Naming gives identity to a person before a child is given a name she or he is not considered as having full identity. v. They are also consulted in terms of crisis e.g. 3. Furthermore, the woman will bear children and thus enrich her husband and the wider circle of relatives from both sides. They act as judges in certain circumstances. 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. 2. Goode, William J. Importance of Naming 1. Seclusion nowadays is not very possible because of limited time. By 1935, for example, anthropologists like Mair and Richards and no doubt many others were already noticing change in marriage and family patterns.36. Prophets or priests also have political role e.g. They are made aware of their responsibilities in adulthood. - Thankfulness. v. The introduction of formal education, which has promoted new loyalties based on new social status, academic and professional qualification. - They give instructions to the younger generation on their roles and duties. - The government and churches have built homes for them - They are given food etc. This has been due to western culture, industrialization, urbanization Christianity, limited time and economic constraints. Early marriages are encountered to reduce fornication. 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. Edited by G.A. Other significant strengths are that the traditional African family increased group cohesion in an otherwise harsh physical and social environment. 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. They could also give aid to increase productivity e.g. Th importance whice h UNICEF attaches to the family is also based on the Conventio onn the Eliminatio onf A curse by the community. iv. Kinship relationships were and still are important among African communities. Wealth was seen in terms of: 1. Strong religious beliefs helped bind the members of society together and inspire a sense of unity. 5. These include birth, initiation, marriage and death. The kinships are based on two broad aspects 1) Birth (Blood relationships) 2) marriages. iii. - The wife or orphans sometimes get mistreated. Still, traditional families such as those in Family Ties and The Cosby Show dominated the ratings. In male-speaking terms, fathers sisters daughters (cross-cousins) are called cousins. The government, the church and non-governmental organizations have built homes for the aged. A Modern Introduction to The Family, Glencoe: The Free Press, 1960. Courtship gives the two families time to prepare in advance for the real marriage. Those who are lazy are ridiculed. Fourth, special observations related to pregnancy, childbirth, naming of the child, and testing the childs legitimacy as clan member.14, The existence of patriarchy and the patrilineal system among the Baganda might suggest that individual men have the most dominant social status. (New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1961)p.76. Other names may also refer to the characteristics of the mothers pregnancy or the nature of delivery e.g. 2. They lead people to communal prayer in time of crisis. Land is owned by individuals. Same ancestry: People of a particular community believe that they have the same origin e.g. Edited by G.A. - Widows and orphans feel dehumanized. Polygyny though set the tone and often determined the strength of the society and pattern of social organization of the traditional African family. - The bathing symbolizes the beginning of a new state in life. A change in attitude towards joint family is evident among the urban educated persons. 2. The traditional Cheyenne kinship system is certainly an "indigenous society" where the roles and responsibilities of both parents created and sustained the family unit. There are counselors that give the aged hope and love. ii. She organizes the disposal of the placenta (after birth). Grandparents are charged with the duty of counseling. Thorne, Barrie., and Yalom, Marilyn., (Eds.) 2. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that the study of kinship is the study of what humans do with these basic facts of life - mating, gestation, parenthood, socialization, siblingship etc. Factors that have affected Kinship system 1. People that belong to the same kinship system are referred to as kin. a diviner would be called when something was stolen. Agikuyu umbilical cord is kept to symbolize the link between the mother and the child. Ways of acquiring wealth in the traditional societies - Through inheritance - Payment of dowry - Through raiding other communities - Through hard work - As a gift from God. Property could be owned by community, individuals or families. Power and authority in matrilineal societies ultimately lies in the woman and her brother. Dowry payment is no longer a communal affair but an individual affair. 7. There are societies where prayers are made to the mother and the child. 4. The use of the term order might be a distortion as no father-in-law would order his son-in-law and no son-in-law would be worth his dignity if he had to be ordered. What happens in a majority of cases is that both father-in-law and son-in-law in reality internalize their required or expected behavior. - Life also progress from one stage to another. Economic hardships that has been due to introduction of money economy. Clyde., The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. 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. They also have the ability to stop rain. Many of the rituals that were performed to the mother and the child are today seen as unnecessary. The youth are believed to be free with them. Introduction to Kinship. 6. a person born during locusts invasion can be called Adede among the luo. - People do not have a lot of attachment to land, as there are other means of survival. To protect the child from evil eyes. Grandmothers teach girls their roles and grandfathers maintain law and order .Young unmarried men provide security in form of warriors while boys look after the animals. 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Children are expected to help in minor household tasks. Children could be named after their dead relatives. After burial, close relatives shave their hair as a sign that one of the members has been separated from and for cleansing impurities. 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 . 4. To give the mother time to heal. Characteristics of African community 1. The traditional healers are still important today especially to those who had let down by medicine prescribed by doctors. Download Now. They are experts in particular religious fields. LAND In the traditional African society, people had a lot of attachment to land. If there is agreement, this marks the beginning of courtship period. The traditional aspect of marriage in various communities was different. 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. fellow Christians. Traditional African society. As such disputes over land ownership were rare, this is because:- i. Land ownership: The ancestral land is communally owned and nobody is allowed to sell it. the Agikuyu the ancestors are Mumbi and Gikuyu were created by Ngai. First, in succession and inheritance the man inherits his dead grandfather, maternal uncle, or brother. These carried with them all the heavy social obligations demanded of a mother or father, daughter or son. i. The attitude of the parents towards the sex of the child is also changing. Schooling where children spend most of their time with teachers depriving them the time to be with elders. There are strict rules and taboos governing sex. Religion: People have some religious beliefs, which promote unity, and every community believes in the existence of one God. d. If it is a man, the wife is supposed to stay around the corpse among them show clearly she would miss the husband. - Many people have moved and have settled in foreign lands, which are not their ancestral lands. 6) There is problem of correct dosage of traditional medicine. Mothers and children would die at childbirth to cases where there is no skilled mid-wife. These could be through words or deeds. 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. Some of the issues that were the products of the Eurocentrically biased judgements include the following two. could advice on when to go to war. 5) Modern science and technology also discourage people from believing mysterical powers. 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. Others reflect the problems the parents faced e.g. People in the traditional African communities were afraid of acquiring property unlawfully for fear of curse. 4. It can determine a person's political identity and the way money and property are transferred. Ch. They are also given special instructions that prepare them for marriage life. .The eldest son cannot inherit.15, The Baganda practice the levirate custom. They act as intermediaries between God and human beings. He ..also adopts the deceased persons children, calling them his and making no distinction between them and his own children.16. White, C.M.N., Tradition and Change in Luvale Marriage, The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1962, 1969. The mid wife checks any abnormalities on the babies at the correct time. - Alcoholism. 7 Nobody knows what happens after life on earth here. 2. This is because; 1 It is unavoidable. Courage is usually praised. 7. They include;- 1. iv. - It also regulates marriage relations, before marriage one has to find the back ground of the other. Names could also depict the character of the child. b) Outline the role of priests in Traditional African communities. 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. 4. The paternal grandfather recites many names of the clans dead ancestors. 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. ii. v. Taking oaths falsely. 4. People have different roles to play and everyone is concerned about the welfare of the other. iv. Death is believed to be a next journey to the world of the spirits. Naming ceremonies also provide opportunity to teach the culture of the youth. Some of the celebrations like beer drinking are slowly dying out. Western Culture: Has provided the spirit of individualization. the outcome of a war 5. - Kinship system provides the peaceful ways of settling disputes in a community as all are treated as brothers and sisters. 2. v. In some cases if a man is married and wants another wife his first or other wives would be involved in making the proposal. 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. First, the strengths, durability, and resilience of the African traditional family were never dwelt on explicitly and at length. 4. As Eaton et al (2003) found in South Africa, for young people struggling for daily survival, protection from possible future illness may be a lower priority than meeting immediate economic needs. There were clear guidelines, rules and regulations on the use and ownership of land. Diseases such as epidemics would kill people. They are people who claim a common ancestry and are related by blood. Urbanization: Where people of different cultures interact with one another. viii. Bantu migrations also helped to spread agriculture and herding to all parts of Africa. 12 Stuart Queen, Robert W. Havenstein, and John B. Adams, The Polygynous Baganda Family, in The Family in Various Cultures. the introduction of money economy. It is a sign of belonging to the society or identification. People nowadays try to show their loyalty to state and not the society. Kinship systems provide each person with a defined role (based on age, gender, and other factors), and serve to link people via duties of care [35856]. They are free most of them and can get time for the younger generation. Having so many people in this household should not be confused with other types of large families like, ..the joint family, with its several married brothers and their families living together or the extended family, consisting of a group of married off spring living in one household under a patriarch or matriarch.11 The Baganda are also patrilocal. The basic family unit among the Bemba was not the nuclear family. It is also a way of showing respect to God for the gift of the children. Wedding ceremony - After the negotiation the wedding ceremonies are arranged. Marriage has been commercialized - many people demand higher payment for their daughter. v. Others would also be killed for crimes such as murder. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1983. 41 Molefi Kete Asante, Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change. They may receive messages from the spirits and ancestors. The subject of traditional family patterns in Africa is so broad that it cannot be adequately addressed in one chapter. Actual birth - During birth there are certain rituals that are performed to introduce the chills to the immediate and extended members of the family. Rules and Regulations: People in the community are governed by rules and regulations, which are strictly followed. The common descriptions of the African traditional family in the literature is Eurocentric and biased. - The children born after his death were still referred to as his. 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. It cements the relationship between the two families through the exchange of gifts. 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. - This special treatment starts before and continues after childbirth. 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. ..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. They play the role of counselors and advisors to the community. ii. Urbanization: Those who move away from home to towns in search of Jobs are drawn from their ancestral homes. The Family; Its Structures and Functions. It was a signed to individuals by the elders. - Honesty. They also perform light duties for relatives. (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).

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