Ghost marriage in South Sudan (original) (raw)

In South Sudan, a ghost marriage is a marriage where a deceased groom is replaced by his brother. The brother serves as a stand in to the bride, and any resulting children are considered children of the deceased spouse. This unusual type of marriage is nearly exclusive to the Dinka (Jieng), Nuer, and Atuot people of South Sudan although instances of such marriages have also occurred in France. These tribes overlap in cultural practices, potentially due to the fact that all of these tribes are cattle-herding pastoralists.