate of divorce rises rapidly as mothers leave to live with their sons and brothers. This pattern has to do with the internal dynamics of matrilineal descent and land tenure systems. The culturally-preferred residence pattern upon marriage is uxorilocal (the husband moves to live in the natal village of his wife). After the birth of the first child, however, the husband will prefer to rejoin his matrilineage where he holds land. The wife either stays behind on her own or moves with her husband. If she decides the later, the wife will have yet another decision to make later on, when her son marries and move out to live with his mother’s lineage. While these cycles might cause family separation and even divorce, the author underscores that one should not necessarily consider Luguru marriage as structurally unstable.
Subjects
Residence
Rule of descent
Lineages
Real property
Family relationships
Termination of marriage
Basis of marriage
Regulation of marriage
Gender status
Cousins
culture
Luguru
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem; 2020
Field Date
1965-1966
Coverage Date
1953-1966
Coverage Place
northern Morogoro Region, Tanzania
Notes
James Brain
Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-131)
LCCN
75001539
LCSH
Luguru (African people)