A surrogate marriage describes the arrangement where a woman is
infertile or dies young and her family substitutes another woman to bear children for the husband.
Cultural roots
Surrogate marriages exist in some African cultures, such as the
Zulu culture.
The Continuity of Life in African Religion with Reference to Marriage and Death among the Zulu People
The root of the arrangement is the belief that marriage is an arrangement for the continuity of life. Where the life of the family or clan cannot be continued due to infertility or death, the family of the wife can substitute a female relative to bear children for the husband on behalf of the wife.
See also
* Levirate marriage
* Widow inheritance
* Sororate marriage
Sororate marriage is a type of marriage in which a husband engages in marriage or sexual relations with the sister of his wife, usually after the death of his wife or if his wife has proven infertile. The opposite is levirate marriage.
From an a ...
* ''The Handmaid's Tale
''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which ...
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References
African culture
Types of marriage
African society
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