Kinship relationships also determine social obligations and responsibilities, such as who has the right to inherit property or who is responsible for caring for children It shows an act of bravery and hardship one I s to meet in life. 2. 35 3Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions. The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. - Marriage brought unity in the society. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. 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. They would only speak through intermediaries. Traditional African society. 2. Some people also consult them before making important decisions e.g. vii. - Property can be owned outside ones ancestral home. Due to de-forestation, some herbs are becoming extinct. Changes that have affected ownership of property and wealth - Women and children are allowed to own property. Changing attitudes towards marriage 1. A Modern Introduction to The Family, Glencoe: The Free Press, 1960. among the Luos the man is buried at the right and woman is buried the left. Members of a community could also come together when defending the community against outside invaders. Rain makers ii. - There are traditional midwives who help in delivery. Majority of women today give birth in hospitals. 7. 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. 4. That is, kinship is a network of relationships in which each tie is influenced by, and in turn influences, the others. Payment of dowry shows how the bridegroom values the wife. Some names are given according to the time one was born. 3. 12 Stuart Queen, Robert W. Havenstein, and John B. Adams, The Polygynous Baganda Family, in The Family in Various Cultures. 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. J. Clyde Mitchell, The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. v. They drive a way witches and evil spirits. This review finds that parental care remains the best care setting and should be highly encouraged within African society. Importance of Kinship - Kinship system defines how members relate to one another i.e. iv. 29 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969) p.30. vi. Anthropologists have discovered that there are only six basic kin naming patterns or systems used by almost all of the thousands of cultures in the world. They also perform light duties for relatives. Matrilineality is the major influence in what children learn and come to accept about their society. In some communities girls are given to kings or chiefs as gifts. in cases of death, the whole community mourn. No one is allowed to take the life of another. Everybody in the community is expected to work hard. v. Taking oaths falsely. Religious (invisible) causes of death They included: i. Many of the rituals that were performed to the mother and the child are today seen as unnecessary. Kinship is a cultural system. This may be due to urbanization and economic constraints. Richards, Audrey I., Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969. Lastly, this author will argue that the Eurocentric nature of the descriptions and characterization of the traditional African family patterns by earlier scholars has tended to distort and obscure many of the strengths of the African traditional family. ..it is not until this ceremony is completed that the childs legitimacy is once and forever established.17, People gather at the clan chiefs house. 25 likes 25,448 views. - A lot of bleeding can lead to the death of an individual. ii. They could also warn of impending danger. - The children born after his death were still referred to as his. 4. - Widows and orphans feel dehumanized. vii. fellow Christians. The degree of relatedness to the caregiver and socio-economic status of the fostering household were the strongest determinants of the well-being of children in kinship care. It is also a way of showing respect to God for the gift of the children. There are societies where prayers are made to the mother and the child. The following day, the naming ceremony takes place. Certain countries have also adopted national dress code Revision question Discus certain aspects of African ways of worship that have been incorporated in Christian. 4. Some communities have abandoned initiation rites like among the luo; removal of six lower teeth is a practice of the past. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961)p.76. Most social scientists agree that kinship is based on two broad areas: birth and marriage; others say a third category of kinship involves social ties. - There are rites of passage that one has to undergo. They are neglected by their children especially those working in the towns. They include;- 1. society. It shapes such daily experiences as how and where individuals live, how they interact with the people around them, and even, in some cases, whom they marry. 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. 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. Those who did not have were assisted to acquire property by the community. 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. This culture was pre-literate, pre-scientific and pre-industrial. PaulVMcDowell. It is also a sign of acceptance of the children into the new family. Boys and girls are not allowed to mix freely unless under supervision. 3) They are fortunetellers and palm readers. Form 1 Biology Notes on Introduction to Biology, Form 1 Biology Notes on Nutrition in Plants and Animals, Form 1 Physics Notes on Introduction to Physics, Form 1 Physics Notes on Particulate Nature of Matter, Form 1 Physics Notes on Rectilinear Propagation and Reflection at Plane Surfaces, Form 1 Physics Notes on Cells and Simple Circuits, Form 1 CRE Notes On Introduction to Christian Religious Education, Form 1 CRE Notes On Creation And The Fall Of Man, Form 1 CRE Notes On Faith And God's Promises: Abraham, Form 1 CRE Notes On Sinai Covenant: Moses, Form 1 CRE Notes On African Concepts Of God, Spirits And Ancestors, Form 1 CRE Notes On African Moral And Cultural Values Meaning And Wholeness Of Life, Form 1 CRE Notes On The Galilean Ministry, Form 1 History and Government Notes on Introduction to History and Government: The Meaning of History, Form 1 History and Government Notes on Early Man, Form 1 History and Government Notes on Development of Agriculture, Form 1 History and Government Notes on The People of Kenya up to the 19th Century Introduction, Form 1 History and Government Notes on Socio Economic and Political Organization of Kenyan Communities in the 19th Century, Form 1 History and Government Notes on Contacts Between East Africa and the Outside World up to the 19th C, Form 1 History and Government Notes on Citizenship, Form 1 Chemistry Notes On Introduction To Chemistry, Form 1 Chemistry Notes On Classification Of Substances, Form 1 Chemistry Notes On Air And Combustion, Form 1 Chemistry Notes On Water And Hydrogen, Form 1 Agriculture Notes on Introduction to Agriculture, Form 1 Agriculture Notes on Factors Influencing Agriculture, Form 1 Agriculture Notes on Crop Production, Form 1 Agriculture Notes on Water Supply, Irrigation and Drainage, Form 1 Agriculture Notes on Soil Fertility, Form 1 Agriculture Notes on Farm Tools and Equipment, Form 1 Agriculture Notes on Livestock Production, Form 1 Chemistry Notes On Introduction To Acids, Bases And Indicators. Elizabeth Colson, Marriage and the Family among the Plateau Tonga of Northern Rhodesia. false T/F: Female slaves generally worked outdoors while male slaves did domestic work. The new hair that grows shows the beginning of new life. In the African understanding, it is believed that there is no natural death. Consanguineal kinship: this kinship is based on blood the relationship meaning the relationship between parents and children also among immediate siblings. - 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. 3. Second Edition, London: The Macmillan Press, Ltd., 1974. - Different communities have different rules on where the delivery should take place. The term 'brother' and 'sister' shows the sex of blood relations. Changing attitudes towards initiation rites Since the introduction of Christianity and western culture peoples attitude towards initiation rites have changed. Edited by G.A. What are the 6 kinship systems? Kinship ties are strong bonds that exist among community members. Prophets or priests also have political role e.g. 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). Christianity and Islam were able to absorb many African religions because of each religion believed in a single supreme being that was the creator and ruler of the universe. Edited by G.A. Rites of passage: These are ceremonies that are performed to a group of people to mark important stages of life. 4. 5. The government, the church and non-governmental organizations have built homes for the aged. viii. ii. They are given time to heal. Severing the ties of kinship is among the body sins and it is among the major sins. Bell, Norman W., and Vogel, Ezra F. This is meant to send it clean into the world of the living dead. (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. He is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology at Bridgewater College in Virginia. 4. Introduction to Kinship. Third, certain distinguishing personal names. 42 Yizenge A. Chondoka, Traditional Marriages in Zambia: A Study in Cultural History. 16. That is to say a man goes to live in his wifes village, at any rate for the first years of his married life.22 This is also true of marriage among other Zambian tribes like the Bisa, Lala, Lamba, Chewa, Kaonde, and many others. W. Havenstein, and John B. Adams, the Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press 1969. 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