vi. Thesis. 2 Traditional foster care arrangements are referred to as non-kin foster care. This article looks at the societies and cultures of sub-Saharan Africa in pre-modern history. The community disciplined those who showed traits of greed over ownership of property. - Kinship helps to prevent the spread of hereditary diseases. In some communities the choice is made by the parents. Where as chiefs have a number of wives, it is very rare to find ordinary men who have more than one wife. These views were expressed before 1930s and as late as 1960s. People who have gone to school see the aged as old fashioned (generation gap) 6. (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). Mothers and children would die at childbirth to cases where there is no skilled mid-wife. One could also die due to breaking a taboo in such instances elders would identify the offender and perform an act of cleansing. 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. Everybody in the community is expected to work hard. iv. 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. In rural areas, the family typically . The medicine men lead the community in religious rituals. 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. 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. Dowry payment is no longer a communal affair but an individual affair. While the basic functions of the family remain the same all over the world, traditional African families have undergone significant transformations attributed to an interplay of factors, including Christianity, industrialization, educational expansion, population growth, monetization of the economy, migration, civilization, and now globalization. vii. The traditional African family is a very broad concept which has challenging variations across the continent. In some communities, it may be done in the forest while others the expectant mother would go back to their parents while others could also be done in the house of the in-law. This may be due to urbanization and economic constraints. - Property can be owned outside ones ancestral home. 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. Challenges facing herbalists 1. - Through marriage, the living dead and those yet to be born are brought together. - The government and churches have built homes for them - They are given food etc. 5. The study of African societies has become an established area of scholarship, with sophisticated analyses that are far from earlier works . Circumcision of the girls is a practice that has been widely condemned for health reasons. For example, all weapons and iron implements are removed from the house of an expectant mother. Piercing of the ear. It is also a symbolic act of breaking the bride completely from the state of unmarried life once dowry is paid she becomes full and mature person. 4. Most of the time they suffer from old age diseases. 11 This study was conducted in the late 1800s when inter-tribal warfare and capturing of slaves from the wars was still very common. Western culture and education has really affected marriage. 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. - Initiation rites have certain symbolic meanings. It is a token of appreciation in the part of the bridegrooms people to those of the bride for the care over her. Today initiation is not done at particular stage in life. Bantu Migrations Stateless Societies Bantu Societies did not depend on elaborate hierarchy of officials of a bureaucracy Governed through Kinship groups - extended families consisting of about 100 people. 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. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1958, 1967, 1975). Angering the living dead and the spirits e.g. Those who are lazy are ridiculed. Third, certain distinguishing personal names. Religion, in the African indigenous context, permeates all departments of life. 6. - Rainmakers observe the behavior of insects, birds and animals to predict the nature of rain. - Patriotism. Polygamy was preferred in African Traditional societies but today many people prefer monogamy marriage mainly due to economic hardship. They at times suffer from loneliness and psychological problems How the aged are taken care of today 1. - They are many types of the wedding ceremonies. The education provided is a lifelong process. Marriage 4. The midwife also monitors the development of the foetus. drought, famine etc. They feel a strong bond towards each other because they are tied by kinship relationships to one another. KINSHIP SYSTEM - Kinship refers to being related to another either by blood or marriage. - Diviners are people who are believed to have the ability to reveal hidden things by use of magical powers Role of mediums and diviners in the societies i. Mediums link the living, spirits and the ancestors. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961) p.68. For this reason, the paper serves only as an introduction to the application of Christian Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1983. 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. Relevance of diviners and medicine men today 1) Diviners and Mediums are still important in Kenya today. Power and authority in matrilineal societies ultimately lies in the woman and her brother. iii. However, as a prospective husband, you are told to pay for the marriage and not the bride. Marriage has been commercialized - many people demand higher payment for their daughter. Many people today acquire Christian names. It is not possible to gather initiates together in some communities. .. They face challenges from medical practitioners who argue that they should go for formal training. The youth are taught to be courageous in order to be able to face challenges in life e.g. 7) Many of the traditional medicine men are not willing to divulge information to others (a lot of secrecy surrounding traditional medicine) 8) Those who are educated also do not believe in the powers of diviners and mediums. vi. 26 Audrey I. Richards, Bemba Marriage and Present Economic Conditions, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. The church also gives them food, and clothing and their daily needs. Land Ownership: It is no longer communal affair but a private affair. They lead people to communal prayer in time of crisis. Dowry seals marriage, before dowry is paid marriage is considered as incomplete. - Honesty. As the African society has not been static, changes in the traditional family patterns will be briefly alluded to. 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. Grandparents are charged with the duty of counseling. - In some communities such a girl would be stabbed by an arrow and killed while in others she would be married to an old man. A mans legal entitlements and rights of inheritance are on his mothers side. The husband could take his wife home if the marriage was thought stable especially after the couple has had two or more children. 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. the outcome of a war 5. ii. iii. vi. They are given time to heal. 4 It disrupts normal human activities. NAMING Nearly all-African names have a meaning. Adams, Bert N., The Family: A Sociological Interpretation, 4th Edition, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1986. By 1935, for example, anthropologists like Mair and Richards and no doubt many others were already noticing change in marriage and family patterns.36. Maintaining ties of kinship is the way to the security of the Muslim nation. 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. - The children born after his death were still referred to as his. iv. iv. 4. They can foretell the future e.g. - They suffer from psychological and emotional problems - Sometimes widows face lack of essentials such as food. Traditional African Society. Prayers also connect the living and the dead. Economic hardships that has been due to introduction of money economy. Would provide medical care e.g. They advise the expectant mother on how to take care of herself. Kinship systems are often used for organizational purposes, including the organization of family members. 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