of the bridewealth depending on the severity of the crime. From the time of male puberty and manhood rites, young boys were taught to respect and honor women (Black, 1997).
Marriage ceremonies themselves varied widely across ethnic groups. Some key features among them are prayers, offerings, and sacrifices to the ancestors so that the marriage and the family may be blessed (Mazama, 2009b). Ceremonies were filled with drama and symbolism. Tillotson (2009) describes a dramatic component of some west African marriage rituals:
The Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria and Krio in Sierra Leone have a prewedding ceremony, in which the intended bride is kept hidden when her fiancé comes to see her. He calls for her, and her family keeps producing different women, who are often old. The fiancé spots the mistake each time, and each time calls for his intended. Eventually, she is produced with excitement. (p. 260)
This ritual symbolically demonstrates the young man’s commitment, serenity, devotion, sincerity, and overall good character. Uchendu (1965) describes one of the key moments in the Igbo marriage ceremony as follows:
Before the father takes the bridewealth, he gives his daughter a cup of palm liquor and asks her to show her husband to the audience by giving him the liquor. The shy girl walks with faltering steps to her husband, sips the liquor, and as she gives it to him, tells her shouting audience: “This is my husband. Father may take the bridewealth.” (pp. 51–52)
Among the Bemba of central Africa, the bride’s father’s sister gives her a clay pot (Mazama, 2009b). The clay pot represents her womb, expected to be blessed with pregnancies. Among the Zulu, the groomsmen and the bridesmaids engage in back-and-forth dance competition, ukusina (Beckwith & Fisher, 1999). The dance can be a ritualistic symbol or enactment of family celebration and rivalry, and partnership. During the dance competition, the families may boast and exchange insults in a spirit of celebration. A bull is then sacrificed to the ancestors, marking the end of the dancing, and a symbol ←xxx | xxxi→that the families must put any hostilities aside for the sake of the union. Various aesthetic aspects of African marriage ceremonies serve to reinforce commitment, community, and other family values.
In patrilineal societies, a man could engage in multiple marriages involving more than one woman only if he had the resources necessary to support them and their children (Mazama, 2009b; Staples, 1976). For this reason, only a minority of men participated in the practice (Ahanotu, 2000). Even with the heights of opulence reached in Kemet, marriage remained mainly monogamous (Iliffe, 1995). An extension of collectivist values, this family system was one way of enhancing family economic security and family stability (Collins & Burns, 2013; Steady, 1992). In one sense, women added more labor resulting in more agricultural production, thus greater economic security. In another sense, the high male mortality rate also encouraged multiple women sharing a husband (Collins & Burns, 2013). Like all family systems, this form is subject to tensions and exploitation. Its success depended, in part, on interpersonal skills and diplomacy. Some dimensions of polygamy provided safeguards against male dominance. Co-wives provided shared parenting, particularly shared mothering. This increased women’s autonomy, personal freedom, and mobility (Steady, 1992). Although its economic usefulness may have declined, it continues to exist today perhaps because of these features (Steady, 1992).
Husbands protected and provided in unique ways depending on their geographic region and different cultural traditions. For example, among some peoples, husbands were the only ones allowed to carry firearms (Black, 1997). Depending on where an ethnic group resides, husbands might be farmers, herdsmen, fisherman, or hunters. They were also generally considered responsible for the maintaining the safety of the family. Husbands whose families were unsafe or destitute were looked upon with disdain (Black, 1997).
African family systems are mostly patrilineal, although many are also matrilineal, tracing descent through the female line (Hill, 1998). In a patrilineal society, male and female children belong to the father’s lineage (including the living and the dead back to the founding ancestor). Even in patrilineal societies, women formed the connecting links between families and ensured the continuity of the lineages, both spiritual and biological. Childbearing was more of a spiritual event than a biological one because children were a gift from the ancestors. Women in African family systems usually had the responsibility of rearing, feeding, and supervising children. Men were also actively engaged in the socializing and disciplining of children (Herskovits, 1938), especially in the socialization of boys (Steady, 1992). However, this child-rearing took place in a communal context rather than within a nuclear family alone (Steady, 1992). African women were providers in different ways than men. Far from being confined to homemaking, African women generally played key roles as economic providers. Herskovits (1938) explains that West African women principally dominated the open-air market economy as traders and played key roles as healers which enhanced their abilities to exercise power within other social, political, and economic roles.
The dissolution of marital bonds was not taken lightly because marriage was expected to be a lifelong contract. However, divorce might be prevented by a close relative assuming economic, social, sexual or reproductive duties (Mazama, 2009b). In the event of the death of a spouse, the family of the deceased were sometimes expected to provide a replacement. For example, the brother of the man who died must provide for his brother’s widow and children.
Martial Arts and the Warrior Tradition
African martial arts were tied to identity and honor. Therefore many male rites of passage included training in different styles of physical attack, defense, and endurance (Desch-Obi, 2008). A number of techniques were practiced in pre-colonial Africa including wrestling, boxing and other hand- and leg-striking tactics, plus weapon fighting and weapon-making. Among some African ethnic groups, boys engaged in hand-to-hand combat for sport and play. For instance, in pre-colonial times, male ←xxxi | xxxii→wrestling matches in the Senegambia region were public events that drew people from miles away (Black, 1997). These competitors received community praise, affirmation, and adoration (Paul, 1987). West African wrestling, like other aspects of life, was tied to ethics and spirituality. Combatants were encouraged to have no ill will toward one another. They also used spiritual energy to protect themselves and enhance their capabilities during their performances (Paul, 1987). Spirituality was inseparable from combat for competition or recreation.
Engolo, or foot fighting, originated in the Angola-Namibia region of Africa. This martial art reflected the Amabundu people’s spiritual philosophy, Kalunga. Engolo fighters often stood on their hands to throw strikes, mimicking the inverted world of the ancestors. By standing on their hands, Engolo fighters were also drawing on the spiritual energy of the ancestors to assist their kicks, leg sweeps, and evasive techniques (Paul, 1987). In some communities, boys were expected to demonstrate mastery of the tactics of war in mock battles (Black, 1997). Males who were skilled at fighting were also seen as capable of protecting a family or a village in the event of war. Warfare, along with many tradecrafts, was an indication of the transition from boyhood to manhood.
Different peoples typically went to war for reasons related to territorial expansion, control of trade routes, and resources (Falola, 2000). Black (1997) explains that war dancing was a significant feature of the African warrior tradition. Among the Lele people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after a boy proved his manhood in initiation by successfully killing a beast, he was expected to return and dance around his village to the beat of a ukoko drum (Black, 1997). His dance was believed to indicate his physical and mental endurance. Zulu warriors engaged in competitive dancing to keep them in mental and physical shape. In addition to dance, different African ethnic groups also engaged in other cultural wartime conventions. Typically, the enemy was given notice so that they could send women, elders, and children to safety. The Hausa observed a three-day delay so that soldiers could sharpen their knives (Falola, 2000). Among many societies, sacrifices were made for the ancestors and deities in times of war. The Yoruba made sacrifices to Ogun, the orisha (deity) of war and iron, before battle. In addition, diviners were consulted, weapons rubbed with spiritual substances, and amulets possessing divine energies
