Why should a clan stand between my partner and I?
SYLVIA knew Daniel was the man. He proposed and they went to meet his family. Then disaster struck. They were from the same clan and their marriage was prohibited.
By Carol Kezaabu
SYLVIA knew Daniel was the man. He proposed and they went to meet his family. Then disaster struck. They were from the same clan and their marriage was prohibited.
It is hard enough to find a marriage partner, but it is pretty devastating to learn that an old custom is standing in the way of your happiness.
The clan system is a structure within many Uganda tribes.
Although many people respect this norm, some have tried to override it because they consider it an outdated custom. In fact, some tribes have done away with clans. However, the Baganda are still very strict about it.
What the Law says
In civil suit No. 52 of 2006, Bruno Kiwuwa instituted a suit against the marriage of his daughter, Juliet Namazzi to Ivan serunkuma, on the grounds that they both belonged to the Ndiga (sheep) clan of the Baganda.
The couple were meant to wed on June 24, 2006 at St Francis Chapel, Makerere University in Kampala. They had to postpone the wedding after the suit was filed on June 23.
Namazzi claimed that Kiwuwa was not her father. She claimed that her biological father was a Mutoro, so she was free marry serunkuma.
The court ordered her and Kiwuwa to take a DNA test, which proved that they were, indeed, father and daughter.
Justice Remmy Kasule declared that the intended marriage was illegal.
What science says
According to Prof. Wilson Byarugaba, a genetics specialist, such customs were instituted a long time ago when the population was very small and people of the same clan originated from a known relative.
They were, therefore, close relatives. When people from the same clan married, they were more likely to get children with abnormalities than if the clans were different.
As such, the custom was instituted to prevent conditions like haemophilia and albinism.
The genetic combination of people from the same clan is great and if one bad gene met another, any of these conditions was likely to result.
But if one person with a bad gene marries from another clan, the likelihood that the other partner has the same gene is minimal.
Today, the world is heavily populated. Unless there is a blood relation between the two, Byarugaba says many clanmates today are as unrelated as any other people.
What the church says
Some couples in the Pentecostal church have tried to do away with many customs. Pastor Mark Kigozi says God has given us culture and because of our diversity, He wants us to appreciate our differences.
“Some cultural things are not good, such as child sacrifice, polygamy and devil worship but clans were instituted by our ancestors. These societal norms are guidelines and even the Bible is clear on the fact that you do not marry a relative.
“So the prohibition against same clan marriages is to guard against such happenings,†he says.
SYLVIA knew Daniel was the man. He proposed and they went to meet his family. Then disaster struck. They were from the same clan and their marriage was prohibited.
It is hard enough to find a marriage partner, but it is pretty devastating to learn that an old custom is standing in the way of your happiness.
The clan system is a structure within many Uganda tribes.
Although many people respect this norm, some have tried to override it because they consider it an outdated custom. In fact, some tribes have done away with clans. However, the Baganda are still very strict about it.
What the Law says
In civil suit No. 52 of 2006, Bruno Kiwuwa instituted a suit against the marriage of his daughter, Juliet Namazzi to Ivan serunkuma, on the grounds that they both belonged to the Ndiga (sheep) clan of the Baganda.
The couple were meant to wed on June 24, 2006 at St Francis Chapel, Makerere University in Kampala. They had to postpone the wedding after the suit was filed on June 23.
Namazzi claimed that Kiwuwa was not her father. She claimed that her biological father was a Mutoro, so she was free marry serunkuma.
The court ordered her and Kiwuwa to take a DNA test, which proved that they were, indeed, father and daughter.
Justice Remmy Kasule declared that the intended marriage was illegal.
What science says
According to Prof. Wilson Byarugaba, a genetics specialist, such customs were instituted a long time ago when the population was very small and people of the same clan originated from a known relative.
They were, therefore, close relatives. When people from the same clan married, they were more likely to get children with abnormalities than if the clans were different.
As such, the custom was instituted to prevent conditions like haemophilia and albinism.
The genetic combination of people from the same clan is great and if one bad gene met another, any of these conditions was likely to result.
But if one person with a bad gene marries from another clan, the likelihood that the other partner has the same gene is minimal.
Today, the world is heavily populated. Unless there is a blood relation between the two, Byarugaba says many clanmates today are as unrelated as any other people.
What the church says
Some couples in the Pentecostal church have tried to do away with many customs. Pastor Mark Kigozi says God has given us culture and because of our diversity, He wants us to appreciate our differences.
“Some cultural things are not good, such as child sacrifice, polygamy and devil worship but clans were instituted by our ancestors. These societal norms are guidelines and even the Bible is clear on the fact that you do not marry a relative.
“So the prohibition against same clan marriages is to guard against such happenings,†he says.