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. Many women today put on trousers that initially were meant for men. They include: i. - They are kept company. The mother and the child is no longer secluded. A woman inherits her maternal grandmother or sisters. They give information concerning cause, nature and treatment of diseases. 4. - Also include the dead and those yet to be born and the departed relatives. East Lansing, Michigan State University, 1980, Unpublished M. A. Thesis. There are several forms of Initiation; these include:- i. Circumcision ii. - Wealth is no longer determined in terms of the number of wives or children. they are consulted before installation of a new king in some communities. Payment of dowry shows how the bridegroom values the wife. Clitoridectomy Female circumcision. 25 likes 25,448 views. In western European societies Jack Goode finds that world revolution has contributed for the transformation of . If he did, it would be like selling her. First, in succession and inheritance the man inherits his dead grandfather, maternal uncle, or brother. How the widows and orphans are supported - Church members offer them guidance and counseling (giving them hope) - They are prayed for. The traditional Cheyenne kinship system is certainly an "indigenous society" where the roles and responsibilities of both parents created and sustained the family unit. - They give instructions to the younger generation on their roles and duties. Circumcision is carried out at times in hospitals for health reasons. It also gives them time to find out the background of the partners e.g. 2 Traditional foster care arrangements are referred to as non-kin foster care. Culture and values are adaptive .. Dishonoring or insulting God. - The government and churches have built homes for them - They are given food etc. Similar customs or rules of restrictions in interaction apply between many other kin in a traditional African family. NAMING Nearly all-African names have a meaning. Such include: - - Birth - Initiation - Marriage - Death 5. In view of the poor development of social security systems outside the family, hardly anyone would wish to escape the power of kinship ties. 18. a) State five changes that have taken place in property ownership today. It symbolized death and resurrection. Wedding ceremony - After the negotiation the wedding ceremonies are arranged. 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. 7. Seclusion nowadays is not very possible because of limited time. 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. 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They are referred to as the Eskimo, Hawaiian, Sudanese, Omaha, Crow, and Iroquois systems. Piercing of the ear. ii. GAZETTE: How have ancestors . Evans-Pritchard, J.J., Some Aspects of Marriage and the Family Among the Nuer, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1945, 1969. 3. - In most African communities a widow was inherited by the husbands close relatives. vi. They affect all aspects of Africa, including care, marriages, and social status, since kinship controls people's relationships, moral values, and attitudes. When one dies, he joins the world of the living dead. Why the practice female circumcision is dying out. Kinship is a social relationship based on real consanguinity. It gives the mans family time to prepare for the dowry payment. vii. viii. They act as intermediaries between God and human beings. First, two animal totems from one of which the clan derives its name. Through supernatural powers iii. 4. - Wife inheritance ensured that the late mans family would not suffer. iii. Mitchell, J. 5. iv. Indeed this sense of kinship binds together the entire life of the "tribe . For this reason, the paper serves only as an introduction to the application of Christian - Courage. For example, when a man dies among the Baganda, his power over the property ends. 4. iii. 9. Others bury the dead with property with a belief that they would continue to use them in the next world. Polygamy was preferred in African Traditional societies but today many people prefer monogamy marriage mainly due to economic hardship. 5. They heal various diseases using herbs. Main factors which affect social change can be discussed a follows: 1. Women were not allowed to own property. ix. It was used to bury the dead, the spirits were believed to dwell on land or below the ground. The Baganda people of Uganda provide the best illustration.7. For example, among the Tumbuka38 of Eastern Zambia the verb kugula (to buy) is used to refer to purchasing of material objects or commodities and domestic animals. 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 also have the ability to stop rain. 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. 2. 2. Same ancestry: People of a particular community believe that they have the same origin e.g. They at times suffer from loneliness and psychological problems How the aged are taken care of today 1. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961)p.76. Boys will live with the brothers of their father and until marriage, girls live in the home of a married elder brother or with the brother of the father. It symbolizes the union between the living and the dead. 4. - Some widows and children are not accepted or welcomed in their new homes. But they are terminologically differentiated from parallel cousins and from sisters. Religious (invisible) causes of death They included: i. Information on traditional marriage customs among both patrilineal and matrilineal peoples of Zambia is available in Yizenge A. Chondoka, Traditional Marriages in Zambia: A Study in Cultural History, (Ndola: Mission Press, 1988). Primary kinship refers to direct relations. 35 3Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions. The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. Diviners and mediums iii. e. In certain communities pregnant women and children are not allowed to go near touch the corpse to avoid misfortunes. the outcome of a war 5. Almost 30% of all single-parent families headed by women are officially poor. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. 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. 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. The common descriptions of the African traditional family in the literature is Eurocentric and biased. 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. 2. 3) They are fortunetellers and palm readers. 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. 16. The Baganda use classificatory system of kinship terminology which seems common to virtually all the Bantu peoples of Central and Southern Africa. There is a lot of secrecy surrounding the knowledge of herbs. They could also warn of impending danger. 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. ..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. 8. - Kinship defines and enforces duties and responsibilities of individuals. Some people believe casting of an evil eye would cause bodily harm to somebody. Kinship refers to relationship between people through blood, marriage or adoption. Anything described in these terms must inherently be bad, primitive and, therefore, undesirable.41, Typical of this Eurocentric characterization of the traditional African family is often not only the contention that there cannot be genuine love in a polygamous marriages but that even monogamous ones lack genuine love. It could also help in paying of the dowry. 3. Meanwhile, the median income of married-couple families is much higher ($72,589). Those who are lazy are ridiculed. Physical causes of death i. Choosing of a marriage partner This differs from one community to another. 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. There are meteorologists who predict the weather conditions. Others reflect the problems the parents faced e.g. 7. - Gambling. a. - In some communities, marriage is not recognized without children. This may be due to urbanization and economic constraints. Although human beings have made tremendous progress during the last 150 years or so, yet they have not been able to wield full control over the nature. He ..also adopts the deceased persons children, calling them his and making no distinction between them and his own children.16. The wishes of parents and the dead were honored. Marriage is no longer a must and many people decide not to marry. -Responsibility. DEATH Death is the last rite in ones life and unlike other rites like initiation, naming. Marriage: Has been individualized and is no longer a communal affair. They are experts in particular religious fields. White, C.M.N., Tradition and Change in Luvale Marriage, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1962, 1969. theories regarding family structure" (D . (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961) p.68. 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. 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. During the period earlier than 1940s, marriages remained completely matrilocal during the couples entire life. 2. They are also given special instructions that prepare them for marriage life. viii. - There are traditional midwives who help in delivery. Consanguineal kinship: this kinship is based on blood the relationship meaning the relationship between parents and children also among immediate siblings. But quite to the contrary, the clan seems to have a more supreme influence. During this period he conducted extensive research and field work in rural Zambia particularly in the Eastern and Southern Provinces of the country. factors. 8. There was never a distinction between the biological and non-biological kin as far as primary parental obligations were concerned. 8. v. It brings people together; relatives and friends co me together hence strengthening kinship ties. He was a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Zambia from 1977 to 1990. - During this period of seclusion:- i. 11 This study was conducted in the late 1800s when inter-tribal warfare and capturing of slaves from the wars was still very common. Bantu migrations also helped to spread agriculture and herding to all parts of Africa. b) Outline the role of priests in Traditional African communities. - Many people have moved and have settled in foreign lands, which are not their ancestral lands. 6. Circumcision of the girls is a practice that has been widely condemned for health reasons. vi. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1983. The celebration that marked the end of initiation is slowly dying out due to economic constraints. in some communities it is thrown to uncultivated land to show fertility. iii. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1956, 1966, 1971. 6) There is problem of correct dosage of traditional medicine. 3. - The wife or orphans sometimes get mistreated. Some herbalists have been legalized by the government and have opened clinics e.g. But however, after a few years of contact with white civilization and subsequent social change, the custom has gradually changed. Box 169 iv. Laziness was condemned or punished to ensure that people owned what they had actually worked for. v. The land was believed to belong to the ancestors and nobody was allowed to sell or lease it out without the consent of the other members of the family. The African notion of "family," by contrast, typically refers to the extended family system. largest kinship network of any descent system ever invented. It is said to be the basic and universal in relationships. - Taking of dangerous drugs. - Rainmakers observe the behavior of insects, birds and animals to predict the nature of rain. v. They drive a way witches and evil spirits. 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. - An orphan is a child whose both parents are dead. Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd., 1971. Makini. This shows that children seals marriage. But it makes it difficult to keep track of our kin. Explain the importance of Kinship in traditional African society african cultural and moral values 1 Answer 0 votes answered Aug 9, 2021 by anonymous Control social relationships in community of people related by blood and marriage Bind whole community hence social cohesion Makes people live in harmony/ peace Promotes mutual responsibility and help It varies from culture to culture, from society to society. Department of Sociology These Anglo-Saxon or Eurocentric descriptions do not help in the fair and accurate perception of the traditional African family. Everybody in the community is expected to work hard. false T/F: Female slaves generally worked outdoors while male slaves did domestic work. The male head has control over children produced by the children of the group. A mans legal entitlements and rights of inheritance are on his mothers side. 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 name gives the child identity. 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. -Close and supportive extended-family relationships -Strong kinship ties with non blood relatives from church or organizational and social groups -Family unity, loyalty, and cooperation are important -Usually matriarchal African American Folk and Traditional Healthcare: Matrilineality is the major influence in what children learn and come to accept about their society. Introduction. 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. MEDIUMS AND DIVINERS - Mediums are people through which ancestors and spirits communicate with the living. Names could also depict the character of the child. 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 . 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. 2. 4. vi. In rural areas, the family typically . 8 It brings poverty to the family involved as sometimes it takes the bread winner 9 At times it brings misunderstanding in the community when the cause of death is blamed on someone or some people. (2) Generation: Kinship tie is established between the persons in relation to generation. 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. So the relationship is often based on mutual expectations and is more beneficial for both parties than confrontational and fraught with issuing of orders. vii. Religion: People have some religious beliefs, which promote unity, and every community believes in the existence of one God. After initiation, one has the right to marry. They also play the role of priests and pray for people. It gives the couple time to study the character of the partner and find out if he or she is the best. This again is true among other Zambian tribes like the Bisa, Lamba, Lala, Chewa, Kaonde, Luba, and others. iii. - In most communities the child and the mother are kept in seclusion for a number of days, depending on the sex of the baby. vi. The midwives perform the following:- 1. Polygyny was widely practiced in Africa and it often formed the backbone of the traditional African family patterns. iv. 5. Edited by Arthur Phillips, (London: Oxford University Press, 1953) p.14, 37 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) p.51 Naboth M. J. Ngulube, Some Aspects of Growing Up in Zambia. Their roles include the following:- i. Many wives 3. Dowry seals marriage, before dowry is paid marriage is considered as incomplete. ii. Once the negotiations are over then dowry payment would begin. 1. 7. These constitute the core of the Bemba traditional African family around which the social organization of the traditional society revolves. 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. People of the same age set consider themselves as brothers and sisters. Some of the traditional forms of leisure include. 2. Strong religious beliefs helped bind the members of society together and inspire a sense of unity. Th importance whice h UNICEF attaches to the family is also based on the Conventio onn the Eliminatio onf 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". 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