v. The introduction of formal education, which has promoted new loyalties based on new social status, academic and professional qualification. This is meant to send it clean into the world of the living dead. Girls brought wealth in form of cattle to marriage. - Marriage extended relationship and therefore enlarged kinship ties. LEISURE Leisure is the free time that an individual has at his disposal when he is not bound by duty. 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. The youth are ritually introduced to the communal living. © 2023 Tutorke Limited. - They oversee the division of property in the community after death. iii. - They counsel and guide the youth on matters of sex and marriage Why guiding and counseling was done by elders 1. 3. Death must have a cause. 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. - Through marriage, the living dead and those yet to be born are brought together. Importance of courtship 1. - Many people have moved and have settled in foreign lands, which are not their ancestral lands. among the Kisii, a person born crossing the river could be called Kwamboka. She organizes the disposal of the placenta (after birth). 7. Explaining these changes would require a different chapter. First, two animal totems from one of which the clan derives its name. But rather the matrilocal extended family comprised of a man and his wife, their married daughters, son-in-laws, and their children. vii. vi. - This special treatment starts before and continues after childbirth. The introduction of formal education Formal education has weakened the role of parents and grandparents. fellow Christians. They are experts in particular religious fields. There are strict rules and taboos governing sex. - The children born after his death were still referred to as his. Changes that have affected ownership of property and wealth - Women and children are allowed to own property. Many people today acquire Christian names. They are those who do not believe in traditional medicine. This helps to control peoples behaviors. 6. 5. The effective boundaries of the network vary for different people, over time and for different contents. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. 18. a) State five changes that have taken place in property ownership today. p119. Many women today put on trousers that initially were meant for men. - Kinship helps to prevent the spread of hereditary diseases. A Modern Introduction to The Family, Glencoe: The Free Press, 1960. - It also regulates marriage relations, before marriage one has to find the back ground of the other. DeVos, (New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1976). 3. - 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. This symbolizes new life. Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. - The hair of the mother and the child is shaved. RAIN MAKERS - Rain in traditional Africa is understood to come directly from God. Land was also the habitat of people, animals and plants. The youth are taught to be courageous in order to be able to face challenges in life e.g. - When the baby arrives, the sex of the baby is announced by ululations. (East Lansing, Michigan State University, 1980) p.11 Unpublished M.A. In the African understanding, it is believed that there is no natural death. Ch. v. Marking of the body (scarification) - During initiation, the initiates are removed from the rest of the community. PRIESTS/PROPHETS OR SEERS - These are other religious specialists who play a special role as intermediaries between God and human beings. It is a source of food for the people and the animals. 2. iv. Therefore, the new families tend to generally live near or with the husbands parents. ix. Family offers a person residential identity, social status, right to property affiliation with kinship and emotional support. v. Others would also be killed for crimes such as murder. in women. Death is believed to be a next journey to the world of the spirits. 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. b) Outline the role of priests in Traditional African communities. The basic family unit among the Bemba was not the nuclear family. Their roles include the following:- i. the outcome of a war 5. Lobola is widely used among the Bantu peoples of Central and Southern Africa.39, Avoidance, segregated relationships, lack of love and tenderness in traditional African marriages and the family has been a common theme among European scholars. So the relationship is often based on mutual expectations and is more beneficial for both parties than confrontational and fraught with issuing of orders. However, the influence of mediums and diviners has been affected by Christianity, which is against consulting any power apart from God. Priests/prophets v. Blacksmiths The religious specialists acquire their skills through:- i. Inheritance from a relative ii. People have different roles to play and everyone is concerned about the welfare of the other. - Honesty. The gifts also act as security in case the marriage breaks then the gifts could be returned. Same ancestry: People of a particular community believe that they have the same origin e.g. 5. This shows that children seals marriage. - Purification rites are performed for the mother and the child to make the child pure. 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. Through dreams and vision v. Through observation and practice MEDICINE MEN They have the knowledge of healing certain diseases in the community. 6. Bride wealth has lost its original meaning and has been commercialized. 10. ii. 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. - Hardworking. iv. Today many people do not believe in rainmakers. It is also a taboo to marry close relative. The purpose of sex is purely for procreation hence this discouraged sex before marriage. For example, when a man dies among the Baganda, his power over the property ends. The major reason cited is that with increasing modern influences, marrying more than one wife became an economic burden. A father-in-law knows what to expect from a good son-in-law. - Different communities have different rules on where the delivery should take place. 7. Natural Factors: ADVERTISEMENTS: Natural forces and factors play an important role in unifying or disintegrating the society. Young initiates are trained to be responsible husbands and wives in future. food, beer drinking. Goldthorpe, J.E., The Sociology of the Third World: Disparity and Development. The African notion of "family," by contrast, typically refers to the extended family system. 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. They would only speak through intermediaries. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. false T/F: Female slaves generally worked outdoors while male slaves did domestic work. 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. Second Edition, London: The Macmillan Press, Ltd., 1974. - Life also continues after death, death does not mark the end of life but is just a change of state. Today marriage is for companionship and it is considered to be complete even if there are no children. They can also reveal-hidden information e.g. Extended Family: It ensures that children, orphans and the widows are well taken care of by the other members of the extended family. Wedding ceremony - After the negotiation the wedding ceremonies are arranged. 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. Elizabeth Colson, Marriage and the Family among the Plateau Tonga of Northern Rhodesia. 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. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. 3. Communal activities: People participate in communal activities e.g. Virginity is not highly valued and many people break their virginity at stage of adolescence. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. - Virginity is highly valued and girls who are not found virgin are ridiculed. 2. This shows concern that they have for the child. Some people also consult them before making important decisions e.g. 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. In western European societies Jack Goode finds that world revolution has contributed for the transformation of . Kinship is reckoned through blood and betrothal (engagement and marriage). Children among the matrilineal peoples are brought up in a similar traditional extended family village social environment. 6. If there is agreement, this marks the beginning of courtship period. 2. For example, in debt and marriage obligations. Babbie, Earl R., Sociology: An Introduction. 7 Nobody knows what happens after life on earth here. 42 Yizenge A. Chondoka, Traditional Marriages in Zambia: A Study in Cultural History. That is one cannot escape it 2 It brings impurity to the family and thus several rites are observed after death 3 It deprives the family and the community of the individual. To give the mother time to heal. - In some communities it would be thrown in rivers, forest in Banana plantations. The case studies presented will be those of the Baganda of Uganda and Bemba of Northern Zambia. People learn to be thankful to God, parents, relatives and one another AFRICAN UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNITY AND KINSHIP African community is used to refer to a group of people occupying a particular geographical area, share common interest and practices a sense of togetherness. 3. if a person may not have been buried properly. ii. Explaining Caribbean Family Patterns. Marriage: Has been individualized and is no longer a communal affair. 4. Prophets or priests also have political role e.g. 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. viii. Polygyny though set the tone and often determined the strength of the society and pattern of social organization of the traditional African family. Those who abuse sex are heavily punished. the pain the initiates underwent. Naming gives identity to a person before a child is given a name she or he is not considered as having full identity. Some of the celebrations like beer drinking are slowly dying out. 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. Relevance of diviners and medicine men today 1) Diviners and Mediums are still important in Kenya today. v. They are taught secrets of the society. - Gambling. They give information concerning cause, nature and treatment of diseases. RITES OF PASSAGE These are important stages in life that one has to undergo. Less traditional family structures in sitcoms gained popularity in the 1980s with shows such as Diff'rent Strokes (a widowed man with two adopted African American sons) and One Day at a Time (a divorced woman with two teenage daughters). Kinship is at the heart of First Nations society. vii. There is no bride price in our society. New York: The Free Press, 1963. No one is allowed to take the life of another. 35 3Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions. The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. There was fair distribution of wealth to even those who did not have. How Names are given in the traditional African societies 1. Religious (invisible) causes of death They included: i. Through the kinship system, people learn the importance of sharing what they have with others. LeVine40 described some of the customs and patterns that surround interaction in the traditional African family as institutionalized restrictions, segregated patterns, and avoidance patterns. Elders act as role models to the youth i.e. Characteristics of African community 1. 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. Rain makers ii. They include: i. 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