Sodi et al. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The point is that this - Agriculturally is easier to have a big family to cultivate the land. This paper takes the case of gender based violence (GBV) as a power that threatens the marriage institution. In African societies, the people see marriage as proof that a man is mature and is capable of taking care of the family he will build with his wife. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. Greiner, C. & W. Kokot. In the traditional African society, older people were highly esteemed because of the important roles they played by helping to integrate the society, preserve its cultural values, transmit knowledge and skills, settle disputes and educate the young. So, modern couples are usually raised in traditional society, but with a lot of influences from modern, often western, education, television, radio, and so on. Cambridge Development Initiative. About nine-in-ten Americans (88%) cited love as a very important reason to get married, ahead of making a lifelong commitment (81%) and companionship (76%), according to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey. Usually they bring kola nuts and palm wine to feast on. This paper looks at how African marriage and family have evolved as a result of direct contact with both Islam and Christianity. When she dies, there will be nobody of her own immediate blood to remember The enquiries are very important as to ascertain the suitability of the relationship. Berlin: Pp. - Single Women, Tradition, and the Bible in Zimbabwe (by Kudzai BIRI, with a foreword by Joachim Kgler), The loudness of the Unsaid: Proverbs in selected African drama, Not a boy, not a child": A qualitative study on young people's views on childbearing in Uganda, Isukha Traditional Marriage Processes and Rituals in Pre-Colonial Kenya. Every marital breach In traditional African society, marriage between close relatives is not allowed. Fewer said having their relationship recognized in a religious ceremony (30%), financial stability (28%) or legal rights and benefits (23% . But our citizenship is in heaven. After they assemble this packet, the parents go search for a man for their daughter and see if he makes the requirements for their daughter., Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. This is something that most Americans are familiar with, or at least they are if theyve been involved in a wedding. In each of these situations, African women are able to manipulate the existing system through woman-to-woman marriage in order to achieve higher social and economic status. However, it is common to see some people taking part in all these forms of marriage. From oral tradition, literary records and observation, the article, through the lens of ethical relativism, mirrors morality as a timeless definition of humanity influenced by locality. Family, Gender Roles, and Marriage in the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman World, BiAS Series, Joachim Kuegler, Rosinah Gabaitse, Blessing Nyahuma, Mark S Aidoo, Mavis Muguti, Menard Musendekwa, daniel nii aboagye aryeh, PhD, Kudzai Biri, Francis Machingura, Josiah Ucheawaji, Journal of Nigerian Association for the Study of Religions (NASR), Making Tradition: A Historical Perspective on Gender in Namibia, Putting them in their place:respectable and unrespectable women in Zimbabwean gender struggles, VIOLATION AND ABUSE OF WOMENS HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE CUSTOMARY PRACTICE OF KUZVARIRA" AMONG THE NDAU PEOPLE OF MOZAMBIQUE, ALook AT THE STRUGGLE OF ZIMBABWEAN MARRIED WOMEN REGARDING SAFE SEX, Sex Work as a test case for African feminism, Harmonise Zimbabwe's marriage laws before changing marriage certificates, 'Let them come to me!' When looking at marriage as an institution, as opposed to a free-standing concept, marriage represents socially sanctioned behaviour. Same sex marriages are happening everywhere around the world and it has received a significant boost in numbers since the landmark ruling given in Obergefell v. Hodges which made it legal in the 50 states across the United States of America. Each has their own unique ritual of how they go about a wedding ceremony. The problem is our refusal to be who God created us to be and not proud of whom we are. (Nafisa Baxamusa, 2011), In the essay The Radical Idea of Marrying for Love, Stephanie Coontz discusses the change marriage has made among the different cultures around the world and how it went from being an act that was necessary to something that was done for personal joy and fulfillment., To this day, these types of marriages happen all over the world, arranged marriages make up vastly the higher percentage in human history (Isaac). C.N Nwadiokwu, 2E.S Nwadiokwu, 3E.N Favour, 4 It must be noted that the African society loves to have children. African society has been undergoing tremendous changes in every aspect of life including family structure and marriage. (1977: 113) Marriage in the traditional patriarchal society of Africa is performed with great importance and dignity. Traditional African Society. In Africa, it has not been any different. contemporary society but maintain that these values be critically assessed, and those found to be inimical to the well-being and holistic development of the society, be discarded. It presents quantitative data showing very low marriage rates among Zulu Among the Igbo marriage serves many different purposes other than unity between individuals and social status. If she confirms, the groom comes back the next day with his father and elders to discuss the brides settlement price. What is new is the reaffirmation of marriage vows during marriage anniversaries. The purpose of this research is to show that until and unless there is a paradigm shift on the beliefs, teachings and practices of apostolic sects in terms of a deeper HIV and AIDS awareness programmes targeting these sects, the Zimbabwean women will continue to suffer. Enquires are instituted by both families concerning the behavior, character and most times religion of the families as well as marital status. But right here is a summary of procedures before and after the Nuptials, the Xhosa way. This common occurrence usually brought about tremendous pain and grief to the slaves. Marriage is an institution of society with different purpose, functions and forms in different societies but is present everywhere as an institution. Marriage takes many forms in Africa. network. Cambridge-Africa Programme. He is a contributor for the International Social Magazine, African Pride Magazine, International Punch and African News Digest. My parents were together for 15 years before they divorced but before the split I was able to witness the idea of a family. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. Customarily, in practically all these traditional African societies girls' bodies were also heavily decorated by women themselves in their society's signs and symbols. Nina Evason, 2017. In some communities, the dead are buried with their belonging e.g. In 2009, Home Affairs wanted to change the law so that it would be a legal . Before this ceremony, the couple get acquainted with each other and agreed to marry. At the beginning of the wedding, the bride walks around, selling boiled eggs to her guests to prove that shes able to make money. Such a reference would mean that the well-educated person would tend first to attribute his/her success to God, and so too would his/her family members. And through all the hardships they had placed on them, they developed strong emotional bonds and family ties. Your guess is as good as mine. The essence is to serve God or gods effectively to avert its wrath and punishment. A value is that quality of a thing thought of as being more or less desirable, useful, estimable and important. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 5(4), 4 23. The brides father welcomes his guest and then asks the bride if she agrees with the proposal. RITES OF PASSAGE AFRICAN TRADITIONAL REGION 1Dr. Ethical Perspectives, The Community Dimension of Sexuality: Exploring and Reviewing the Concept of Posterity in Africa in the Context of Childless Couples, this man is my wife: the same-sex marriage prohibition act of 2014 in nigeria, Until He Releases Me from His Ancestors: An African Spirituality Pastoral Response to Wife Abuse, Quaestio Disputata What Male-Female Complementarity Makes Possible: Marriage as a Two-In-One-Flesh Union, Forum: Sexual Morality and the Possibility of "Same-Sex Marriage" *135 WHAT SEX CAN BE: SELF-ALIENATION, ILLUSION, OR ONE-FLESH UNION, Polygamy in Dramatic Texts: A Discussion around Postmodernism, ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE SYNDROME AS A ROOT OF INCAPACITY TO ASSUME THE ESSENTIAL OBLIGATIONS OF MARRIAGE (CAN.1095, 3), The attitude of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe to homosexuality: towards a socio-sexological theological investigation, The Unethical Nature of Abuse of Childless Women in African Traditional Thought/Practice, Beyond biology: Bases for a child-centered and functional account of parenthood, Understanding Human Sexuality in John Paul II's Theology of the Body, Understanding Physical Activity Behavior of Type 2 Diabetics Using the Theory of Planned Behavior and Structural Equation Modeling, The changing philosophy of African marriage: The relevance of the Shona customary marriage practice of Kukumbira, What Sex Can Be: Self-Alienation, Illusion, or One-Flesh Union, Christian Perception on Widows Sexuality among Abanylole of Emuhaya , Western Kenya, A Critical Analysis of Marital Instability among Yoruba Christian Couples in the North West of England, A qualitative exploration of the experience and the impact of HIV/STIs among polygamous women in Muslim society of Nigeria, A Theological Appraisal of Marriage in Tiv Culture, Cohabitation in Akan Culture of Ghana : An Ethical Challenge to Gatekeepers of Indigenous Knowledge System in the Akan Culture, The nature and causes of marital breakdown amongst a selected group of South African Indian Muslims in the Durban Metropolitan Area and its consequences for family life. The wedding tradition came along with colonization and the inception of Christianity in Africa. The African marriage is full of deep-rooted culture that cannot be wished away. Again neither the Jewish synagogues nor their temples had a place for wedding. Marriage As A Conjugal Reality ~ From the Frontlines to the Sublime: Why Man & Woman? An old African proverb says, A man without a wife is like a vase without flowers. Beyond the Quest for Historical Jesus in African Christianity: Albert Nolan, Jacques Dupuis and the Universality of Christ's saving work, Polygamy in the Bible With Implications for Seventh-day Adventist Missiology, BiAS 22: The Bible and Gender troubles in Africa (ed. THE ROLE OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE RITES ON MARITAL STABILITY: A CASE OF THE ABAGUSII PEOPLE, KENYA January 2022 Project: Post-doctoral Research Authors: Esther Kerebi Nyamache The. All Rights Reserved. The African marriage is full of deep-rooted culture that cannot be wished away. Are made up of smaller units called clan. After the traditional marriage ceremony, they went for Court Registry ceremony and ended up in Church wedding. Second, the continued Eurocentric descriptions and characterization of the African traditional family as some what depraved lead to the use of such terms as bride price, avoidance social taboos, segregated relationships, lack of love and tenderness in African marriages and families. Generally, marriage meaning the institution regulating sex, reproduction, and family life, is a route into classical philosophical issues such as the good and the scope of individual choice, as well as itself raising distinctive philosophical questions. Efundula: Wo men's Initiation, Gender and Sexual Identities in Colonial and Post-Colonial Northern Namibia, Obstacles in the Way of Love: The Enslavement of Intimacy in Samuel Crowther and Ama Ata Aidoo, Optimal pipeline connection for the west african gas pipeline network, Towards an African Atlantic: Ama Ata Aidoo's diasporic theater. [2] It is common practice in Africa to combine practices of major religions with local religious traditions. food, animals, bows, arrows. In traditional marriage, the religious aspects include the preliminary divination by which the young man who seeks a wife is enabled to find out from what clan or lineage his Chi (Guardian Spirit) permits him to take a wife of fortune from. It summarizes gender issues under students perceptions of gender roles, norms, and practices in relation to themselves, their peer group, and their perceptions of generational change compared with those of their parents and grandparents. The list of issues that defy a conclusive reasoning is non exhaustive especially within the context of the same sex marriage debate and they include - the socio-cultural and psychological disconnect that children are exposed to when their parents are gay or transgender, the ever evolving definition of a family unit, the inadequacy of the laws available to take care but largely vague in interpretation, who raises the children in a same sex marriage setting among others. Women in Africa: Tradition and Change. Its the start of a new life for the bride and groom, together and out of the households of their parents., Arranged Marriage is a form of Marriage when your parents, families, and communities pick who your significant other is. Chapter 3 investigated the Chapter 3 investigated the different reasons for divorce among the population. As an example, there is no such thing as a "cousin" in Zimbabwean culture. In The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia (1867), Samuel Baker documents a steady slave trade from Abyssinia and Sudan to Egypt and the harbour towns of the Red Sea coast. Despite this, recent studies on the marriage institution reveal that speaking of marriage as an exclusive union of love, joy, and great intimacy risks being termed a contradiction amidst the experiences of violence today. Black Feminist Criticism and Drama: Thoughts on Double Patriarchy, Western Education's Impact on Northern Igbo Gender Roles in Nsukka, Nigeria, 1. Every country has their own way of marrying two people that want to spend the rest of their life together. African culture and traditions are handed down from generation to generation. If the woman accepts the proposal, the grooms family presents bride price and associated items to the brides parent. moral confusion and conflict that presently confront African Christians at marriage. In Africa. The article explores a variety of marital counselling approaches relevant to African settings: indigenous, Western, Christian and Islamic. family is linked to the broader community. Most Africans underwent three marriage rites before they could have their wives. The family occupies a pivotal place in every society and in the Africa continent at large. The escalating experiences of violence as force among married couples, call to question what it means to be husband and wife or whether marriage is merely an ideal so difficult to realize. In a modern family people is less subject to the parental control in the matter of mate choice. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. Society has moved on; the traditional idea of marriage is outdated. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. So unhappy is the woman who fails to get children. It is also a legal way of ending marriage (Macmillan School Dictionary, 2011). African Wedding Traditions Everything You Want To Know, TRADITIONAL ETHICS AND THE MAINTENANCE OF SOCIAL, CHRISTIAN VALUES AND AFRICAN CULTURE AN EVALUATION, MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE AMONG THE ASANTE Centre of African The groom does not propose to the bride, but the family comes with him to give the idea of him marrying the bride (Widjaja). In various traditional African societies, the African woman possessed the power that binds the society together. Tel: 8328813929 (Cell). After this is over, the brides father hands the bride a wooden cup filled with palm wine. God created a woman for a man and brought her to him to name. Woman-to-woman marriage can also be beneficial to persons other than the female husband. Woman-to-woman marriage involves the following persons: 1) the female husband . 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