Possessions of the deceased
The following week, when they arrived at the market, everyone they met exclaimed, ‘Ah Is this your son?’ The father realised that the son now had a good reputation and had made a name
for his father. Generally the youngest son is the most intelligent. As his older brothers all have authority
over him and are bigger than he, he has to be more cunning to make his way in life. This is why parents favour their youngest son and why he inherits the homestead. Interview, 22 July 2009,
Cobly If there is no son to inherit, the youngest wife of the deceased has the right to stay on in the
homestead, together with any daughters she may have, as she was probably the one who took care of her husband before he died. The other wives are expected to leave the homestead. The brothers who
inherited the other wives are responsible for seeing that they get some land where they can build. There is the hope that one or more of the deceased’s wives, if they are of childbearing age, will have sons and
therefore contribute to the continuation of the lineage. As I mentioned above, any children born of inherited wives are considered posthumous children of the deceased. The birth of a posthumous son
ensures an inheritor for the homestead, livestock and fields of the deceased father.
The father’s fields and livestock are divided amongst all the sons. If there are no sons, the wives of the deceased will see that the land is farmed and the livestock cared for. In this way, they will benefit
from the produce. Once the wives themselves have died, and if there are still no sons, the homestead and fields will return to family members of the same lineage of the deceased.
Daughters do not usually inherit the land, livestock or the homestead as they leave the paternal home when they marry. Nevertheless, Timothée shared that if an unmarried sister is well liked by her
brothers, they may decide to share some of their inheritance with her. In this way, unmarried sisters can have a small parcel of land that is on loan to them until the day they marry and leave. This parcel of
land then returns to her brothers.
It is not uncommon for women to own cattle, sheep and goats. If this is the case, when a woman dies, one part of her livestock should be returned to her maternal family to be divided amongst her
nephews, whilst her sons inherit the rest.
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Today, following Beninese law, the lawful spouse and all the children of the deceased including those born out of lawful wedlock, irrespective of sex, have equal rights of inheritance MJLDH 2008:19;
Boko Nadjo 2004:4. When there are children, the lawful spouse has the right to one quarter of the inheritance, whilst the rest is divided amongst the children. When there are no children, the lawful
spouse has the right to receive half of the inheritance, whilst the rest is divided amongst the deceased’s parents and immediate family Houngan Ayemonna and Kodjoh-Kpakpassou 2009:53–54. These laws
apply to the homestead, land and livestock, as well as the deceased’s personal possessions.