Ghost marriage in South Sudan

In South Sudan, the ghost marriage is a marriage where a deceased groom is replaced by his brother. The brother serves as a stand in to the bride, together with any resulting children are considered children of the deceased spouse. This unusual type of marriage is most exclusive to the Dinka Jieng, Nuer, and Atuot people of South Sudan although instances of such marriages earn also occurred in France. These tribes overlap in cultural practices, potentially due to the fact that all of these tribes are cattle-herding pastoralists.

Atuot people

There was a decline in ghost marriage among the Atuot people in the 1970s, and some sources attributed it to a connection with the cattle trade.