The common practice of assuming a dominant pattern of inheritance can cause serious losses of power in the presence of any recessive, or modest dominant, effects.
This paper reports on the prevalence of HIV and the practice of widow inheritance at the time of the baseline assessment for 1,987 widows who reported their inheritance status at baseline and were tested for HIV infection.
We sought to estimate the prevalence of HIV infection among Luo widows in relation to the two types of the practice of WI (inheritance by a husband's relative or by a non-relative), and the two purposes of WI (inheritance for companionship or to observe a sexual ritual).
Families with a long tradition of success in examinations and official service were increasingly preoccupied with strategies for ensuring the perpetuation of their elite status and countering the inexorable division of family estates stemming from the Chinese practice of partible inheritance.
This is the first epidemiological investigation of the association between HIV status and the practice of widow inheritance.
Our results showed that the majority (63%) of Luo widows in our sample were HIV positive, and the majority (56.3%) participated in the practice of widow inheritance.
Data analyses involved calculating the prevalence and 95% confidence interval of HIV infection and describing the practice of widow inheritance among Luo widows.
While the practice of widow inheritance is still common in eastern and southern Africa, a number of studies have noted a decline in this practice (Gwako, 1998; Ntozi & Zirimenya, 1999; Nyamukapa & Gregson, 2005; Oleke et al., 2005).
Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) follows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance.
It has been postulated that cultural practices of widow inheritance (WI) and sexual cleansing [6] [10], as well as non-circumcision of men [2], [3], [11], [12], are among the key factors that account for the disproportionate burden of HIV within the Kenyan Luo community.
Some perceive lobola (bride price) and cultural practices of widow inheritance as normalising the commodification of sex [ 11], but others challenge this interpretation of African tradition (e.g. Guy [ 19]).
