factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society

They are consulted in cases where western medicine has failed. vi. To protect the child from evil eyes. - Marriage brings completeness in a person. p119. - The girls would take back the sheet with a lot of ululation and rejoicing and one girl would remain behind to study the character of the man. iii. - Sometimes the orphans and widows have their property destroyed or snatched. - There is individual ownership of property. There are also cases of inter-tribal marriages. 4. ii. Family advocates Malinowski is the cornerstone of every society and culture. - Marriage enables one to assume leadership rules an unmarried person would not be chosen a leader. - Prayers are also offered to God for protection. 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. They can also reveal-hidden information e.g. Stern norms/ values which promote individualism. (Lusaka: Nalinga Consultancy/Sol-Consult A/ S Limited, 1989) p.97, 46 R.A. LeVine. Polygyny though set the tone and often determined the strength of the society and pattern of social organization of the traditional African family. For this reason, the paper serves only as an introduction to the application of Christian Often only Kings, chiefs and men who had wealth could afford it. 6. 7. Education of children has been left to teachers. politicians. 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. Mothers and children would die at childbirth to cases where there is no skilled mid-wife. The histories and cultures of Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia and North Africa are covered . People who are directly related to each other are known as primary kin. traditional agricultural systems of production and the increasing ownership of land by women, as well as education and access to contraceptives have reduced the demand for large families. The community disciplined those who showed traits of greed over ownership of property. - They negotiate for peace in time of war with another community. v. They are also consulted in terms of crisis e.g. There was never a distinction between the biological and non-biological kin as far as primary parental obligations were concerned. - Marriage was a source of wealth for the family. Importance of Kinship System and Ties. pp.164-202. iii. Follow. Today many people do not believe in rainmakers. - It was a common belief that a woman belonged to the whole community. 3. vi. This is sexual differentiation in socialization in which girls will become acceptable mothers and wives and boys husbands and fathers. Second Edition, London: Cambridge University Press, 1984, Ch. Permissiveness in the society has eroded . The continuance of Aboriginal society is dependent on keeping Aboriginal families strong and healthy both physically and culturally. All rights reserved. iii. They are senior members of the community. Importance of Naming 1. However, the influence of mediums and diviners has been affected by Christianity, which is against consulting any power apart from God. iv. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. 4. They believe iron implements attract lightning. They may receive messages from the spirits and ancestors. Edited by G.A. 4 It disrupts normal human activities. Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. Caution should be applied when sweeping generalizations are made which make the traditional African family is made to appear static, rigid, and lacking in vitality. These rules would differ from one community to another. Queen, Stuart A., Habestein, Robert W., and Adams, John B., The Family in Various Cultures. 2) Some students also consult them to succeed in exams and career. He has no rights on his paternal clan. 3. 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 wife or orphans sometimes get mistreated. The African notion of "family," by contrast, typically refers to the extended family system. Diviners also have religious functions and perform duties of priests such as offering of sacrifice. 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. Actual birth - During birth there are certain rituals that are performed to introduce the chills to the immediate and extended members of the family. Such include: - - Birth - Initiation - Marriage - Death 5. Choosing of a marriage partner This differs from one community to another. Adams, Bert N., The Family: A Sociological Interpretation, 4th Edition, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1986. Through supernatural powers iii. They could also clean newly born baby. 8. (Eds.) children born out of wed-lock are killed or abandoned. 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. - They act as a court of law to errant members of the society. Mitchell, J. It cements the relationship between the two families through the exchange of gifts. 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. Goode, William J. Explaining these changes would require a different chapter. 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]. This again is true among other Zambian tribes like the Bisa, Lamba, Lala, Chewa, Kaonde, Luba, and others. There is wailing in the house to show how the fellow was dear to them. Children could be named after their dead relatives. MARRIAGE This is the third rite that an individual is expected to go through in life. What role did religion play in medieval Africa communities? They feel a strong bond towards each other because they are tied by kinship relationships to one another. v. Others would also be killed for crimes such as murder. New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961. 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". - Some people acquire wealth through dishonest means e.g. 1967. A change in attitude towards joint family is evident among the urban educated persons. In rural areas, the family typically . a. Kinship is reckoned through blood and betrothal (engagement and marriage). In many traditional African societies, kinship ties are similarly expansive and can include a large and diverse range of relationships. This is because; 1 It is unavoidable. ELDERS They are people who are elderly in society. - In others the bridegroom and its party have to fight the brides party in order to get her. Kinship refers to the relationships between people. Asante, Molefi Kete., Afrocentricity; The Theory of Social Change, Buffalo: Amulefi Publishing Company, 1980. 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. They act as intermediaries between God and human beings. - Many people have moved and have settled in foreign lands, which are not their ancestral lands. ii. Division of labor in African societies, labor is divided according to sexes. These primary ties, as we may call them,4 are biologically the same in all societies,5 though, functionally, they may differ from culture to culture.6 But kinship ties do not rest within the reproductive family. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. The clan chooses the heir. A woman inherits her maternal grandmother or sisters. Once the proposals are made, the parents and relatives would begin marriage negotiations. She organizes the disposal of the placenta (after birth). Some of them are (i) Rites of passage (2) Good morals (3) Participation in communal activities such as ceremonies, work, leisure activities and worship (4) Sharing of property and ideas (5) Division of labour. First, the strengths, durability, and resilience of the African traditional family were never dwelt on explicitly and at length. Explaining Caribbean Family Patterns. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. Other names may also refer to the characteristics of the mothers pregnancy or the nature of delivery e.g. Kinship is at the heart of First Nations society. iv. 48 R. A. LeVine, Patterns of Personality in Africa, in Responses to Change: Socety, Culture and Personality. 6. These constitute the core of the Bemba traditional African family around which the social organization of the traditional society revolves. African societies are complex and diverse, requiring an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate and understand the continent's economic, political, social, and cultural institutions and change. The medicine men lead the community in religious rituals. One-parent families headed by a woman for any reason are much poorer ($30,296 in 2008 median annual income) than those headed by a man ($44,358). iv. A community has distinct beliefs, customs and cultural practices. I. 7. j. Those who are lazy are ridiculed. 6. The following day, the naming ceremony takes place. vii. 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. 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. According to Mair, .the polygynous joint family, consisting of a man, his wives, and their children, is the ideal for most Africans.5 Studies conducted from the 1930s to 1950s indicate that polygyny was common virtually in all regions of Africa.6, In spite of the perversity of polygyny, there was evidence that it was on the decline. 7. Barnes, Marriage in a Changing Society: a Study in Structural Change among the Fort Jameson Ngoni, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1951, 1970). IV, pp.66-87. It does not give warning. vi. to find out if they are related. Twins are also given special names e.g. Their roles include the following:- i. This is meant to send it clean into the world of the living dead. Marriage has been commercialized - many people demand higher payment for their daughter. Rites of passage: These are ceremonies that are performed to a group of people to mark important stages of life. iv. It is believed that the dead relatives continue to live through children. 4. Dr. Mwizenge S. Tembo Sometimes people mistake that they are witch doctors especially Christians. society irrespective of their origins, background, class, ethnicity, race, gender and other markers of identity. Has been commercialized - many people have moved and have settled in factors affecting kinship ties in traditional african society,... From one community to another of their origins, background, class, ethnicity,,... 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