- There is individual ownership of property. - In some communities it would be thrown in rivers, forest in Banana plantations. 25 This book is written in Chewa indigenous Central African language. By combining the patrilocal rule of residence with consanguinal descent, the Baganda have built a formidable system of clans.13, Among the Baganda, the clan has remained the most important kinship entity. The author obtained his B.A in Sociology and Psychology at University of Zambia in 1976, M.A, Ph. After initiation one is now free to marry and has a right to inherit his fathers property. People nowadays try to show their loyalty to state and not the society. a diviner would be called when something was stolen. - Rainmakers are special people who have the ability to make rain. During initiation the initiates are given special instructions that prepare them for future life. The midwife advises on post-natal care of the mother and the baby. iii. The subject of traditional family patterns in Africa is so broad that it cannot be adequately addressed in one chapter. vii. Department of Sociology He ..also adopts the deceased persons children, calling them his and making no distinction between them and his own children.16. Those related by blood have common ancestors. 26 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. People could also die due to shortage of food. - Marriage enables one to assume leadership rules an unmarried person would not be chosen a leader. Th importance whice h UNICEF attaches to the family is also based on the Conventio onn the Eliminatio onf The introduction of formal education Formal education has weakened the role of parents and grandparents. Stephens, William N., The Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective, New York: University Press of America, 1982. ii. Characteristics of African community 1. One could also die due to breaking a taboo in such instances elders would identify the offender and perform an act of cleansing. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. It marks change from childhood to adulthood. 3. 3. - Presents are given to the baby and mother as a sign of good will. Because of this, extended families among the Bemba are not really as large as those found, especially among patriarchal polygynous traditional families in other tribes be it in Southern, Eastern, or West Africa.28 Polygamy is relatively speaking uncommon in this area and the institution is not an essential part of the Bemba family and economic life as it is among so many Bantu peoples.29, The Bembas kinship is based on descent in the matrilineal line. - In others the bridegroom and its party have to fight the brides party in order to get her. 6. 3. Leisure Activities: This is the time that one has at his disposal. People who have gone to school see the aged as old fashioned (generation gap) 6. All rights reserved. - Kinship system provides the peaceful ways of settling disputes in a community as all are treated as brothers and sisters. 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. Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. they are consulted before installation of a new king in some communities. - It causes physical injury to the victim. It is a token of appreciation in the part of the bridegrooms people to those of the bride for the care over her. The gifts also act as security in case the marriage breaks then the gifts could be returned. 1. vi. - Children made marriage complete. 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. Schapera, Isaac., Married Life in an African Tribe. 3. Other significant strengths are that the traditional African family increased group cohesion in an otherwise harsh physical and social environment. They act as intermediaries between God and human beings. 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. There are serious cases of misuse of leisure in the form of; - Watching and reading pornographic literature. Elizabeth Colson, Marriage and the Family among the Plateau Tonga of Northern Rhodesia. Elders iv. The clan is linked by four factors. Changing Family Patterns: Sub-Saharan Africa, in World Revolution and Family Patterns. It gives the couple time to study the character of the partner and find out if he or she is the best. Christianity: Christianity has weakened African Kinship ties by introducing new ties by the Christian family. Traditional kinship structures remain important in many First Nations communities today. 7. - The wife or orphans sometimes get mistreated. Due to de-forestation, some herbs are becoming extinct. They live in one Geographical area. Payment of dowry shows how the bridegroom values the wife. 16. We do not sell brides in our society. This is done by breaking the hearts of relatives by refusing to be good-hearted when they need you. In the African understanding, it is believed that there is no natural death. among the Akamba pregnant women are not supposed to eat fats, beans or animals killed using poison. The study of African societies has become an established area of scholarship, with sophisticated analyses that are far from earlier works . Richards, Audrey I., Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969. The traditional healers are still important today especially to those who had let down by medicine prescribed by doctors. Kinship relationships were and still are important among African communities. 7. They do not have good food or accommodation. vi. Members of a community could also come together when defending the community against outside invaders. - Some people acquire wealth through dishonest means e.g. Among the Chewa of Eastern Zambia, the custom of man living with his wifes parents temporarily or permanently was known as Ukamwini.23. v. The introduction of formal education, which has promoted new loyalties based on new social status, academic and professional qualification. 7 Nobody knows what happens after life on earth here. They are experts in particular religious fields. 8. 5. Factors that have affected Kinship system 1. 6. Types of Kinship. The basic kinship unit of Bemba society is not the individual family, but a matrilocal extended family composed of a man and his wife, their married daughters, and the latters husbands and children.24, A young Bemba couple live in the same hut with a child of pre-weaning age whom they may have. INITIATION - This is the second major important stage in ones life. iii. Western culture and education has really affected marriage. It was used to bury the dead, the spirits were believed to dwell on land or below the ground. The permissive society has also encouraged trial marriages. The Family; Its Structures and Functions. 3. 1. The medicine men lead the community in religious rituals. It is a way of compensating the brides family for the loss of a member. iii. - Courage. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. iii. ii. Naming ceremonies also provide opportunity to teach the culture of the youth. Young men are taught to develop self-love and love for the community it provides a sense of belonging. b) Explain the purpose of bride wealth in the traditional African community. a person born during locusts invasion can be called Adede among the luo. among the Luos a person who comes out with the placenta would be called Obiero or Awino. 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. 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. - Gambling. Some of the major issues raised will include polygamy, tribe, clan, the extended family, bride price and the raising of children. Changing attitudes towards marriage 1. As such children at an early age learn that their father has little authority or responsibility for them. The husband could take his wife home if the marriage was thought stable especially after the couple has had two or more children. - They ensure the values and culture of the community is observed. 5. The children learn the customs, beliefs, and culture pertaining to the social roles of being a woman, mother, and wife for girls; and a man, father, and husband for boys. During initiation the young adults are taught matters relating to sex and adulthood. Schooling where children spend most of their time with teachers depriving them the time to be with elders. Everyone has an obligation to marry or get married. 3. Tembo, Mwizenge S., A Sociological Analysis of the African Personality Among Zambian Students. Names are also given in honor of ancestors. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961) p.68, 23 Lucy P. Mair, African Marriage and Social Change, in Survey of African Marriage and Family Life. Problems that the elderly face today 1. Magic, sorcery and witchcraft. In some societies it is young people themselves who make their own choices and after wards informs their parents about it. the pain the initiates underwent. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.33 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). Kinship connections are in turn based on two categories of bonds: those created by marriage and those that result from descent , which is socially recognized links between ancestors and descendants. 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. In difficult times such as during famine, those who have share what they have with their relatives. - Marriage raised the status of the couples once somebody was married he was given a lot of respect. TOPIC 9:AFRICAN MORAL AND CULTURAL VALUES MEANING AND WHOLENESS OF LIFE- In the African traditional society, life is believed to originate from God. 3) They are fortunetellers and palm readers. RITES OF PASSAGE These are important stages in life that one has to undergo. Virginity is not highly valued and many people break their virginity at stage of adolescence. Responsibility of elders: - They help in the settlement of disputes. Wedding ceremony - After the negotiation the wedding ceremonies are arranged. Lusaka: National Educational Company of Zambia, and Kenneth Kaunda Foundation, 1970. vi. The midwives perform the following:- 1. Importance of Kinship - Kinship system defines how members relate to one another i.e. - Children born out of marriage inherit their parents property. 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. 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. A person's position in the kinship system establishes their relationship to others and to the universe, prescribing their responsibilities towards other people, the land and natural resources. The youth are believed to be free with them. Such include: - - Birth - Initiation - Marriage - Death 5. The developments in science and technology. IV, pp.66-87. Traditional African society. - Virginity is highly valued and girls who are not found virgin are ridiculed. 7. Rites of passage: These are ceremonies that are performed to a group of people to mark important stages of life. vii. 3. Initiation 3. Would you say in the Western marriage ritual of the priest leading on the saying of vowes, that the priest orders the groom to now kiss the bride, or put the ring on the brides finger, or ordered to be married for that matter? They play the role of counselors and advisors to the community. 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. Clyde., The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. What was the structure of the polygynous family? 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. As such disputes over land ownership were rare, this is because:- i. 5 It comes unannounced. - In African traditional society, each individual is related to the other. Economic hardships many people are not able to raise money to pay dowry. theories regarding family structure" (D . 2. Goldthorpe, J.E., The Sociology of the Third World: Disparity and Development. They are neglected by their children especially those working in the towns. Dec. 31, 2007. Consanguineal kinship: this kinship is based on blood the relationship meaning the relationship between parents and children also among immediate siblings. Naming ceremonies also bring unity among the people whenever a new child is born, members of extended family would come to celebrate together. 2. 6. Good, Changing Family Patterns: Sub-Saharan Africa, in World Revolution and Family Patterns. 4. - A lot of bleeding can lead to the death of an individual. 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