5. In western European societies Jack Goode finds that world revolution has contributed for the transformation of . Mothers and children would die at childbirth to cases where there is no skilled mid-wife. Family offers a person residential identity, social status, right to property affiliation with kinship and emotional support. These views were expressed before 1930s and as late as 1960s. Everybody is a part of the other. People who have become educated consider the shaving of the hair unnecessary. could advice on when to go to war. - The naming of the child takes place some days after birth. 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]. Therefore, the new families tend to generally live near or with the husbands parents. Kinship refers to the relationships between people. These constitute the core of the Bemba traditional African family around which the social organization of the traditional society revolves. There are three main types of kinship: lineal, collateral, and affinal. 5) Modern science and technology also discourage people from believing mysterical powers. 8. A curse by a senior relative. However, it is not a form of payment as is mistaken by others. 7. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961. (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. It is a token of appreciation in the part of the bridegrooms people to those of the bride for the care over her. 2. iv. i. - Marriage was a source of wealth for the family. 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. DeVos, New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1976. Impact of Modernism on Family. 7. iii. IV, pp.66-87. There was never a distinction between the biological and non-biological kin as far as primary parental obligations were concerned. Religion: People have some religious beliefs, which promote unity, and every community believes in the existence of one God. Clyde., The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. - Widows and orphans feel dehumanized. There are societies where prayers are made to the mother and the child. Are made up of smaller units called clan. 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. Naming ceremonies also provide opportunity to teach the culture of the youth. Similar customs or rules of restrictions in interaction apply between many other kin in a traditional African family. This ensured that nobody remained landless. ii. - The government and churches have built homes for them - They are given food etc. - Life is also considered to be more precious and highly valued. They give information concerning cause, nature and treatment of diseases. iii. What was the structure of the polygynous family? Before initiation, one is viewed as a child no matter the age. vii. Most of the time they suffer from old age diseases. - Some pieces of land are being regarded as public land. 9. (New York: The Free Press, 1963.) They lead people to communal prayer in time of crisis. Marriage has been commercialized - many people demand higher payment for their daughter. One could also die due to breaking a taboo in such instances elders would identify the offender and perform an act of cleansing. - The wife or orphans sometimes get mistreated. Importance of Kinship - Kinship system defines how members relate to one another i.e. Many people spend their leisure time watching videos, Television and films, Certain leisure activities such as soccer have been turned into well-paying professions. Through supernatural powers iii. 48 R. A. LeVine, Patterns of Personality in Africa, in Responses to Change: Socety, Culture and Personality. The moral values learnt include:- -Obedience/loyalty. 2. - Men are not allowed to go next to the delivery places. 3. Many wives 3. They were believed to have a lot of experience in life. v. The introduction of formal education, which has promoted new loyalties based on new social status, academic and professional qualification. iii. Africa's traditional religion is based on the Ubuntu philosophy, which is a Zulu word for human-ness, and was developed over many centuries in traditional African culture. Download Now. Through the kinship system, people learn the importance of sharing what they have with others. (1) According to the Dictionary of Anthropology, "Kinship system includes socially recognized relationships based on supposed as well as actual genealogical ties.". 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. Religious (invisible) causes of death They included: i. Majority of women today give birth in hospitals. Those who had not been initiated were not allowed to own property. It marks change from childhood to adulthood. 26 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. 3. among the Luos the man is buried at the right and woman is buried the left. The belief in Christianity has also affected traditional beliefs in death to believe that death is a gateway to heaven and there is resurrection of the body. This symbolizes new life. There is a lot of secrecy surrounding the knowledge of herbs. - Religious organizations assist widows to start income generating projects. People who are directly related to each other are known as primary kin. p119. This was because: - i. Africans believe that land was given to them by God. c. The corpse is washed using water. It is also a way of remembering important events in the society. Due to de-forestation, some herbs are becoming extinct. 2. [.] Other names can be given according to important events that take place in the community e.g. bribery, robbery and stealing. 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. Edited by Arthur Phillips, (London: Oxford University Press, 1953) p.14, 37 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.51 Naboth M. J. Ngulube, Some Aspects of Growing Up in Zambia. Wedding ceremony - After the negotiation the wedding ceremonies are arranged. They feel a strong bond towards each other because they are tied by kinship relationships to one another. - In African traditional society, each individual is related to the other. - In some communities it would be thrown in rivers, forest in Banana plantations. The paternal grandmothers drop the cords into a can, which contains beer, milk, and water. The male head has control over children produced by the children of the group. v. They drive a way witches and evil spirits. 6. It is not possible to gather initiates together in some communities. Lusaka: National Educational Company of Zambia, and Kenneth Kaunda Foundation, 1970. So the relationship is often based on mutual expectations and is more beneficial for both parties than confrontational and fraught with issuing of orders. GAZETTE: How have ancestors . Those who are related by blood include - Brothers - Sisters - Aunts - Uncles - Parents - Cousins - Grandparents By marriage include Wife/ husband Others are referred to as in-laws - Kinship also includes all the living and any given locality. 3. Marriage 4. Diseases such as epidemics would kill people. Aboriginal kinship ties, values, beliefs, identity and language are maintained by the family. 9) The practice has also been affected by belief in conventional medicine. iv. In a more obvious way, this Eurocentrism36 did not treat polygamy, the African marriages and the extended family and any others of its eccentricities (regarded as such because they were different from European customs) as social phenomena that was legitimate and workable in its own African social circumstances and environment. 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. Where as chiefs have a number of wives, it is very rare to find ordinary men who have more than one wife. Meanwhile the man and her married sister do not live in one locality, as they must maintain their marriages. iv. At times girls could be given to repay debts. - Marriage ensures that children are not born outside wedlock. - There are cases of destruction of land and environment through dumping of wastes. Dressing The dress code differed from one community to another in the traditional African setup. Land was also the habitat of people, animals and plants. They act as judges in certain circumstances. Birth and naming 2. Land was owned by the community. This is brought by the following factors:- 1. Schooling where children spend most of their time with teachers depriving them the time to be with elders. Large tracts of land 4 Large herds of cattle. It does not give warning. It varies from culture to culture, from society to society. vi. 4. 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. viii. ix. 5. 6 Ibid., p.10 Note also that special attention should be paid to the distinction between polygyny being practiced widely among people of Africa and it being the dominant form of traditional family pattern. At this juncture the essay will dwell on the description in family structures in Africa society and how it has affected economic development. Therefore, they try to restrict the kinship ties. Property could be owned by community, individuals or families. 1 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) pp.1 177. Economic hardships that has been due to introduction of money economy. 3. 3. The author obtained his B.A in Sociology and Psychology at University of Zambia in 1976, M.A, Ph. Bantu Migrations Stateless Societies Bantu Societies did not depend on elaborate hierarchy of officials of a bureaucracy Governed through Kinship groups - extended families consisting of about 100 people. 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. Ch. vii. 1. Wealth was seen in terms of: 1. People nowadays try to show their loyalty to state and not the society. LeVine, R.A., Patterns of Personality in Africa, in Responses to Change: Society, Culture and Personality. 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. Some names are given in the remembrance of the departed relatives. iv. 4. 5. ii. Primary kinship refers to direct relations. The cultural and physical diversity added with the dramatic social changes of the last three decades on the continent makes the family pattern situation so variegated as to defy any sweeping generalizations. The study of African societies has become an established area of scholarship, with sophisticated analyses that are far from earlier works . Consanguineal kinship: this kinship is based on blood the relationship meaning the relationship between parents and children also among immediate siblings. 7. There are strict rules and taboos governing sex. 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. - Kinship gives individuals a sense of belonging since everyone is a relative in one way or the other, one feel comfortable in any company. Traditional African society. 2. These three types of kinship are: Consanguineal: This kinship is based on bloodor birth: the relationship between parents and children as well as siblings, says the Sociology Group. 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. - Wife inheritance has become risky due to HIV/AIDS. Ngulube, Naboth M. J., Some Aspects of Growing Up in Zambia, Lusaka: Nalinga Consultancy/Sol-Consult A/S Limited, 1989. - Rainmakers observe the behavior of insects, birds and animals to predict the nature of rain. vi. N.S.S.F. But rather the matrilocal extended family comprised of a man and his wife, their married daughters, son-in-laws, and their children. Some of the celebrations like beer drinking are slowly dying out. - Marriage brings completeness in a person. The kinship systems govern care,. Children could be named after their dead relatives. A Modern Introduction to The Family, Glencoe: The Free Press, 1960. The following day, the naming ceremony takes place. 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. 1. This means that they are looking for death to kill it. There are also accidental deaths e.g. It was a signed to individuals by the elders. He ..also adopts the deceased persons children, calling them his and making no distinction between them and his own children.16. These are many. 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. Family. 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factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society