A Short Note On My Life

In the tribal villages of eastern Africa the Maasai marriages are arranged by the elders without ever first consulting the bride or the mother of the bride to be. Unlike, that of my own culture in the United States of America, where I am free as a citizen to choose whomever I may choose to marry and when and if I may marry. Polygyny is that of which is practiced in the Maasai culture, as an ideal that is achieved only by that of the elder men of the tribe. Unfortunately, as a result ofthemen being much older at the time of marriage, most women become widows, knowing that it is understood that they should never remarry again.

I have chosen to identify and describe the kinship system of the San (“Bushmen”) of the Kalahari. The San, as well as other cultures have a cultural rule, or descent that defines what category they are in socially. This descent originates from the parent and passes on to the child. There are two types of descents, unilineal and bilateral. With unilineal descent, kin relations are traced through either the mother or the father. In bilateral descent, the kinship connections through both the mother and the father are equally important. People believe they are related equally to

With the centrality of the family in Hmong culture, having sons or a son is very important as they are the ones who will take on the last name and lead the future generation of the family (Cha, 2010). Cha states, “The clannish nature of Hmong society favors a son. A family that does not have a son is viewed as a burden to the clan and community, because such a family will not contribute much to the community,” (p. 24). In the culture, the son(s) will take care of the parents as the daughter will get married and move to live with the husband’s family. Religion also plays a role since the traditional belief is that although the daughter can take care of the parents physically when they are alive, they cannot take care of them spiritually after they pass away. This is because the daughter becomes a part of the other family and cannot worship her parents’ spirits after death (Cha, 2010).

After reaching womanhood, Yanomami women are accustomed to marrying men in their twenties, despite the difference in age. Like many patriarchal forms of marriage, it is tradition for the female to reside within the village of her husband; however, in Yanomami culture, the male must first earn his wife through labor for her family—this is known as bride service. While completing bride service, the male must remain a part of his in-law’s family for many years before returning back to his own village to create a life for a family of his own (Hames 128). This service work does not simply provide benefit to the bride’s family, but also to the young man completing the work as well as it brings confidence in the fact that he possesses the support of the family in conflict as in addition to a stock of both food and tobacco (Herzog-Schroder 6). Polygyny is permitted in Yanomami culture and is practiced by roughly ten to twenty percent of all native males. Sororal polygyny, the marriage of multiple sisters, is the ideal form of this union as it brings a sense of peace and acceptance into the family as sisters are perceived as getting along better than women of different backgrounds. In levirate marriage, when one’s husband dies marriage to his brother might be required. On the other hand, when sororate marriage is practiced the same concept applies if the death of the woman comes before that of the man—a man may lay claim to his previous wife’s sister (Hames

Malawi is a southwestern African country where the Azande people are located. Among the Azande, marriage is very important, and divorce is seen as a scandalous thing. The men in this culture are considered the authority over their wives, because they are required to pay a bridewealth. A bridewealth is a payment given to the kin of the wife paid in two parts. The first payment allows the couples to live together, and the other allows them to legally marry. (Baxter, P.T.W, & Butt, 1953) The bridewealth in a way make the woman the man’s property because he essentially pays for her. Although a divorce is frowned upon it is possible under certain conditions. There are several reasons a man or a women might want a divorce and if is different for each gender.

“Where there is a will… there is a war” [1]. Mary Magaka’s husband, Bezerk Magaka disinherited his wife, who had substantially contributed to his property and was financially dependent on him [2]. She was devastated because inheritance was the only means of financial support for her. As shocking as it may seem, this situation is not uncommon. Numerous people abandon their spouses and children by not giving them their share in the property. When a person marries and has children, ethically it is the duty of the person to take their responsibility. This responsibility continues even after death with transferring of the ownership of the property to the children or spouse. Hence, it should be illegal to disinherit your spouse or children, and courts should be able to change the terms of a will that they decide are unfair.

2. In Somali Weddings the validity of a Nikaha depends upon the acceptance of both the boys and the girl’s side.

Auntie Muthoni does not only throw off the mountain of marriage, she also throws off the garment of oppression and shame that is attached to motherhood. According to Kabira, “She wanted to be free, free to be herself; free to live where she chose, free to determine her own destiny. It did not matter what people would say when they heard that she, an unaccompanied single woman, had gone to live in Nairobi” (20). In most African traditions, particularly Igbo culture, and Kenyan in this case, a woman who has not given birth to a male child is considered incomplete, or not woman enough. She gave birth to two daughters, however, she “was like most other Gikuyu women who were under society pressure to give birth to sons” (21). Kabira interpreted

(serious tone) First of all, I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting here on the land of the Ngunnawal people. I would like to pay my respects to the traditional elders of this land past and present.

For instance, Achebe argues that “An abominable religion has settled among you. A young man can now leave his father and his brothers” (Achebe 167). By instigating a stereotype of a sagacious, elderly man, Achebe suggests that there is a loss of kinship due to the missionaries’ varying traditions. These customs, consequently, appealed to the outcasts of the Umofian society and lured in many clan members. Additionally, Victor C. Uchendu insists that “There is a loving reverence for the deceased ancestors…”, but now “they are scolded as if they were still living” (Doc D). Document D emphasizes the contrast of how ancestors used to be revered as and what they were deemed as after many Africans converted. This assimilation into European culture, thus, undermined the importance of ancestors and fostered a loss of kinship. This loss of kinship, therefore, urges Achebe to suggest that it is a direct result of the missionaries and the African

Jordan woke up Monday morning telling herself this will not be a boring day. She was going to make an impact on someone. “Ding ding ding!” her alarm clock yelled. “Another day, but today is an extraordinary day!” she yelled with joy. She got up from her bed wearing only sweatpants and a tank top and she wandered to her computer to check her email, like she does every day. She looked at all of her 24 boring emails; bills, emails from work, and more bills. She hated it. But at the end of the row of usual emails, one caught her blue eye, and without hesitating she clicked on it. The mysterious email was from the White House! “WHAT?!” “Drew! Come here!” she yelled to her husband. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “I just got a random email from the White House saying that they want me to fly to Washington D.C and have a meeting with the president!” Jordan said with enthusiasm. “It must be fake” Drew said with a smirk. “No, they’re paying for everything, my ticket, a hotel room, everything”. She said smiling with her jaw wide open about to touch the ground. In 7 hours, she would be meeting the president.

The focus of this paper will be centered on traditional Zulu spiritual beliefs and, to whatever extent possible, not those adapted to Western thought. In providing first the basic cosmological beliefs and then moving on to the central theme of traditional spiritual beliefs involving deceased ancestors and their role in Zulu society, my goal will be to demonstrate how social harmony is maintained as a result of the observance of these spiritual beliefs and practices.

The content of this research focuses on two broad themes: The exhumation of three Mandela corpses by Mandla Mandela, and a study on Xhosa and in some instances, specifically Tembu culture and burial tradition. The Mandela family feud will be examined and a study of how traditional Xhosa culture has or has not changed today, as these aspects of the topic are vital aspects of research that will enable allow a conclusion to be drawn about whether Mandla Mandela’s actions were or were not culturally and ethically correct.

Africans in this country including those in urban areas have their roots in some rural community under the jurisdiction of traditional authority systems. This system of traditional authority is entrusted with the custodianship of clan customs, rituals and tradition. It is important to note that it is these customary and cultural attributes that distinguish us as a people. Such customs have been passed on through generations and affect our general and affect our general deportment and decorum, how we relate with others, family conduct and hierarchy, courtship and

I was obligated culturally to support my family and the clan which is compulsory in order to be given a share of wealth in the clan. I need to provide for all these obligations so that I will have a land with the clan’s consent. I was the eldest in the family and automatically qualify me to be the leader in the family. This was the tradition for first born male to take charge of family’s responsibilities.