Page 184 - A People Called Afrika

A PEOPLE CALLED AFRIKA

In addition to this, there was a communality in the raising of
children that has become less customary with time. Children
were under the custody of all the adults and older children,
and a child would be reprimanded for any wrong doing by
anyone more mature, regardless of which family they came
from. They would also be reported to their parents along
with any action that may have been taken. The impact of
the negative behavior of one person was seen as detrimen-
tal to communal structure and harmony and it therefore
required addressing appropriately, and since most com-
munities had similar social standards, enforcing these with
the younger members of the society was a simple exercise.

In the same way that correction was communal, ensuring the
welfare of the children was also communal. A child could
find food and shelter in a neighboring homestead with ease.
Communities were more welcoming, particularly those with
shared agricultural, herding and food sharing practices. One
was rarely far from a meal or shelter in such settings. This
is a lot different from today’s ‘nuclear’ family in which each
home seems to be more secluded and less open to this type
of correction and interaction, partly because they do not
want to expose the ‘shame’ of their households and partly
because there has been an increase in wickedness in society
and many want to remain the safeguards of what happens with
their children to protect them from modern slavery in the
form of human trafficking and sexual abuse, among other ills.

Afrikan communities, often helped each other during planting
and harvesting seasons and helped the weaker members of
society, who were elderly or infirm or who had recently given
birth, to get access to resources such as water and food. Some

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