The work argues strongly that child adoption is something good and noble when it aims at the good and welfare of the child but at the same time not relegating the welfare of the adoptive parents to the background.

At the heart of every marriage union among the Igbo people of Nigeria is the desire to have one's own children, preferably male ones who will perpetuate the family name from generation to generation. Hence, no stone is left unturned to make sure that this aim is achieved in marriage. Oftentimes, this desire, despite every effort, is not realized by every married couple. Some marriages still remain childless. The precolonial Igbo were also confronted with childless marriages. But knowing the consequences of a childless marriage, they designed some methods of circumventing the problem. Almost all the methods they employed to make sure that no man died childless, which are extensively discussed in this work, are condemned by the Catholic Church. The Church proffered child adoption among other things as a solution to infertility in marriage. Child adoption, however, is frowned upon by some Igbo on the ground that it is against their culture. This situation, therefore, places some Igbo childless couples who want to remain faithful to the Christian faith on a crossroad of not knowing what to do in the face of infertility. The present work deals extensively on the meaning and ends of marriage among the Igbo people of Nigeria, on what it means to be childless among the Igbo, and on how the precolonial Igbo handled the situation as well as the importance of children in the Igbo family. The Church's teaching on marriage before and after the Second Vatican Council and especially on childless marriages as found in Gaudium et spes is also discussed in a very elaborate way. Other important topics discussed in this work include the Churchs position on artificial reproductive technologies (ART); the meaning of child adoption; and the Igbo peoples knowledge, attitude, and perception about the practice of child adoption. This work argues strongly that child adoption is something good and noble when it aims at the welfare of the child but at the same time not relegating the welfare of the adoptive parents to the background.

Autorentext

John Kachikwulu Ekwunife

Inhalt

Childless Marriages and Adoption among the Igbo: In Defense of Child Adoption Based on the Igbo Traditional and Christian Values ............................................................................................ 17 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 17 Purposes and Objectives of the Study ................................................................... 18 Delimitation of the Study ........................................................................................ 18 Methodology and Sources ....................................................................................... 19 Structure of the Work .............................................................................................. 23 Who Are the Igbo? ................................................................................................... 23 The Igbo Worldview in Relation to Childless Marriages .................................... 27 The Motivation for This Research .......................................................................... 29 Part I Introduction Chapter One The Igbo Concept of Marriage ........................................ 37 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................. 37 1.1 The Igbo Understanding of Marriage ........................................................ 37 1.2 Stages in the Igbo Marriage Processes ...................................................... 43 1.2.1 Enquiry Stage ........................................................................................ 43 1.2.2 Payment of the Bride Wealth .............................................................. 44 1.2.3 The Betrothal of the Bride ................................................................... 46 1.3 Some Impediments to Marriage in the Igbo Culture .............................. 47 1.3.1 Blood Affinity ........................................................................................ 47 1.3.2 Established History of Sudden/Premature Deaths in a Family ...... 49 1.3.3 Extreme Case of Wickedness/Maltreatment of Women ................. 50 1.3.4 Infertility ................................................................................................ 51 1.3.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................ 54Chapter Two The Place of Children in the Igbo Marriage ............. 57 2.0 Introduction ................................................................................................. 57 2.1 The Ends of Igbo Marriage ......................................................................... 57 2.1.1 A Few Igbo Names that Express the Importance of Children among the Igbo and Their Meaning/s ............................................... 59 2.2 The Importance of Children in the Igbo Culture .................................... 61 2.2.1 Children as Old Age Insurance .......................................................... 62 2.2.2 Children as Parents Hope of Immortality ........................................ 65 2.2.3 Children Are Proof of Man/Womanhood ....................................... 66 Chapter Three Types of Marriages and Traditional Solutions to Childlessness among the Igbo ............................................................ 69 3.0 Introduction ................................................................................................. 69 3.1 Monogamy .................................................................................................... 69 3.2 Polygamy ....................................................................................................... 71 3.3 Nhachi Nwannyi ........................................................................................... 74 3.4 Levirate Marriage ......................................................................................... 77 3.5 Woman to Woman Marriage ...................................................................... 79 3.6 Summary of Part 1 ....................................................................................... 80 Part II: The Church s Teaching on Marriage Chapter Four The Place of Procreation in the Christian Concept of Marriage .................................................................................... 83 4.0 Introduction ................................................................................................. 83 4.1 Procreation in Christian Marriage before Vatican II .............................. 83 4.2 Summary ....................................................................................................... 97 4.3 The Place of Procreation in Christian Marriage in Gaudium et Spes .... 98 4.3.0 Introduction .......................................................................................... 984.3.1 Historical Evolution of Gaudium et Spes ......................................... 100 4.3.2 The Schema on Marriage/the Final Text of Gaudium et Spes on Marriage ......................................................................................... 105 4.3.3 Ends of Christian Marriage in Gaudium et Spes ............................ 114 4.3.3.1 Conjugal Love ....................................................................... 115 4.3.4 The Igbo Marriage and Christian Marriage: Areas of Agreement and Discord ..................................................................... 118 Chapter Five Childlessness: Meaning, Forms, and Causes .......... 123 5.0 Introduction ....................................…