article

Premarital childbearing in northwest Kenya: challenging the concept of illegitimacy

Social biology46 (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.
Subjects
Illegitimacy
Social placement
Regulation of marriage
Mode of marriage
Basis of marriage
Nuptials
Residence
Premarital sex relations
Ethos
Cultural identity and pride
culture
Turkana
HRAF PubDate
2010
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem; 2009
Field Date
1980-1996
Coverage Date
1980-1999
Coverage Place
Turkana, Kenya
Notes
Bettina Shell-Duncan and Matthew Wimmer
Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-61)
LCCN
74648879
LCSH
Turkana (African people)