African Cultural Themes

In preparing for my trip to Kenya in two days from now, I've been reading African Cultural Knowledge: Themes and Embedded Beliefs by Michael C. Kirwen (http://www.africancultures.org). The book looks at fifteen cultural themes found in most African societal traditions, and compiles responses and commentary by both African and non-African students of the Maryknoll Institute of African Studies in Nairobi over a number of years. Over a dozen African ethnic groups are represented, as well as Americans and Europeans.

One of the most interesting themes, or perhaps more accurately, meta-themes (as it ties together several related themes) is the regard for family and clan, and ties to ancestral places. As an American of European descent, the notion of a long, unbroken line of connection with one's ancestral place is a concept removed from my immediate cultural background. However, I suspect that many Americans yearn for this connectedness. This is why, I believe, genealogy has become such a popular hobby in the United States; it is an attempt to reconnect to a disrupted sense of continuity. In traditional African societies, removal from this connection to one's ancestors, family, and progeny, as well as to their places of origin, is particularly traumatic. There is a palpable sense that one's humanity is diminished by the loss of this continuity - indeed, it could be seen as a form of living death. The trauma of people displaced from traditional African societies (e.g., slaves brought to the New World) cannot be overstated.

I suppose, as the self-appointed genealogist of my own family, I have sensed some of this desire myself. The difference is that in African cultures, it is the norm, indeed a necessity. My own family, while they find my research interesting, are not driven to know more, to revere ancestors or learn more about them. We do not ritually name children after ancestors in the hope of keeping their spirit and traits alive. We do not worry about offending our ancestors by failing to observe traditions or doing things of which they would not approve.

It seems that the African perspective on family - and this extends to those living and deceased, from immediate family to extended family and clan - is a much more pervasive and complex social theme than that of the Western "nuclear family." It will be very interesting to see how this affects social structures, religion, and interpersonal relationships.

Only 2 days before I depart Boston to London and then Nairobi! I am excited to finish Fr. Kirwen's book, and even more excited to be in Africa, the truly native land of us all.