top of page
Writer's pictureSelorm Tito Ayikoe

Patrilineal inheritance as Practiced in Peki Tradition

Matrilineal inheritance is alien to Pekis tradition. In Peki inheritance of the Estate of a deceased take different forms according to the type of asset that is concerned. A thorny issue have always been women when they come into focus in inheritance. Even though it appears patrilineal inheritance is discrimatory to women , they cannot be denieyd a property that belonged to a deceased father who had no male child. This property is solely for them and not the family. They as the children of the deceased are the legal inheritors of their fathers estate. In Pekis tradition when a deceased have both male and female the estate is share to the men but the women are distributed among the males. This practice was that in event marital life go sour and dissolution of the marriage occurs. It's obligatory for the male who was tasked to take charge of the woman who has returned to her father's house to have access to a fair share of the property. The limitation is that her children cannot claim any part of the property because matrilineal inheritance is outside the scope of the inheritance structure of Pekis tradition. The emphasis is on the explicit fact that a woman's inheritance of her father's property stops at her death. The Practice where a father gives part of his landed property to her daughter to take her matrimonial home can only be reversed if the marriage produced no children. Interestingly , a property which is pass on from generation to generation is (if correct) is termed legally as *tenancy in common* . This type of property remain in the family. It cannot be Will under any circumstance. It's only property acquired by a deceased father that can be shared to the children of a deceased. In event the deceased put up a Will the head of family and other siblings of the deceased cannot alter or have any interest in it. It strictly goes to beneficiaries as indicated in the Will.. *Togbe Appiah Kwadzo VI* Ngoryifia of Peki.

0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

First King of Peki

Records as at 1833 , recognized Kwadzo Dei I as the first King of Peki. Curiosity led to trying to find the origin and meaning to the...

Peki Stool: Yam Festival

Most stools in Peki have a history, which explicitly defines its origins and character. The stool is consecrated on a day it remains its...

Comments


bottom of page