The Modern Life of the East African Native

Abstract

The family life of an African is primarily based on polygamy and patriarchy. Each family has its own village and the head of the family is elder of the village. As soon as a youth gets married and has children he thinks of establishing his own village in order to obtain sufficient land for cultivation for himself and his children. This is the start of a native village. He calls the village by some name which comes to his fancy. Probably after a few months few people join him at the newly established village; thus the village grows and the founder is called the elder of the village. The next thought of the African after he has acquired a little wealth is to increase the number of his wives to the number that his wealth can provide him. Very often he keeps them in different huts and at different villages which he calls Mtaa, meaning a quarter. He spends days and nights proportionately at each hut, usually three nights at each hut if they are in close proximity or seven days if they are far. He calls it Kugawa ngono, which means the distribution of conjugal rights. Each wife has her own farm which she cultivates with her children, her husband doing the heavy work. The husband has his own farm over which he has authority. Each wife harvests and keeps her own food in her granary in the hut. She has full control over her own food. She feeds and clothes her children from the proceeds of the sale of her crop; and feeds her husband with the same food when he stays with her. The crop from the husband's farm is stored in the senior wife's hut. The senior wife is the first wife in marriage. She keeps all the money of the husband and distributes food to the other wives from the husband's store when the other wives have run short of food.