Changing Conditions in Marital Relations and Parental Duties among Urbanized Natives

Abstract

Opening ParagraphEverywhere in Africa contact with the European is causing change and disturbance, institutional dislocation and disintegration. If Bantu society is to survive the shock, its disintegrating institutions must eventually resolve themselves into new or modified forms better suited to the changed conditions. This transition can be accomplished only by gradual, often painful adjustments, in which the responses and reactions to the challenge of the more advanced culture might be investigated and the nature of culture growth analysed. One of the most fruitful approaches to the sociological processes involved in culture growth and the implication of the changes that occur is the study of the impact of a foreign culture upon the family and its associated institutions. Disturbances in these are often the reflection of widespread social and economic disintegration, and the extent of the disturbance may be regarded as a measure of the shock that has been sustained by the society. The purpose of this attempt at describing and analysing changing conditions in marital and parental relations is to show the extent of disintegration, the weaknesses and disadvantages of some of the institutions that are proving inadequate to meet the new demands, and the nature of the adjustments that are being made to regain equilibrium.