Premarital  childbearing in northwest Kenya: challenging the concept of illegitimacy

Shell-Duncan, Bettina; Wimmer, Matthew

article

Premarital childbearing in northwest Kenya: challenging the concept of illegitimacy

Social biology • 46 (1-2) • Published In 1999 • Pages: 47-61

By: Shell-Duncan, Bettina, Wimmer, Matthew.

Abstract
This article discusses the social and cultural context that made premarital fertility widespread and socially acceptable among the Turkana. The most important of this concerns the meaning of marriage which in Turkana is not a social trigger for the onset and continuation of reproduction or a means for legitimate reproduction. Marital status of the parents simply determines the custody of a child. In a premarital birth, the father pays a set fee to the mother's family, and the custody of the child remains permanently with the mother's family. If the parents later marry, the father must purchase custody of the child by another fee at that time. The authors take the legitimacy of this practice to suggest that cultural factors must be taken into account before assessing premarital fertility across cultures as a social problem.

Illegitimacy

Social placement

Regulation of marriage

Premarital sex relations

Ethos

Cultural identity and pride

Turkana

HRAF PubDate