Those who did not have were assisted to acquire property by the community. Natural Factors: ADVERTISEMENTS: Natural forces and factors play an important role in unifying or disintegrating the society. © 2023 Tutorke Limited. They include: i. Everybody in the community is expected to work hard. v. There was a lot of fairness in the distribution of property. v. Marking of the body (scarification) - During initiation, the initiates are removed from the rest of the community. 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 wishes of parents and the dead were honored. - In most African communities a widow was inherited by the husbands close relatives. The Baganda people of Uganda provide the best illustration.7. It was written in 1988. At childhood children are taught to obey parents and the elderly. ii. 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. 6. The education provided is a lifelong process. among the Akamba pregnant women are not supposed to eat fats, beans or animals killed using poison. 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. - The government assists widows to get their husbands benefits. society irrespective of their origins, background, class, ethnicity, race, gender and other markers of identity. The land belonged to the whole community. The permissive society has also encouraged trial marriages. 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. Factors that have affected Kinship system 1. Religion, in the African indigenous context, permeates all departments of life. He was a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Zambia from 1977 to 1990. The youth are believed to be free with them. Download to read offline. Mbiri Ya Achewa, 195? The attitude of the parents towards the sex of the child is also changing. Children among the matrilineal peoples are brought up in a similar traditional extended family village social environment. Boys and girls are not allowed to mix freely unless under supervision. 25 likes 25,448 views. Before initiation, one is viewed as a child no matter the age. Most of these changes in most cases are in conflict with the African customs. Their relevance today Some people still consult prophets on seers some couples may consult in case of barrenness. 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. 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 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 . 7. iv. Payment of dowry shows how the bridegroom values the wife. The paternal grandfather recites many names of the clans dead ancestors. Dowry is important in that:- 1. Sometimes people mistake that they are witch doctors especially Christians. Box 169 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. 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. The study of African societies has become an established area of scholarship, with sophisticated analyses that are far from earlier works . ii. 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. Other names can refer to place of birth e.g. 4. - They act as a court of law to errant members of the society. Urbanization: Where people of different cultures interact with one another. Edited by G.A. 4. 8. 4. In some communities if a woman is barren, she would bring another woman to bring children on her behalf. Traditional African society. 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. A curse by a senior relative. 3) They are fortunetellers and palm readers. The naming of a child is therefore an important occasion, which is often marked with ceremonies. 2 Traditional foster care arrangements are referred to as non-kin foster care. Still, traditional families such as those in Family Ties and The Cosby Show dominated the ratings. the outcome of a war 5. The basic family unit among the Bemba was not the nuclear family. The continued, persistent and wide use of the term bride price to describe the valuables that were often given to the brides parents before marriage was legitimated is one excellent example of evaluating and perceiving a custom from a biased Eurocentric perspective. It cements the relationship between the two families through the exchange of gifts. - They counsel and guide the youth on matters of sex and marriage Why guiding and counseling was done by elders 1. i. Dressing The dress code differed from one community to another in the traditional African setup. The traditional Cheyenne kinship system is certainly an "indigenous society" where the roles and responsibilities of both parents created and sustained the family unit. A Bemba belongs to his mothers clan (umukoa), a group of relatives more or less distantly connected, who reckon descent from real or fictitious common ancestries, use a common totem name, and a series of praise titles, recite a common legend of origin and accept certain joint obligations.30. Although among the Baganda, the nuclear family of the mother, father, and their children constitutes the smallest unit of the Baganda kinship system, the traditional family consists of several nuclear units held in association by a common father.9 Because the Baganda people are patrilineal, the household family also includes other relatives of the father such as younger unmarried or widowed sisters, aged parents, and children of the fathers clan sent to be brought up by him. The degree of relatedness of carer to the child, socio-economic status of fostering households, gender and age were identified as factors contributing to the well-being of children in kinship care. Kinship System in African Communities. Some names are given in the remembrance of the departed relatives. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. vii. It was used to bury the dead, the spirits were believed to dwell on land or below the ground. 5 It comes unannounced. The developments in science and technology. Young men are taught to be honest in all their undertakings. Magic, sorcery and witchcraft. Removal of teeth. What is significant about the various descriptions of the traditional African family is that they are from back in the period before the 1940s and in case of the Baganda from the late 1800s. The male head has control over children produced by the children of the group. 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. In fact cases where the father-in-law has to issue orders are perhaps such a minority that it is ironical that they are used to characterize the whole social interaction. 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. Most social scientists agree that kinship is based on two broad areas: birth and marriage; others say a third category of kinship involves social ties. The traditional African family is a very broad concept which has challenging variations across the continent. Family plays a central role in African society. The clan is linked by four factors. 7. Property could be owned by community, individuals or families. - The government and churches have built homes for them - They are given food etc. 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). 8. pp. Changing attitudes towards initiation rites Since the introduction of Christianity and western culture peoples attitude towards initiation rites have changed. 2. 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. v. It brings people together; relatives and friends co me together hence strengthening kinship ties. factors affecting kinship ties in modern society, factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society, importance of kinship ties in traditional af. Education of children has been left to teachers. Other names may also refer to the characteristics of the mothers pregnancy or the nature of delivery e.g. To give the mother time to heal. i. Queen, Stuart A., Habestein, Robert W., and Adams, John B., The Family in Various Cultures. There are three main types of kinship: lineal, collateral, and affinal. In the U.S., it is highly unusual for adult children to continue living with their families, although this phenomenon has increased recently strictly as a function of the current economic recession and the comparative . 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. The descriptions implicitly portray (to the African and Westerner) African relationships as being negative, rigid and miserable. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961) p.68. Those who had not been initiated were not allowed to own property. Mair, Lucy P., African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. 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. 2003). - They are many types of the wedding ceremonies. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1956, 1966, 1971). Through apprenticeship iv. - Honesty. There are several forms of Initiation; these include:- i. Circumcision ii. The San society in general and the kinship system in particular are very different from contemporary American society. 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. Through dreams and vision v. Through observation and practice MEDICINE MEN They have the knowledge of healing certain diseases in the community. - Virginity is highly valued and girls who are not found virgin are ridiculed. 12. In some instances a go between would be used to identify a suitable partner. 4. Factors contributing to harmony and mutual responsibility in African communities. - Purification rites are performed for the mother and the child to make the child pure. 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. (2) Generation: Kinship tie is established between the persons in relation to generation. Some of the traditional forms of leisure include. 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. - They help the priests to performing certain rituals such as sacrifices. iii. RAIN MAKERS - Rain in traditional Africa is understood to come directly from God. Dowry payment is no longer a communal affair but an individual affair. They could also warn of impending danger. There are two main types of leisure: (1) Passive leisure: This is where there is minimal use of physical energy. 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. Birth and naming 2. 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. Some communities such as the Maasai still maintain their traditional way of dressing. 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