Some changes in the social structure of the Tlhaping of the Taung reserve

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Our material on the Tlhaping illustrates, clearly the numerous inter-relations that exist between different manifestations of change. Changes in the social structure of a people are not simple processes, each of which can be easily isolated and described, but, because the relationships within a society constitute a complex structure, changes in those relationships also have a complex nature. What may primarily appear to be a change in one particular aspect of the social structure usually has repercussions in other spheres or aspects of the structure as well. It is difficult therefore to summarize and relate different manifestations of change without a certain degree of cross-reference and repetition. Politically the Tlhaping used to be organised in one—later there were more—small independent polity with no strong ties connecting it to the outside world. Authority was strongly centralised in the chieftainship. Now their society has lost its independence, has become enclosed in a large state through which it is indirectly linked to societies all over the world, while the authority of the chief over his chiefdom has diminished considerably. The weakening of the chief's powers is not merely the result of formal checks placed on his rule by the authorities of the state into which his chiefdom has become enclosed but it is related to various other factors. One of these is the scattering of the population, which as we have shown, may partly be the result of the weakening of the chieftainship, but eventually necessitated the delegation of authority to the new type of headmen not living in the immediate neighbourhood of the chief, who tend to become more and more independent. Economic factors have also played their role. Migrant labour undermines the chief's authority by removing his subjects from his jurisdiction for such periods as they are away working and by enabling them to be economically independent. The development of the irrigation scheme—primarily an economic undertaking—has also seriously affected the chief's authority. Strong control on the part of the chief, concentration of the majority of the population in one town, and strong tribal solidarity were linked together in the past. Therefore all the factors involved in the scattering of the population and the weakening of the chieftainship are also linked with the weakening of the internal solidarity of the chiefdom. Further, government agencies, missions, schools, hospitals, and associations brought a greater degree of diversity into a society which was relatively homogeneous, and this loss of uniformity probably also contributed to the weakening of the ties between members of the chiefdom. Particularly significant are the economic processes involving the use of money and migration for wage labour which have fostered a spirit of individualism detrimental to group solidarity. We have observed a general weakening of kinship ties which is consistent with the growth of individualism, related, amongst other factors to economic developments. It is particularly the stress on unilineal descent that has weakened, and this again is a concomitant of the scattering of the population. With the scattering of the population much of the economic, legal and ritual co-operation that used to take place between the patrilineal relatives living together in a family group or ward has disappeared. Rank based on unilineal descent is also not as important as it used to be. The general trend of the changes suggests that in terms of Professor Radcliffe-Brown's typology of kinship systems56 the Tlhaping are moving away from a system approximating to father-right, in the direction of a cognatic system. It must be added, however, that the development by which political offices are more exclusively held by members of the Tlhaping lineages than used to be the case, seems to run counter to the weakening of the principle of unilineal descent. The choice of a marriage partner is now much more a matter for decision by the couple concerned rather than by their parents and other relatives, as used to be the case. The traditionally preferred kinship marriages typical of the Tswana, seem to be disappearing, which shows that kinship ties are giving way to individual taste in the.field of marriage also. No doubt missions have also encouraged marriage by personal choice in opposition to arranged marriages. Another important change is that the payment of bogadi is falling into disuse with many people, and is no longer essential to establish a man's rights over the children born of the marriage. This seems to be related to economic factors such as heavy losses in stock caused by droughts. The difference between the Tswana who do not adhere strongly to bogadi and readily sell their cattle, and Nguni peoples who are not eager to sell cattle and strongly adhere to lobola may possibly be related to differing values in their traditional cultures. The weakening of the kinship system also has repercussions on relations within the simple family. It implies a larger degree of individuation of the family in respect of the wider kin. groups of husband and wife, already evidenced by the present preponderance of individual taste in the choice of a marriage partner. It also means that the kin on both sides are less actively concerned with the continued stability of the marriage. Moreover, family ties suffer directly as a result of migrant labour. The absence of married men affects the relations between husband and wife and makes for less effective discipline over the children. The possibility for older boys and girls- to escape to labour centres and to become economically independent at an early stage further weakens parental control. This, combined with the greater freedom with which the sexes meet and mix in youth may again be related to the increase of premarital pregnancies. At the beginning of this summary I pointed out that the Tlhaping have become connected with the outside world through ties of a political nature. Through trade and wage labour they have also become linked to economic processes the whole world over. Particularly through wage labour, but also through general travel, many .members of the society now come into regular personal contact with other native peoples and with Europeans, and with their values and modes of life. Generally speaking their relations with the outside world, have become much more numerous and more intensive. When we bear in mind that ties within the society have slackened—think of the weakening of tribal solidarity and kinship ties—it is clear that the processes taking place are consistent with the Wilsons' hypothesis that “intensity in the narrower circles of relation necessarily diminish as intensity in the wider circles increases.”57

This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit: