The Cultural View of the Luo People of Western (Kenya) on Widow Care and the Biblical Approach

Abstract

Widow Care plays a central role in the luo culture, this is because marriage was treated with a lot of respect and therefore whenever one's spouse died then the cultural norms and procedures of widow care was launched. If the woman whose husband has died was married legally according to the Luo Cultural norms whereby the bride-price was paid to her parents then, she is accepted within the family of the deceased husband and if she was not, then she might be forced to return to her parent's home. Some of these cultural norms have been misused in the past years whereby the context of widow care has been misunderstood. In several occasions widows have been exploited and their lives threatened by deadly diseases such as HIV infections in the name of Widow Care. Wife Inheritance which was a custom practiced by the luo people of western Kenya in the name of widow care dictates that "if a man dies, one of his brothers or close relatives inherits his widow and must meet all of her marital requirements. It is for these reasons why the study was conducted to help bring proper understanding of Widow Care among the luo people. Widows are also confronted with various challenges which include: Burden of raising their children, economic exploitation, and denial of rights to remarry men of their choice, fear of excommunication and lack of mutual respect. The study conducted among the evangelical five churches and its environs in central lake region-Kisumu County which revealed that many Luo Widows are still in a state of dilemma as to whether to continue with the traditional practice of widow Care or to abandon it completely. The bible clearly outlines how widow Care should be practiced.