Family, Tribalism, & Beliefs Africa Family, Tribalism, & Beliefs

FAMILIES A man or woman without kin is as good as dead Africans are very tied to family- much more so than Americans

Marriage Traditionally arranged by parents Today- boy meets girl, boy asks father if he can marry her Wife leaves her family to live with her husband’s family Husband (and family) pay wife’s family a “bride’s price” to compensate losing her

Polygamy Possible for a man to have several wives Only about 1 in 10 Africans have more than one wife WHY? Number of children is a status symbol More workers for field/farm

Extended Family Several generations of a family living in one house or group of houses Provides for “social security” No need for “nursing homes”/ “assisted living” or orphanages Family can be relied on during famine, illness, and education

Families in Cites Similar to families around the world Very little polygamy Usually nuclear- mother, father, & children Marriages usually not arranged

TRIBALISM Tribe: a group of people who share the same customs and language and who may believe that descend from a common ancestor Don’t call them tribes! Use nation, people, people group, or ethnic group. About 1000 in ethnic groups in Africa Africa stresses importance of the group, as opposed to the individual as in America

Tribal customs cover all the important aspects of life from birth to death Each member of the group must make a daily contribution Children go through an initiation ritual to become members of the group “Chief” is in charge, show them loyalty Decisions made by chief and Council of Elders, who are usually the oldest in the group Typical punishment is to be thrown out

Modern Tribalism To many, their people group is more important than their country Europeans divided Africa and paid no attention to the ethnic groups These borders create countries that have rivals ethnic groups in them Borders all create problem with communication because people speak different languages

BELIEFS Some people are Muslim, Christian or other world religions Most still believe in traditional African beliefs

god and spirits Nearly all believe in the same god/ Supreme Being who created earth and life Believe that god is distant and not involved in day-to-day happenings Only seek god’s help in major circumstances- drought, epidemic, etc. Between people and god are lesser gods and ancestor spirits

The Medicine Man Africans turn to a Medicine Man when something goes wrong Believe he has special powers to see why something’s happened When they ask “Why me?”, it usually turns out that an ancestor spirit has been neglected and is punishing that person

Magic Many cases, magic and religion are so closely linked, it’s hard to separate the two Purpose is to give people confidence Many people carry a charm with them to protect from danger