Running head: AFRICAN KINSHIP PATTERNS

African Kinship Patterns

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AFRICAN KINSHIP PATTERNS 2

African Kinship Patterns

Introduction

Kinship is defined by blood relationship for people belonging to a common ancestry. In

Africa, the family is considered to be the universal group with specific social functions. The

basic units are the nuclear family that consists of the father mother and children. An extended

family comprises of aunts, cousins, uncles, and grandparents. The kinship systems in Africa are

typically characterized by at least two generations. Matrilineal such as sons and brothers together

with their wives as well as matrilineal comprising of sisters and daughters together with their

husbands is a common phenomenon.

The Ashanti of Ghana

The Ashanti tradition of Ghana from where I come from assumes a matrilineal kinship

pattern. A Large part of the marriage traditions is cultural as opposed to the religious aspect of it.

Succession, as well as an inheritance which follow the matrilineal system of the girl child, is

often preferred. Marrying a clan member is highly forbidden as the mixing of blood is avoided at

all costs. My name is Ikeprem, and I come from a small village of Mampong Ghana. I have eight

siblings four among them being male while four are female, namely; Addo Addae, Adansi

Abeeku, Abrafi Ablorde, Abenaa Ablorde, Acheamaah Ablorde, Aba Addai, Abrobah Abrefa, and

Abrafi Ablorde. The female names take the family name Ablordeb as they are considered the

successors of a bloodline. I have a total of forty-two cousins all from the village of Efiduasi,

namely: Afoakwah Afumwah, Afrakomah Ablorde, Agyei Afumwah, Afuom Agbenyanga,

Ahiamada Ahobanbo, Agyeiwaa Ablorde, AhofamaAhokeka, Afram Ablorde, Ahooden Fo

Ahobanbo, Ahoofe Ahosepe, Ahumoboro Akins, Ajara Ablorde,Akatua Ablorde, Akofa Ablorde,

Akorfa Ablorde, Akpene Ablorde, Akuffo Akwetee, Akyaa Ablorde, Ansong Anto, Antwi
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Asenso, Ataa Ablorde. Others are, Ataa Panyin Ablorde, Ayiku Ayisi, Djarkwey Dankor, De

Menyo Ablorde, Dwomoh Dzidzornyo, Dzigbody Ablorde, Dzorgbenyui Ablorde, Dziedzorm

Dwomoh, Donkor Esinam, Etorkor Etornam, Fakorne Ablorde, and Fafali Ablorde. Gyasi

Jamedu, Farkone Ablorde, Gae Ablorde, Fosu Fiffii, Gyamfua Ablorde, Evenunye Ablorde, Gyan

Ablorde, Eyram Etorkot, and Ayuba Ablorde.

Family Tree

In general, my generation contains thirty-two individuals of which eighteen are males

while twenty-four are females. The twenty-four females are the one who will carry the family

name and the kinship to the next generation hence they are bearers of the clan name. The females

would get married and name their daughters after the hence continuing the family name.

Property and all other inheritance belong to the girl child too. From this structure, we can see that

twenty-four out of forty-two are females representing 57% of the cousin group. This percentage

represents the ones who bear and who will pass the matrilineal names. The generation before

ours consisted of my mother, and her eight siblings of which four were females and four were

males namely; Kwaku Kwakye, Kwame Kwasi, Kwansimah Ablorde, Larteley Ablorde, Labene

Alorde, Latif Madonudenu, Maanu Ablorde, and Magava Malike. We can see that 50% were

males while 50% were females. Hence the four females received the family name from the

generation before them and then passed the family name to our generation.

Grandparents and the lineage before

The generation of my grandfather consisted of four individuals of which the only one was

a male while three were females. They originated from the village of Bikeway. They were named

Lorlor Ablorde, Madi Ablorde, Malike Manu, and Mansa Ablorde. In this generation, three-

quarters represented a population that would acquire and would, later on, pass the family name,
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wealth and culture down the line. This system of the matrilineal system of naming is so profound

such that females are given a high status in the Ashanti society in the sense that they are the

continuation of the bloodline. This is so contrary to other African cultural practices in which a

man is considered to be the leader of the family and the bearer of the clan name. Most African

cultures empower men as the continuation of a bloodline and the inheritors of all family wealth.

This would then be passed down through generations along the male lineage. In the Ashanti

culture, we can see that the largest percentages of the population comprised of women and girls,

according to traditional Ashanti culture, women were thus considered to be the basis of the clan.

The family name Ablorde came from a far ancestral origin and was passed down through our

ancestors. My great grandmother had only three siblings among which two were males while two

were females. Women would retain family possession within the clan and form their nuclear

families within the clan ensuring that no wealth or other valuable possessions belonging to the

clan, in general, is lost. This data shows that over 70% of the Ashanti populations are named

using the matrilineal system. This forms the basis of the functional unit of the society and the

traditional practices exhibited.

Conclusion

This scope shows the general Ashanti kinship patterns and their traditional practices. It

shades light on the data and distribution of the gender and the lineage in which the family and

clan name would follow. It also shows the flow or inheritance of family possession through one

generation to the next