v. It brings people together; relatives and friends co me together hence strengthening kinship ties. iii. to find out if they are related. The lineage is the effective kinship unit among the Bemba around which marriage and the organization of family life. revolves.31 The matrilineal household and descent determine or influence two major social activities. 3. 3. A community has distinct beliefs, customs and cultural practices. BIRTH Pregnancy - This is the first stage in the life of a person. - They negotiate for peace in time of war with another community. 7. Family. factors. They believe iron implements attract lightning. First, the strengths, durability, and resilience of the African traditional family were never dwelt on explicitly and at length. 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. 2. There was never a distinction between the biological and non-biological kin as far as primary parental obligations were concerned. RITES OF PASSAGE These are important stages in life that one has to undergo. Everybody in the community is expected to work hard. - In others the bridegroom and its party have to fight the brides party in order to get her. 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. In fact a woman was part of the property of the man. they are consulted before installation of a new king in some communities. 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. iv. Choosing of a marriage partner This differs from one community to another. 3. v. The introduction of formal education, which has promoted new loyalties based on new social status, academic and professional qualification. 1. Large tracts of land 4 Large herds of cattle. 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. During this period, the couples are given special instructions that prepare them for marriage life. Download Now. This background is essential to any application of Christian spirituality in Africa. iv. 1. 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". Importance of marriage - Marriage is for the continuity of the society and is an institution that is ordained by God. 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 . Dowry is important in that:- 1. Dowry seals marriage, before dowry is paid marriage is considered as incomplete. They are made aware of their responsibilities in adulthood. It is believed that the dead relatives continue to live through children. These could be through words or deeds. If the child laughs, then the last mentioned name is given to him or her, .and the soul of the ancestors is considered to have entered its body.19, The significant feature of the second stage in Baganda childhood is that after they are weaned, Baganda children do not live with their biological parents. pp.164-202. vi. To give the mother time to heal. 8. Bantu migrations also helped to spread agriculture and herding to all parts of Africa. Th importance whice h UNICEF attaches to the family is also based on the Conventio onn the Eliminatio onf Before initiation one is not fully considered belonging to the community. x. It varies from culture to culture, from society to society. politicians. 2. 2. This may be due to urbanization and economic constraints. iii. - They are given financial assistance. - Taking of dangerous drugs. 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. Divorce and separation are discouraged. v. They are taught secrets of the society. 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. 2. They act as judges in certain circumstances. MARRIAGE This is the third rite that an individual is expected to go through in life. Aboriginal kinship ties, values, beliefs, identity and language are maintained by the family. The clan is linked by four factors. Meanwhile, the husband works under his father-in-laws orders with other young son-in-laws.26 A matrilocal family of this kind forms the nucleus of a village community (umushi) which other relatives of the head of the family afterwards join.27, Polygamy or polygyny, which is a distinguishing feature in many traditional African families especially is patrilineal and patriarchal societies, is uncommon among the matrilineal Bemba. Women were not allowed to own property. Overall, there are two forms of social groups that from the basis of Bemba marriage and traditional family. However, both the organization of the family unit, marriage, decent systems and the structure of kinship relations vary from society to society and through time (Ingiabuna et al. In the western culture, marriage results in permanent bonds between the couple, with centrally assigned sexual rights among the couple and parenthood responsibility. Stern norms/ values which promote individualism. This is done by breaking the hearts of relatives by refusing to be good-hearted when they need you. It could also show how the bridegroom is capable of taking care of the bride. 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. Children among the matrilineal peoples are brought up in a similar traditional extended family village social environment. They can foretell the future e.g. They include;- 1. Traditionally no parent fixes a price for his daughter (a bride). Life is seen to begin from the time of conception since unborn children are taken as part of the community. LAND In the traditional African society, people had a lot of attachment to land. Similar customs or rules of restrictions in interaction apply between many other kin in a traditional African family. They would only speak through intermediaries. 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. Importance of Naming 1. A total of 68 linguistic terms of relationships are used by the Baganda.12, The Baganda have a very important aspect of the social or family structure; the consanguinal kin group or blood line which is a line of descent traced through the male members of the family or patri-sib. Lecture: Nexus kinship and blood has a taste if age-old ideologies. He has no rights on his paternal clan. 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. 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. 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 . Impact of Modernism on Family. Many people today acquire Christian names. Dr. Mwizenge S. Tembo Urbanization has undermined the role of of the elders as it becomes difficult for elders to operate as the people come from different backgrounds. 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. 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. Mothers and children would die at childbirth to cases where there is no skilled mid-wife. Indeed, such authors as Chondoka have recently found little accuracy or justification in calling this custom purchasing or buying of a wife. 5. The traditional Cheyenne kinship system is certainly an "indigenous society" where the roles and responsibilities of both parents created and sustained the family unit. 4. 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. Main factors which affect social change can be discussed a follows: 1. viii. Yet in some communities when a woman is pregnant she is not allowed to talk to her husband directly. Explaining Caribbean Family Patterns. Lucy P. Mair, African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. Among the Baganda, the clan has remained the most important kinship entity. 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. Today marriage is for companionship and it is considered to be complete even if there are no children. Some herbalists have been legalized by the government and have opened clinics e.g. Economy e.g. They are people who claim a common ancestry and are related by blood. 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. Once the negotiations are over then dowry payment would begin. iv. - The hair of the mother and the child is shaved. 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. There are three main types of kinship: lineal, collateral, and affinal. They could also warn of impending danger. Other significant strengths are that the traditional African family increased group cohesion in an otherwise harsh physical and social environment. No one is allowed to take the life of another. In some instances a go between would be used to identify a suitable partner. When a girl is getting married her mothers brother must be consulted. Would provide medical care e.g. 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. - During this period of seclusion:- i. - Kinship system provides the peaceful ways of settling disputes in a community as all are treated as brothers and sisters. Land was also a source of medicine in the form of herbs and minerals. In rural areas, the family typically . The term 'brother' and 'sister' shows the sex of blood relations. Kinship ties are strong bonds that exist among community members. - It is through marriage that children are born to the community. Bride wealth has lost its original meaning and has been commercialized. 4. So the relationship is often based on mutual expectations and is more beneficial for both parties than confrontational and fraught with issuing of orders. 7. 7. Angering the living dead and the spirits e.g. Factors contributing to harmony and Mutual Responsibility in African Traditional Societies In traditional African Society, every individual is related to all. People that belong to the same kinship system are referred to as kin. This ensured that nobody remained landless. Rites of passage: These are ceremonies that are performed to a group of people to mark important stages of life. - The children born after his death were still referred to as his. They are also given special instructions that prepare them for marriage life. 4. Where as chiefs have a number of wives, it is very rare to find ordinary men who have more than one wife. People who have become educated consider the shaving of the hair unnecessary. 9. - Through marriage, the living dead and those yet to be born are brought together. 2. - They give direction on funeral ceremonies and advise on what should be done about the ceremony. Second Edition, London: Cambridge University Press, 1984, Ch. But however, after a few years of contact with white civilization and subsequent social change, the custom has gradually changed. Land was owned by the community. v. They are also consulted in terms of crisis e.g. In male-speaking terms, fathers sisters daughters (cross-cousins) are called cousins. ii. Traditional kinship structures remain important in many First Nations communities today. Kinship is a cultural system. pp. In some communities the choice is made by the parents. 10. They lead people to communal prayer in time of crisis. Goldthorpe, J.E., The Sociology of the Third World: Disparity and Development. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1956, 1966, 1971. - Life also continues after death, death does not mark the end of life but is just a change of state. - In African traditional society, each individual is related to the other. However, the role of these traditional religious leaders has been greatly affected by influence of Christianity, western culture and formal education. INITIATION - This is the second major important stage in ones life. Their relevance today Some people still consult prophets on seers some couples may consult in case of barrenness. iii. The youth are believed to be free with them. 6. - They help the priests to performing certain rituals such as sacrifices. Therefore, the new families tend to generally live near or with the husbands parents. He was a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Zambia from 1977 to 1990. These are many. The permissive society has also encouraged trial marriages. Clitoridectomy Female circumcision. Once somebody is married he got fully integrated to the society. 6. 2. Such influences as end of intra and inter-tribal warfare with the coming of European colonialism, the Western money economy, industrialization, migration, and urbanization have certainly transformed the traditional African family from what it was 50 to 100 years ago. © 2023 Tutorke Limited. Introduction The primary objective of this paper is to define the African traditional religious system as the basis of understanding Christian spiritual warfare within an African context. DeVos, (New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1976). A change in attitude towards joint family is evident among the urban educated persons. - In most communities the child and the mother are kept in seclusion for a number of days, depending on the sex of the baby. Some people also consult them before making important decisions e.g. Problems that the elderly face today 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. The book describes and explains Chewa traditions and customs including Ukamwini. Richards, Audrey I., Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969. First, two animal totems from one of which the clan derives its name. Marriage 4. Priests/prophets v. Blacksmiths The religious specialists acquire their skills through:- i. Inheritance from a relative ii. GAZETTE: How have ancestors . They also have the ability to stop rain. - Rainmakers are special people who have the ability to make rain. Boys and girls are not allowed to mix freely unless under supervision. 6. 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. They are experts in particular religious fields. In many traditional African societies, kinship ties are similarly expansive and can include a large and diverse range of relationships. 3. They are those who do not believe in traditional medicine. Although polygamy is the act of an individual being married to more than one spouse at the same time, the more commonly practiced in Africa is polygyny .the legal marriage of one man to two or more women concurrently is permitted.4 This author argues that because of its perversity, the presence and absence of polygyny was a significant determinant and indicator of the nature of virtually every African social group; whether tribe, clan, or extended family, whether matrilineality or patrilineality was practiced, bride price existed, and how children were raised. Circumcision is carried out at times in hospitals for health reasons. Each community has a distinct political and social organization. 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. The midwife also monitors the development of the foetus. iii. Naming ceremonies also provide opportunity to teach the culture of the youth. Depending on the region and the people, these. However, as a prospective husband, you are told to pay for the marriage and not the bride. - Kinship helps to care for the less fortunate members of the society e.g. However dowry payment has been hindered by several factors today e.g. Kinship ties definition: Kinship is the relationship between members of the same family. These variations are caused by differences in tribal customs or culture according geography, history, religion, external influence of colonialism, inter migration, political and economic structures and influences. - There are traditional midwives who help in delivery. - It was a common belief that a woman belonged to the whole community. in cases of death, the whole community mourn. d. If it is a man, the wife is supposed to stay around the corpse among them show clearly she would miss the husband. These Anglo-Saxon or Eurocentric descriptions do not help in the fair and accurate perception of the traditional African family. I. This quote, for example, shows that polygamy was practiced among the Pondo but the dominant form of traditional marriage and the family was monogamous. They are free most of them and can get time for the younger generation. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. - Hardworking. During initiation the young adults are taught matters relating to sex and adulthood. - The government and churches have built homes for them - They are given food etc. The paternal grandmothers drop the cords into a can, which contains beer, milk, and water. Importance of kinship ties to TAS This manuscript was written for a book, which was never published, which was to be edited by Dr. Elizabeth Brooks who was a lecturer at the University of Zambia. Relevance of diviners and medicine men today 1) Diviners and Mediums are still important in Kenya today. Dec. 31, 2007. Modern education and western culture has affected dowry payment in that many educated attach little value to dowry payment. The traditional aspect of marriage in various communities was different. What are the 6 kinship systems? The Family; Its Structures and Functions. - They give instructions to the younger generation on their roles and duties. Changing attitudes to birth and naming 1. 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. - They are concerned with maintenance of law and order in the community. Adams, Bert N., The Family: A Sociological Interpretation, 4th Edition, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1986. Everyone has an obligation to marry or get married. - The departed relatives are kept alive through naming. People nowadays try to show their loyalty to state and not the society. Thorne, Barrie., and Yalom, Marilyn., (Eds.) The issue to emphasize, is not so much that there are no weaknesses or shortcomings in the traditional African family, but that the Eurocentric Anglo-Saxon descriptions (that are believed to be objective and describe social phenomena as accurately as possible) eliminate, and over shadow the strengths and positive aspects that might have existed and may still exist in the African traditional family patterns. Importance of Kinship System and Ties. Tembo, Mwizenge S., A Sociological Analysis of the African Personality Among Zambian Students. Everybody is a part of the other. 1975. The case studies presented will be those of the Baganda of Uganda and Bemba of Northern Zambia. Stephens, William N., The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York: University Press of America, 1982. At this juncture the essay will dwell on the description in family structures in Africa society and how it has affected economic development. Importance of seclusion period 1. Yet, equal opportunities is, perhaps, the essential defining element of an inclusive Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1983. Most of these changes in most cases are in conflict with the African customs. 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. - Marriage extended relationship and therefore enlarged kinship ties. They act as intermediaries between God and human beings. It shows an act of bravery and hardship one I s to meet in life. b) Outline the role of priests in Traditional African communities. 2. Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions, New York: Longman, 1982. The histories and cultures of Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia and North Africa are covered . Virginity is not highly valued and many people break their virginity at stage of adolescence. 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 7. - It also regulates marriage relations, before marriage one has to find the back ground of the other. The man or bridegroom builds himself a house at his wifes village and becomes a member of her extended family group.25 The wife cooks at her mothers house with other female relatives who are mainly unmarried and married sisters. 3. The birth of a child is no longer a communal affair but a family affair. 2 Traditional foster care arrangements are referred to as non-kin foster care. Importance of courtship 1. It is a sign of belonging to the society or identification. Although children among the Baganda are brought up in an unroutinized and casual way with a few rites of passage to adulthood, they seem to go through three distinct stages during their up bringing. If there is agreement, this marks the beginning of courtship period. This culture was pre-literate, pre-scientific and pre-industrial. Traditional African society. vii. Sometimes people mistake that they are witch doctors especially Christians. vii. East Lansing, Michigan State University, 1980, Unpublished M. A. Thesis. - Thankfulness. 29 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. Of Bemba marriage and Present economic Conditions, the custom has gradually changed they those. That children are born to the society e.g dwell on the region the... Mother and the child is no longer a communal affair but a family affair, death does not the... Certain rituals such as sacrifices, such authors as Chondoka have recently found little accuracy justification... Companionship and it is very rare to find ordinary men who have than. 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