The post-migration survival of traditional marriage patterns: Consanguineous marriages among Turks and Moroccans in Belgium

In Turkey and Morocco, as in most regions of the Muslim world, consanguineous or kin marriage is part of a long-standing tradition of matrimonial practices. As modernisation brings with it higher levels of education, urbanisation and an increasing geographical mobility, these practices are coming under pressure. Similarly, it could be expected that the support of young people for kin marriages would decline through migration to Europe and the integration in their host society. However, a comparison of the prevalence of consanguineous marriages in the immigrant communities in Belgium and the countries of origin provides evidence of the contrary. Through an in depth analysis of the evolution of kin marriages over different migrant and minority cohorts in Belgium, explanations are sought for this unexpected development. The analyses reveal that consanguineous marriages are often cross-border marriages and thus intimately linked to the facilitation of new migrations. In the new setting created by migration and restrictive migration policies, a new logic or rationale seems to support the practice of kin marriages. Once more a proof is found that matrimonial strategies and practices are highly adaptable to changing contexts and opportunities. Together with the increasing number of kin marriages among Turks and Moroccans, the analyses disclose an apparently opposing trend, i.e. that of a declining number of marriages with friends of the family (practical kin). It is argued that the trade-off in marriages between practical kin and relatives is a first indication of the weakness of cross-border matrimonial practices; practices that link marriage to migration and immigrants to their regions of origin. The analyses are based on log-linear techniques. The data come from two representative surveys of Turks and Moroccans in Belgium, and the household records of the Demographic and Health Surveys for Turkey and Morocco.