What role did families and villages play in traditional West African society?

What role did families and villages play in traditional West African society?

What role did families play in West African society? Families were the foundation for all social, economic, and government activity.

How were West African families and villages organized?

By the early sixteenth century, most West Africans were farmers. They usu- ally lived in hamlets or villages composed of extended families and clans called lineages. Depending on the ethnic group involved, extended fami- lies and lineages were either patrilineal or matrilineal.

Why did people in West Africa choose to live in villages?

Rivers, such as the Niger, served as trade routes. Early Communities Early societies in West Africa were family-based communities. Some of these communities joined together to form villages. Banding together in villages allowed people to take advantage of natural resources and to defend themselves from attack.

What is the responsibility of the elder in the West African village?

What role did the elders play in the life of the village? They taught family traditions & values to the younger generations. The spirits of their ancestors stayed nearby. Which activities was part of West African religious practices?

What role did trade play in the colonization of West Africa?

Goods from Western and Central Africa were traded across trade routes to faraway places like Europe, the Middle East, and India. What did they trade? The main items traded were gold and salt. The gold mines of West Africa provided great wealth to West African Empires such as Ghana and Mali.

What was the West African society?

West African society was one of the centers of civilization in the centuries leading up to the Atlantic slave trade. The vibrant economy and culture in West African society were greatly affected by the slave trade. The Atlantic slave trade was not abolished by the United States until 1809.

What role did trade play in the development of early African empires?

The trade routes of Ancient Africa played an important role in the economy of many African Empires. Goods from Western and Central Africa were traded across trade routes to faraway places like Europe, the Middle East, and India.

What are the 4 aspects of a West African village society?

Village society included: families, extended families, village chiefs, council of elders. Why did West Africans live in different places after 500 BC? They had the tools to clear more land.

What are oral traditions in African literature?

The African oral tradition distills the essences of human experiences, shaping them into rememberable, readily retrievable images of broad applicability with an extraordinary potential for eliciting emotional responses.

What is the role of the family in African society?

The Role of the Family in African Society in economic development. The family is a major institution for carrying out essential production, consumption, reproduction, and accumulation functions that are associated with the social and economic empowerment of individuals and societies.

What is family life like in West Africa?

Family life is the bedrock for most West Africans. In traditional society, especially in villages, homes are arranged around a family compound and life is a communal affair – family members eat, take important decisions, celebrate and mourn together in a space that is identifiably theirs and in a family group that spans generations.

What are the challenges of traditional family life in Africa?

The case studies presented will be those of the Baganda of Uganda and Bemba of Northern Zambia. Some of the major issues raised will include polygamy, tribe, clan, the extended family, bride price and the raising of children. As the African society has not been static, changes in the traditional family patterns will be briefly alluded to.

How has the shape of family life changed in Africa?

Furthermore, throughout the continent, traditional family patterns are changing. Colonialism, capitalism, the growth of cities, exposure to Western culture, and increasing opportunities for women are some of the factors that are affecting the shape of family life.