Editing Levirate marriage (section)

==Eurasia==

===Scythia===
The levirate custom was revived in [[Scythia]] if there were shaky economic conditions in the decedent's family. Khazanov, citing [Abramzon, 1968, p.&nbsp;289 - 290], mentions that during [[World War II]], the levirate was resurrected in Central Asia. In these circumstances, adult sons and brothers of the deceased man held themselves responsible to provide for his dependents. One of them would marry the widow and adopt her children, if there were any.<ref>Khazanov А. M. ''Social history of Scythians'', Moscow, 1975. p. 82 (no ISBN, but the book is available in US libraries, Russian title ''Sotsialnaya Istoriya Skifov'', Moskva, 1975)</ref>

===Central Asia and Xiongnu===
The levirate custom survived in the society of Northeastern Caucasus [[Huns]] until the 7th century [[Common Era|CE]]. The [[Armenia]]n historian [[Movses Kaghankatvatsi|Movses Kalankatuatsi]] states that the [[Sabir people|Savirs]], one of Hunnish tribes in the area, were usually [[monogamous]], but sometimes a married man would take his brother's widow as a [[polygynous]] wife. Ludmila Gmyrya, a [[Dagestan]]i historian, asserts that the levirate survived into "[[ethnographic]] modernity" (from the context, probably 1950s). Kalankatuatsi describes the form of levirate marriage practised by the Huns. As women had a high [[social status]], the widow had a choice whether to remarry or not. Her new husband might be a brother or a son (by another woman) of her first husband, so she could end up marrying her brother-in-law or stepson; the difference in age did not matter.<ref>Gmyrya L. ''Hun Country At The Caspian Gate'', Dagestan, Makhachkala 1995, p.212 (no ISBN, but the book is available in US libraries, Russian title ''Strana Gunnov u Kaspiyskix vorot'', Dagestan, Makhachkala, 1995)</ref> Hungarians also practiced levirate marriages. [[Koppány]]'s rebellion against the Christian king [[Stephen I of Hungary|Stephen I]] and claim to marry [[Sarolt]], the widow of his relative [[Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians|Géza]], was qualified as an incestuous attempt by 14th-century Hungarian chronicles, but was fully in line with the pagan custom.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Engel |first=Pál |title=The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526 |publisher=I.B. Tauris Publishers |year=2001 |isbn=1-86064-061-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kristó |first=Gyula |title=Saint Stephen and His Country: A Newborn Kingdom in Central Europe – Hungary |publisher=Lucidus Kiadó |isbn=963-86163-9-3 |editor-last=Zsoldos |editor-first=Attila |pages=15–36 |chapter=The Life of King Stephen the Saint|year=2001 }}</ref>

===India===
In 2017, the [[Indian Army]] removed a rule which restricted payment of monetary allowances to widows of gallantry awardees if she marries someone other than the late husband's brother. Previously, the payment of an allowance was continued until her death or until she re-married, unless the new husband was the late husband's brother.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 November 2017 |title=Army widow need not marry brother-in-law for pension |work=[[Deccan Chronicle]] |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/221117/army-widow-need-not-marry-brother-in-law-for-pension.html}}</ref>

The most famous instance of levirate marriage in India was the wedding of the [[Pañcāla|Panchala]] princess [[Draupadi]] to the five [[Pandava]] brothers. It is a main plot point of the epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'', though heavily discussed in the text as being controversial. ([[Polygamy]], however, was common at the time.)

===Indonesia===
According to the ''[[adat]]'' (customary practice) of the [[Karo people (Indonesia)|Karo people]] in [[North Sumatra]], Indonesia, polygyny is permitted. A study of Kutagamber, a Karo village in the 1960s, noted one instance of the practice, as a result of levirate.<ref>Masri Singarimbun, ''Kutagamber: A village of the Karo''.</ref> The Indonesian term for it is "''turun ranjang''" (lit.: get down off one's bed).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kbbi.kemdikbud.go.id/entri/turun%20ranjang|title=Hasil Pencarian - KBBI VI Daring}}</ref>

===Japan===
The Japanese had a custom of  levirate marriage called ''aniyome ni naosu'' (兄嫁に直す) during the [[Meiji period]].<ref>{{Cite journal|s2cid=155214295|doi=10.5955/JALHA.1957.112|title=Levirate Marriage of Meiji Era in Japan|year=1957|last1=Yamanaka|first1=Einosuke|journal=Legal History Review|volume=1957|issue=7|pages=112–130,en4|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Kurds===
Levirate marriages among the [[Kurds]] are very common and also among the [[Kurds in Turkey]], especially in [[Mardin]].<ref>{{in lang|tr}} the reasons for traditional marriages in Turkey and the effects of custom on marriages; Tuğçe P. Taçoğlu "[http://sobiad.odu.edu.tr/files/cilt2/cilt2sayi4pdf/poyraz_tacoglu_tugca.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826233024/http://sobiad.odu.edu.tr/files/cilt2/cilt2sayi4pdf/poyraz_tacoglu_tugca.pdf|date=2014-08-26}}</ref>
Levirate is practised in [[Kurdistan]]: a widowed woman stays with her husband's family. If she is widowed when her children are young, she is obliged to marry her deceased husband's brother. This form of marriage is called levirate. [[Sororate marriage]] is another custom: When a man loses his wife before she bears a child or she dies leaving young children, her lineage provides another wife to the man, usually a younger sister with a lowered [[bride price]]. Both levirate and sororate are practiced to guarantee the well being of children and ensure that any inheritance of land will stay within the family.{{cn|date=August 2022}}

===Kyrgyz===
"The [[Kyrgyz people]] practice levirate whereby the wife of a deceased male is very often married by a younger sibling of the deceased."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p6aXloa1QsEC&dq=Kirghiz+levirate&pg=PA124|title=The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War|first=M. Nazif|last=Shahrani|date=September 20, 2012|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=9780295803784 |via=Google Books}}</ref> "Kirghiz ... followed levirate marriage customs, i.e., a widow who had borne at least one child was entitled to a husband from the same lineage as her deceased spouse."<ref>[http://www.gl.iit.edu/govdocs/afghanistan/EthnicityAndTribe.html Afghanistan -- Ethnicity and Tribe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208001556/http://www.gl.iit.edu/govdocs/afghanistan/EthnicityAndTribe.html |date=2006-12-08 }}</ref>

===Korea===
The Korean kingdom of [[Goguryeo]] also had a custom of levirate marriage. An example of this was king [[Sansang of Goguryeo]] marrying [[Queen U of Goguryeo|the queen]] of [[Gogukcheon of Goguryeo]], who was his older brother's wife.<ref name="Yi">Pae-yong Yi, 《Women in Korean History 한국 역사 속의 여성들》, Ewha Womans University Press, 2008. {{ISBN|8973007726}}, pp.122-123</ref>

===Manchu===
The existence of levirate marriage is supported by the case of Korean [[Princess Uisun]] who was brought to the [[Later Jin (1616–1636)|Later Jin]] dynasty to marry the [[Manchu]] prince [[Dorgon]] and married his nephew after he died.<ref name="shizu">[https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=645346&remap=gb#p273 Veritable Records of Shunzhi]: "{{lang|zh|初，朝鮮國王族女，為和碩端重親王博洛妃。王薨，妃寡居。其父錦林君李愷允入充貢使，於賜宴日泣請其女還國，部臣以聞，下議政王貝勒會議，許之。}}"</ref>