What is CULTURE?

1. BILDINGTONE: Culture is a sum total of

material and non-material (intellectual)
equipment of the people.
2. Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942):
- Polish-born British anthropologist
 Culture is the complex whole which includes
- knowledge
- beliefs
- law
- customs
- morals, symbols etc. *
Three Fundamental Aspects which
influence Culture

1. What people do (cultural behaviour)

2. What people know (cultural
knowledge)
3. The things people make and use
(cultural artifacts) *
- Cultures are dynamic, they change.
-Some elements change, some incorporate
other elements, while others persist.
(E.g. Internet; Mobile phones & dating,
etc.)
-There are certain social institutions which
influence culture.
-Culture is always existential, functional!

Culture gives impetus to the social

institutions, & both influence each other.
There are SIX KEY INSTITUTIONS
through which culture passes
1. Family
2. Education
3. Religion
4. Economy
5. Polity
6. Recreation *
1. FAMILY

1. Family is a union btn two adults of

opposite sex who have made emotional
bond and their children.
2. It is a union btn a husband and his
wives together with their children.
3. Union btn a wife and her husbands and
their children.
4. Union of a man with his children
or a woman with her children.

5. Union between a husband and a

wife or wives and their children
and their close consanguinal and
affinal relatives.*
- Consanguinal Relatives (blood relatives).
- Affinal Relatives: Your in-laws.
- The family in Africa comes about through
marriage. This is the legitimate process.
- Marriage is primarily for PROCREATION
and secondarily for RECREATION.
- Extending the kinship network is each and
everyone’s responsibility – the larger the
family the better.*
 Importance of a large family
1. Numbers provide SECURITY, also the
wealthier one becomes.
2. Unity of labour – the larger the group
the more the family produces.
3. Self-perpetuation (psychological)
(parents were perpetuated thru their
children, therefore, they will be
REMEMBERED).
Those who did not have children would not
be named.*
 LINEAGE
 In Africa, a LINEAGE is made up of the
LIVING, the DEAD and the UNBORN children
all of whom are descendants of a recently
deceased grandparent
 Grandparents have more authority
 Parents have more authority than children
 Birth-order also matters; the earlier you are
born, the more authority you have (within the
same generation)
 In a polygamous family, the children of the first
wife have more authority than those from the
second wife (due to seniority) *
► Age does not matter when it comes to
intergenerational relationship.
Generation matters rather than age.
► The rules of seniority must be observed
no matter what. The kinship will normally
tell you.
► Control mechanism: you may be cursed.
► Because women marry out, on the day-to-
day basis they do not exercise their
authority, but only on important occasions.
*
 2. EDUCATION

What is Education?
 Any learning that takes place in
informal & formal settings with the
aim of modifying the behaviour of
the recipients.
 Education is always instrumental;
it’s meant to change behaviour. *
 In traditional Africa, much of
education was INFORMAL, thru
apprenticeship.
 There is also FORMAL education in
INITIATION ceremonies.
 Today, much of the learning is formal
in schools, but there is also informal
learning, at home.
 Teachers are now substitutes of the
parents of the students. *
Some of the values taught at school are in
conflict with those at home, e.g.
 Cooperation Vs Competition
 That Western values are superior!!!

Our school curriculum is biased against rural

areas.

Education is instrumental & it helps us to be

effective members of our community. *
 3. Religion
 Religion is the belief in the Supernatural
 The Supernatural is always benevolent.
 The rituals are conducted in order to communicate with
the Supernatural.
African Religion
Previously: Animism
- From Latin anima, “breath” or “soul”
- General belief in spiritual beings
- Every religion has a certain degree of animism
- ALL objects are regarded as being alive
- Believing in many spirits
- Souls can transmigrate from person to person, from the
dead to the living and into plants, animals and lifeless
objects *
SUPREME BEING
 Monotheism (belief in a SINGLE GOD: the belief
that there is only one God, as found in Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam)

Superior God
Being
Spirit
 African names of God:
-Ruwa (Chagga)
-Mulungu/Mungu
-Chauta
-Ngai
-Katonda (Haya)
-Lesa/Leza *
 Other names of God:
Hebrew: YHWH – Yahweh (Jehovah -16th Century). –
Tetragrammaton (Gk - 4 letters).
Italian: Dio
English: God
There is also a belief in other spirits:
Good spirits
Bad spirits

Both of them do have an impact on human

life/behaviour.
The good spirits intervene on our behalf
Bad spirits make us violate cultural norms. *
 Three Types of Spirits
1. The Supreme Being – Creator God
2. Representations of the Supreme Being,
e.g. physical features: mountains, sun,
moon, lakes, big rivers, gigantic trees,
certain animals, etc.
3. The living-dead (ancestral spirits)
- They are the closest we have, who
represent us to the Supreme Being
- They are living in our psychic
We remember them by NAMING them. *
 4. Economy
Economy is the production of GOODS and
SERVICES. Every society has an economy
(goods & services).

In Africa Barter System:

1) Pastoralism: Rearing of livestock
2) Agriculture: Food crop production.
 1. Pastoralism
In Pastoralists communities animals were kept such
as:
 Cattle
 Sheep
 Goats
 Camels
 Donkeys
 Pigs, etc.
For most pastoral communities, numbers counted a
lot, not quality (Maasai, Samburu, Hausa, Furani).
Social status is related to the NUMBER of HERDS,
not quality. *
2. Agricultural Communities

 Mostly indigenous crops:

Sorghum
Finger millet
Millet
Potatoes
Yams
Cassava
Maize *
Groundnuts
Beans
Bananas
Pumpkins
Pawpaw
Coconuts
Vegetables (variety)
Peas
Potatoes (Sweet). *
 Initially they were produced on a subsistent level.
 Despite having a variety of food stuffs Africans
have food complex. E.g. Macharari among the
Chagga, Nshima among many Zambians, Githeri
among the Kikuyu... Etc.
 Most African ethnic groups are CONSERVATIVES
concerning food.
- Need for blending food.
- Blending fruits.
 Africans have many myths about food.

E.g. Lesotho – Eggs and Cheese (Girls!)*

Commercial Crop Production
 This has been brought in due to CASH ECONOMY
Cash crop
A variety of cash crops in Africa

Tanzania:
-Coffee
-Maize
-Bananas *
 - Cotton
- Sugar cane
- Pineapples
- Oranges
- Mangoes etc.
These can be grown not only by commercial
farmers, but also by small scale farmers.
Where crops are produced on a commercial basis,
there are also periodical food shortages, which
brings about food dependency. *
 Cultureof exporting. Food
smuggling and food selling without
thinking too much about tomorrow.

 Most of our cash crops are exported

to our former colonial masters. This
has brought about economic
dependency. *
 IMPORTS
 Petrol & petroleum products
 Industrial machinery
 Spare parts
 Clothing
 Automobiles
 Communication instruments
 Text Books, etc.
The process of import and export has changed our
diet.
Africans have become culturally diverse regarding
there grooming./
 Africa needs to use its resources
CONSTRUCTIVELY and INNOVATIVELY.
 Our barter economy has changed into mixed
economy, but which is heavily dependent on
money.
 Because Africa has not used her resources
effectively, she imports food and non food
products.
 Our work ethics is very poor.
 Dependency ratio is very high (kinship network).

“De-toothing” (Uganda) – Extracting things from

those who have “made it” in life. *
5. Polity

Two political systems existed in Africa:

a) Acephalous political systems
b) Centralised state political
systems
a) Acephalous political systems
Leadership by clan elders
Formerly, leaders were men, but women
were actively involved behind the
scene. *
In matrilineal system, both men and women
were openly involved.
- AGE was the main factor
- “Gerontocracy” – but there was a wider
consultation. Decisions were finally made by
elders
Women were never left out of decisions
- Cross-ethnic and cross-clan intermarriages to
maintain relationships
- There was no standing army, so in the face of
war, men had to get involved in combat.
There were no women soldiers. *
b) Centralised state political systems

 They had a king figurehead

 Leadership was by inheritance (blood-
relationship)
 They had a standing army
 Military mighty was very important
 There was a clear hierarchy of
leadership
 Many of them relied on slave labour *
- When European rule came to Africa, both
systems were present.
- In the acephalous system where there
were no chiefs, the British created this
structure (chiefs).

Experiences that have implications on us

- Slave Trade
 Trans-Atlantic (the largest)
o This disrupted family life
o Transfer of human power. *
Positive:
Exporting of African culture e.g., African music by the African Americans

Loss:
Role models in diaspora:
* Michael Jordan
* Mohamed Ali Loss to the
etc. continent
Berlin Conference (1884-85)
 Partition of Africa among the major European powers
-E.g., Britain, Germany, France, Portugal and Spain.
-Lion’s share went to Britain and France
-Britain got most of East Africa
-Colonialism was direct imposition of a foreign culture, which came in
through Education and Religion.
- These brought about a great deal of cultural influence. *
Africa was also influenced by the TWO
world wars:
- First World War: 1914-1918
- Second World War: 1939-1945
Colonial rule brought with it very clear
political arrangements.
Political power was centralised, e.g., in
Kenya: provincial administration. *
 Provincial Administration
The Governor (Country)
Power
from Provincial Commissioners (Provinces)
Top
to District Commissioners (Districts)
Bottom
District Officers (Divisions)

Chiefs (Locations)
Indigenous
people Assistant Chiefs (Sub-chiefs)

“Elitist” political power structure *

- This has created a culture of dependency.
- Lack of political initiative.
- Political culture of fear (fear of authority)
 Uncritical of what comes from above.

e.g. The Zimbabweans do not know exactly what

they want - the fear to descent.
- There are just a few institutions that make some
noise.
 Civil servants National
 Teachers – Primary & Secondary issues
 College & universities*
 Questions for Reflection
1. How do culture and the Family influence
each other?
2. What sort of influence does culture exert
on Education?
3. What is the influence of Religion on
Culture?
4. How do culture and Economy influence
each other?
5. What influence do culture and Politics
have on each other? *