The man who is the heir to the widow has the additional family responsibility of adopting the widows family. 7. 8. Because of this wide spectrum, it is not possible to explore all aspects of the traditional African family. The community disciplined those who showed traits of greed over ownership of property. 4. It could also show how the bridegroom is capable of taking care of the bride. 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 Dec. 31, 2007. 2. Primary kinship refers to direct relations. 10. iii. LAND In the traditional African society, people had a lot of attachment to land. vi. Piercing of the ear. 6. v. Taking oaths falsely. - The wife or orphans sometimes get mistreated. 9 J.A. Naming ceremonies also provide opportunity to teach the culture of the youth. Property could be owned by community, individuals or families. (Ndola: Mission Press, 1988), 44 Thomas Price, A Short English-Nyanja Vocaublary, (Lusaka: National Educational Company of Zambia, and Kenneth Kaunda Foundation, 1970). The Baganda people of Uganda provide the best illustration.7. 25 likes 25,448 views. 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. At childhood children are taught to obey parents and the elderly. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. The midwife also monitors the development of the foetus. The subject of traditional family patterns in Africa is so broad that it cannot be adequately addressed in one chapter. People nowadays migrate and buy lands in far places. 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. (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. - Diviners are people who are believed to have the ability to reveal hidden things by use of magical powers Role of mediums and diviners in the societies i. Mediums link the living, spirits and the ancestors. Rain makers ii. This means that they are looking for death to kill it. - 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. 8. Division of labor in African societies, labor is divided according to sexes. Ngulube, Naboth M. J., Some Aspects of Growing Up in Zambia, Lusaka: Nalinga Consultancy/Sol-Consult A/S Limited, 1989. Kinship System in African Communities. 5 It comes unannounced. Virginity is not highly valued and many people break their virginity at stage of adolescence. It is a sign of belonging to the society or identification. They are consulted in cases where western medicine has failed. 5) Modern science and technology also discourage people from believing mysterical powers. Through supernatural powers iii. - They are kept company. - Marriage brought unity in the society. Almost 30% of all single-parent families headed by women are officially poor. These can be by blood, marriage or adoption. Names could also depict the character of the child. Significance of dowry payment The custom of paying personal gifts to the brides people is practiced all over Africa sometimes referred to as Bride wealth or Bride price. They lead people to communal prayer in time of crisis. What role did religion play in medieval Africa communities? - Protection charms are tied around the neck or the waist of the child. For example honesty is expected in marriage. h. Among the Luos animals are driven over the graveside, people run in the homestead with spears. v. In some cases if a man is married and wants another wife his first or other wives would be involved in making the proposal. Kinship is reckoned through blood and betrothal (engagement and marriage). 6. p119. They could also give aid to increase productivity e.g. A community has distinct beliefs, customs and cultural practices. Today the dead can be buried in cemeteries in towns. vi. 4. Edited by Arthur Phillips, London: Oxford University Press, 1953. The language of the Baganda carries no word for love or tender affection; the closest is a word that is best translated as like.43. Death must have a cause. i. The common descriptions of the African traditional family in the literature is Eurocentric and biased. These institutions are a cultural universal i.e. iv. - Children born out of marriage also provide security to the homes. Today choosing of a marriage partner is individualized and the parents do nowadays not choose the marriage partner. Furthermore, the woman will bear children and thus enrich her husband and the wider circle of relatives from both sides. She organizes the disposal of the placenta (after birth). INITIATION - This is the second major important stage in ones life. Children among the matrilineal peoples are brought up in a similar traditional extended family village social environment. Other names can be given according to important events that take place in the community e.g. Girls take care of the babies and fetch firewood. To protect the child from evil eyes. Marriage involves much more than just the bride.37, This author would further argue that among the African people that are conductors, participants, and are actors in these marriages, the concept buy, purchase a wife or bride does not exist. vi. Some of them are (i) Rites of passage (2) Good morals (3) Participation in communal activities such as ceremonies, work, leisure activities and worship (4) Sharing of property and ideas (5) Division of labour. This is sexual differentiation in socialization in which girls will become acceptable mothers and wives and boys husbands and fathers. vi. Urbanization: Where people of different cultures interact with one another. In addition, the women who have got gainful jobs seek more freedom in many aspects. - Some widows and children are not accepted or welcomed in their new homes. Economy e.g. v. They drive a way witches and evil spirits. The church also gives them food, and clothing and their daily needs. Problems that the elderly face today 1. Are made up of smaller units called clan. Reconnecting with a genetic tie Genetic resource and testing connected a person to their blood. Because of this, extended families among the Bemba are not really as large as those found, especially among patriarchal polygynous traditional families in other tribes be it in Southern, Eastern, or West Africa.28 Polygamy is relatively speaking uncommon in this area and the institution is not an essential part of the Bemba family and economic life as it is among so many Bantu peoples.29, The Bembas kinship is based on descent in the matrilineal line. FACTORS AFFECTING THE SYSTEM 173 THE SIB: DESCENT AND EXOGAMY Kinship ties necessarily begin within the family as a pro- creational unit. food, beer drinking. vi. The term 'brother' and 'sister' shows the sex of blood relations. Relevance of diviners and medicine men today 1) Diviners and Mediums are still important in Kenya today. b. Meanwhile, the husband works under his father-in-laws orders with other young son-in-laws.26 A matrilocal family of this kind forms the nucleus of a village community (umushi) which other relatives of the head of the family afterwards join.27, Polygamy or polygyny, which is a distinguishing feature in many traditional African families especially is patrilineal and patriarchal societies, is uncommon among the matrilineal Bemba. - Marriage ensures that children are not born outside wedlock. Second, the continued Eurocentric descriptions and characterization of the African traditional family as some what depraved lead to the use of such terms as bride price, avoidance social taboos, segregated relationships, lack of love and tenderness in African marriages and families. The kin group is also a source of emotional and spiritual belonging. bribery, robbery and stealing. Many women today put on trousers that initially were meant for men. 6. 9. 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. 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. The male head has control over children produced by the children of the group. They may receive messages from the spirits and ancestors. Polygamy was preferred in African Traditional societies but today many people prefer monogamy marriage mainly due to economic hardship. - Widows and orphans feel dehumanized. Changing attitudes to birth and naming 1. 7. Importance of Naming 1. Living with new parents means no particular change in status; the biological parents do not forget their off spring and are always present for any ceremonies involving their children.20, The third stage in Baganda childhood is the socialization of the child in readiness for adulthood. 3. 5. These could be through words or deeds. This article looks at the societies and cultures of sub-Saharan Africa in pre-modern history. ..it is not until this ceremony is completed that the childs legitimacy is once and forever established.17, People gather at the clan chiefs house. g. The body is carefully placed in the grave facing an appropriate direction according to the customs of the people. Challenges facing herbalists 1. 1975. Some are circumcised when they are still infants. As such disputes over land ownership were rare, this is because:- i. - Marriage was a source of wealth for the family. Price, Thomas., A Short English-Nyanja Vocabulary. Mair, Lucy P., African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. This report defines kinship care arrangements that occur without child welfare system involvement as private and those that occur with child welfare involvement as public. As an American Indian insider researcher, I intend to recover the traditional Cheyenne kinship system, relying on archives collected from the Smithsonian Institute (National . Fourth, special observations related to pregnancy, childbirth, naming of the child, and testing the childs legitimacy as clan member.14, The existence of patriarchy and the patrilineal system among the Baganda might suggest that individual men have the most dominant social status. false T/F: Female slaves generally worked outdoors while male slaves did domestic work. - Generosity. Young initiates are trained to be responsible husbands and wives in future. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.33 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). Their roles include the following:- i. 2. Kinship systems are often used for organizational purposes, including the organization of family members. He ..also adopts the deceased persons children, calling them his and making no distinction between them and his own children.16. 2. - Some pieces of land are being regarded as public land. In the western culture, marriage results in permanent bonds between the couple, with centrally assigned sexual rights among the couple and parenthood responsibility. For example, in debt and marriage obligations. 6. - Sometimes the orphans and widows have their property destroyed or snatched. It is a way of compensating the brides family for the loss of a member. Being a part of the web of kinship (Fortes 1949) is still of critical importance for most people in Africa. It marks change from childhood to adulthood. iii. they are operational and obtainable in every society around the world be it traditional or modern. The houses of grandparents form their sleeping places. 1967. 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. This review finds that parental care remains the best care setting and should be highly encouraged within African society. That is, kinship is a network of relationships in which each tie is influenced by, and in turn influences, the others. 2. They are not supposed to take part in heavy duties or carry heavy loads. Phone: (540) 828-5351 26 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. These relationships which are described in this way are rituals of respect between a son-in-law and his mother-in-law, a daughter-in-law and her father-in-law. First, in succession and inheritance the man inherits his dead grandfather, maternal uncle, or brother. It was written in 1988. D. at Michigan State University in Sociology in 1987. - They suffer from psychological and emotional problems - Sometimes widows face lack of essentials such as food. They also perform light duties for relatives. The celebration that marked the end of initiation is slowly dying out due to economic constraints. iv. The education provided is a lifelong process. - Kinship gives individuals a sense of belonging since everyone is a relative in one way or the other, one feel comfortable in any company. Changing attitudes towards initiation rites Since the introduction of Christianity and western culture peoples attitude towards initiation rites have changed. 8. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. A good son-in-law hoes the garden, chops trees, and generally help his wifes family as proof of his love for his wife, dedication, and being a well cultured individual. - They oversee the division of property in the community after death. Some communities have abandoned initiation rites like among the luo; removal of six lower teeth is a practice of the past. 9. 2. 4) Some people who falsely claim to be diviners today simply exploit the ignorance of the people. 3. This has been due to western culture, industrialization, urbanization Christianity, limited time and economic constraints. However, the role of these traditional religious leaders has been greatly affected by influence of Christianity, western culture and formal education. How the widows and orphans are supported - Church members offer them guidance and counseling (giving them hope) - They are prayed for. Schapera, Isaac., Married Life in an African Tribe. Marriage is no longer a must and many people decide not to marry. It gives the mans family time to prepare for the dowry payment. Others bury the dead with property with a belief that they would continue to use them in the next world. 6. They act as intermediaries between God and human beings. Diviners and mediums iii. Girls, in distinction to boys, seldom have time to play games.21, Among the Bemba people of Northern Zambia, marriage is matrilocal. LeVine40 described some of the customs and patterns that surround interaction in the traditional African family as institutionalized restrictions, segregated patterns, and avoidance patterns. They also do the work of advisors e.g. (2) Generation: Kinship tie is established between the persons in relation to generation. They believe iron implements attract lightning. ii. African spirituality is truly holistic. Courage is usually praised. During this period, the couples are given special instructions that prepare them for marriage life. - Life is also seen as communal. Priests/prophets v. Blacksmiths The religious specialists acquire their skills through:- i. Inheritance from a relative ii. Traditionally no parent fixes a price for his daughter (a bride). They play the role of counselors and advisors to the community. Those who are lazy are ridiculed. 5. Children are expected to help in minor household tasks. They would also announce the sex of the child. 25 This book is written in Chewa indigenous Central African language. People of the same age set consider themselves as brothers and sisters. The Family; Its Structures and Functions. Dishonoring or insulting God. He is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology at Bridgewater College in Virginia. It must be emphasized, however, that these were traditional patterns as far back as late 1800s up to as late as 1960s. 4. 7. 1. That is to say a man goes to live in his wifes village, at any rate for the first years of his married life.22 This is also true of marriage among other Zambian tribes like the Bisa, Lala, Lamba, Chewa, Kaonde, and many others. Such influences as end of intra and inter-tribal warfare with the coming of European colonialism, the Western money economy, industrialization, migration, and urbanization have certainly transformed the traditional African family from what it was 50 to 100 years ago. Male head has control over children produced by the children of the web of kinship ( 1949! Their blood religious specialists acquire their skills through: - I. inheritance a! That prepare them for marriage life the web of kinship ( Fortes 1949 ) is still critical. Of belonging to the homes his daughter ( a bride ) he.. also adopts deceased... Essentials such as food, people run in the community disciplined those who showed traits of greed over of... 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