Introduction
This fieldwork took place in Free State, Botshabelo Section H on the 15th September 2018 till the 18th September. A study was found that in the African content there are various definitions to the term family, what it consists and how it is defined by different people from different cultures. There are three different types of family structure in Anthropology which are the nuclear family, composite family and extended family.
In this study, I aim to find out what is family, who is family, when is a person considered part of a family, how is family structured and why is family important. The essay will include literature review, meaning what literature says about family, the methodology about the family which will explain the three types of techniques used to collect data, the analysis, and description, then the conclusion. This assignment will focus on different family but mainly it will focus on extended families and also it three themes will be identified. Which the first one will explain what literature says, the second one what my participant said and lastly, what I have said.
Literature Review
The Literature states that in order to identify family there have to be three key concepts which are blood, marriage, and adoption. Many would agree or disagree with that because family is defined differently by people from different cultures. According to Ember & Ember (2011:382) family is defined as a social and economic unit which consists of one or more parents and their children. Meaning according to society in order for the family to exist it has to have one or more parents and their children. For example, if a husband and a wife are living together they will not be labeled as a family yet because they do not meet the requirements which literature defines family as because it will only be the two of them no children involved.
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In Anthropology three basic types of family are identified by Nanda & Warms (2014:182). They identified a nuclear family, a composite family, and an extended family. Firstly, they have defined nuclear family as a family which there is a relationship between the husband, the wife and their children. For example, in South Africa, a newly married couple is expected to have their own apartment in order to function an independent domestic and economic unit. Secondly, they defined a composite family as a type of family which is a family that is linked by a common spouse and this means that in composite families a woman should live in the husband’s home after marriage.
Lastly, the extended family is identified and is defined as a family which is based on blood relations extending over three or more generations. The definition of extended families by Nanda & Warms and Ember & Ember differ slightly. According to Ember & Ember (2011:382), the extended family is defined as two or more single-parent monogamous, polygynous or polyandrous families which are linked by blood ties.
According to my participant, the extended family is not only identified by blood, marriage or adoption but how the relationship between individuals and the bond which is formed between those people. Well my own definition of the family agrees both on what my participant said which is family is not only based on blood, marriage or adoption but it is based on the quality of bond with those you consider your support system.
Analysis of Data
The literature states that family is about blood, marriage, and adoption but that statement differs completely from the evidence which I have found while I was doing my fieldwork research. I have collected evidence which states that an extended family is not identified by blood, marriage or adoption but the family can be defined by the relationship an individual has with either a human being or an animal. The literature also states that an extended family is based on blood relations extending three or more generations (Nanda & Warms, 2014:184).
According to my participant, she defined family as a group of people whether they are blood-related or not, who share the same norms, value, goals and are committed to having or has a long-term relationship with one another. For example, she said she has been friends with her best friend Vanessa since the of sixteen and she is now twenty-six and she considers Vanessa as family more she does with her other cousins.
Her reason for this statement is that she and Vanessa share the same norms, values, goals and have been committed to each other for ten years now. She then disagreed with the definition which literature only gives about the term extended family. From her own perspective, extended family is not a family which is based on blood ties like (Nanda & Warms, 2014:184) stated but extended family consists of parents (whether they are blood-related or not), siblin gs, aunts, uncles, grandparents, animals and other related individuals which are considered as part of family.
My participant has two dogs which were given to her when she was fifteen years by her father and she states that those two dogs she considers as her family. She quoted that, “her definition of family is culturally different from the South African context because in the South African context, dogs are seen as a source of protection which is not considered to have feelings and it cannot develop feelings”. The definition which literature gave about the extended family I also disagree just like my participant did because extended family is not only about blood ties from previous generations. It also includes individual which one has a quality bond shared amongst individuals.
Methodology
In Anthropology three techniques are used in order to collect data. Firstly, there is the observation technique which an individual uses to see the particular family he/she choose operates. Secondly, there is an open-ended question technique and it allows the researcher to ask the participants questions about how they view family, who is family, what is family, when is an individual considered a family member and lastly, why is family important. Lastly, there is a reflection technique which will explain if the family constitute a family or not.
As I walked through the streets of Botshabelo section H, I heard many different types of barking sounds from dogs. Some barking sounded like a cry for help for those who were chained on trees and poles and other barkings were a sound of happy and healthy dogs. On the streets, cars came from all different directions which gave me a fright because the driving some of the driving was reckless. As I was walking around searching for a family to interview, I was amazed by a house which had a beautiful garde n and two beautiful Jack Russell Terrier. Walking the house there was a fresh spring aroma which came from the garden that was watered. As I made my entrance at the main gate, the dogs didn’t hare me but instead, they approached me with a positive response.
This shows that these two dogs are trained on how to respond to an individual’s behavior as they are being approached. Finding my way to the door, a smell of some fresh Sesotho tribe (traditional food) made me hungry even before I was able to taste the food. A loud laughter which had happiness and excitement in it directed me to the door and as I knocked the family was seated at the kitchen table as one big family. As I explained who I am, where do I come from and my reason to be there I was welcomed with a warm plate with a tribe and traditional bread called “Mantebelekwane’.
After lunch, I took a tour in and around the house with one of the daughters to observe it and the fact that the dogs have a place inside the house shocked me because in most African cultures dogs are meant to be outside tied at a tree or pole but in this family things were different. The fact that the dogs have their own beds in the house amazed and surprised me at the same time because this kind of behavior is seen normal by society if it is done by western cultures and not African cultures. Another thing which surprised me is that the husband and wife are still in love like high school teenagers because they still go around spanking each other behind. To me, this was something new because for fifty-six-year-old husband and a forty-seven-year-old wife to still be in love like that it was amazing.
Normally couple their age are tired and no longer have the energy to sill play around. On the second day, I realized that this is a family of seven members which is the husband and wife, two children which the wife gave birth to (a son and a daughter), one adopted girl and two Jack Russell Terriers. In the family only three members of the family are employed, the husband, wife and the son and the second born daughter is in University and the adopted daughter is still in high school. I was surprised by the fact that the son who is working still lives with the family because from a societal perspective a son who works especially in the African content they should have moved out.
Also, where I come from when an individual has started working for a year or two they must leave the house and start making a living or themselves and be independent. I did an open-ended interview and asked the family five questions relating to the topic of family. I asked what does the word family mean to them, who do they consider family, when does an individual meet the requirements of being part of the family, how do they define family as and why is family important to them. According to me as an Anthropology researcher, this family meets the requirements of being addressed as a constitute family although their definition of family differs from the one of literature. In conclusion, my research took a period of three days which started on the 15th of September till the 18th of September.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this assignment’s aim was to find out what literature says about extended family, what my participant says the family is and what do I say a family is. The literature stated that the definition o f family is defined as a social and economic unit which consists of one or more parents and their children (Nanda & Warms, 2014:184).
Then according to my participant, the extended family is not only identified by blood, marriage or adoption but how the relationship between individuals and the bond which is formed between those people. My general findings in the field about family and myself were that I have discovered that every individual has their own definition of family according to the way their family is and what it consists of. As a future Anthropologist, I will learn to never judge others, put my feelings aside during my fieldwork. An anthropologist is an oath to understand people’s behavior, humanity and their own understanding of things being done.
Bibliography
- Ember, C. R. & Ember, M. & Peregrine, P. N. 2011. Anthropology 13th edition Human Relations.
- Nanda, S. & Warms, R, L. 2014. Cultural Anthropology 11th edition. Cengage Learning EMEA.
