- In some communities it would be thrown in rivers, forest in Banana plantations. (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). 2 Traditional foster care arrangements are referred to as non-kin foster care. Traditional African Society. Religion: People have some religious beliefs, which promote unity, and every community believes in the existence of one God. This article looks at the societies and cultures of sub-Saharan Africa in pre-modern history. At this juncture the essay will dwell on the description in family structures in Africa society and how it has affected economic development. What role did religion play in medieval Africa communities? Other names can refer to place of birth e.g. 2003). - Rainmakers observe the behavior of insects, birds and animals to predict the nature of rain. First, two animal totems from one of which the clan derives its name. Edited by Arthur Phillips, London: Oxford University Press, 1953. Many people today acquire Christian names. I. Rain makers ii. Other significant strengths are that the traditional African family increased group cohesion in an otherwise harsh physical and social environment. Through dreams and vision v. Through observation and practice MEDICINE MEN They have the knowledge of healing certain diseases in the community. IV, pp.66-87. The moral values learnt include:- -Obedience/loyalty. 1. Through this, they believed they could receive blessings. This ensured that nobody remained landless. 4. politicians. If there is agreement, this marks the beginning of courtship period. 2. The naming ceremony is very important early in the childs life. People who have become educated consider the shaving of the hair unnecessary. This is done by breaking the hearts of relatives by refusing to be good-hearted when they need you. j. This is because; 1 It is unavoidable. The . 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". In traditional African society this entails a bride-exchange in form of cattle, services, foodstuffs, family ties, or other expressions of the marriage contract. The literature on the subject is truly as vast and reflects traditional patterns that are as diverse as the variations of the physical looks of the people found on the continent. - With the introduction of money economy it is possible to sell land. 5. - Patriotism. Dowry payment is no longer a communal affair but an individual affair. - An orphan is a child whose both parents are dead. Importance of marriage - Marriage is for the continuity of the society and is an institution that is ordained by God. v. The introduction of formal education, which has promoted new loyalties based on new social status, academic and professional qualification. Ways of acquiring wealth in the traditional societies - Through inheritance - Payment of dowry - Through raiding other communities - Through hard work - As a gift from God. 1. 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. Family. There are also accidental deaths e.g. They were believed to have a lot of experience in life. 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. Ch. 8. Girls brought wealth in form of cattle to marriage. iv. 5. Kinship ties are strong bonds that exist among community members. By Timothy T. Schwartz, PhD. 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]. 2. 9. They are taught about morals of the society. - Marriage raised the status of the couples once somebody was married he was given a lot of respect. Phone: (540) 828-5351 Same ancestry: People of a particular community believe that they have the same origin e.g. Importance of Naming 1. Having so many people in this household should not be confused with other types of large families like, ..the joint family, with its several married brothers and their families living together or the extended family, consisting of a group of married off spring living in one household under a patriarch or matriarch.11 The Baganda are also patrilocal. It is a sign of belonging to the society or identification. 5. It is said to be the basic and universal in relationships. Thorne, Barrie., and Yalom, Marilyn., (Eds.) ii. 18. a) State five changes that have taken place in property ownership today. Other names may also refer to the characteristics of the mothers pregnancy or the nature of delivery e.g. Second, social support is usually sought from the matrilineal line or descent group. - Can interfere with an individuals reproductive system. People in the traditional African communities were afraid of acquiring property unlawfully for fear of curse. There are basically eight primary kinswife father son, father daughter mother son, wife; father son, father daughter, mother son, mother daughter; brother sister; and younger brother/sister older brother/sister. During the period earlier than 1940s, marriages remained completely matrilocal during the couples entire life. 7. The youth are ritually introduced to the communal living. Kinship ties definition: Kinship is the relationship between members of the same family. D. at Michigan State University in Sociology in 1987. 5. Virginity is not highly valued and many people break their virginity at stage of adolescence. Death is believed to be a next journey to the world of the spirits. He is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology at Bridgewater College in Virginia. The traditional healers are still important today especially to those who had let down by medicine prescribed by doctors. Babbie, Earl R., Sociology: An Introduction. Land ownership: The ancestral land is communally owned and nobody is allowed to sell it. they are operational and obtainable in every society around the world be it traditional or modern. N.S.S.F. - They could also feel their body senses to predict rain. 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. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. Clyde., The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. 16. Most of these changes in most cases are in conflict with the African customs. - Gambling. Almost 30% of all single-parent families headed by women are officially poor. Download to read offline. Permissiveness in the society has eroded . It does not give warning. Adams, Bert N., The Family: A Sociological Interpretation, 4th Edition, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1986. Family advocates Malinowski is the cornerstone of every society and culture. The basic kinship unit of Bemba society is not the individual family, but a matrilocal extended family composed of a man and his wife, their married daughters, and the latters husbands and children.24, A young Bemba couple live in the same hut with a child of pre-weaning age whom they may have. - It also regulates marriage relations, before marriage one has to find the back ground of the other. 5 It comes unannounced. Factors contributing to harmony and mutual responsibility in African communities. vii. After burial, close relatives shave their hair as a sign that one of the members has been separated from and for cleansing impurities. Diseases such as epidemics would kill people. vii. 2. - 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. factors. Hotel Hope Ministries is a fully registered South African non-profit organisation established with aim of ensuring that each and every child is brought up in a safe, happy and healthy home so that they can grow up and develop into responsible and positive adults. 3. Explain the importance of Kinship in traditional African society african cultural and moral values 1 Answer 0 votes answered Aug 9, 2021 by anonymous Control social relationships in community of people related by blood and marriage Bind whole community hence social cohesion Makes people live in harmony/ peace Promotes mutual responsibility and help Natural Factors: ADVERTISEMENTS: Natural forces and factors play an important role in unifying or disintegrating the society. 2 William J. 6. Professor of Sociology, Bridgewater College. - They help the priests to performing certain rituals such as sacrifices. These carried with them all the heavy social obligations demanded of a mother or father, daughter or son. v. They are taught secrets of the society. GAZETTE: How have ancestors . LAND In the traditional African society, people had a lot of attachment to land. Prayers are offered also during time of calamities. 5. 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 kinship systems govern care,. - After the cutting of the skin, the initiates are put in special huts for a period of time. Divorce and separation are discouraged. Religious (invisible) causes of death They included: i. 4. 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. Kinship relationships were and still are important among African communities. 7. Everyone has an obligation to marry or get married. 48 R. A. LeVine, Patterns of Personality in Africa, in Responses to Change: Socety, Culture and Personality. vi. 3. ii. Coser, Rose Lamb., (Ed.) Elizabeth Colson, Marriage and the Family among the Plateau Tonga of Northern Rhodesia. RITES OF PASSAGE These are important stages in life that one has to undergo. During seclusion there is sex education, which is meant for girls and boys for marriage. 6. theories regarding family structure" (D . 25 likes 25,448 views. 5. (2) Generation: Kinship tie is established between the persons in relation to generation. viii. Boys herd goats, cows, and livestock. Circumcision is carried out at times in hospitals for health reasons. A change in attitude towards joint family is evident among the urban educated persons. Each stage has its own features, some of which are perhaps peculiar to the Baganda customs and system of socialization in their traditional family pattern. pp. 6. 9 J.A. Mothers and children would die at childbirth to cases where there is no skilled mid-wife. Majority of women today give birth in hospitals. But typically news, information, and gossip flow readily through the network, with some individuals acting as "kin . There are several forms of Initiation; these include:- i. Circumcision ii. This is brought by the following factors:- 1. To give the mother time to recover the lost energy. (Ndola: Mission Press, 1988), 44 Thomas Price, A Short English-Nyanja Vocaublary, (Lusaka: National Educational Company of Zambia, and Kenneth Kaunda Foundation, 1970). Expectant mothers are forbidden from taking certain foods for fear that these foods could interfere with the safety and health of the mother and child e.g. - The departed relatives are kept alive through naming. 3. Leisure Activities: This is the time that one has at his disposal. Which factors have led to the weakening of kinship ties in Kenya today? Some are circumcised when they are still infants. Piercing of the ear. b) Explain the purpose of bride wealth in the traditional African community. Courage is usually praised. 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. The following day, the naming ceremony takes place. He ..also adopts the deceased persons children, calling them his and making no distinction between them and his own children.16. Explaining these changes would require a different chapter. They are neglected by their children especially those working in the towns. 3) They are fortunetellers and palm readers. This shows that children seals marriage. 4. Kinship is reckoned through blood and betrothal (engagement and marriage). PaulVMcDowell. It starts at birth and continues through to death. The paternal grandmothers drop the cords into a can, which contains beer, milk, and water. Each community has a distinct political and social organization. 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. Magic, sorcery and witchcraft. At times girls could be given to repay debts. vi. 3. During initiation the young adults are taught matters relating to sex and adulthood. ix. 4. It is also a symbolic act of breaking the bride completely from the state of unmarried life once dowry is paid she becomes full and mature person. 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. The midwife also monitors the development of the foetus. There was fair distribution of wealth to even those who did not have. - Kinship gives individuals a sense of belonging since everyone is a relative in one way or the other, one feel comfortable in any company. Bell, Norman W., and Vogel, Ezra F. Among the Chewa of Eastern Zambia, the custom of man living with his wifes parents temporarily or permanently was known as Ukamwini.23. 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. These changes have been brought about by:- i. Those who had not been initiated were not allowed to own property. It is kinship, which controls social relationship between people in a given community: it governs marital customs and regulations, it determines the behavior of individuals towards another. Characteristics of African community 1. Kinship is at the heart of First Nations society. - The bathing symbolizes the beginning of a new state in life. 26 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. Less traditional family structures in sitcoms gained popularity in the 1980s with shows such as Diff'rent Strokes (a widowed man with two adopted African American sons) and One Day at a Time (a divorced woman with two teenage daughters). Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. Many people have migrated to towns where people come from different backgrounds. Would provide medical care e.g. 1. But it makes it difficult to keep track of our kin. Herbalists find it difficult to carry out research due to financial constraints. Evans-Pritchard, J.J., Some Aspects of Marriage and the Family Among the Nuer, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1945, 1969. Bridgewater College While the basic functions of the family remain the same all over the world, traditional African families have undergone significant transformations attributed to an interplay of factors, including Christianity, industrialization, educational expansion, population growth, monetization of the economy, migration, civilization, and now globalization. - Marriage extended relationship and therefore enlarged kinship ties. The medicine men lead the community in religious rituals. All the members come together in times of need. 3. Depending on the region and the people, these. For this reason, the paper serves only as an introduction to the application of Christian Naming ceremonies also provide opportunity to teach the culture of the youth. 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. Through apprenticeship iv. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. Most of these ceremonies are religious. fellow Christians. Importance of Kinship System and Ties. Scholars of the African traditional family agree that the one widely known aspect that distinguishes the African traditional family, say from the European one, is the perversity of polygamy3. Queen, Stuart A., Habestein, Robert W., and Adams, John B., The Family in Various Cultures. - There are traditional midwives who help in delivery. Early marriages are encountered to reduce fornication. 28-39. Such occasions include beer drinking, wrestling, playing football, singing and dancing etc. 3. It gives the mans family time to prepare for the dowry payment. There are societies where prayers are made to the mother and the child. Some people also consult them before making important decisions e.g. iv. In some communities, it may be done in the forest while others the expectant mother would go back to their parents while others could also be done in the house of the in-law. In many traditional African societies, kinship ties are similarly expansive and can include a large and diverse range of relationships. -Responsibility. 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. society. Explaining Caribbean Family Patterns. - Men are not allowed to go next to the delivery places. This shows concern that they have for the child. It is a way of compensating the brides family for the loss of a member. They would only speak through intermediaries. There is no bride price in our society. - Wife inheritance has become risky due to HIV/AIDS. Yet in some communities when a woman is pregnant she is not allowed to talk to her husband directly. Girls take care of the babies and fetch firewood. v. Others would also be killed for crimes such as murder. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961. Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. It shows an act of bravery and hardship one I s to meet in life. Some people believe casting of an evil eye would cause bodily harm to somebody. viii. Marriage: Has been individualized and is no longer a communal affair. 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factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society