The Institution of Levirate[ ]tance. In societies in which levirate is practiced, it is intertwined with
the societies’ assumptions about inheritance.
In contemporary Western societies, a wife is usually her husband’s
heir; she may inherit the entire marital estate or inherit together with
the deceased’s children. In such societies, widows become “indepen-
dent” upon the death of their husbands. While circumstances vary from
case to case, depending on financial and social factors, widows may
choose their future courses of action.
In most societies that mandate levirate, a man’s male paternal rela-
tives inherit his property. In some cases, a man’s sons are his heirs; in
other cases, his property is transferred to his brothers. In the absence of
sons or brothers, property devolves on other male kin, usually paternal
uncles or cousins.
In such cultures, women tend not to inherit property. This is par-
ticularly true of wives, who are usually not their husband’s biological
relatives. In societies that mandate dower, property settled on a wife by
the husband at the time of marriage, a woman might receive her dower
upon her husband’s death. In some cases, a childless widow might get
her dowry, the money settled on her by her family at the time of mar-
riage, when her husband dies. In many cases, however, these monies
would have already been expended or might devolve on the children of
the union, leaving the widow with little or no means of support.
A levirate union may provide for widows in societies in which a man’s
sons or brot hers, rat her t ha n h is w i fe, a re h is hei rs. Fu r t her more, when a
man’s estate is small, a widow might be left with young children and no
means to support them. Levirate or widow-inheritance ensures that
on a man’s death the obligation of maintaining his widow often
devolves on his heir, the widespread custom of a man marrying the
widow of his deceased brother being... not only a privilege, but
among several peoples a duty incumbent upon him.^36
There is another aspect of inheritance law that relates to levirate. In
some cases, wives were seen as part of a man’s estate. A man might in-
herit his brother’s wives. In some cases, an adult son might inherit his
fat her’s w ives. In such ci rcu msta nces, t he son m ig ht be ex pected to sup-
port his father’s wives but forbidden to marry them. A son might even