The Luo tribe is a Nilotic people group who live along the Lake Victoria region in Western Kenya. The tribe numbers approximately 3.3 million.
Culturally, the Luo people represent a complex, intricate and intriguing worldview that arouses both the intellectual and religious curiosity of the societal critic. Although the Christian faith reached this region almost a century ago, the Luo people still cling to some outdated customs, taboos and traditions which are opposed to the tenets of biblical Christianity.
Wife inheritance
One such cultural practice of the Luos is 'wife inheritance'. This practice exerts prohibitive rules upon the Christian widows and makes them slaves of anti-Christian practices. The practice of wife inheritance is most degrading, dehumanising and painful to the Christian Luo widow. Under this practice, a Luo woman is forced to be 'inherited' by a married cousin (or any kinsman) of her deceased husband upon his death. Originally this practice was meant to ensure the continuation of the offspring of the dead man and also to provide the widow with a canopy of male headship and protection. Now, however, the original intention is overshadowed by numerous aspects that make the practice maximally and diabolically oppressive to the widow. Godless, lazy and wayward men have grabbed the opportunity to exploit the cultural practice by becoming additional dependants to the widows who already have enough burdens to bear. Also because the evil practice of wife inheritance is culturally forced upon the widows, the Christians who do not want to go through the practice for biblical reasons are especially pressurised.
