factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society

LeVine, R.A., Patterns of Personality in Africa, in Responses to Change: Society, Culture and Personality. Mbiri Ya Achewa, 195? Aboriginal kinship ties, values, beliefs, identity and language are maintained by the family. It varies from culture to culture, from society to society. The contention that questions the existence of African traditional society and culture has been clearly beyond reasonable doubt asserted to agreement however there are presences of constraints towards the flourishing of these societies as, Internal factors which include; Lack of unity among members of the society, differentiation of ideologies . 6. Responsibility of elders: - They help in the settlement of disputes. 4 It disrupts normal human activities. However the mode of dressing has seriously changed due to western influence. Some of the traditional forms of leisure include. 5. The book describes and explains Chewa traditions and customs including Ukamwini. - A child who remained an orphan was easily adopted into another family. The permissive society has also encouraged trial marriages. 4. J. Clyde Mitchell, The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. How the of rites passage inculcate moral values In the traditional African communities, people learn the moral values through every days activities and through education provided. Yet in some communities when a woman is pregnant she is not allowed to talk to her husband directly. Similar customs or rules of restrictions in interaction apply between many other kin in a traditional African family. Makini. Division of labor in African societies, labor is divided according to sexes. Names are also given in honor of ancestors. As such disputes over land ownership were rare, this is because:- i. N.S.S.F. Many women today put on trousers that initially were meant for men. Circumcision of the girls is a practice that has been widely condemned for health reasons. We do not sell brides in our society. The houses of grandparents form their sleeping places. Bridgewater, VA 22812 The mother and the child is no longer secluded. Such occasions include beer drinking, wrestling, playing football, singing and dancing etc. 6) There is problem of correct dosage of traditional medicine. 9. Department of Sociology Economic hardships that has been due to introduction of money economy. A Modern Introduction to The Family, Glencoe: The Free Press, 1960. iv. - In some communities it would be thrown in rivers, forest in Banana plantations. 4. In some communities the choice is made by the parents. Piercing of the ear. LEISURE Leisure is the free time that an individual has at his disposal when he is not bound by duty. The study of African societies has become an established area of scholarship, with sophisticated analyses that are far from earlier works . - They are many types of the wedding ceremonies. Young people are trained to have respect for others and self-respect. Lobola is widely used among the Bantu peoples of Central and Southern Africa.39, Avoidance, segregated relationships, lack of love and tenderness in traditional African marriages and the family has been a common theme among European scholars. There are meteorologists who predict the weather conditions. Caution should be applied when sweeping generalizations are made which make the traditional African family is made to appear static, rigid, and lacking in vitality. The government has also set up insurance and pension schemes to enable people who are employed continue to get a decent life after retirement e.g. Meanwhile the man and her married sister do not live in one locality, as they must maintain their marriages. 2) Some students also consult them to succeed in exams and career. Meanwhile, the median income of married-couple families is much higher ($72,589). 1. Establishing that traditional Kenyan culture and custom was supportive of high fertility in no way establishes how strongly held are these practices today or how quickly they may change as the socioeconomic basis of the real day-to-day society changes. It was written in 1988. 8. Some are circumcised when they are still infants. Email: mtembo@bridgewater.edu, 2023 Mwizenge S. Tembo - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP, Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder: Book Review, Kinship and Clan of the Baganda of Uganda, Kinship and Clan of the Bemba of Northern Zambia, Eurocentricity and the Traditional African Family. They also do the work of advisors e.g. It is a source of food for the people and the animals. It gives the mans family time to prepare for the dowry payment. Consanguineal kinship: this kinship is based on blood the relationship meaning the relationship between parents and children also among immediate siblings. - It causes physical injury to the victim. Laziness was condemned or punished to ensure that people owned what they had actually worked for. 2. the outcome of a war 5. However, children are never kissed kissing is not known to the Baganda and the close intimacy of the mother-child relationship as found in America, for example, is not present. If the child laughs, then the last mentioned name is given to him or her, .and the soul of the ancestors is considered to have entered its body.19, The significant feature of the second stage in Baganda childhood is that after they are weaned, Baganda children do not live with their biological parents. Young men are taught to be honest in all their undertakings. factors affecting kinship ties in modern society, factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society, importance of kinship ties in traditional af. DeVos, New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1976. 2. 5. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. The verb kulobola is very specific meaning the valuables that are given partially or in full to the girls people to legitimate or seal the marriage. Payment of dowry shows how the bridegroom values the wife. New York: The Free Press, 1963. Problems that the elderly face today 1. These variations are caused by differences in tribal customs or culture according geography, history, religion, external influence of colonialism, inter migration, political and economic structures and influences. The attitude of the parents towards the sex of the child is also changing. Actual birth - During birth there are certain rituals that are performed to introduce the chills to the immediate and extended members of the family. (2) Generation: Kinship tie is established between the persons in relation to generation. iii. 4. iv. There is no proper dosage of the herbs. [1] - The departed relatives are kept alive through naming. This symbolizes new life. 5. 3. - Wealth is no longer determined in terms of the number of wives or children. - Among the Luo the bride could be accompanied by her other sisters and on the first night, the people would witness the breaking of virginity. 4. And this, together with neolocality, makes it nearly impossible to use kinship in structuring our social order. vi. - In African traditional society, each individual is related to the other. 4. Girls take care of the babies and fetch firewood. IV, pp.66-87. It is said to be the basic and universal in relationships. (1) According to the Dictionary of Anthropology, "Kinship system includes socially recognized relationships based on supposed as well as actual genealogical ties.". They also play the role of priests and pray for people. Kinship relationships also determine social obligations and responsibilities, such as who has the right to inherit property or who is responsible for caring for children Kinship is a social relationship based on real consanguinity. The birth of a child is no longer a communal affair but a family affair. 2 Traditional foster care arrangements are referred to as non-kin foster care. 3. During seclusion there is sex education, which is meant for girls and boys for marriage. There are physical (visible) causes of death and religious (invisible) causes. - The placenta is disposed of ceremoniously e.g. Dec. 31, 2007. 2. 7) Many of the traditional medicine men are not willing to divulge information to others (a lot of secrecy surrounding traditional medicine) 8) Those who are educated also do not believe in the powers of diviners and mediums. - The children born after his death were still referred to as his. Price, Thomas., A Short English-Nyanja Vocabulary. Some communities such as the Maasai still maintain their traditional way of dressing. In many matrilineal societies, the maternal uncle in the go-between or undertakes all the arrangements and responsibilities for his nephews marriage.32 In case of divorce, the womens people were legal guardians of the children. traditional agricultural systems of production and the increasing ownership of land by women, as well as education and access to contraceptives have reduced the demand for large families. iii. Traditional African Society. Indeed this sense of kinship binds together the entire life of the "tribe . - They help the priests to performing certain rituals such as sacrifices. Courtship gives the two families time to prepare in advance for the real marriage. vii. Matrilineality is the major influence in what children learn and come to accept about their society. As such children at an early age learn that their father has little authority or responsibility for them. For example, when a man dies among the Baganda, his power over the property ends. they are operational and obtainable in every society around the world be it traditional or modern. iv. Some scholars have suggested that this arrangement might be fraught with potential social problems and conflict.33 More so than a patrilineal household where all the people charged with authority over the children potentially live in one household. There were clear guidelines, rules and regulations on the use and ownership of land. - Marriage also unites the living and the dead. For this reason, the paper serves only as an introduction to the application of Christian Famous Sociologist H.M. Johnson identified six important bases of kinship which are described below: (1) Sex: Kinship relation is differentiated in each society on the basis of sex. Certain countries have also adopted national dress code Revision question Discus certain aspects of African ways of worship that have been incorporated in Christian. 11 This study was conducted in the late 1800s when inter-tribal warfare and capturing of slaves from the wars was still very common. Marriage 4. Edited by Arthur Phillips, (London: Oxford University Press, 1953) p.1, 10 Stuart Queen, Robert W. Habenstein, and John B. Adams, The Polygynous Baganda Family, in The Family in Various Cultures. The San society in general and the kinship system in particular are very different from contemporary American society. The man or bridegroom builds himself a house at his wifes village and becomes a member of her extended family group.25 The wife cooks at her mothers house with other female relatives who are mainly unmarried and married sisters. Indeed, such authors as Chondoka have recently found little accuracy or justification in calling this custom purchasing or buying of a wife. Pregnant women are not allowed to handle certain types of tools. 4. These could be through words or deeds. Death must have a cause. ix. This is sexual differentiation in socialization in which girls will become acceptable mothers and wives and boys husbands and fathers. The degree of relatedness to the caregiver and socio-economic status of the fostering household were the strongest determinants of the well-being of children in kinship care. A community has distinct beliefs, customs and cultural practices. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. Religious leaders such as bishop and pastor have replaced their duties. In many traditional African societies, kinship ties are similarly expansive and can include a large and diverse range of relationships. among the Akamba pregnant women are not supposed to eat fats, beans or animals killed using poison. - In most African communities a widow was inherited by the husbands close relatives. They are believed to be full of wisdom. They at times suffer from loneliness and psychological problems How the aged are taken care of today 1. - Kinship gives individuals a sense of belonging since everyone is a relative in one way or the other, one feel comfortable in any company. Included in this same bigger household will be servants, female slaves, and their children.10 The father remains the head of the nuclear family units. - Kinship defines and enforces duties and responsibilities of individuals. The naming of a child is therefore an important occasion, which is often marked with ceremonies. 3. This helps to control peoples behaviors. The issue to emphasize, is not so much that there are no weaknesses or shortcomings in the traditional African family, but that the Eurocentric Anglo-Saxon descriptions (that are believed to be objective and describe social phenomena as accurately as possible) eliminate, and over shadow the strengths and positive aspects that might have existed and may still exist in the African traditional family patterns. At times girls could be given to repay debts. - Initiation rites have certain symbolic meanings. they are consulted before installation of a new king in some communities. Download Now. in women. 28-39. giving the expectant mother certain herbs. Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. In the African understanding, it is believed that there is no natural death. - Life is also seen as communal. Although polygamy is the act of an individual being married to more than one spouse at the same time, the more commonly practiced in Africa is polygyny .the legal marriage of one man to two or more women concurrently is permitted.4 This author argues that because of its perversity, the presence and absence of polygyny was a significant determinant and indicator of the nature of virtually every African social group; whether tribe, clan, or extended family, whether matrilineality or patrilineality was practiced, bride price existed, and how children were raised. They are people who claim a common ancestry and are related by blood. - Some pieces of land are being regarded as public land. vii. These views were expressed before 1930s and as late as 1960s. This is because these ties: - Life also progress from one stage to another. This paper aims at tackling the change in the anthropological view of marriage and kinship ties in the society. Those who did not have were assisted to acquire property by the community. - A white bed sheet is spread this is to collect blood during the breaking of virginity. Edited by G.A. They are neglected by their children especially those working in the towns. A total of 68 linguistic terms of relationships are used by the Baganda.12, The Baganda have a very important aspect of the social or family structure; the consanguinal kin group or blood line which is a line of descent traced through the male members of the family or patri-sib. The traditional healers are still important today especially to those who had let down by medicine prescribed by doctors. The gifts also act as security in case the marriage breaks then the gifts could be returned. - Many people have moved and have settled in foreign lands, which are not their ancestral lands. Box 169 To give the mother instructions on how to take care of the child. Agikuyu umbilical cord is kept to symbolize the link between the mother and the child. Most of the time they suffer from old age diseases. In male-speaking terms, fathers sisters daughters (cross-cousins) are called cousins. Kinship refers to relationship between people through blood, marriage or adoption. 1. During initiation the young adults are taught matters relating to sex and adulthood. The term 'brother' and 'sister' shows the sex of blood relations. This review finds that parental care remains the best care setting and should be highly encouraged within African society. x. It can determine a person's political identity and the way money and property are transferred. 12. Stephens, William N., The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York: University Press of America, 1982. Bell, Norman W., and Vogel, Ezra F. - Attending discos and nightclubs. 3. - Rainmakers observe the behavior of insects, birds and animals to predict the nature of rain. - When a woman learns that she is pregnant, she becomes very happy and she becomes a special person in the community and receives special treatment. Thorne, Barrie., and Yalom, Marilyn., (Eds.) They have the ability to foretell what would happen in the future. 7. - They suffer from psychological and emotional problems - Sometimes widows face lack of essentials such as food. 5) Modern science and technology also discourage people from believing mysterical powers. - Purification rites are performed for the mother and the child to make the child pure. I. This chapter only focussed on the matrilineal and polygynous patrilineal African traditional family patterns because they seem representative of the broad patterns that exists on the continent. Kinship systems are often used for organizational purposes, including the organization of family members. - Gambling. v. There was a lot of fairness in the distribution of property. There are two main types of leisure: (1) Passive leisure: This is where there is minimal use of physical energy. among the Kisii, a person born crossing the river could be called Kwamboka. Defines kinship and explains its importance. Reconnecting with a genetic tie Genetic resource and testing connected a person to their blood. ELDERS They are people who are elderly in society. The purpose of sex is purely for procreation hence this discouraged sex before marriage. Mair, Lucy P., African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. 4. 3. Those who had not been initiated were not allowed to own property. -Close and supportive extended-family relationships -Strong kinship ties with non blood relatives from church or organizational and social groups -Family unity, loyalty, and cooperation are important -Usually matriarchal African American Folk and Traditional Healthcare: 7. iv. iii. 6. 1. - People tend to be individualized. It is believed that the dead relatives continue to live through children. Boys and girls are not allowed to mix freely unless under supervision. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1983. (Lusaka: Nalinga Consultancy/Sol-Consult A/ S Limited, 1989) p.97, 46 R.A. LeVine. The Baganda people of Uganda provide the best illustration.7. However, as a prospective husband, you are told to pay for the marriage and not the bride. pp.164-202. T/F: Through slavery, forced separation of spouses, siblings, and parents from children led to a more expansive definition of kinship, and thus an extended family model took root. 4. - Can interfere with an individuals reproductive system. Grandmothers teach girls their roles and grandfathers maintain law and order .Young unmarried men provide security in form of warriors while boys look after the animals. - In some communities, marriage is not recognized without children. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961) p.68, 23 Lucy P. Mair, African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. 35 3Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions. The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. Magic, sorcery and witchcraft. It shows an act of bravery and hardship one I s to meet in life. - Children born out of marriage also provide security to the homes. This manuscript was written for a book, which was never published, which was to be edited by Dr. Elizabeth Brooks who was a lecturer at the University of Zambia. - The naming of the child takes place some days after birth. Other names may also refer to the characteristics of the mothers pregnancy or the nature of delivery e.g. The kin group is also a source of emotional and spiritual belonging. So the relationship is often based on mutual expectations and is more beneficial for both parties than confrontational and fraught with issuing of orders. Prayers are offered also during time of calamities. iii. viii. Lastly, this author will argue that the Eurocentric nature of the descriptions and characterization of the traditional African family patterns by earlier scholars has tended to distort and obscure many of the strengths of the African traditional family. Bridgewater College (East Lansing, Michigan State University, 1980) p.11 Unpublished M.A. One-parent families headed by a woman for any reason are much poorer ($30,296 in 2008 median annual income) than those headed by a man ($44,358). - Also include the dead and those yet to be born and the departed relatives. But quite to the contrary, the clan seems to have a more supreme influence. Kinship is the relationship, including social relationship, that exists between two or more individuals, and kinship has a major influence on political, and economic systems in many different regions from around the world. Land was owned by the community. 7. Introduction to Kinship. Lous Wirth also believed that the city is not conducive to the traditional type of family life. Traditional kinship structures remain important in many First Nations communities today. ii. 2. The subject of traditional family patterns in Africa is so broad that it cannot be adequately addressed in one chapter. Although children are our main focus, we have a holistic approach to the problem . This means that they are looking for death to kill it. theories regarding family structure" (D . (Buffalo: Amulefi Publishing Company, 1980). (Eds.) These Anglo-Saxon or Eurocentric descriptions do not help in the fair and accurate perception of the traditional African family. The basic family unit among the Bemba was not the nuclear family. In some communities girls are given to kings or chiefs as gifts. Girls brought wealth in form of cattle to marriage. There are three main types of kinship: lineal, collateral, and affinal. In difficult times such as during famine, those who have share what they have with their relatives. vi. - They could also feel their body senses to predict rain. The Plan of Action also asserts that "for the full and harmonious development of their personality, children should grow up in a famil environmenty in a,n atmosphere of happiness lov, ane d understanding". Importance of seclusion period 1. Some herbalists have been legalized by the government and have opened clinics e.g. Removal of teeth. Modern education and western culture has affected dowry payment in that many educated attach little value to dowry payment. To protect the child from evil eyes. 3 Lucy P. Mair, African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life, edited by Arthur Phillips, (London: Oxford University Press, 1953) p.1. People nowadays migrate and buy lands in far places. 3. Information on traditional marriage customs among both patrilineal and matrilineal peoples of Zambia is available in Yizenge A. Chondoka, Traditional Marriages in Zambia: A Study in Cultural History, (Ndola: Mission Press, 1988). Adams, Bert N., The Family: A Sociological Interpretation, 4th Edition, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1986. Colson, Elizabeth., Marriage and the Family among the Plateau Tonga of Northern Rhodesia., Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1958. Elders are respected [32777] [42770]. Death -The rites or ceremonies conducted on such occasions differ from one community to another. This has been due to western culture, industrialization, urbanization Christianity, limited time and economic constraints. In fact Chondoka finds the use of the terms dowry, bride price to refer to particularly traditional Zambian marriages to be serious misnomers introduced by European missionaries and colonialists in Africa. By Timothy T. Schwartz, PhD. ii. (2) Active leisure: This involves the use of the physical energy. But this is not an independent nuclear family unit. Factors contributing to harmony and mutual responsibility in African communities. Problems experienced by widows and orphans - They suffer from lack of company because they feel abandoned. 7. Headmanships of villages, court offices, ritual titles, and chieftainships are passed on in this way. Kinship systems provide each person with a defined role (based on age, gender, and other factors), and serve to link people via duties of care [35856]. Would provide medical care e.g. Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions, New York: Longman, 1982. Role of priests, prophets and seers 1. - They could also observe the weather conduction and interpret the movement of clouds and wind. ii. They could also give aid to increase productivity e.g. 6. food, beer drinking. A father-in-law knows what to expect from a good son-in-law. - There are cases of destruction of land and environment through dumping of wastes. The author obtained his B.A in Sociology and Psychology at University of Zambia in 1976, M.A, Ph. 4. p.19, 45 Naboth M. J. Ngulube, Some Aspects of Growing Up in Zambia. Social change in Africa as everywhere else is ubiquitous. The dramatic social changes in Africa during the last three decades of political independence from European colonialism have obviously affected the traditional family. vi. to find out if they are related. Many people today acquire Christian names. - A lot of bleeding can lead to the death of an individual. Tembo, Mwizenge S., A Sociological Analysis of the African Personality Among Zambian Students. Wedding ceremony - After the negotiation the wedding ceremonies are arranged. Land ownership: The ancestral land is communally owned and nobody is allowed to sell it. They are referred to as the Eskimo, Hawaiian, Sudanese, Omaha, Crow, and Iroquois systems. In the traditional African Community, marriage was considered incomplete without children. Similar systems of kinship terminology can be found, for example, among the Ndebele of Zimbabwe, the Zulu of South Africa, the Ngoni and Tumbuka of Eastern Zambia. 41 Molefi Kete Asante, Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change. - Property can be owned outside ones ancestral home. Schooling where children spend most of their time with teachers depriving them the time to be with elders. 2. 4. The degree of which witchcraft as a cause of death is emphasized varies from one community to another. Anything described in these terms must inherently be bad, primitive and, therefore, undesirable.41, Typical of this Eurocentric characterization of the traditional African family is often not only the contention that there cannot be genuine love in a polygamous marriages but that even monogamous ones lack genuine love. As Eaton et al (2003) found in South Africa, for young people struggling for daily survival, protection from possible future illness may be a lower priority than meeting immediate economic needs. - The government assists widows to get their husbands benefits. bribery, robbery and stealing. There is no bride price in our society. - They counsel and guide the youth on matters of sex and marriage Why guiding and counseling was done by elders 1. 5. 8. v. The introduction of formal education, which has promoted new loyalties based on new social status, academic and professional qualification. Marriage ceremonies brought people together as they came together to rejoice. People in the traditional African communities were afraid of acquiring property unlawfully for fear of curse. Boys will live with the brothers of their father and until marriage, girls live in the home of a married elder brother or with the brother of the father. They act as judges in certain circumstances. CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN AFRICAN UNDERSTANDING Today many people talk of the way things were sometimes back many factors have affected the African culture. - Land can now be sold or auctioned. Goldthorpe, J.E., The Sociology of the Third World: Disparity and Development. Marriage has been commercialized - many people demand higher payment for their daughter. In some communities there is feasting and drinking of beer. The youth are believed to be free with them. 7. Diviners and mediums iii. By combining the patrilocal rule of residence with consanguinal descent, the Baganda have built a formidable system of clans.13, Among the Baganda, the clan has remained the most important kinship entity. That is one cannot escape it 2 It brings impurity to the family and thus several rites are observed after death 3 It deprives the family and the community of the individual. Each community has a distinct political and social organization. One could also die due to breaking a taboo in such instances elders would identify the offender and perform an act of cleansing. 7 Stuart Queen, Robert W. Habenstein, and John B. Adams, The Polygynous Baganda Family, in The Family in Various Cultures, (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961) Ch. They are free most of them and can get time for the younger generation. A person's position in the kinship system establishes their relationship to others and to the universe, prescribing their responsibilities towards other people, the land and natural resources. RELIGIOUS SPECIALISTS IN THE TRADITIONAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY -They are those who are believed to be endowed with special powers.

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