From Rebecca Teclemariam-Mesbah
The article by Lynn Dicks on the effects of inbreeding reminded me that ancient civilisations have known about such effects for a long time (18 October, p 38).
My father, an Amhara from Ethiopia, always told me that by tradition he wasn’t allowed to marry any of his cousins who were less than seven times removed – that is, related to him in the past seven generations.
Accordingly, as a child he had to memorise his male ancestry. Men had to travel long distances to other villages to find a spouse. He always joked that as he couldn’t remember his ancestors’ names properly, he married my mother, a French woman.
Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
