Traditional African understanding of Wealth and Poverty

TRADITIONAL AFRICAN UNDERSTANDING OF WEALTH AND POVERTY

Wealth

Traditional African understanding of Wealth and Poverty

​In African traditional societies wealth was measured in terms of the amount of land, livestock, grains, wives, children possessed by an individual or the community. 

Acquiring wealth in T.A.S (Traditional African Society)

Wealth was acquired in various ways:-

1. As a gift from God
   Most Africans believe that wealth is a blessing from God
2. Inheritance 
   In cases where the head of the family is dead, the eldest son becomes the custodian of the estate. The clan and community elders give direction on how the wealth is to be shared out
3. Through payment of bride wealth
   such as dowry
   
4. Farming
   either animal farming or crop farming
   
5. Exploitation of natural resources 
   honey, wood for carving, building materials etc
6. Trade (Through barter trade)
   exchange of goods and services with the aim of making a profit. African communities were involved in barter trade where they exchanged good and services
7. Raids and warfare
   wealth was also acquired by raiding other communities with the aim of stealing goats, sheep and other livestock.
8. Receiving gifts
   from parents, relatives, friends and well wishers
9. Through hard work, Use of skills and art
   in areas such as blacksmith, pottery, wood carving, weaving etc.
   
10. Through compensation
    settling of disputes resulted to compensation if not of punishment. Compensation was in fines counted with material wealth.
11. Religious specialists were paid for their services. 
    services such as medicine-man, sorcery, witch services and other religious and cultural practices attracted wealth through payment of services.

Assignment

1. State seven ways of acquiring wealth in traditional African communities

​Acceptable ways of acquiring wealth in T.A.S

• Blessings from God/gift.
• Inheritance from parents.
• Payment of bride’s wealth.
• Farming /livestock.
• Exploiting natural resources such as forests.
• Barter trade.
• Marrying many wives/having many children.

Cattle

• ​People were encouraged to work hard to acquire wealthy honestly
• Wealthy people were highly regarded and were considered for leadership position
• Wealth was incomplete without a family

Poverty ​

Poverty was viewed as punishment or curse for wrongdoing. Other causes of poverty according to African Traditional Society were: -

• Laziness
• Lack of inheritance
• Raids by other communities
• Famine
• Natural calamities
• Sickness — rendering the individual weak to acquire wealth​

• In acquiring wealth, principles such as value for human life, mutual responsibility, and sharing, communal ownership were emphasized
• Places that were communal include grazing land, rivers, and watering places
• Laziness was ridiculed through songs, riddles and proverbs.

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​List seven ways in which wealth is acquired in traditional African communities. (7 marks)

1. ​Wealth is acquired through inheritance
2. Through payment of bride wealth/dowry
3. Through farming/livestock rearing
4. Through barter trade/exchange of goods/services
5. By marrying many wives/having many children
6. Through raids/wars
7. By using skills/talents
8. By utilizing natural/available resources
9. Through receiving gifts.

Explain how introduction of money affected traditional African society

1. Led to individualization/ unwillingness to share resources

2. Many children and wives are viewed as ability not wealth

3. Communal ownership of land( as unifying factor) is no longer respected/ people use family land to make money

4. Dowry has been commercialized

5. Human labor has become a commodity to be sold replacing traditional communal work

6. Has led to creation of social classes- rich and poor

7. Cost of living has risen because everything is acquired through money

8. There is unfair competition for prices of goods or services between local and multi- national enterprises

9. There is dependence on foreign aid, which has undermined the virtue of hard work to earn a living

10. There is a struggle to acquire wealth to which has undermined people’s commitment to worship my God

11. There is power struggle to acquire a protect wealth

12. Led to decline in subsistence family creative shortage of food stuffs

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