Severing the ties of kinship is among the body sins and it is among the major sins. 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. Changing attitudes towards marriage 1. society. i. vii. - Wife inheritance ensured that the late mans family would not suffer. Wealth was seen in terms of: 1. The degree of which witchcraft as a cause of death is emphasized varies from one community to another. A Modern Introduction to The Family, Glencoe: The Free Press, 1960. - Protection charms are tied around the neck or the waist of the child. Edited by G.A. Stern norms/ values which promote individualism. 8 It brings poverty to the family involved as sometimes it takes the bread winner 9 At times it brings misunderstanding in the community when the cause of death is blamed on someone or some people. During this period, the couples are given special instructions that prepare them for marriage life. NAMING Nearly all-African names have a meaning. There are also accidental deaths e.g. Yet in some communities when a woman is pregnant she is not allowed to talk to her husband directly. Human society is unique, he argues, in that we are "working with the same raw material as exists in the animal world, but [we] can conceptualize and categorize it to Anthropologist Robin Fox says that the study of kinship is the study of what humans do with these basic facts of life - mating, gestation, parenthood, socialization, siblingship etc. 2. It symbolizes the union between the living and the dead. 3) They are fortunetellers and palm readers. First, two animal totems from one of which the clan derives its name. They are people who claim a common ancestry and are related by blood. - They preside over important occasions such as initiation, planting and marriage. Aboriginal kinship ties, values, beliefs, identity and language are maintained by the family. This article looks at the societies and cultures of sub-Saharan Africa in pre-modern history. 5. There is a lot of secrecy surrounding the knowledge of herbs. Same ancestry: People of a particular community believe that they have the same origin e.g. 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. Schooling where children spend most of their time with teachers depriving them the time to be with elders. 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 Physical causes of death i. Current notions of kinship still owe a great deal to ideas about the physiological connections between kin. Elders iv. Importance of Naming 1. Land Ownership: It is no longer communal affair but a private affair. Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. 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. The new hair that grows shows the beginning of new life. Edited by G.A. Dowry payment is no longer a communal affair but an individual affair. vii. 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. Many of the rituals that were performed to the mother and the child are today seen as unnecessary. - Through marriage, the living dead and those yet to be born are brought together. This shows concern that they have for the child. Modern education and western culture has affected dowry payment in that many educated attach little value to dowry payment. 48 R. A. LeVine, Patterns of Personality in Africa, in Responses to Change: Socety, Culture and Personality. They were believed to have a lot of experience in life. 3. The male head has control over children produced by the children of the group. vi. ..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. 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. 4. The author describes the interaction between the Baganda mother and her baby as unfavorable and lacking any affection or love. Lusaka: National Educational Company of Zambia, and Kenneth Kaunda Foundation, 1970. There were clear guidelines, rules and regulations on the use and ownership of land. Second Edition, London: Cambridge University Press, 1984, Ch. in cases of death, the whole community mourn. Many people today acquire Christian names. It is a source of food for the people and the animals. - Wealth is no longer determined in terms of the number of wives or children. Would provide medical care e.g. Thorne, Barrie., and Yalom, Marilyn., (Eds.) - Kinship ties assist people to live peacefully and in harmony with others. Colson, Elizabeth., Marriage and the Family among the Plateau Tonga of Northern Rhodesia., Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1958. 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. The . Explaining Caribbean Family Patterns. - Virginity is highly valued and girls who are not found virgin are ridiculed. These are many. Because of this wide spectrum, it is not possible to explore all aspects of the traditional African family. By Timothy T. Schwartz, PhD. vii. At childhood children are taught to obey parents and the elderly. Some herbalists have been legalized by the government and have opened clinics e.g. Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions, New York: Longman, 1982. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. 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. iii. 4. Richards, Audrey I., Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969. 3. First, the strengths, durability, and resilience of the African traditional family were never dwelt on explicitly and at length. This means that they are looking for death to kill it. - Some widows and children are not accepted or welcomed in their new homes. 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. 3. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. DEATH RITES When a person dies, members of the family gather at the home of the deceased and leave their everyday commitments for a while. - 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. 9. 4. 3. The permissive society has also encouraged trial marriages. Names are also given in honor of ancestors. They are consulted in cases where western medicine has failed. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961. 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. The clan chooses the heir. - Marriage raised the status of the couples once somebody was married he was given a lot of respect. They can foretell the future e.g. 6. Some are circumcised when they are still infants. iv. Before this ceremony, the child is not considered a complete member of the clan or society. 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. Natural Factors: ADVERTISEMENTS: Natural forces and factors play an important role in unifying or disintegrating the society. KINSHIP SYSTEM - Kinship refers to being related to another either by blood or marriage. 2. 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 . - They are given financial assistance. It is also a sign of acceptance of the children into the new family. - Life also continues after death, death does not mark the end of life but is just a change of state. v. Polygamy is encouraged for sexual satisfaction for men. A clan is made up of a family who either are related by blood and marriage. Property could be owned by community, individuals or families. - Wife inheritance has become risky due to HIV/AIDS. Divorce and separation are discouraged. If he did, it would be like selling her. 42 Yizenge A. Chondoka, Traditional Marriages in Zambia: A Study in Cultural History. Asante, Molefi Kete., Afrocentricity; The Theory of Social Change, Buffalo: Amulefi Publishing Company, 1980. They act as counselors and guide the people on all issues of life. They do not have good food or accommodation. However the mode of dressing has seriously changed due to western influence. - People do not have a lot of attachment to land, as there are other means of survival. Urbanization has undermined the role of of the elders as it becomes difficult for elders to operate as the people come from different backgrounds. iv. 5. among the Kisii, a person born crossing the river could be called Kwamboka. g. The body is carefully placed in the grave facing an appropriate direction according to the customs of the people. They heal various diseases using herbs. They have the ability to foretell what would happen in the future. It could also help in paying of the dowry. Girls brought wealth in form of cattle to marriage. vi. 7. Their relevance today Some people still consult prophets on seers some couples may consult in case of barrenness. Kinship ties definition: Kinship is the relationship between members of the same family. 1. 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. e. In certain communities pregnant women and children are not allowed to go near touch the corpse to avoid misfortunes. 6. Other significant strengths are that the traditional African family increased group cohesion in an otherwise harsh physical and social environment. iv. 5. - Prayers are also offered to God for protection. - They are many types of the wedding ceremonies. The youth are ritually introduced to the communal living. What role did religion play in medieval Africa communities? They include: i. 4. LAND In the traditional African society, people had a lot of attachment to land. Through supernatural powers iii. It can determine a person's political identity and the way money and property are transferred. 7 Nobody knows what happens after life on earth here. 41 Molefi Kete Asante, Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change. 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. 7. 29 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. In traditional African society this entails a bride-exchange in form of cattle, services, foodstuffs, family ties, or other expressions of the marriage contract. By 1935, for example, anthropologists like Mair and Richards and no doubt many others were already noticing change in marriage and family patterns.36. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. 7. 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. Clyde., The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. 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. bribery, robbery and stealing. However, it is not a form of payment as is mistaken by others. (2) Active leisure: This involves the use of the physical energy. This chapter will briefly explore traditional African family patterns describing the patrilineal and matrilineal families. Such occasions include beer drinking, wrestling, playing football, singing and dancing etc. Land was also a source of medicine in the form of herbs and minerals. Your husband or wife, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law are all kinsmen related to you through marriage. 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. drought, famine etc. iv. - There are rites of passage that one has to undergo. They are senior members of the community. iii. viii. iv. Members of a community could also come together when defending the community against outside invaders. They would only speak through intermediaries. A father-in-law knows what to expect from a good son-in-law. And this, together with neolocality, makes it nearly impossible to use kinship in structuring our social order. largest kinship network of any descent system ever invented. For example, sickness in the indigenous African worldview is not only an imbalance of the body, but also an imbalance in one's social life, which can be linked to a breakdown in one's kinship and family relations or even to one's relationship with one's ancestors. They are taught about morals of the society. Polygamy was preferred in African Traditional societies but today many people prefer monogamy marriage mainly due to economic hardship. However, as a prospective husband, you are told to pay for the marriage and not the bride. Importance of Kinship - Kinship system defines how members relate to one another i.e. Education of children has been left to teachers. - Religious organizations assist widows to start income generating projects. b. In the late and early 19th century, a detailed study conducted among the Baganda found that, Polygyny, the type of marriage in which the husband has plural wives, is not only the preferred but the dominant form of marriage for the Baganda.8 Commoners had two or three, chiefs had dozens, and the Kings had hundreds of wives. Today marriage is for companionship and it is considered to be complete even if there are no children. - The hair of the mother and the child is shaved. 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. 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. Indeed, such authors as Chondoka have recently found little accuracy or justification in calling this custom purchasing or buying of a wife. 7. 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