CMI REPORT
R 2006: 16
”OPITANHA”
The households are typically composed of a mother and father, and up to 3 dependent children under the age of 15 years (Table 11). Male-headed households typically also include siblings and other relatives, from either the husband’s or the wife’s extended family. Female- headed households rarely include children, due to the high age of female household heads, who have children who have already left the household. At the same time, female-headed households contain other kin members such as nephews, nieces and grandchildren. Fifteen percent of the households include the children of deceased extended family members. Taking children as “dependants” per se, the households in Nihessiue and Chinga do have a heavy burden (see below).
Table 11. Household Member Categories by Sex of Household Head Household members Spouse Parents Children Grand-children Nieces/nephews Siblings Other relatives Non-relatives
MHH % 97.2 0.9 81.7 6.4 6.4 4.6 20.2 1.8
FHH # 106 1 89 7 7 5 22 2
% 18.2 0 63.6 9.1 18.2 0 0 0
Total # 2 0 7 1 2 0 0 0
% 90 0.8 80 6.7 7.5 4.2 18.3 1.6
# 108 1 96 8 9 5 22 2
Spouses in the majority of households (61.7 percent) live together without any formal marriage contract, while 26.6 percent are married in church or mosque or by civil law (Table 12). The former include people who have gone through traditional marriage ceremonies, implying that they are accepted by the extended family and nihimo as partners. The low proportion of female-headed households in the sense of a woman with children who has not been married (i.e. who is not divorced and not a widow) is a peculiar feature of the Murrupula social formation. Again, the relative ease with which women with children in matrilineal society can marry or become included in their natal family is a possible explanation.
Table 12. Civil Status by Sex of Household Head Civil status Single Married Consensual union Separated/divorced Widowed No information Total
MHH % 0.9 28.4 67.9 0 1.8 0.9 100.0
FHH # 1 31 74 0 2 1 109
% 9.1 9.1 0 9.1 72.7 0 100.0
Total # 1 1 0 1 8 0 11
% 1.7 26.6 61.7 0.8 8.3 0.8 100.0
# 2 32 74 1 10 1 120
Our survey also found a lower incidence of polygamy (3 percent) than was found in the National Household Survey for Mozambique and Nampula (se Chapter 2). One reason may be that Murrupula is located in the interior of the province, where the Christian influence is stronger than
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