Why Were Extended Families And Age Sets Important In Early West African Cultures?

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Why were extended families and age-sets important in early West African cultures?

interdependence on each other to share in the work of building, harvesting, and raising families

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Why was the extended family important to West African village life?

In extended families, nuclear families (husband, wife, and children) or in some cases polygynous families (husband, wives, and children)

acted as economic units

. … Elders in the extended family had great power over the economic and social lives of its members.

How important were families and clans in West African society?

How important were families and clans in west African society?

Families were the glue that held these societies together through good times and bad

. Lineages were the building blocks of the society. What were the main economic activities in West African villages?

What role did families play in traditional West African culture?

What role did families play in West African society? Families were

the foundation for all social, economic, and government activity

.

How did the development of age sets benefit the civilizations of West Africa?

What were three benefits?

Age sets helped people of the village to work together

. Extended families helped farm, hunt, and raise livestock. Loyalty to family helped keep society together.

What is the importance of extended family?

Extended family members, especially grandparents, can

assist in passing on cultural teachings and traditions

, including language. For example, grandparents can share stories, skills and teachings during their time with the grandchildren. This is also connected to the children’s healthy self-esteem.

How did the extended family help to unite a society?

Extended family ties that reach across households provide important social and economic advantages in terms of

shared labor, socialization of children, and support for the elderly

. In preindustrial societies, labor cooperation is often essential, and kinship is the primary means of defining the composition of groups.

What were the most important characteristics of West African society and culture?

What were the key characteristics of West African society? West African societies varied in size from small kingdoms to large empires.

Most people lived by farming

, but there were also many skilled artisans. Religion and family ties were central to West African life.

What is the most important structure in ancient West Africa society?

Probably the most famous class of structure in all Africa,

the Pyramids of Egypt

remain one of the world’s greatest early architectural achievements, regardless of practicality and origins in a funerary context.

What role did gender play in village life in West Africa?

Indeed, West African women and the spiritual female principle, during the long precolonial period, had

the power and right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience

; in short, they had authority. Female political leaders were as common as male rulers; and women, and the female political principle, were …

Why is family important in Africa?

Family is very important throughout Africa. Families, not individuals, are the building blocks of African society. … Family members act as

both an economic and emotional network

and provide individuals with a sense of who they are and where they belong.

What is African extended family?

Makone (2006) notes that the extended family comprises

grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins from both one’s family of origin as well as in-laws

. The extended family system in Africa emphasises on the principle of ‘living together’ and the sense of ‘community of brothers and sisters’.

Why is family important to African culture?

Family plays a central role in African society. It shapes such daily experiences as how and where individuals live, how they interact with the people around them, and even, in some cases, whom they marry. It can

determine a person’s political identity

and the way money and property are transferred.

How did animism reflect what was important to early West African peoples?

How did animism reflect what was important to the early West African people? Animism is the belief that bodies of water, plants, animals, and other natural objects have spirits. This reflected on the

West Africans dependence on the world for survival

. How did the use of iron change farming?

Why do you think early civilizations in West Africa grew up along the river?

The first civilizations formed on the banks of rivers. … Rivers were attractive locations for the first civilizations

because they provided a steady supply of drinking water and made the land fertile for growing crops

.

How did trade impact the development of West African kingdoms?

Trade was a primary factor in the rise and development of the West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. In particular, these kingdoms grew wealthy, powerful, and influential because

they were able to collect taxes from traders who crossed their territories

. … After some time, trade made it stronger.

What is the role of the extended family in Nigeria?

One of the greatest strengths of Nigerian society is the extended family system. This can be

a great support being a more effective institution than the welfare state of other communities

. … These strains relate mostly to forging an independent identity when there is a multiplicity of adult figures within the family.

What happens in an extended family?

Living in an extended family

provides constant care for children and support for other members of the family as well

. … Being able to rely on not only two parents but grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters helps to create a support system which in turn brings families closer together.

How does extended family influence child growth and development?

A family helps

in nurturing the cognitive and psychological health of a child

in their growing years. Raising a child in a family surrounded by loved ones, parents, relations, friends, and grandparents helps them to be an individual who is self-assured, affirmative, has a strong sense of self and self-esteem.

Why are extended families increasing?

It is not entirely clear why there has been an increase in the number of extended families but there are several reason that could explain the change. 1.

Retired people living in homes larger than they need at this

point in their lives makes space available for family. 2.

What is the extended family system?

Extended families consist

of several generations of people

and can include biological parents and their children as well as in-laws, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. … Extended family members usually live in the same residence where they pool resources and undertake familial responsibilities.

What are the characteristics of extended family?

The key characteristic of the extended family is that

there are multiple adults in the family that are not parents of the children

, though they may also have parent-like roles and share in the responsibilities for providing for the whole family, either by contributing financially or in other ways.

Why is West African culture important?

The cultural achievements of West Africans have

significantly influenced the culture

of the United States, particularly in the areas of art, music, oral traditions, and visual arts. Writers, artists, and musicians have incorporated many aspects from West Africa in their work.

What were the most significant factors in the development of societies and trading in West Africa?

In this chapter, you learned how kingdoms and empires grew out of early societies in West Africa.

Geography and Trade Geography

was a major factor in the development of West African societies. Settled communities grew south of the Sahara, where the land permitted farming. Geography also influenced trading patterns.

Who has helped preserve oral traditions and history in West Africa?


The griots’

role has traditionally been to preserve the genealogies, historical narratives, and oral traditions of their people; praise songs are also part of the griot’s repertoire. Many griots play the kora, a long-necked harp lute with 21 strings.

Why is it important to learn about the history of early African civilizations?


The geography of Africa

helped to shape the history and development of the culture and civilizations of Ancient Africa. The geography impacted where people could live, important trade resources such as gold and salt, and trade routes that helped different civilizations to interact and develop.

How did African Art strengthen social bonds within a community?


The art created by Africans

strengthened bonds with the community and linked both the makers and the users of the work. Patterns on art had specific and important meanings. African societies preserved their histories and value through both oral and written literature. This helped to connect them by a common language.

What were the gender roles in ancient Africa?

Literature often characterized African women as subservient to their fathers and husbands. But in pre-colonial Africa, women were

queen-mothers, queen-sisters

; princesses, chiefs and holders of offices and villages, occasional warriors, and in one well known case, the Lovedu, the supreme monarch.

What role did geography play in the development of Africa?

The geography of Africa helped

to shape the history and development of the culture and civilizations of Ancient Africa

. The geography impacted where people could live, important trade resources such as gold and salt, and trade routes that helped different civilizations to interact and develop.

What were the most important aspects of West African civilization?

West African peoples

traded cotton, ivory, metal goods and gold to the north

in exchange for horses, textiles and other goods. These trade routes, as well as the appearance of iron tools that allowed for more productive farming, led to the development of the region’s first City-States.

How did family ties shape life in early Africa?

– Explain : How did family ties shape life in early Africa? Men hunted and farmed while women cared for children, farmed, and collected firewood.

Extended families lived together often

. Loyalty to family helped them work together.

Why family is importance?

Family is the single most important influence in a child’s life. From their first moments of life, children depend on parents and

family to protect them and provide for their needs

. … They are a child’s first teachers and act as role models in how to act and how to experience the world around them.

What is the importance of kinship in traditional African society?

Importance of kinship ties to TAS

They

assist the people to live together in peace and harmony

. They provide a sense of security to all members at all times. They regulate marital customs, rules and regulations. They give an individual a deep sense of belonging identity.

What were two of the early West Africa’s important mineral resources?

source of minerals, especially

gold and iron

. These two resources played a large role in the development of African cultures. Thousands of years ago, West Africa had a damp climate.

How did the development of iron change the lives in West Africa?

Iron played a central role in many societies of early Africa. It held both spiritual and material power. Physically, Africans

used iron to create tools for agriculture, utensils for everyday life, and weapons for protection and conquest

(Shillington, 2012, p. 45).

How did the physical environment impact trade in West Africa?

The weather of Africa was

very hot and also humid

. donkey and horses were used to carry goods and items for trade but these animals couldn’t face the heat and they eventually dies to the heat. hard to trade due to the climate which was very hot and humid.

Leah Jackson
Author
Leah Jackson
Leah is a relationship coach with over 10 years of experience working with couples and individuals to improve their relationships. She holds a degree in psychology and has trained with leading relationship experts such as John Gottman and Esther Perel. Leah is passionate about helping people build strong, healthy relationships and providing practical advice to overcome common relationship challenges.