The African Family

Indigenous African Family Dynamics

  • This chapter mainly discusses the history of Western anthropological studies on African kinship and family dynamics.
  • It notes a gap in information on indigenous (pre-contact) and contemporary kinship and family dynamics in Africa.
  • Indigenous African culture refers to African culture before Islamic and Western contact.

Ifi Amadiume's Afrocentric Approach

  • Ifi Amadiume, a Nigerian anthropologist and poet, uses an Afrocentric approach to studying African culture and history.
  • She critiques Western approaches for their androcentric and Eurocentric biases.
  • Amadiume examines scholarship on early Arab interactions with Africans.
  • She posits that Africa was more matrilineal in the past than it is today.
  • Reference: Reinventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion, and Culture by Ifi Amadiume (1998).

Anthropological Concepts on the Family

  • Unilineal Descent: Kinship traced through one sex (male or female).
    • Mother's side or father's side.
  • Bilateral Descent: Descent traced through both parents.
    • Common in the West.
  • Western surnames reflect unilineal descent despite practicing bilateral descent.
  • African societies tend to practice unilineal descent.
  • Patrilineal Descent: Lineage traced through the father.
  • Matrilineal Descent: Lineage traced through the mother.
  • African matrilineal kinship serves as a production and reproduction unit.
  • Lineage: Unilineal descent traced to a known ancestor up to five or six generations.
  • Clan: Descent relationship of two or more lineages to a common (known or mythological) ancestor.

Matrilineal Kinship

  • In matrilineal kinship, heredity-oriented leadership is determined by women.
  • Matrilineal kinship does not equate to matriarchy.
  • In traditional African societies, women held power based on motherhood, unlike in the West where women gain power by adopting male roles.

Matriarchical Triangle

  • The matriarchal triangle consists of: mother, daughter, son.
  • The mother’s brother (uncle) is more important to the family than the biological father.
  • Example: In Mali, sons of a sister inherit land rights, not the sons of a brother or biological father.
  • Males and females existed in relative equality, with neither sex dominating the other, unlike in European societies.

The Matrilineal Akan of Ghana

  • The Akan of Ghana are a matrilineal society, with references available at the provided URLs.

Contemporary African Family

  • Monogamy: Marriage between one man and one woman.
  • Polygamy: The practice of having more than one spouse.
    • Polyandry: One woman married to two or more men.
    • Polygyny: One man married to two or more women.
  • African family structures tend to accept both monogamous and polygynous marriages.

Prevalence and Legal Status of Polygyny

  • Polygyny's prevalence and legal status varies, as scaled in 2016 by the WomanStats Project.
  • Polygamy remains common and mostly legal in West Africa.
  • Living in polygamous households is uncommon in most places globally.
  • Global average of individuals in polygamous households is 1.5%1.5 \%, while the sub-Saharan Africa average is 11%11 \%.

Polygamy and Religion

  • In some African countries, sizable minorities of people live in polygamous households.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa: Christians are less likely than Muslims to live in polygamous families.

Is Polygamy Moral?

  • Views on the morality of polygamy vary across regions and religions.

Household Structures

  • In sub-Saharan Africa, Christians are less likely than Muslims to live in polygamous families.

Dynamics in Polygamous Families

  • Multiple wives are referred to as co-wives, but may call each other "sister", denoting cooperation.
  • Children may refer to both their biological mother and their father’s co-wives as "mother."
  • Cooperation may exist if the husband treats wives fairly.
  • Senior wives may view junior wives as assets.
  • Women may even encourage their husbands to take a second wife or desire to be a second wife themselves.
  • Polygyny is more common in rural communities (more children) and among higher-status men and older men (levirate).

Family Size

  • Households are smallest in Europe, biggest in Africa.
  • Average household size in Sub-Saharan Africa is 6.96.9 people.
  • Many in sub-Saharan Africa live in homes of six people or more.

Religious Influence on Household Size

  • Muslims live in larger households than Christians in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • The average household size for Muslims is 8.58.5, compared to 6.06.0 for Christians.

Contemporary African Family Structures

  • Patrilocal: Married couple resides in the groom’s father’s household.
  • Matrilocal: Married couple resides in the bride’s mother’s household.
  • Contemporary African families tend to be patrilineal, patrilocal, and monogamous with polygyny.
  • Most contemporary African societies studied are male-focused, living in extended family households in rural settings.

Function of African Families

  • Families in Africa are viewed as more than a bond for sex and reproduction; they are an economic unit.
  • African motivations for marriage include sex, reproduction, and economics.

Arranged Marriages

  • Many African societies practice arranged marriages.
  • Senior family members play a significant role in selecting spouses for their children.
  • Arranged marriages serve to solidify bonds between families.

Family Types

  • Nuclear Family: A married pair and their offspring in the same household.
  • Extended Family: A multi-generational family in the same household.
  • African households, especially in rural areas, are predominantly extended families.

Cousin Marriage

  • Cross-Cousin Marriage: Marriage between children of a brother and sister.
  • Parallel-Cousin Marriage: Marriage between children of two brothers or two sisters.
  • Cross-Cousin Marriage is more common than Parallel-Cousin Marriage in Africa.

Levirate and Sororate

  • Sororate: Upon a wife's death, the husband marries his late wife’s sister.
  • Levirate: Upon a husband's death, the wife marries her late husband’s brother.
  • Functions to keep the widow, children, and property in the family.
  • Relationships may or may not be sexual.
  • Provides a smoother transition for children and the widow.
  • Not mandatory but strongly encouraged.

Bridewealth and Brideservice

  • Bridewealth: Groom's family gives goods/resources to the bride's family as compensation for loss of productive and reproductive capacity.
  • Paid in money, animals, labor, and/or land.
  • Brideservice: Groom works for his would-be wife’s family before marriage.
  • Serves the same function as bridewealth.
  • Allows the bride’s family to assess the groom’s economic support capability.

Age Ranking

  • Age Set: A unisex group that has undergone the same initiation (rite of passage) ceremony.
  • Age Grade: A group of people of relatively the same age (child, adult, elder).
  • Females: child, wife, elders (grandmothers).
  • Males: child, adult (farmer, warrior), elder (45+).
  • Elders serve as leaders, both male and female.
  • They serve complementary roles with equal power, especially in segmented societies.
  • Many African societies are gerontocracies.
  • Upon death, elders become honored ancestors.

Female Genital Cutting (FGC)

  • Also known as female circumcision or female genital mutilation.
  • 100100-140140 million women worldwide are circumcised, with 22 million more each year.
  • Often a component of initiation ceremonies.
  • Occurs primarily in northern Africa and the Middle East; not advocated or discouraged in Islam.
  • Associated with patrilineal societies to regulate female sexuality.

Types and Complications of FGC

  • Different types and frequency vary by ethnic group: excision (Kenya), clitorectomy (Egypt), infibulation (Ethiopia, Somalia, Mali).
  • Criticized for violating women’s rights and causing surgical complications.
  • Legally prohibited in many countries but still continues.

Prevalence of FGC

  • High prevalence in certain regions, as indicated by DHS/MICS data.

Regional Examples of FGC

  • Senegal: 20-25% (clitorectomy), illegal and prosecuted.
  • The Gambia: 75%-80% (clitorectomy), legal.
  • Varies by ethnic group within The Gambia: Mandinka (100%), Fula (93%), Jola (66%), Wolof (2%).

Types of Circumcision

  • Type I: Excision or Sunna - Removal of the foreskin of the clitoris.
  • Type II: Clitoridectomy - Cutting off the clitoris and some of the labia minora.
  • Type III: Infibulation - Complete removal of the clitoris and all skin folds, with the vaginal opening sewn up.
  • Type IV: Unclassified - Pricking, piercing, or incising the clitoris or labia minora.

Reasons for FGC

  • Customary or part of religion.
  • Marks adult status (rite of passage).
  • Way to differentiate between males and females.

Societal Factors Influencing FGC

  • Associated with patrilineal societies that:
    • Consider women to maintain the patrilineal group.
    • Value female purity.
    • Believe it is necessary to hinder women's sexual appetite.

Complications of Infibulation

  • Severe pain, chronic urinary retention, hemorrhage, urinary tract infection, anemia, childbirth complications.
  • 75% of women indicate sex is not pleasurable and is painful.
  • Women often attribute health consequences to supernatural forces rather than the surgery.

Solutions to FGC

  • Global efforts to promote less severe forms and more hygienic procedures.
  • Legally prohibited in some countries but continues due to deep cultural roots.

Conclusion

  • African family dynamics are adaptive and a product of historical processes.
  • Western influence is the latest force shaping African family dynamics.