First view - Etseiko

I remember two years ago, more than two years ago. How I was outside Frist campus center with two other classmates, both young women, who were premed and in my genetics class. I don’t recall who they are by name. One of them told me “I am doing this medical anthropology class where we have to look at pedigrees and it is so easy compared to what we are doing here” as we waited outside Frist, the north lawn, just under the statues of Benjamin Franklin and the man who discovered induction (why can’t I remember, is it just Henry ? Did I really have to give away my physics books!).

I never gave medical anthropology much though then. In fact, it appeared less rigorous compared to genetics, since my classmates told me how the anthro majors found the pedigree analysis so hard : “I am in a class where these anthro majors go – this is so hard!” . We had a good chuckle at their struggle, ironically, since I was struggling with genetics then – struggling to keep up with the material.

I am writing this because today I am interested in medical anthropology and I just had a discussion about traditions governing marriage. In the Oshiwambo tradition, a person may not marry a partner with whom they share a maternal family member. More clearly, the maternal lines may never ever be the same of a bride and groom to be.

I found this out by speaking with my mother’s friends about the introduction of a the future groom to the family of his bride to be. In Oshiwambo it is called Etseiko. “Etseiko is the introduction of a man to the family of his future bride. That is all that it is, no tradition, no funny things…” explained Martha, one of my mother’s good friends. Etseiko is the first formal meeting between the groom and the future in laws and formal it is since my cousin Clemens dressed real nice for his Etseiko just last week. It is during Etseiko that the parents of the bride to be interrogate the family members of the groom, in Clemens’s case these were his two elder sisters, on his family. “Where are you from? What village? And your family members are they related to so and so, could they be related?” are some of the questions that are asked to establish whether there is any blood relation. In the event that maternal lines cross, the wedding is called off indefinitely as such an intersection could have devastating effects on the children the couple could have. “People found out that those children from the same maternal line tend to be abnormal” told me Marta, “so it is not allowed”.

I wondered whether there is a relation between this tradition and genetics. Mitochondrial DNA inherited maternally is what comes to mind. From my knowledge, I postulate that by marrying into the same maternal line, the same mitochondria are inherited from one generation to the next. For this too happen, the germ cells of a mother divide and so do the mitochondria. During cell divisions the mitochondria are segregated to the daughter cells in a random manner, which after many division, results in the segregation of genetically dissimilar mitochondria from each other. So mitochondria carrying mutations of disease eventually end up in one ovum while normal mitochondria end up in another. For this too happen, many cell divisions are needed and this can be achieved through consecutive generations of women in the same maternal line. However, this process of segregation will ensue regardless of the genotype of the father of the daughter. So the marrying of men to women in the same maternal line has no affect on it. Therefore, this is unlikely to be the reason for this tradition.

On the other hand, the X chromosome is probably the reason. If a man and women are in the same maternal line, the man must carry the same X chromosome as his wife. Marrying within the same maternal line increases the chances that an X chromosome with a recessive mutation will be homozygous in women, leading to genetic disease. Yes it appears that the pedigree analysis needed for this medical anthropology is pretty simple.
But how far back does one have to go for a relative to be counted in “the maternal line?”
How distant must one be to be cleared during the Etseiko? In any case, why would one care about what relation there is between the tradition and genetics? Is it because we can learn more about genetic disease inheritance through this tradition or is it just nifty to notice overlaps? Since hereditary abnormalities, like dwarfism, still occur amongst the Owambo – their system is not full proof. Once we know the way a disease is passed on, are we supposed to inform people so they can change their traditions accordingly, or should we just advocate for genetic screening for fiancées? With the advent of genetic testing, how will Etseiko change – if at all – and what will it mean for the way people chose a life partner?