1 / 13

Africa

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

christopherawarren
Download Presentation

Africa

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Africa Family, Tribalism, & Beliefs

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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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

More Related