The Meaning of the Kinship or Clans
explain the meaning of the kinship or clan
Prior to European colonisation in the late 19th century, Africa had a very long history of state building as well as a rich variety of social formations that were decentralised or stateless.
The Social, Political and Economic Organization of Kinship or Clans
explain the social, political and economic organization of kinship or clan
Clan Organisation
Leaders in the clan organisation were chosen by a heritage system that was either matrilineal or patrilineal. Matrilineal systems are based on the mother’s side and patrilineal systems are based on father’s side e.g. of matrilineal societies are Makonde and Zanaki, while the Sukuma and Pare are good examples of patrilineal societies.
The clan leader had a lot of functions such as:
Note: The clan leaders in Africa had local names e.g. Sukuma – Mtemi, Nyakyusa- Malafyale.
Chiefdom or Chieftain Organization
Therefore, the chiefdom organisation system was adopted by many societies that were under clan organisation. This included the Sukuma, Chagga, Nyakyusa, etc.
The functions of a chief in these societies were similar to that of the clan leader the difference is the chief had a larger area.
Age set system was a type of organisation which involved age and sex in distribution of activities.
Looking at the Maasai; they were organised as follows:
- Soldiers
- Increasing the herds of cattle by raiding from other societies
- Moving with their cattle in need of water and gras
.
- Religious leaders
- Distributed resources e.g. Cattle
State organisation were systems of administration adopted by few African societies while having administrative organs, army and judiciary. Each organ was responsible for different activities. State Africa can be grouped as follows:
Interlacustrine Region
- Buganda
- Bunyoro Kital
Others include
- Hehe
- Nyamwezi
Western Sudanic State
- Ghana
- Sangai
- Dahomey
- Fulani
- Oyo
Central Africa
- Nubiii
- Ethiopia
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