ADA...The Igbo first daughter

I have been learning a lot about my culture this past year. Living in England makes it difficult for me to learn as much as i'd like to but when i get the opportunity, i never let it pass me by. Today i learnt about the many roles of a first daughter (Ada) in Igbo  land. One of the roles of an Ada which i found rather interesting is this:

When a man dies without a male child, the Ada does not get married. She stays back and selects lovers with whom she cohabits to beget children on behalf of her dead father. The children thus raised will take over her fathers property but most importantly, the children will continue the fathers name. This is how important a male child is in Igbo culture. Without a male child, a mans last name will become extinct as all the female children will get married and bear their husbands last name.

This tradition is no longer practiced by the way. This used to happen decades ago..although i will not be surprised if this still happens in some rural parts of Igbo land. I guess modernization has helped a lot..and so a lot of archaic practices are extinct. Whats all the fuss about a male child anyway? Society is a very interesting human construct.