In 1972, my sister was married into an indigenous family in Yuen Long, New Territories. My brother-in-law, like his father, was the only son in the family. It was believed that my sister who had four younger brothers would procreate the male line of the family.
Contrary to the wishful thinking, my sister and my brother-in-law had four daughters in a row. No matter how lovely the girls were, they did not fit in with the village's kinship system, and so the main conflict persisted. Later, with luck on their side, their fifth and last child was a boy!
Years ago, my nephew got married, and then, my sister and brother-in-law had a grandson. The great grandfather lived into his 90s to witness the male lineage maintained. And 100 days ago, my sister and my brother-in-law had their second grandson - a breakthrough after three generations!
Yesterday, my brother-in-law and my nephew hosted a big bowl feast in the village to celebrate, and my family joined too. Villagers congratulated the success of procreation via a giant flower plaque. As a species, may be our life goals are to procreate biologically and to preserve a culture socially!