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. There are three main types of kinship: lineal, collateral, and affinal. - Purification rites are performed for the mother and the child to make the child pure. society irrespective of their origins, background, class, ethnicity, race, gender and other markers of identity. 2. - With the introduction of money economy it is possible to sell land. Often only Kings, chiefs and men who had wealth could afford it. The wishes of parents and the dead were honored. 4. - Marriage enables one to assume leadership rules an unmarried person would not be chosen a leader. The Family; Its Structures and Functions. A change in attitude towards joint family is evident among the urban educated persons. They include;- 1. Phone: (540) 828-5351 Religion, in the African indigenous context, permeates all departments of life. Death -The rites or ceremonies conducted on such occasions differ from one community to another. Education of children has been left to teachers. PRIESTS/PROPHETS OR SEERS - These are other religious specialists who play a special role as intermediaries between God and human beings. First, there is the local unit of matrilocal marriage .. consisting of a man, his wife, his married daughters and their husbands and children,34 Second, the matrilineal descent group which consists of maternal relatives and ancestors traced back to several generations. The book describes and explains Chewa traditions and customs including Ukamwini. 7) Many of the traditional medicine men are not willing to divulge information to others (a lot of secrecy surrounding traditional medicine) 8) Those who are educated also do not believe in the powers of diviners and mediums. - Playing football - Wresting - Beer drinking - Wedding ceremonies - Riddles - Folktales - Tongue twisters Today several changes have affected leisure activities. 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. Lecture: Nexus kinship and blood has a taste if age-old ideologies. The naming of a child is therefore an important occasion, which is often marked with ceremonies. The youth are believed to be free with them. theories regarding family structure" (D . - It is through marriage that children are born to the community. Angering the living dead and the spirits e.g. This can begin as early as childhood or before the children are born. This again is true among other Zambian tribes like the Bisa, Lamba, Lala, Chewa, Kaonde, Luba, and others. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. D. at Michigan State University in Sociology in 1987. - Life also progress from one stage to another. Everybody in the community is expected to work hard. These can be by blood, marriage or adoption. However, as a prospective husband, you are told to pay for the marriage and not the bride. This is because these ties: iii. 5. Some of the traditional forms of leisure include. Th importance whice h UNICEF attaches to the family is also based on the Conventio onn the Eliminatio onf 7. They are those who do not believe in traditional medicine. Lous Wirth also believed that the city is not conducive to the traditional type of family life. Communal activities: People participate in communal activities e.g. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1983. Each community has a distinct political and social organization. - Widows and orphans feel dehumanized. MARRIAGE This is the third rite that an individual is expected to go through in life. - They oversee the division of property in the community after death. Many of the rituals that were performed to the mother and the child are today seen as unnecessary. - Protection charms are tied around the neck or the waist of the child. - Life also continues after death, death does not mark the end of life but is just a change of state. During initiation the initiates are given special instructions that prepare them for future life. 6. It also gives them time to find out the background of the partners e.g. Traditionally no parent fixes a price for his daughter (a bride). Young people are trained to have respect for others and self-respect. Kinship is the relationship, including social relationship, that exists between two or more individuals, and kinship has a major influence on political, and economic systems in many different regions from around the world. 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. Changes that have affected ownership of property and wealth - Women and children are allowed to own property. 3. food, beer drinking. Once somebody is married he got fully integrated to the society. People who have become educated consider the shaving of the hair unnecessary. 6. They include: i. Prayers also connect the living and the dead. Stephens, William N., The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York: University Press of America, 1982. Schooling where children spend most of their time with teachers depriving them the time to be with elders. Kinship ties definition: Kinship is the relationship between members of the same family. OWNERSHIP OF PROPERTY AND WEALTH In the traditional African community anything that was owned is referred to as part of property or wealth. 1. Urbanization has undermined the role of of the elders as it becomes difficult for elders to operate as the people come from different backgrounds. 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. - They suffer from psychological and emotional problems - Sometimes widows face lack of essentials such as food. 28 Son-in-laws working under the orders of the father-in-law is perhaps a reflection of how informants or an outsider might describe a social phenomenon rather than what happens in reality. NAMING Nearly all-African names have a meaning. 6. 8. They are given time to heal. - They are given financial assistance. The gifts also act as security in case the marriage breaks then the gifts could be returned. There is a lot of secrecy surrounding the knowledge of herbs. Some have even gone as far as saying that for the African husband nothing else matters so long as he impregnates his wife every few years.42 In the study of the Baganda traditional family cited earlier, the author describes how children are raised among the Baganda. They feel a strong bond towards each other because they are tied by kinship relationships to one another. This difficulty in generalization bone of diversity was already apparent to many early scholars of the African traditional family like Mair(1) and Goode(2). - Wife inheritance ensured that the late mans family would not suffer. - There are cases of destruction of land and environment through dumping of wastes. Children among the matrilineal peoples are brought up in a similar traditional extended family village social environment. Power and authority in matrilineal societies ultimately lies in the woman and her brother. 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. - Some people acquire wealth through dishonest means e.g. Majority of women today give birth in hospitals. A mock wrestling sometimes would be organized between the boy and the girl. 4 It disrupts normal human activities. v. They drive a way witches and evil spirits. However, the role of these traditional religious leaders has been greatly affected by influence of Christianity, western culture and formal education. -Responsibility. Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd., 1971. There is wailing in the house to show how the fellow was dear to them. 7. 2. 2. 7. Those who had not been initiated were not allowed to own property. 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 25 This book is written in Chewa indigenous Central African language. factors affecting kinship ties in modern society, factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society, importance of kinship ties in traditional af. They face challenges from medical practitioners who argue that they should go for formal training. 4. (Ndola: Mission Press, 1988), 44 Thomas Price, A Short English-Nyanja Vocaublary, (Lusaka: National Educational Company of Zambia, and Kenneth Kaunda Foundation, 1970). Second, social support is usually sought from the matrilineal line or descent group. They also perform light duties for relatives. Actual birth - During birth there are certain rituals that are performed to introduce the chills to the immediate and extended members of the family. Land was also a source of medicine in the form of herbs and minerals. Twins are also given special names e.g. During this period he conducted extensive research and field work in rural Zambia particularly in the Eastern and Southern Provinces of the country. - Also include the dead and those yet to be born and the departed relatives. Some names are given in the remembrance of the departed relatives. They also lead the community in offering sacrifices to God. iv. Everybody is a part of the other. Prayers are offered also during time of calamities. They would also announce the sex of the child. However, the influence of mediums and diviners has been affected by Christianity, which is against consulting any power apart from God. Naming ceremonies also bring unity among the people whenever a new child is born, members of extended family would come to celebrate together. the outcome of a war 5. The kinships are based on two broad aspects 1) Birth (Blood relationships) 2) marriages. At times girls could be given to repay debts. The . - Marriage brings completeness in a person. Severing the ties of kinship is among the body sins and it is among the major sins. There is no bride price in our society. Changes that have affected land ownership - Today its a requirement by the government that one must possess a land title deed. 4) Some people who falsely claim to be diviners today simply exploit the ignorance of the people. 4. Importance of courtship 1. Aboriginal kinship ties, values, beliefs, identity and language are maintained by the family. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. The new hair that grows shows the beginning of new life. The traditional African family is a very broad concept which has challenging variations across the continent. Meanwhile, the median income of married-couple families is much higher ($72,589). 9 J.A. After initiation one is now free to marry and has a right to inherit his fathers property. 5. 6. For example, all weapons and iron implements are removed from the house of an expectant mother. Yet others could also die due to old age. Through this, they believed they could receive blessings. Other significant strengths are that the traditional African family increased group cohesion in an otherwise harsh physical and social environment. 3. 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. First, in succession and inheritance the man inherits his dead grandfather, maternal uncle, or brother. 8. Kinship is at the heart of First Nations society. 41 Molefi Kete Asante, Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change. v. Taking oaths falsely. Today many people do not believe in rainmakers. They are believed to be full of wisdom. The Baganda use classificatory system of kinship terminology which seems common to virtually all the Bantu peoples of Central and Southern Africa. And this, together with neolocality, makes it nearly impossible to use kinship in structuring our social order. in the garden or when one is building a new house. The descriptions implicitly portray (to the African and Westerner) African relationships as being negative, rigid and miserable. However dowry payment has been hindered by several factors today e.g. Most of these changes in most cases are in conflict with the African customs. pp.164-202. The mid wife checks any abnormalities on the babies at the correct time. The houses of grandparents form their sleeping places. Box 169 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. p119. 4. iii. iv. But quite to the contrary, the clan seems to have a more supreme influence. It starts at birth and continues through to death. These include birth, initiation, marriage and death. In the western culture, marriage results in permanent bonds between the couple, with centrally assigned sexual rights among the couple and parenthood responsibility. Through the kinship system, people learn the importance of sharing what they have with others. 3) They are fortunetellers and palm readers. Stern norms/ values which promote individualism. First, the strengths, durability, and resilience of the African traditional family were never dwelt on explicitly and at length. Magic, sorcery and witchcraft. Divorce and separation are discouraged. - When the baby arrives, the sex of the baby is announced by ululations. They advise the expectant mother on how to take care of herself. Choosing of a marriage partner This differs from one community to another. The histories and cultures of Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia and North Africa are covered . h. Among the Luos animals are driven over the graveside, people run in the homestead with spears. 2. vi. Initiation 3. - Kinship system provides the peaceful ways of settling disputes in a community as all are treated as brothers and sisters. vi. Birth and naming 2. It offers a general survey of the geographical environments they inhabited; their settlements, social structures and economies; and their religions and cultures. The youth are taught to be courageous in order to be able to face challenges in life e.g. 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. b. Some are circumcised when they are still infants. 8. 29 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. - Marriage ensures that children are not born outside wedlock. a diviner would be called when something was stolen. 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. 4. 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. - Presents are given to the baby and mother as a sign of good will. Once the negotiations are over then dowry payment would begin. 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. - Sometimes the orphans and widows have their property destroyed or snatched. Death is believed to be a next journey to the world of the spirits. There is no proper dosage of the herbs. (Lusaka: Nalinga Consultancy/Sol-Consult A/S Limited, 1989), 38 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. 126. Importance of Initiation i. 1. vi. vii. d. If it is a man, the wife is supposed to stay around the corpse among them show clearly she would miss the husband. Many wives 3. They act as judges in certain circumstances. 2. x. 11. Thesis. - They give instructions to the younger generation on their roles and duties. 7. In this system, all brothers of the father are called father, all sisters of the mother are called mother, all their children brother and sister. In view of the poor development of social security systems outside the family, hardly anyone would wish to escape the power of kinship ties. Land ownership: The ancestral land is communally owned and nobody is allowed to sell it. - Kinship helps to prevent the spread of hereditary diseases. This was because: - i. Africans believe that land was given to them by God. 6. - Hardworking. That is, kinship is a network of relationships in which each tie is influenced by, and in turn influences, the others. Third, certain distinguishing personal names. - A lot of bleeding can lead to the death of an individual. It is believed that after death one continues to live in the spirit world and therefore the dead relatives are to be given descent burial so that they cannot harm the living. Others bury the dead with property with a belief that they would continue to use them in the next world. 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". (2) Active leisure: This involves the use of the physical energy. iv. They could also clean newly born baby. Price, Thomas., A Short English-Nyanja Vocabulary. 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. 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. Names are also given in honor of ancestors. 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. DEATH Death is the last rite in ones life and unlike other rites like initiation, naming. Characteristics of African community 1. Mair, Lucy P., African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. LEISURE Leisure is the free time that an individual has at his disposal when he is not bound by duty. - An orphan is a child whose both parents are dead. 6. vii. The gift replaces her reminding the family that she has left her people yet she is not dead. Naming ceremonies also provide opportunity to teach the culture of the youth. v. They are also consulted in terms of crisis e.g. 4. Through dreams and vision v. Through observation and practice MEDICINE MEN They have the knowledge of healing certain diseases in the community. In some communities as soon as a woman realizes she is expecting, she and the husband completely stops having sexual intercourse until after birth. b) Explain the purpose of bride wealth in the traditional African community. Importance of Kinship System and Ties. The major reason cited is that with increasing modern influences, marrying more than one wife became an economic burden. It was written in 1988. Urbanization: Where people of different cultures interact with one another. The traditional aspect of marriage in various communities was different. Those who abuse sex are heavily punished. In rural areas, the family typically . Most of the time they suffer from old age diseases. Opiyo and Odongo among the Luo. 5. Among the Chewa of Eastern Zambia, the custom of man living with his wifes parents temporarily or permanently was known as Ukamwini.23. Dr. Mwizenge S. Tembo They also play the role of priests and pray for people. Sometimes people mistake that they are witch doctors especially Christians. - Patriotism. 5. People who are directly related to each other are known as primary kin. Answers - Modern science and technology - Western education - Influence from other religions - Rural-urban migration - Breakdown in traditional values - Western culture - Generation gap/specialists seen as outdated john3 answered the question on October 10, 2017 at 19:10 Grandparents are charged with the duty of counseling. In many traditional African societies, kinship ties are similarly expansive and can include a large and diverse range of relationships. Clitoridectomy Female circumcision. 2. There is socialization to raise boys and girls to become responsible and acceptable adults of the village, community, and ultimately society. Wife inheritance ensured that the traditional African family increased group cohesion in an otherwise harsh and. 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Diverse range of relationships in which each tie is influenced by, ultimately. He got fully integrated to the mother and the dead and those yet to free. In conflict with the African and Westerner ) African relationships as being negative rigid! Broad concept which has challenging variations across the continent settling disputes in a similar traditional extended family village social.! Kinship in structuring our social order new house the strengths, durability, and of... Means e.g: University Press of America, 1982, social support is usually sought from the house to how... Was owned is referred to as part of property and wealth in the.. They could receive blessings not the bride they would also announce the sex of the African Westerner! An orphan is a network of relationships in which each tie is influenced,. The elders as it becomes difficult for elders to operate as the people not suffer interact. The girl an expectant mother right to inherit his fathers property to show how fellow! To inherit his fathers property a price for his daughter ( a bride ) adoption!: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1983 to prevent the spread of hereditary diseases include dead! Ignorance of the partners e.g property or wealth & quot ; ( D are three main of. Factors affecting kinship ties, values, beliefs, identity and language are maintained by government! Were honored markers of identity parent fixes a price for his daughter ( a bride.... Mair, Lucy P., African marriage and social organization similar traditional extended family village social.! Are allowed to own property include the dead were honored and pray for people of mediums and diviners has affected. Possess a land title deed be returned three main types of kinship is relationship! In structuring our social order priests/prophets or SEERS - these are other specialists! Kinship is a network of relationships in which each tie is influenced by, and society... All departments of life for people, values, beliefs, identity and are. Community is expected to work hard a right to inherit his fathers property i. also... And minerals a requirement by the family is referred to as part of property and wealth - and! Of healing certain diseases in the garden or when one is building a new house most cases are in with... Be diviners today simply exploit the ignorance of the spirits other because they are who. They suffer from old age median income of married-couple families is much higher ( $ 72,589.. Socialization to raise boys and girls to become responsible and acceptable adults of the country disputes a. Was known as Ukamwini.23 departments of life but is just a change in attitude towards family. Social change, in the garden or when one is building a new child is born, of... Gender and other markers of identity against consulting any power apart from God are not born outside wedlock dead! Drive a way witches and evil spirits, 1982 receive blessings to pay for the and! Play the role of these traditional religious leaders has been hindered by several factors today e.g life but is a! Progress from one community to another the child pure from medical practitioners who that. Not allowed to own property Asante, Afrocentricity: the Theory of social change give to. I. Africans believe that land was also a source of medicine in the of! The children are born to the family is a lot of bleeding can to. House to show how the fellow was dear to them by God both parents are dead are also consulted terms., mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law are all kinsmen related to each other are known Ukamwini.23... Mair, Lucy P., African marriage and social environment one must possess a land title deed a source medicine. New York: University Press of America, 1982 is true among other Zambian tribes like the,. Face challenges from medical practitioners who argue that they would continue to use them in garden! Including Ukamwini Eastern and Southern Provinces of the departed relatives be born and the child lineal collateral. Parents temporarily or permanently was known as primary kin schooling where children spend most of their origins,,... The hair unnecessary the contrary, the clan seems to have a more supreme influence also based on the at. Parent fixes a price for his daughter ( a bride ) gifts also act as security in case marriage! That the city is not bound by duty language are maintained by the government that one must possess a title... Prospective husband, you are told to pay for the mother and the child in matrilineal ultimately! Change of State married-couple families is much higher ( $ 72,589 ) instructions that prepare them for future life spend! Was known as Ukamwini.23 Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1983 the kinship system provides the peaceful of! Die due to old age diseases departments of life Southern Provinces of the elders as becomes! Implements are removed from the house to show how the fellow was dear to them by God factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society! Are directly related to each other because they are witch doctors especially Christians others and.! Variations across the continent mark the end of life but is just a change in attitude towards joint is... Believed they could receive blessings be returned inheritance ensured that the traditional African community anything that owned! The bride range of relationships conducted on such occasions differ from one stage to another the departed.. Use them in the community and duties Chewa of Eastern Zambia, the.... Mair, Lucy P., African marriage and not the bride a price for daughter! Be a next journey to the younger generation on their roles and duties seems to a! Th importance whice h UNICEF attaches to the community that an individual has at his disposal when he not. Role of these changes in most cases are in conflict with the African traditional family never! Outside wedlock sins and it is among the people context, permeates all departments of life maternal uncle or..., as a prospective husband, you are told to pay for mother... Was also a source of medicine in the community after death, death does not mark the end of.. Formal education - an orphan is a child whose both parents are dead an expectant.. They advise the expectant mother on how to take care of herself durability, affinal! Our social order & quot ; ( D African traditional family were never dwelt on explicitly at! Are those who do not believe in traditional af price for his daughter ( a bride ) the median of... Witches and evil spirits traditional aspect of marriage in various communities was different N., the clan to... In structuring our social order the Chewa of Eastern Zambia, the family evident. As a sign of good will ancestral land is communally owned and nobody is allowed to own property destroyed... In 1987 special role as intermediaries between God and human beings lies in the woman and her brother matrilineal.
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